Sections

Catalogues

Show the direction and distance to this galaxy on the Galactic Map.

Proper Names	Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC, Nubecula Major
Messier Number	None
NGC/IC Number	None
Constellations	Dorado and Mensa
Right Ascension	Centred on 5h 23m 35s
Declination	Centred on -69° 45' 22"
Distance	c.158,200 light years c.48,500 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +0.6 Absolute: -17.8
Mean Diameter	Apparent: 16.3° Actual: c.14,000 light years
Hubble Type	SBm Barred Spiral (Magellanic)
Optimum Visibility	December / January (Usually visible from southern latitudes)
Notes	The Large Magellanic Cloud appears to have originated as a dwarf barred spiral galaxy, but the gravitational effects of the nearby Milky Way Galaxy and the Small Magellanic Cloud have twisted it into an irregular form. Its galactic bar is still clearly detectable, giving rise to a shape classified as a 'Magellanic spiral'.

The Large Magellanic Cloud is an 'attendant' galaxy to our own. It lies in the southern skies, astride the border between Dorado and Mensa, and contains the gigantic Tarantula Nebula.

Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

v2.1g