MAGELLANIC CLOUD FACTS

When they were first identified, the two clouds were originally labelled as irregular dwarf galaxies. In more recent years though, astronomers have now stated that the LMC more resembles a barred spiral galaxy.

Did you know?

While the SMC is still officially an irregular galaxy, there is a weak bar across the centre.

Although there are many close to galaxies to Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the very closest to us – even closer than Andromeda is – at around 163,000 light-years away from us.

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With the distance of LMC being around 163k light-years away, this puts the Small Magellanic Cloud at around 200,000 light-years away.

Although the Small Magellanic Cloud has a radius of just 3,500 light-years it is still home to more than a billion stars – that’s quite a lot for a relatively small galaxy.

Did you know?

It is true that a billion stars for a galaxy as small as the SMC is quite impressive, the Andromeda galaxy has over one trillion stars.

The Large Magellanic Cloud can be found between two main constellations – Dorado and Mensa. Dorado is named after the dolphin-fish ((Coryphaena hippurus), also known as Dorado.

Did you know?

The name Mensa comes from the Latin for 'table', but the constellation was originally named for Table Mountain and so was once called Mons Mensae.

The one main thing that separates the Magellanic Clouds from the Milky Way, apart from a few thousand light-years, is that they have high volumes of gases such as Helium and Hydrogen.

Did you know?

The nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium is the process that powers almost all of the stars that light up our night sky.

Both of the clouds, Large and Small, are named after the famed explorer, Ferdinand Magellan – even though they have both been seen for thousands of years. Magellan voyaged around the globe in 1519, with him and his crew bringing lots of information to the Western world about other cultures.

Did you know?

Magellan died on his 1519 voyage, but his crew provided ample documentation that showed he had identified the two Magellanic clouds while on the voyage.

The Large Magellanic Cloud is the home of the Tarantula Nebula, an amazing object to look at. The nebula is used by astronomers to learn more about star formation because it births a lot of stars.

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The information gleaned from examining the Tarantula Nebula is then applied to the Milky Way, enabling us to learn more about our galactic home..

As with a lot of irregular galaxies, the Small Magellanic Cloud is mostly comprised of gas and dust. As well as the galaxy composition, there is also a gas-made bridge connecting the two Magellanic clouds/galaxies.

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The SMC is also well known for the large amount of X-ray binary stars that it contains.

It was once thought that the two clouds orbited our galaxy, the Milky Way. However, newer evidence suggests that the relative speed of the two clouds are likely too high for that to be possible as observed.

Did you know?

Not related, though nonetheless interesting, the man that the two Magellanic clouds are named after is the same explorer that named the Pacific Ocean.

Early peoples used the Magellanic Clouds for navigation because they are pretty much a fixed point and easy to recognise. There is evidence that the clouds were discussed as far back as 1000 AD and earlier.

Did you know?

Persian astronomer Al Sufi was almost definitely talking about the Large Magellanic Cloud in 964 AD when he wrote his book "Book of Fixed Stars".