| Proper Names | Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC, Nubecula Major
Small Magellanic Cloud, SMC, Nubecula Minor | | Messier Numbers | None | | NGC/IC Number | Large: None
Small: NGC 292 | | Constellations | Large: Dorado and Mensa
Small: Tucana | | Right Ascension | Centred on:
Large: 5h 23m 50s
Small: 0h 58m 12s | | Declination | Centred on:
Large: -68° 47' 36"
Small: -72° 44' 51" | | Distance | Large: c.158,200 light years (c.48,500 parsecs)
Small: c.199,000 light years (c.61,000 parsecs) | | Magnitude | Large: Apparent: +0.6, Absolute: -17.8
Small: Apparent: +2.6, Absolute: -16.3 | | Mean Diameter | Large: Apparent: 16.3° (actual: c.14,000 light years)
Small: Apparent: 4.0° (actual: c.7,000 light years) | | Hubble Type | SBm Barred Spiral (Magellanic) | | Optimum Visibility | Large: December / January
Small: October
(Both Clouds are usually visible from southern latitudes) | | Notes | Named for the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the Magellanic Clouds are small galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way. Each has features suggesting a barred spiral structure, but both Clouds have been considerably deformed by their proximity to the much more massive Milky Way Galaxy. |
|
|
