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Information About

Large Magellanic Cloud




  Epoch J2000
  Type SB(s)m{{cite web
  Title NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
  Work Results for Large Magellanic Cloud
  Url http://nedwwwipaccaltechedu/


  Dist Ly 168 ± 3 Kly (515 ± 09 Kpc )
  Z 278 ± 3 Km / S
  Appmag V 09
  Size V 10 ° 75 &times 9°17
  Constellation Name Mensa / Dorado
  Notes Brightest galaxy orbiting<br> Milky Way Galaxy
  Names LMC, ESO 56- G 115, PGC 17223


The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a Dwarf Galaxy that orbits our own Galaxy , the Milky Way . It lies at a distance of about 50 Kiloparsec s (≈160,000 Light-year s) away. It has about one-tenth as many stars as our Galaxy (i.e., about 10^{10} stars). While somewhat Irregular in morphology, it does have some traces of a spiral structure. The NASA Extragalactic Database lists the Hubble Sequence type as Irr/SB(s)m.

The LMC may once have been a Barred Spiral Galaxy that was disrupted by the Milky Way to become somewhat Irregular . It still contains a central bar structure, and is the fourth largest member of the Local Group , following the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way , and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).

It is visible as a faint object in the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere , straddling the border between the Constellation s of Dorado and Mensa .


HISTORY