Object Analysis

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of about 163,000 light-years, it is the second or third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal and the possible Canis Major Dwarf. It is visible as a faint "cloud" in the night sky of the southern hemisphere straddling the border between the constellations of Dorado and Mensa.

The LMC is classified as a Magellanic spiral. It contains a stellar bar that is geometrically off-center, suggesting that it was once a barred spiral galaxy that was disrupted by the gravitational tidal forces of the Milky Way. It is rich in gas and dust, and it is currently undergoing intense star formation activity.

The most famous feature within the LMC is the Tarantula Nebula, the most active star-forming region in the Local Group. The LMC is also the host of Supernova 1987A, the closest observed supernova in modern times. Its eventual fate is likely to be merged into the Milky Way in about 2.4 billion years.