Large Magellanic Cloud

Large Magellanic Cloud — galaxy, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

The Milky Way’s brightest companion galaxy, visible from the southern hemisphere as a detached wisp of sky. Supernova 1987A flared here — the closest seen in centuries.

Type
Satellite dwarf galaxy
Distance
163,000 light-years
Stars
~30 billion
Hosts
Tarantula Nebula — the Local Group’s fiercest star factory

Seeing Large Magellanic Cloud in real time

Large Magellanic Cloud is placed at its true position on the sky and at its real measured distance, not as a flat backdrop. Fly out from the Sun in the live 3D view and watch it change from a point of light into structure as you approach, with the scale bar showing just how far out you have travelled.

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