Large Magellanic Cloud

Large Magellanic Cloud — galaxy, explore its interactive 3D model in Cosmoscope.

Explore Large Magellanic Cloud in an interactive 3D view of space. See its catalogue position, distance and astronomical facts.

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

162,000 light-years

Stars

~30 billion

Hosts

Tarantula Nebula — the Local Group’s fiercest star factory

Shown here

640,000 Gaia DR3 member stars, each at its real sky position

Gas & dust

SHASSA hydrogen-alpha and Spitzer far-infrared maps

Depth

Measured disc tilt (26°); thickness illustrative

Explore Large Magellanic Cloud in 3D

Large Magellanic Cloud is placed in three-dimensional space using catalogue coordinates and an adopted astronomical distance. Rotate and zoom to explore the model. Stellar surfaces, gas structure and dust depths may be reconstructed or illustrative, as described in its facts; this is not live imagery from a telescope.