Small Magellanic Cloud
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NGC 346, part of the Small Magellanic Cloud. |
|
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
|---|---|
| Constellation: | Tucana |
| Right ascension: | 00h 52m 44.8s[1] |
| Declination: | -72° 49′ 43″[1] |
| Redshift: | 158 ± 4 km/s[1] |
| Distance: | 197 ± 9 kly (61 ± 3 kpc)[2] |
| Type: | SB(s)m pec[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V): | 5° 20′ × 3° 5′[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V): | 2.7[1] |
| Notable features: | Companion dwarf to the Milky Way |
| Other designations | |
| SMC,[1] NGC 292,[1] PGC 3085,[1] Nubecula Minor[1] |
|
| See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies | |
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf galaxy[3] in orbit around the Milky Way Galaxy. It contains several hundred million stars.[4]
Some speculate that the SMC was once a barred spiral galaxy that was disrupted by the Milky Way to become somewhat irregular. [5] It still contains a central bar structure.
At a distance of about 200,000 light-years, it is one of the Milky Way's nearest neighbors. It is also one of the most distant objects that can be seen with the naked eye.
With a mean declination of approximately -73 degrees, it can only be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere and the lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is located in the constellation of Tucana and appears as a hazy, light patch in the night sky about 3 degrees across. It looks like a detached piece of the Milky Way. Since it has a very low surface brightness, it is best viewed from a dark site away from city lights.
It forms a pair with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which is positioned a further 20 degrees to the east. The Small Magellanic Cloud is a member of the Local Group.
[edit] See also
- Large Magellanic Cloud
- Magellanic Clouds
- Small Magellanic Cloud in fiction
- Small Magellanic Cloud (Star Fleet Universe)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Results for Small Magellanic Cloud. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ Hilditch, R. W.; Howarth, I. D.; Harries, T. J. (2005). "Forty eclipsing binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud: fundamental parameters and Cloud distance". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 357 (1): 304-324.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
[edit] External links
 Galactic Core: Center of the Milky Way |
