LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD - WIDE FIELD

 NEIGHBOUR GALAXY IN DORADO AND MENSA

(Image cantered at: ra 05h:23 m / dec - 69º 45')

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A HIGH RESOLUTION VIEW

December 2024, Observatorio Cielos Albertnos, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Satelite  Galaxy

APPARENT DIAMETER: Image FOV 4 x 3 degrees 

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): 0.1

DISTANCE: 163.000 light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: Canon EF 200 mm f2 lens stopped at 4.5

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS

MOUNT: SKYWATCHER NEQ6 guided with ORION 80/400 refractor and Starlight Xpress LodeStar M7 camera

FILTERS: Optolong RGB set Optolong Ha 7 nm

SKY CONDITIONS: Bortle 2-3 skies

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

Our nearby galaxy (after Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy) the Large Magellanic cloud is one of the marvelous sight of the southern sky. Like many irregular galaxies the LMC is very rich in dust and HII regions. Right now is under a intense process of star formation activity. The LMC contains a stellar bar that is geometrically off-center, suggesting that it was once a barred dwarf spiral galaxy before its spiral arms were disrupted, likely by tidal interactions from the nearby Small Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way's gravity. It is predicted to merge with the Milky Way in approximately 2.4 billion years.

First spotted by Persian astronomers and afterwards by Amerigo Vespucci, but it was by Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage in 1519 who brought it to popularity.