Key facts
- Category
- Galaxies
- Object class
- Dwarf irregular galaxy
- Host
- Local Group
- Scale fact
- 18,892 lydiameter
- Composition
- ~3 billion stars, gas, dust, dark matter
Small Magellanic Cloud
18,892 lydiameter
Visual creditLa Silla Observatory 2015 / ESA / NASA / NASA-JPL / Caltech / Christopher Clark (STScI) / S. Stanimirovic (UW-Madison) / N. Mizuno (Nagoya University) / Public domainSource: Wikimedia Commons
Details
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a nearby dwarf galaxy and one of the Milky Way’s closest galactic companions. Its distorted shape records repeated tidal encounters with the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way.
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a gas-rich dwarf galaxy about 200,000 light-years away. Its irregular shape and extended streams of gas reflect repeated gravitational interaction with the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way.
Its lower abundance of heavy elements than the Milky Way provides a nearby environment for studying star formation under different chemical conditions. The quoted diameter describes its main visible body; its gas and stellar outskirts extend less regularly.
Links
- Preset views
- Wikipedia
- Small Magellanic Cloud on Wikipedia
- Universe journey
- Local Group
Size neighbors
Objects near Small Magellanic Cloud on the scale
On the logarithmic size axis, Small Magellanic Cloud falls between Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud. The band uses nearby Dwarf irregular galaxy records.
Shared physical scale
24,624ly
Sources
References for Small Magellanic Cloud
Measurements and descriptive context are compiled by the Scale of Space team from the references below. If you find an error, please let us know.
- Small Magellanic Cloud — Wikipedia
- Visual reference: Wikimedia Commons (La Silla Observatory 2015 / ESA / NASA / NASA-JPL / Caltech / Christopher Clark (STScI) / S. Stanimirovic (UW-Madison) / N. Mizuno (Nagoya University), Public domain)
Continue with nearby objects or open the full scale.
About
Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.
Guides explain selected parts of that range, while focused views filter the objects by subject.