Galaxy · Irregular
Small Magellanic Cloud
Small Magellanic Cloud is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Tucana, 199,000 light-years away. A dwarf irregular satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
| Type | Irregular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Tucana |
| Distance | 199,000 light-years (61.0 kpc) |
| Diameter | 18,900 light-years · 0.22 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −16.80 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 2.13 |
| Luminosity | 0.023 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 0h 52m 44.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −72° 49′ 44″ |
| Source | Compiled catalogue (NED, approximate values) |
In the sky
Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 2.13). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 17° N. South of latitude 17° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 199 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 3.5 billion years.