Editing Large Magellanic Cloud (section)

==Geometry==
[[File:The Large Magellanic Cloud revealed by VISTA.jpg|thumb|[[European Southern Observatory|ESO]]'s [[VISTA (telescope)|VISTA]] image of the LMC]]

The Large Magellanic Cloud has a prominent central bar and [[spiral arm]].<ref name="Nicolson">{{Cite book| last = Nicolson| first = Iain| title = Unfolding our Universe| publisher = Cambridge University Press| date = 1999| location = United States| pages = [https://archive.org/details/unfoldingouruniv00iain/page/213 213]–214| url = https://archive.org/details/unfoldingouruniv00iain| url-access = registration| isbn = 0-521-59270-4}}</ref> The central bar, with a radius of 6,900 light-years (2.13 kpc) and a [[position angle]] of about 121°,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ad93ae|doi-access=free |title=Precise Measurements of the LMC Bar's Geometry with Gaia DR3 and a Novel Solution to Crowding-induced Incompleteness in Star Counting |date=2025 |last1=Rathore |first1=Himansh |last2=Choi |first2=Yumi |last3=Olsen |first3=Knut A. G. |last4=Besla |first4=Gurtina |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=978 |issue=1 |page=55 |arxiv=2410.18182 |bibcode=2025ApJ...978...55R }}</ref> seems to be warped so that the east and west ends are nearer the Milky Way than the middle.<ref name="Subramaniam">{{Cite journal | last = Subramaniam| first = Annapurni| title = Large Magellanic Cloud Bar: Evidence of a Warped Bar| journal = [[The Astrophysical Journal]]| volume = 598| issue = 1| pages = L19–L22| location = United States| date = 2003-11-03| doi = 10.1086/380556| bibcode=2003ApJ...598L..19S| s2cid = 4368706| doi-access = free}}</ref> In 2014, measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope made it possible to determine a rotation period of 250 million years.<ref>{{Cite journal | url = http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/precisely-determined-rotation-rate-of-this-galaxy-will-blow-your-mind/ | title = Precisely determined rotation rate of this galaxy will blow your mind | journal = Science Recorder | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20140221074530/http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/precisely-determined-rotation-rate-of-this-galaxy-will-blow-your-mind/ | archive-date = 2014-02-21 }}</ref>

The LMC was long considered to be a planar galaxy that could be assumed to lie at a single distance from the Solar System. However, in 1986, Caldwell and Coulson<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Caldwell |first1=J. A. R. |last2=Coulson |first2=I. M. |date=1986 |title=The geometry and distance of the Magellanic Clouds from Cepheid variables |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |language=en |volume=218 |issue=2 |pages=223–246 |bibcode=1986MNRAS.218..223C |doi=10.1093/mnras/218.2.223 |issn=0035-8711 |doi-access=free}}</ref> found that field [[Cepheid variable]]s in the northeast lie closer to the Milky Way than those in the southwest. From 2001 to 2002 this inclined geometry was confirmed by the same means,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nikolaev |first=S. |display-authors=etal |date=2004 |title=Geometry of the Large Magellanic Cloud Disk: Results from MACHO and the Two Micron All Sky Survey |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=601 |issue=1 |pages=260–276 |doi=10.1086/380439 |bibcode=2004ApJ...601..260N |citeseerx=10.1.1.409.5235|s2cid=15818077 }}</ref> by core helium-burning red clump stars,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Olsen |first1=K. A. G. |last2=Salyk |first2=C. |date=October 2002 |title=A Warp in the Large Magellanic Cloud Disk? |journal=[[The Astronomical Journal]] |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=2045–2053 |arxiv=astro-ph/0207077 |bibcode=2002AJ....124.2045O |doi=10.1086/342739 |s2cid=121615519}}</ref> and by the tip of the red giant branch.<ref name="Marel2001">{{Cite journal |last1=van der Marel |first1=Roeland P. |last2=Cioni |first2=Maria-Rosa L. |date=October 2001 |title=Magellanic Cloud Structure from Near-Infrared Surveys. I. The Viewing Angles of the Large Magellanic Cloud |journal=[[The Astronomical Journal]] |volume=122 |issue=4 |pages=1807–1826 |arxiv=astro-ph/0105339 |bibcode=2001AJ....122.1807V |doi=10.1086/323099 |s2cid=15850335}}</ref> All three papers find an inclination of {{Abbreviation|~|about}}35°, where a face-on galaxy has an inclination of 0°. Further work on the structure of the LMC using the kinematics of carbon stars showed that the LMC's disk is both thick<ref name="Marel2001" /> and flared,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alves |first1=David R. |last2=Nelson |first2=Cailin A. |date=2000 |title=The Rotation Curve of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Implications for Microlensing |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |language=en |volume=542 |issue=2 |pages=789–803 |arxiv=astro-ph/0006018 |bibcode=2000ApJ...542..789A |doi=10.1086/317023 |issn=0004-637X |s2cid=7266377}}</ref><ref name=Ripepi>{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/mnras/stac595|title=The VMC survey – XLVIII. Classical Cepheids unveil the 3D geometry of the LMC|year=2022|last1=Ripepi|first1=Vincenzo|last2=Chemin|first2=Laurent|last3=Molinaro|first3=Roberto|last4=Cioni|first4=Maria-Rosa L.|last5=Bekki|first5=Kenji|last6=Clementini|first6=Gisella|last7=De Grijs|first7=Richard|last8=De Somma|first8=Giulia|last9=El Youssoufi|first9=Dalal|last10=Girardi|first10=Léo|last11=Groenewegen|first11=Martin A T.|last12=Ivanov|first12=Valentin|last13=Marconi|first13=Marcella|last14=McMillan|first14=Paul J.|last15=Van Loon|first15=Jacco Th|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=512|issue=1 |pages=563–582|doi-access=free |arxiv=2203.01780|bibcode=2022MNRAS.512..563R}}</ref> likely due to interactions with the SMC.<ref name=Ripepi/> Regarding the distribution of [[star clusters]] in the LMC, [[Robert Schommer|Schommer]] et al.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schommer |first=R. A. |display-authors=etal |date=1992 |title=Spectroscopy of giants in LMC clusters. II – Kinematics of the cluster sample |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=103 |pages=447–459 |doi=10.1086/116074 |bibcode=1992AJ....103..447S}}</ref> measured velocities for {{Abbreviation|~|about}}80 clusters and found that the LMC's cluster system has kinematics consistent with the clusters moving in a disk-like distribution. These results were confirmed by Grocholski et al.,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Grocholski |first=A. J. |display-authors=etal |date=2007 |title=Distances to Populous Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud via the K-band Luminosity of the Red Clump |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=134 |issue=2 |pages=680–693 |doi=10.1086/519735 |bibcode=2007AJ....134..680G |arxiv = 0705.2039|s2cid=14921511 }}</ref> who calculated distances to a sample of clusters and showed that the cluster system is distributed in the same plane as the field stars.