Editing Large Magellanic Cloud (section)

==Features==
[[File:Two very different glowing gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud.jpg|thumb|Two very different glowing gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, [[NGC 2014]] (red) and [[NGC 2020]] (blue)<ref>{{cite news |title=The Odd Couple |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1335/ |access-date=8 August 2013 |newspaper=ESO Press Release}}</ref>]]

Like many [[irregular galaxies]], the LMC is rich in gas and dust, and is currently undergoing vigorous [[star formation]] activity.<ref>{{cite book |title=Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy |last=Arny |first=Thomas T. |date=2000 |edition=2nd |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=Boston |isbn=0-07-228249-5 |page=479 }}</ref> It holds the [[Tarantula Nebula]], the most active star-forming region in the Local Group.

The LMC has a wide range of galactic objects and phenomena that make it known as an "astronomical treasure-house, a great celestial laboratory for the study of the growth and evolution of the stars", per [[Robert Burnham Jr.]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two |last=Burnham |first=Robert Jr. |date=1978 |publisher=Dover |location=New York |isbn=0-486-23567-X |page=837 }}</ref> Surveys of the galaxy have found roughly 60 [[globular cluster]]s, 400 [[planetary nebula]]e and 700 [[open cluster]]s, along with hundreds of thousands of [[giant star|giant]] and [[supergiant]] stars.<ref>Burnham (1978), 840–848.</ref> [[SN 1987A|Supernova 1987A]]—the nearest [[supernova]] in recent years—was in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Lionel-Murphy SNR (N86) [[nitrogen]]-abundant [[supernova remnant]] was named by [[astronomer]]s at the [[Australian National University]]'s [[Mount Stromlo Observatory]], acknowledging [[Australian High Court]] Justice [[Lionel Murphy]]'s interest in science and its perceived resemblance to his large nose.<ref name="DopitaMathewson1977">{{cite journal |last1=Dopita |first1=M. A. |last2=Mathewson |first2=D. S. |last3=Ford |first3=V. L. |title=Optical emission from shock waves. III. Abundances in supernova remnants |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=214 |year=1977 |pages=179 |issn=0004-637X |doi=10.1086/155242 |bibcode=1977ApJ...214..179D|doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:A youthful cluster.jpg|thumb|left|[[NGC 1783]] is one of the biggest [[globular cluster]]s in the Large Magellanic Cloud<ref>{{cite news |title=A youthful cluster |url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1534a/ |access-date=24 August 2015 |newspaper=ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week}}</ref>]]

A [[Magellanic Bridge|bridge of gas]] connects the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the LMC, which evinces tidal interaction between the galaxies.<ref name="Mathewson">{{Cite journal |last1=van den Bergh |first1=S. |last2=de Boer |first2=K. S. D. |date=1984 |title=Structure and evolution of the Magellanic Clouds |journal=International Astronomical Union Symposia |publisher=Reidel, Dordrecht |volume=108 |page=125 |bibcode=1984IAUS..108.....V |issn=1743-9221}}</ref> The Magellanic Clouds have a common envelope of neutral hydrogen, indicating that they have been gravitationally bound for a long time. This bridge of gas is a star-forming site.<ref name=Heydari>{{cite journal |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20031360 |title=The stellar environment of SMC N81|date=2003 |journal=[[Astronomy and Astrophysics]] |volume=411 |issue=3 |pages=427–435 |bibcode=2003A&A...411..427H |arxiv = astro-ph/0309126 |last1=Heydari-Malayeri |first1=M. |last2=Meynadier |first2=F. |last3=Charmandaris |first3=V. |last4=Deharveng |first4=L. |last5=Le Bertre |first5=Th. |last6=Rosa |first6=M. R. |last7=Schaerer |first7=D. |s2cid=8240730}}</ref>

The Large Magellanic Cloud has a [[supermassive black hole]] at its center, estimated to have {{val|630000|370000|380000|fmt=commas}} times the [[mass of the Sun]]. 21 [[hypervelocity star]]s have been discovered within the Milky Way's [[galactic halo|halo]], which are thought to have been ejected from the Large Magellanic Cloud after gravitational interaction with this black hole via the [[Hills mechanism]].<ref name=Han2025>{{cite journal|arxiv=2502.00102 |author1=Jiwon Jesse Han |last2=El-Badry |first2=Kareem |last3=Lucchini |first3=Scott |last4=Hernquist |first4=Lars |last5=Brown |first5=Warren |last6=Garavito-Camargo |first6=Nico |last7=Conroy |first7=Charlie |last8=Sari |first8=Re'em |title=Hypervelocity Stars Trace a Supermassive Black Hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=2025 |volume=982 |issue=2 |page=188 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/adb967 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2025ApJ...982..188H }}</ref>