Editing Large Magellanic Cloud

{{Short description|Satellite galaxy of the Milky Way}}

{{Infobox galaxy
| name = Large Magellanic Cloud
| image = Eso1021d.jpg
| caption = A map of the Large Magellanic Cloud with the brightest features annotated
| epoch = [[Epoch (astronomy)#Julian years and J2000|J2000]]
| type = SB(s)m<ref name="ned">{{cite web| title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database| work=Results for Large Magellanic Cloud| url=https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=Large+Magellanic+Cloud&hconst=67.8&omegam=0.308&omegav=0.692&wmap=4&corr_z=1| access-date=29 July 2022}}</ref>
| ra = {{RA|05|23|34}}<ref name="ned"/>
| dec = {{DEC|-69|45.4}}<ref name="ned"/>
| dist_ly = {{convert|49.97|kpc|ly|-3|lk=on|order=flip}}<ref name="Nature">{{Cite journal |last1=Pietrzyński |first1=G. |last2=Graczyk |first2=D. |last3=Gieren |first3=W. |display-authors=etal |date=March 2013 |title=An eclipsing-binary distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud accurate to two per cent |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=495 |issue=7439 |pages=76–79 |arxiv=1303.2063 |bibcode=2013Natur.495...76P |doi=10.1038/nature11878 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=23467166 |s2cid=4417699}}</ref>
| appmag_v = 0.13<ref name="ned"/>
| size_v = 10.75[[degree (angle)|°]] × 9.17°<ref name="ned"/>
| stars = 20 billion<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dick |first=Steven J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UymODwAAQBAJ |title=Classifying the Cosmos: How We Can Make Sense of the Celestial Landscape |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-10380-4 |edition=1st |series=Astronomers' Universe |location=Cham}}</ref>
| mass = {{val|1|e=10}} (excluding [[dark matter]]), {{val|1.38|e=11}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The total mass of the Large Magellanic Cloud from its perturbation on the Orphan stream |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters |volume=487 |issue=2 |pages=2685–2700 |last1=Erkal |first1=Denis |year=2019 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stz1371 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1812.08192 }}</ref> (including [[dark matter]]).
| constellation name = [[Dorado]]/[[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]]
| size = {{cvt|9.86|kpc|ly|sigfig=3|abbr=on|lk=on}}<ref name="ned"/><br />(diameter; 25.0 mag/arcsec<sup>2</sup> B-band [[isophote]])<ref name=RC3>{{cite book | bibcode=1991rc3..book.....D | year=1991 | title=Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies | last1=De Vaucouleurs | first1=Gerard | last2=De Vaucouleurs | first2=Antoinette | last3=Corwin | first3=Herold G. | last4=Buta | first4=Ronald J. | last5=Paturel | first5=Georges | last6=Fouque | first6=Pascal }}</ref>
| names = LMC, ESO 56- G 115, [[Principal Galaxies Catalogue|PGC]] 17223,<ref name="ned"/> Nubecula Major<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buscombe |first=William |year=1954 |title=The Magellanic Clouds |journal=Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets |volume=7 |issue=302 |page=9 |bibcode=1954ASPL....7....9B |issn=0004-6272}}</ref>
}}

The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' ('''LMC''') is a [[dwarf galaxy]] and [[satellite galaxy]] of the [[Milky Way]].<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2009MNRAS.392L..21S |title=Implications of recent measurements of the Milky Way rotation for the orbit of the Large Magellanic Cloud |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters |volume=392 |issue=1 |pages=L21–L25 |last1=Shattow |first1=Genevieve |last2=Loeb |first2=Abraham |year=2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00573.x |doi-access=free |arxiv = 0808.0104|s2cid=854729 }}</ref> At a distance of around {{convert|50|kpc|ly|-3|abbr=off|lk=on}},<ref name="Nature" /><ref name="Macrietal2006"/><ref name=freedman2010>{{cite journal |bibcode=2010ARA&A..48..673F |title=The Hubble Constant |journal=[[Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics]] |year=2010 |arxiv=1004.1856 |doi=10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101829 |volume=48 |pages=673–710 |last1=Freedman|first1=Wendy L. |last2=Madore|first2=Barry F. |s2cid=119263173 }}</ref><ref name="majaess2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Majaess |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Turner |first2=David G. |last3=Lane |first3=David J. |last4=Henden |first4=Arne |last5=Krajci |first5=Tom |year=2010 |title=Anchoring the Universal Distance Scale via a Wesenheit Template |journal=[[Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers]] |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=122 |arxiv=1007.2300 |bibcode=2011JAVSO..39..122M}}</ref> the LMC is the second- or third-closest [[galaxy]] to the Milky Way, after the [[Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy|Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal]] ({{circa|{{convert|16|kpc|ly|-3|abbr=off}}}} away) and the possible [[dwarf irregular galaxy]] called the [[Canis Major Overdensity]]. Based on the D<sub>25</sub> isophote at the B-band (445&nbsp;nm wavelength of light), the Large Magellanic Cloud is about {{convert|9.86|kpc|ly|abbr=off|lk=on}} across.<ref name="ned" /><ref name=RC3 /> It is roughly one-hundredth the mass of the Milky Way<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud |title=Magellanic Cloud |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |year=2009 |access-date=2009-08-30}}</ref> and is the fourth-largest galaxy in the [[Local Group]], after the [[Andromeda Galaxy]] (M31), the Milky Way, and the [[Triangulum Galaxy]] (M33).<!-- Both the LMC and the SMC appear gravitationally bound, along with much of the material in the Magellanic Bridge and Stream. They seem to be traveling at a velocity too high to be in orbit with the Milky Way, suggesting a total mass of up to 25% of the Milky Way.<ref>{{cite paper|last1=Peñarrubia|first1=Jorge|display-authors=etal|title=A timing constraint on the total mass of the Large Magellanic Cloud|journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]]|volume=456|year=2016|issue=1|pages=54–58|doi=10.1093/mnrasl/slv160|arxiv=1507.03594|bibcode=2016MNRAS.456L..54P}}</ref> -->

The LMC is classified as a [[Magellanic spiral]].<ref name="rydenpeterson">{{cite book |last1=Ryden|first1=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Ryden |title=Foundations of Astrophysics |last2=Peterson|first2=Bradley M. |date=2009 |publisher=[[Pearson Education|Pearson]] [[Addison-Wesley]] |isbn=9780321595584 |location=New York |page=471}}</ref> It contains a stellar bar that is geometrically off-center, suggesting that it was once a barred [[dwarf spiral galaxy]] before its [[spiral arm]]s were disrupted, likely by tidal interactions from the nearby [[Small Magellanic Cloud]] (SMC) and the Milky Way's gravity.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Besla|first1=Gurtina |last2=Martínez-Delgado|first2=David |last3=Marel|first3=Roeland P. van der |last4=Beletsky|first4=Yuri |last5=Seibert|first5=Mark |last6=Schlafly|first6=Edward F. |last7=Grebel|first7=Eva K. |last8=Neyer|first8=Fabian |date=2016 |title=Low Surface Brightness Imaging of the Magellanic System: Imprints of Tidal Interactions between the Clouds in the Stellar Periphery |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |language=en |volume=825 |issue=1 |pages=20 |doi=10.3847/0004-637X/825/1/20 |issn=0004-637X |arxiv=1602.04222 |bibcode=2016ApJ...825...20B|s2cid=118462693 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The LMC is predicted to merge with the Milky Way in approximately 2.4&nbsp;billion years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McAlpine |first1=Stuart |last2=Frenk |first2=Carlos S. |last3=Deason |first3=Alis J. |last4=Cautun |first4=Marius |date=2019-02-21 |title=The aftermath of the Great Collision between our Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |language=en |volume=483 |issue=2 |pages=2185–2196 |doi=10.1093/mnras/sty3084 |doi-access=free |issn=0035-8711 |arxiv=1809.09116|bibcode=2019MNRAS.483.2185C }}</ref>

With a [[declination]] of about −70°, the LMC is visible as a faint "cloud" from the [[southern hemisphere]] of the Earth and from as far north as 20°&nbsp;N. It straddles the [[constellation]]s [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]] and has an apparent length of about 10° to the naked eye, 20 times the [[Moon]]'s diameter, from dark sites away from [[light pollution]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/the-large-magellanic-cloud |title=The Magellanic Clouds, our galactic neighbors |first=Larry |last=Sessions |date=December 8, 2021 |publisher=EarthSky |access-date=2013-07-17}}</ref>

==History of observation==
[[File:Cloaked in red.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Small part of the Large Magellanic Cloud<ref>{{cite news |title=Cloaked in red |url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1408a/ |access-date=12 March 2014 |newspaper=ESA / HUBBLE |date=24 February 2014}}</ref>]]
Both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds have been easily visible for southern nighttime observers well back into prehistory. It has been claimed that the first known written mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was by the [[Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world|Persian astronomer]] '[[Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi]] Shirazi (later known in [[Europe]] as "Azophi"), which he referred to as ''Al Bakr'', the White Ox, in his ''[[Book of Fixed Stars]]'' around 964 AD.<ref name="obspm" >{{cite web | title=Observatoire de Paris (Abd-al-Rahman Al Sufi) | url=http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/alsufi.html | access-date=2007-04-19 }}</ref><ref name="obspm2" >{{cite web | title=Observatoire de Paris (LMC) | url=http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/ngc/lmc.html | access-date=2007-04-19 }}</ref> However, this seems to be a misunderstanding of a reference to some stars south of [[Canopus]] which he admits he had not seen.<ref>Hafez, Ihsan; Stephenson, Richard; Orchiston, Wayne (2011), [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319183952_Abdul-Rahman_al-Sufi_and_his_Book_of_the_Fixed_Stars ''Abdul-Rahman al-Sufi and his Book of the Fixed Stars''], pp. 121–138, {{ISBN|9781441981615}}, retrieved November 13, 2019</ref><ref name="ridpath">{{cite book | last= Ridpath
 | first= Ian | title= Star Tales – al-Sufi's nebulae | publisher= Online edition | url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/alsufi.html#nebulae | access-date=2021-09-15}}</ref>

The first confirmed recorded observation was in 1503–1504 by [[Amerigo Vespucci]] in a letter about his third voyage. He mentioned "three Canopes{{sic}}, two bright and one obscure"; "bright" refers to the two [[Magellanic Clouds]], and "obscure" refers to the [[Coalsack]].<ref name="obspm3" >{{cite web | title=Observatoire de Paris (Amerigo Vespucci) | url=http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/vespucci.html | access-date=2007-04-19 }}</ref>
[[File:Dorado_IAU.svg|thumb|left|Constellation of [[Dorado]]: the LMC is the green circle at the south (bottom) of picture]]

[[Ferdinand Magellan]] sighted the LMC on his voyage in 1519 and his writings brought it into common [[Western world|Western]] knowledge. The galaxy now bears his name.<ref name="obspm2"/>
The galaxy and southern end of Dorado are in the current epoch at opposition on about 5&nbsp;December when thus visible from sunset to sunrise from equatorial points such as Ecuador, the Congos, Uganda, Kenya and Indonesia and for part of the night in nearby months. Above about [[28th parallel south|28° south]], such as most of Australia and South Africa, the galaxy is always sufficiently above the horizon to be considered properly [[circumpolar star|circumpolar]], thus during spring and autumn the cloud is also visible much of the night, and the height of winter in June nearly coincides with closest proximity to the Sun's apparent position.

Measurements with the [[Hubble Space Telescope]], announced in 2006, suggest the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds may be moving too quickly to be orbiting the [[Milky Way]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Press release: Magellanic Clouds May Be Just Passing Through |url=https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007-02 |publisher=Harvard University |date=January 9, 2007}}</ref>

Astronomers discovered a new black hole inside the Large Magellanic Cloud in November 2021 using the [[Very Large Telescope|European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope]] in [[Chile]]. Astronomers claim its gravity is influenced by a nearby star, which is about five times the mass of the Sun.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2022MNRAS.511.2914S |title=A black hole detected in the young massive LMC cluster NGC 1850 |last1=Saracino |first1=S. |last2=Kamann |first2=S. |last3=Guarcello |first3=M. G. |last4=Usher |first4=C. |last5=Bastian |first5=N. |last6=Cabrera-Ziri |first6=I. |last7=Gieles |first7=M. |last8=Dreizler |first8=S. |last9=Da Costa |first9=G. S. |last10=Husser |first10=T. -O. |last11=Hénault-Brunet |first11=V. |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=2022 |volume=511 |issue=2 |page=2914 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stab3159 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2111.06506 }}</ref>

In March 2025, the Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery of strong evidence for the closest supermassive black hole outside of the Milky Way galaxy. This supermassive black hole is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is considered to be one of the nearest galactic neighbors to our own.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Runaway Stars Reveal Hidden Black Hole In Milky Way's Nearest Neighbor {{!}} Center for Astrophysics {{!}} Harvard & Smithsonian |url=https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/runaway-stars-reveal-hidden-black-hole-milky-ways-nearest-neighbor |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.cfa.harvard.edu}}</ref>

==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.

==Distance==
[[File:Satellite Galaxies.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Location of the Large Magellanic Cloud with respect to the [[Milky Way]] and other satellite galaxies]]
The distance to the LMC has been calculated using [[standard candle]]s; [[Cepheid variable]]s are one of the most popular. These have been shown to have a relationship between their absolute luminosity and the period over which their brightness varies. However the variable of metallicity may also need to be taken as a component of this as consensus is this likely affects their [[period-luminosity relation]]s. Cepheid variables in the Milky Way typically used to calibrate the relation are more metal-rich than those found in the LMC.<ref name="mottini2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Mottini |first1=M. |last2=Romaniello |first2=M. |last3=Primas |first3=F. |author-link3=Francesca Primas |last4=Bono |first4=G. |last5=Groenewegen |first5=M. A. T. |last6=Francois |first6=P. |year=2006 |title=The Chemical Composition of Cepheids in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds |journal=Memorie della Società Astronomica Italiana |volume=77 |pages=156–159 |arxiv=astro-ph/0510514 |bibcode=2006MmSAI..77..156M}}</ref>

Modern [[List of largest optical reflecting telescopes|8-meter-class optical telescopes]] have discovered [[eclipsing binaries]] throughout the [[Local Group]]. Parameters of these systems can be measured without mass or compositional assumptions. The [[light echo]]es of [[supernova 1987A]] are also geometric measurements, without any stellar models or assumptions.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1988Natur.334..135S |title=The light echoes from SN1987A |last1=Suntzeff |first1=N. B. |last2=Heathcote |first2=S. |last3=Weller |first3=W. G. |last4=Caldwell |first4=N. |last5=Huchra |first5=J. P. |journal=Nature |date=1988 |volume=334 |issue=6178 |page=135 |doi=10.1038/334135a0 }}</ref>

In 2006, the Cepheid absolute luminosity was re-calibrated using Cepheid variables in the galaxy [[Messier 106]] that cover a range of metallicities.<ref name="Macrietal2006" >{{cite journal |last=Macri |first=L. M. |display-authors=etal |date=2006 |title=A New Cepheid Distance to the Maser-Host Galaxy NGC 4258 and Its Implications for the Hubble Constant |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=652 |issue=2 |pages=1133–1149 |doi=10.1086/508530 |bibcode=2006ApJ...652.1133M |arxiv = astro-ph/0608211 |s2cid=15728812 }}</ref> Using this improved calibration, they find an absolute [[distance modulus]] of <math>(m - M)_0 = 18.41</math>, or {{Convert|48|kpc|ly|abbr=in}}. This distance has been confirmed by other authors.<ref name="freedman2010"/><ref name="majaess2010" />

By cross-correlating different measurement methods, one can bound the distance; the residual errors are now less than the estimated size parameters of the LMC.

The results of a study using late-type eclipsing binaries to determine the distance more accurately was published in the scientific journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in March 2013. A distance of {{Convert|49.97|kpc|ly|abbr=in}} with an accuracy of 2.2% was obtained.<ref name="Nature" />

==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>

==X-ray sources==
[[File:A Starry Combination.jpg|thumb|Small and Large Magellanic Clouds over [[Paranal Observatory]]]]
No X-rays above background were detected from either cloud during the September 20, 1966, [[Nike-Tomahawk]] rocket flight nor that of two days later.<ref name=Chodil >{{cite journal |title=X-Ray Intensities and Spectra from Several Cosmic Sources |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |date=Oct 1967 |volume=150 |issue=10 |pages=57–65| bibcode=1967ApJ...150...57C |doi=10.1086/149312|last1=Chodil |first1=G |last2=Mark |first2=Hans |last3=Rodrigues |first3=R |last4=Seward |first4=F. D |last5=Swift |first5=C. D |doi-access=free }}</ref> The second took off from [[Johnston Atoll]] at 17:13 UTC and reached an apogee of {{Cvt|160|km}}, with spin-stabilization at 5.6 rps.<ref name=Seward >{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/149343 |title=Search for 8–80 KEV X-Rays from the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Crab Nebula |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=Nov 1967 |volume=150 |issue=11 |pages=405–12 |bibcode=1967ApJ...150..405S |last1=Seward |first1=F. D |last2=Toor |first2=A |doi-access=free }}</ref> The LMC was not detected in the X-ray range 8–80 keV.<ref name="Seward"/>

Another was launched from same atoll at 11:32 UTC on October 29, 1968, to scan the LMC for X-rays.<ref name=Mark/> The first discrete X-ray source in [[Dorado (constellation)|Dorado]] was at [[Right ascension|RA]] {{RA|05|20}} [[Declination|Dec]] {{Dec|-69}},<ref name=Mark >{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/180322 |title=Detection of X-rays from the large magellanic cloud |date=Mar 1969 |journal=Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=155 |issue=3 |pages=L143–4 |bibcode=1969ApJ...155L.143M |last1=Mark |first1=Hans |last2=Price |first2=R |last3=Rodrigues |first3=R |last4=Seward |first4=F. D |last5=Swift |first5=C. D }}</ref><ref name=Lewin >{{cite journal |title=Search for X-rays from the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds |date=1968 |journal=Nature |volume=220 |pages=249–250 |bibcode = 1968Natur.220..249L |doi = 10.1038/220249b0 |issue=5164|last1=Lewin |first1=W. H. G |last2=Clark |first2=G. W |last3=Smith |first3=W. B |s2cid=4187949 }}</ref> and it was the Large Magellanic Cloud.<ref name="Dolan">{{Cite journal |last=Dolan |first=Joseph F. |date=April 1970 |title=A Catalogue of Discrete Celestial X-Ray Sources |journal=[[The Astronomical Journal]] |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=223 |bibcode=1970AJ.....75..223D |doi=10.1086/110966}}</ref> This X-ray source extended over about 12° and is consistent with the Cloud. Its emission rate between 1.5–10.5 keV for a distance of 50 kpc is {{val|4|e=38|ul=ergs}}/s.<ref name=Mark/> An [[X-ray astronomy]] instrument was carried aboard a [[Thor (rocket family)|Thor missile]] launched from the same atoll on September 24, 1970, at 12:54 UTC and altitudes above {{Cvt|300|km}}, to search for the [[Small Magellanic Cloud]] and to extend observation of the LMC.<ref name=PriceThor>{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/180773 |title=X-Rays from the Magellanic Clouds |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=Aug 1971 |volume=168 |issue=8 |pages=L7–9 |bibcode=1971ApJ...168L...7P |last1=Price |first1=R. E |last2=Groves |first2=D. J |last3=Rodrigues |first3=R. M |last4=Seward |first4=F. D |last5=Swift |first5=C. D |last6=Toor |first6=A |doi-access=free }}</ref> The source in the LMC appeared extended and contained star [[Epsilon Doradus|ε Dor]]. The X-ray luminosity (L<sub>x</sub>) over the range 1.5–12 keV was {{val|6|e=31|ul=W}} ({{val|6|e=38|u=erg/s}}).<ref name="PriceThor"/>

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) appears in the constellations [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]] and [[Dorado]]. LMC X-1 (the first X-ray source in the LMC) is at [[Right ascension|RA]] {{RA|05|40|05}} [[Declination|Dec]] {{Dec|-69|45|51}}, and is a high-mass X-ray binary (star system) source ([[HMXB]]).<ref name="Rapley">{{Cite journal |last1=Rapley |first1=C. G. |last2=Tuohy |first2=I. R. |date=August 1974 |title=X-Ray Observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud by the Copernicus Satellite |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |language=en |volume=191 |page=L113 |bibcode=1974ApJ...191L.113R |doi=10.1086/181564 |issn=0004-637X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Of the first five luminous LMC X-ray binaries: LMC X-1, X-2, X-3, X-4 and A 0538–66 (detected by [[Ariel 5]] at A 0538–66), [[Large Magellanic Cloud X-2|LMC X-2]] is the one that is a bright low-mass X-ray binary system ([[LMXB]]) in the LMC.<ref name=Bonnet>{{cite journal |title=LMC X-2: an extragalactic bulge-type source |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |date=Apr 1989 |volume=213 |issue=1–2 |pages=97–106 |bibcode=1989A&A...213...97B |last1=Bonnet-Bidaud |first1=J. M. |last2=Motch |first2=C. |last3=Beuermann |first3=K. |last4=Pakull |first4=M. |last5=Parmar |first5=A. N. |last6=Van Der Klis |first6=M. }}</ref>

DEM L316 in the Cloud consists of two supernova remnants.<ref name=Williams>{{cite journal |title=Supernova Remnants in the Magellanic Clouds. VI. The DEM L316 Supernova Remnants |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=Dec 2005 |volume=635 |issue=2 |pages=1077–86 |doi=10.1086/497681 |bibcode=2005ApJ...635.1077W|arxiv = astro-ph/0509696 |last1=Williams |first1=R. M |last2=Chu |first2=Y.-H |s2cid=17863461 }}</ref> [[Chandra X-ray Observatory|Chandra]] X-ray spectra show that the hot gas shell on the upper left has an abundance of iron. This implies that the upper-left [[Supernova remnant|SNR]] is the product of a [[Type Ia supernova]]; much lower such abundance in the lower remnant belies a [[Type II supernova]].<ref name="Williams"/>

A 16 ms X-ray pulsar is associated with SNR 0538-69.1.<ref name="MarshallGotthelf1998">{{cite journal|last1=Marshall|first1=F. E.|last2=Gotthelf|first2=E. V|last3=Zhang|first3=W.|last4=Middleditch|first4=J.|last5=Wang|first5=Q. D.|title=Discovery of an Ultrafast X-Ray Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant N157B|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=499|issue=2|date=1998|pages=L179–L182|issn=0004-637X|doi=10.1086/311381|arxiv = astro-ph/9803214 |bibcode = 1998ApJ...499L.179M |s2cid=15812971}}</ref> SNR 0540-697 was resolved using [[ROSAT]].<ref name="ChuKennicutt1997">{{cite journal|last1=Chu|first1=Y.-H.|last2=Kennicutt|first2=R. C.|last3=Snowden|first3=S. L.|last4=Smith|first4=R. C.|last5=Williams|first5=R. M.|last6=Bomans|first6=D. J.|title=Uncovering a Supernova Remnant Hidden Near LMCX-1|journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific|volume=109|date=1997|page=554|issn=0004-6280|doi=10.1086/133913|bibcode = 1997PASP..109..554C |doi-access=free}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=250 heights=250>
Deepest, widest view of the Large Magellanic Cloud from SMASH.jpg|Part of the SMASH dataset showing a wide-angle view of the Large Magellanic Cloud<ref>{{cite web |title=Dark Energy Camera Snaps Deepest Photo yet of Galactic Siblings |url=https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2030/ |website=noirlab.edu |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref>
File:Large_Magellanic_Cloud.png|Large Magellanic Cloud as photographed by an amateur astronomer. Unrelated stars have been edited out.
File:Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3.png|Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3
File:Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3 without foreground stars.png|Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3 without foreground stars
File:Revisiting a Celestial Fireworks Display (potw2248a).jpg|Revisiting a Celestial Fireworks Display Shreds, from the [[Wide Field Planetary Camera 2]]. The delicate sheets and intricate filaments are debris from the cataclysmic death of a massive star that once lived in the LMC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://esahubble.org/images/potw2248a/|title=Revisiting a Celestial Fireworks Display |access-date=2023-08-24}}</ref>
File:Hubble views a spectacular supernova with interstellar material over 160,000 light-years away (28629479145).jpg|[[DEM L316A]] is located some 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud<ref>{{cite web|title=A long-dead star|url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1630a/|website=www.spacetelescope.org|access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref>
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Stars}}
{{Commons category|Large Magellanic Cloud}}
* [http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html NASA Extragalactic Database]
* [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/LMC.html Encyclopedia of Astronomy entry]
* [http://messier.seds.org//xtra/ngc/lmc.html SEDS LMC page]

{{Milky Way|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Sky|05|23|34.5|-|69|45|22|157000}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloud, Large Magellanic}}
[[Category:Large Magellanic Cloud| ]]
[[Category:Dwarf barred irregular galaxies]]
[[Category:Principal Galaxies Catalogue objects|17223]]
[[Category:Astronomical objects known since antiquity]]
[[Category:ESO objects|56- G 115]]
[[Category:Magellanic Clouds]]
[[Category:Dorado]]
[[Category:Mensa (constellation)]]
[[Category:Local Group]]
[[Category:Magellanic spiral galaxies]]