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Large Magellanic Cloud

A barred dwarf galaxy about 161,000 light-years away, visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere.

The Milky Way's biggest satellite

Galaxies
  • Last reviewed 10 Oct 2026
  • 7 sources

At a glance

Large Magellanic Cloud at a glance, with sources
MeasureValueSource
DistanceAbout 161,000 light-years (49.6 kpc, measured to 1%)Pietrzyński et al. 2019, Nature 567:200 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)Pietrzyński et al. 2019, Nature 567:200 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
TypeBarred Magellanic irregularESO: eso1914: VISTA view of the LMC (opens in a new tab)ESO: eso1914: VISTA view of the LMC (opens in a new tab)
MassAbout 100–300 billion Suns including dark matterCautun et al. 2019 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)Cautun et al. 2019 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
FatePredicted to merge with the Milky Way in about 2.4 billion yearsCautun et al. 2019 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)Cautun et al. 2019 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
Supernova 1987AFirst naked-eye supernova since 1604ESA: ESA/Webb weic2404 (opens in a new tab)ESA: ESA/Webb weic2404 (opens in a new tab)
Tarantula NebulaLargest and brightest star-forming region in the Local GroupESA: ESA/Webb weic2212: the Tarantula Nebula (opens in a new tab)ESA: ESA/Webb weic2212: the Tarantula Nebula (opens in a new tab)
Apparent magnitudeAbout 0.4 (integrated); about 5° across on the skyIntegrated magnitudes of extended galaxies vary between catalogues.SIMBAD (CDS): Large Magellanic Cloud (opens in a new tab)SIMBAD (CDS): Large Magellanic Cloud (opens in a new tab)

Key points

It hosts the Tarantula Nebula and the remnant of supernova 1987A.

  • Distance measured to 1% precision
  • Home of supernova 1987A
  • Predicted to merge with the Milky Way in ~2.4 billion years

A heavyweight satellite

The LMC may weigh a tenth to a quarter as much as the Milky Way. Its gravity tugs our galaxy's disc and halo, and it is likely to merge with us long before any encounter with Andromeda.

Known long before Magellan

The first surviving written mention is in al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars of 964 CE, which calls the LMC al-Bakr, the White Ox, visible from the far south of Arabia but not from Baghdad. European travellers reported both Clouds in the early 1500s, and Antonio Pigafetta described them during Magellan's circumnavigation of 1519 to 1522. The name 'Magellanic Clouds' only became standard much later.

The Tarantula and SN 1987A

The Tarantula Nebula, 30 Doradus, is the largest and brightest star-forming region in the Local Group and hosts the most massive stars known. Its chemistry resembles the giant star-forming regions of 'cosmic noon', billions of years ago, so it is the closest place to study them in detail. Nearby, supernova 1987A was seen in February 1987, with a burst of neutrinos arriving about two hours before the light. In 2024 Webb detected ionised argon at the centre of the debris, the best evidence yet that the explosion left a neutron star.

Observing it

From dark southern skies the LMC looks like a detached piece of the Milky Way about ten full Moons across, on the border of Dorado and Mensa. It is close enough to the south celestial pole never to set from most of Australia, southern Africa and southern South America, and is highest in the evening from about December to February. Binoculars pick out star clusters and the Tarantula as a glowing knot. North of about 20°N it never rises.

What we still don't know

Whether this is its first pass by the Milky Way, as recent proper-motion measurements suggest.

Missions

  1. 1990–

    Hubble Space Telescope

    NASA / ESAActive

    Ultraviolet to near-infrared imaging from low Earth orbit.

    Mission page (opens in a new tab)

  2. 2021–

    James Webb Space Telescope

    NASA / ESA / CSAActive

    Infrared observatory at Sun–Earth L2, about 1.5 million km from Earth.

    Mission page (opens in a new tab)

  3. 2013–2025

    Gaia

    ESACompleted

    Mapped about two billion stars; Data Release 4 is scheduled for 2 Dec 2026.

    Mission page (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. Dennefeld 2020, A history of the Magellanic Clouds (ESO Messenger 181; arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
  2. Pietrzyński et al. 2019, Nature 567:200 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
  3. ESO: eso1914: VISTA view of the LMC (opens in a new tab)
  4. Cautun et al. 2019 (arXiv) (opens in a new tab)
  5. ESA: ESA/Webb weic2404 (opens in a new tab)
  6. ESA: ESA/Webb weic2212: the Tarantula Nebula (opens in a new tab)
  7. SIMBAD (CDS): Large Magellanic Cloud (opens in a new tab)

Last reviewed against these sources. Built from public NASA, ESA and JPL data; not affiliated with or endorsed by any agency.