Small Magellanic Cloud

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is dwarf galaxy located very close to our own Milky Way galaxy. The SMC is so bright that it is visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere and near the equator. Many navigators, including Ferdinand Magellan who lends his name to the SMC, used it to help find their way across the oceans. Modern astronomers are interested in studying the SMC and its cousin, the Large Magellanic Cloud because it offers an opportunity to study phenomena that are difficult to examine in more distant galaxies.

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