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

factoids

0534}}-69|45.4}}49.97lylk=onAUTHOR2=D. GRACZYK AUTHOR4=I. B. THOMPSON AUTHOR6=A. UDALSKI DISPLAY-AUTHORS=ETAL JOURNAL=NATUREVOLUME=495PAGES=76–79PMID=23467166BIBCODE = 2013NATUR.495...76P, 4417699, | appmag_v = 0.13degree (angle)>° × 9.17° TITLE = CLASSIFYING THE COSMOS: HOW WE CAN MAKE SENSE OF THE CELESTIAL LANDSCAPE PAGES = URL = HTTPS://BOOKS.GOOGLE.COM/BOOKS?ID=UYMODWAAQBAJ, 1dark matter), {{val>1.38VOLUME=487 PAGES=2685–2700 FIRST1=DENIS DOI=10.1093/MNRAS/STZ1371 ARXIV=1812.08192, (including dark matter).Dorado/Mensa (constellation)>Mensa9.86lyabbr=onisophote)HTTPS://UI.ADSABS.HARVARD.EDU/ABS/1991RC3..BOOK.....D YEAR=1991 LAST1=DE VAUCOULEURS LAST2=DE VAUCOULEURS LAST3=CORWIN LAST4=BUTA LAST5=PATUREL LAST6=FOUQUE, Pascal, Principal Galaxies Catalogue>PGC 17223, Nubecula MajorASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC LEAFLETS, THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS>JOURNAL=ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC LEAFLETSVOLUME=7PAGE=9BIBCODE=1954ASPL....7....9B, }}The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a dwarf galaxy and satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.JOURNAL, 2009MNRAS.392L..21S, Implications of recent measurements of the Milky Way rotation for the orbit of the Large Magellanic Cloud, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 392, 1, L21–L25, Shattow, Genevieve, Loeb, Abraham, 2009, 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00573.x, 0808.0104, 854729, At a distance of around {{convert|50|kpc|ly|-3|abbr=off|lk=on}},JOURNAL, 2010ARA&A..48..673F, The Hubble Constant, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2010, 1004.1856, 10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101829, 48, 673–710, Freedman, Wendy L., Madore, Barry F., 119263173, JOURNAL, Majaess, Daniel J., Turner, David G., Lane, David J., Henden, Arne, Krajci, Tom, 2011JAVSO..39..122M, Anchoring the Universal Distance Scale via a Wesenheit Template, Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, 39, 1, 122, 2010, 1007.2300, the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the 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 D25 isophote at the B-band (445 nm wavelength of light), the Large Magellanic Cloud is about {{convert|9.86|kpc|ly|abbr=off|lk=on}} across. It is roughly one-hundredth the mass of the Milky WayENCYCLOPEDIA,weblink Magellanic Cloud, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009, 2009-08-30, and is the fourth-largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way, and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).The LMC is classified as a Magellanic spiral.BOOK, Ryden, Barbara, Barbara Ryden, Foundations of Astrophysics, Peterson, Bradley M., 2009, Pearson Education, Pearson Addison-Wesley, 9780321595584, New York, 471, It contains a stellar bar that is geometrically off-center, suggesting that it was once a barred dwarf spiral galaxy before its spiral arms were disrupted, likely by tidal interactions from the nearby Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the Milky Way's gravity.JOURNAL, Besla, Gurtina, Martínez-Delgado, David, Marel, Roeland P. van der, Beletsky, Yuri, Seibert, Mark, Schlafly, Edward F., Grebel, Eva K., Neyer, Fabian, 2016, Low Surface Brightness Imaging of the Magellanic System: Imprints of Tidal Interactions between the Clouds in the Stellar Periphery, The Astrophysical Journal, en, 825, 1, 20, 10.3847/0004-637X/825/1/20, 0004-637X, 1602.04222, 2016ApJ...825...20B, 118462693, free, The LMC is predicted to merge with the Milky Way in approximately 2.4 billion years.JOURNAL, McAlpine, Stuart, Frenk, Carlos S., Deason, Alis J., Cautun, Marius, 2019-02-21, The aftermath of the Great Collision between our Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, en, 483, 2, 2185–2196, 10.1093/mnras/sty3084, 0035-8711, 1809.09116, 2019MNRAS.483.2185C, 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° N. It straddles the constellations Dorado and 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.WEB,weblink The Magellanic Clouds, our galactic neighbors, Larry, Sessions, December 8, 2021, EarthSky, 2013-07-17,

History of observation

(File:Cloaked in red.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Small part of the Large Magellanic CloudNEWS, Cloaked in red,weblink 12 March 2014, ESA / HUBBLE, 24 February 2014, )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 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.WEB, Observatoire de Paris (Abd-al-Rahman Al Sufi),weblink 2007-04-19, WEB, Observatoire de Paris (LMC),weblink 2007-04-19, However, this seems to be a misunderstanding of a reference to some stars south of Canopus which he admits he has not seen.Hafez, Ihsan; Stephenson, Richard; Orchiston, Wayne (2011), Abdul-Rahman al-Sufi and his Book of the Fixed Stars, pp. 121–138, {{ISBN|9781441981615}}, retrieved November 13, 2019BOOK, Ridpath 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.WEB, Observatoire de Paris (Amerigo Vespucci),weblink 2007-04-19, 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 knowledge. The galaxy now bears his name.The galaxy and southern end of Dorado are in the current epoch at opposition on about 5 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 28° south, such as most of Australia and South Africa, the galaxy is always sufficiently above the horizon to be considered properly 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.WEB, Press release: Magellanic Clouds May Be Just Passing Through,weblink Harvard University, January 9, 2007, Astronomers discovered a new black hole inside the Large Magellanic Cloud in November 2021 using the 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.WEB, Ashley Strickland, Hidden black hole discovered in our neighboring galaxy,weblink 2021-11-18, CNN, 11 November 2021, {{Better source needed|reason=Needs a citation to the source paper|date=August 2023}}

Geometry

File:The Large Magellanic Cloud revealed by VISTA.jpg|thumb|ESO's VISTA image of the LMC]]The Large Magellanic Cloud has a prominent central bar and spiral arm.BOOK, Nicolson, Iain, Unfolding our Universe, Cambridge University Press, 1999, United States, 213–214,weblink registration, 0-521-59270-4, The central bar seems to be warped so that the east and west ends are nearer the Milky Way than the middle.JOURNAL, Subramaniam, Annapurni, Large Magellanic Cloud Bar: Evidence of a Warped Bar, The Astrophysical Journal, 598, 1, L19–L22, United States, 2003-11-03, 10.1086/380556, 2003ApJ...598L..19S, 4368706, free, In 2014, measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope made it possible to determine a rotation period of 250 million years.JOURNAL,weblink Precisely determined rotation rate of this galaxy will blow your mind, Science Recorder, dead,weblink" title="archive.today/20140221074530weblink">weblink 2014-02-21, 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 CoulsonJOURNAL, Caldwell, J. A. R., Coulson, I. M., 1986, The geometry and distance of the Magellanic Clouds from Cepheid variables, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 218, 2, 223–246, 1986MNRAS.218..223C, 10.1093/mnras/218.2.223, free, found that field Cepheid variables 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,JOURNAL, Nikolaev, S., etal, 2004, Geometry of the Large Magellanic Cloud Disk: Results from MACHO and the Two Micron All Sky Survey, The Astrophysical Journal, 601, 1, 260–276, 10.1086/380439, 2004ApJ...601..260N, 10.1.1.409.5235, 15818077, by core helium-burning red clump stars,JOURNAL, Olsen, K. A. G., Salyk, C., 2002, A Warp in the Large Magellanic Cloud Disk?, The Astronomical Journal, 124, 4, 2045–2053, 10.1086/342739, 2002AJ....124.2045O, astro-ph/0207077, 121615519, and by the tip of the red giant branch.JOURNAL, van der Marel, R. P., Cioni, M.-R. L., 2001, Magellanic Cloud Structure from Near-Infrared Surveys. I. The Viewing Angles of the Large Magellanic Cloud, The Astronomical Journal, 122, 4, 1807–1826, 10.1086/323099, 2001AJ....122.1807V, astro-ph/0105339, 15850335, 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 and flared,JOURNAL, Alves, D. R., Nelson, C. A., 2000, The Rotation Curve of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Implications for Microlensing, The Astrophysical Journal, 542, 2, 789–803, 10.1086/317023, 2000ApJ...542..789A, astro-ph/0006018, 7266377, JOURNAL, 10.1093/mnras/stac595, The VMC survey – XLVIII. Classical Cepheids unveil the 3D geometry of the LMC, 2022, Ripepi, Vincenzo, Chemin, Laurent, Molinaro, Roberto, Cioni, Maria-Rosa L., Bekki, Kenji, Clementini, Gisella, De Grijs, Richard, De Somma, Giulia, El Youssoufi, Dalal, Girardi, Léo, Groenewegen, Martin A T., Ivanov, Valentin, Marconi, Marcella, McMillan, Paul J., Van Loon, Jacco Th, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 512, 1, 563–582, 2203.01780, 2022MNRAS.512..563R, likely due to interactions with the SMC. Regarding the distribution of star clusters in the LMC, Schommer et al.JOURNAL, Schommer, R. A., etal, 1992, Spectroscopy of giants in LMC clusters. II – Kinematics of the cluster sample, The Astronomical Journal, 103, 447–459, 10.1086/116074, 1992AJ....103..447S, 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.,JOURNAL, Grocholski, A. J., etal, 2007, Distances to Populous Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud via the K-band Luminosity of the Red Clump, The Astronomical Journal, 134, 2, 680–693, 10.1086/519735, 2007AJ....134..680G, 0705.2039, 14921511, 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

Distance to the LMC has been calculated using standard candles; Cepheid variables 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 relations. Unfortunately, those in the Milky Way typically used to calibrate the relation are more metal-rich than those found in the LMC.JOURNAL, Mottini, M., Romaniello, M., Primas, F., Francesca Primas, Bono, G., Groenewegen, M. A. T., François, P., 2006MmSAI..77..156M, The chemical composition of Cepheids in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds, Memorie della Società Astronomica Italiana, 77, 156–159, 2006, astro-ph/0510514, Modern 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 echoes of supernova 1987A are also geometric measurements, without any stellar models or assumptions.{{Citation needed | date=August 2023}}In 2006, the Cepheid absolute luminosity was re-calibrated using Cepheid variables in the galaxy Messier 106 that cover a range of metallicities.JOURNAL, Macri, L. M., etal, 2006, A New Cepheid Distance to the Maser-Host Galaxy NGC 4258 and Its Implications for the Hubble Constant, The Astrophysical Journal, 652, 2, 1133–1149, 10.1086/508530, 2006ApJ...652.1133M, astro-ph/0608211, 15728812, Using this improved calibration, they find an absolute distance modulus of (m - M)_0 = 18.41, or {{Convert|48|kpc|ly|abbr=in}}. This distance has been confirmed by other authors.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 in March 2013. A distance of {{Convert|49.97|kpc|ly|abbr=in}} with an accuracy of 2.2% was obtained.

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 2020NGC 2020Like many irregular galaxies, the LMC is rich in gas and dust, and is currently undergoing vigorous star formation activity.BOOK, Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy, Arny, Thomas T., 2000, 2nd, McGraw-Hill, Boston, 0-07-228249-5, 479, 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.BOOK, Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two, Burnham, Robert Jr., 1978, Dover, New York, 0-486-23567-X, 837, Surveys of the galaxy have found roughly 60 globular clusters, 400 planetary nebulae and 700 open clusters, along with hundreds of thousands of giant and supergiant stars.Burnham (1978), 840–848. 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 astronomers 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.JOURNAL, Dopita, M. A., Mathewson, D. S., Ford, V. L., Optical emission from shock waves. III. Abundances in supernova remnants, The Astrophysical Journal, 214, 1977, 179, 0004-637X, 10.1086/155242, 1977ApJ...214..179D, free, File:A youthful cluster.jpg|thumb|left|NGC 1783 is one of the biggest globular clusterglobular clusterA bridge of gas connects the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the LMC, which evinces tidal interaction between the galaxies.JOURNAL, Structure and Evolution of the Magellanic Clouds, Mathewson D. S., Ford V. L., IAU Symposium, 1984, 108, 125, S. van den Bergh, K. S. de Boer, Reidel, Dordrecht, 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.JOURNAL, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031360, The stellar environment of SMC N81, 2003, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 411, 3, 427–435, 2003A&A...411..427H, astro-ph/0309126, Heydari-Malayeri, M., Meynadier, F., Charmandaris, V., Deharveng, L., Le Bertre, Th., Rosa, M. R., Schaerer, D., 8240730,

X-ray sources

File:A Starry Combination.jpg|thumb|Small and Large Magellanic Clouds over Paranal ObservatoryParanal ObservatoryNo X-rays above background were detected from either cloud during the September 20, 1966, Nike-Tomahawk rocket flight nor that of two days later.JOURNAL, X-Ray Intensities and Spectra from Several Cosmic Sources, The Astrophysical Journal, Oct 1967, 150, 10, 57–65, 1967ApJ...150...57C, 10.1086/149312, Chodil, G, Mark, Hans, Rodrigues, R, Seward, F. D, Swift, C. D, free, 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.JOURNAL, 10.1086/149343, Search for 8–80 KEV X-Rays from the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Crab Nebula, The Astrophysical Journal, Nov 1967, 150, 11, 405–12, 1967ApJ...150..405S, Seward, F. D, Toor, A, free, The LMC was not detected in the X-ray range 8–80 keV.Another was launched from same atoll at 11:32 UTC on October 29, 1968, to scan the LMC for X-rays. The first discrete X-ray source in Dorado was at RA {{RA|05|20}} Dec {{Dec|-69}},JOURNAL, 10.1086/180322, Detection of X-rays from the large magellanic cloud, Mar 1969, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 155, 3, L143–4, 1969ApJ...155L.143M, Mark, Hans, Price, R, Rodrigues, R, Seward, F. D, Swift, C. D, JOURNAL, Search for X-rays from the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, 1968, Nature, 220, 249–250, 1968Natur.220..249L, 10.1038/220249b0, 5164, Lewin, W. H. G, Clark, G. W, Smith, W. B, 4187949, and it was the Large Magellanic Cloud.JOURNAL, 10.1086/110966, Dolan JF, A Catalogue of Discrete Celestial X-Ray Sources, The Astronomical Journal, Apr 1970, 4, 75, 223–30, 1970AJ.....75..223D, 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. An X-ray astronomy instrument was carried aboard a 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.JOURNAL, 10.1086/180773, X-Rays from the Magellanic Clouds, The Astrophysical Journal, Aug 1971, 168, 8, L7–9, 1971ApJ...168L...7P, Price, R. E, Groves, D. J, Rodrigues, R. M, Seward, F. D, Swift, C. D, Toor, A, free, The source in the LMC appeared extended and contained star ε Dor. The X-ray luminosity (Lx) over the range 1.5–12 keV was {{val|6|e=31|ul=W}} ({{val|6|e=38|u=erg/s}}).The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) appears in the constellations Mensa and Dorado. LMC X-1 (the first X-ray source in the LMC) is at RA {{RA|05|40|05}} Dec {{Dec|-69|45|51}}, and is a high-mass X-ray binary (star system) source (HMXB).JOURNAL, Rapley, Tuohy, X-Ray Observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud by the Copernicus Satellite, Astrophysical Journal, 191, L113, 1974, 1974ApJ...191L.113R, 10.1086/181564, free, 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), LMC X-2 is the one that is a bright low-mass X-ray binary system (LMXB) in the LMC.JOURNAL, LMC X-2: an extragalactic bulge-type source, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Apr 1989, 213, 1–2, 97–106, 1989A&A...213...97B, Bonnet-Bidaud, J. M., Motch, C., Beuermann, K., Pakull, M., Parmar, A. N., Van Der Klis, M., DEM L316 in the Cloud consists of two supernova remnants.JOURNAL, Supernova Remnants in the Magellanic Clouds. VI. The DEM L316 Supernova Remnants, The Astrophysical Journal, Dec 2005, 635, 2, 1077–86, 10.1086/497681, 2005ApJ...635.1077W, astro-ph/0509696, Williams, R. M, Chu, Y.-H, 17863461, 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 SNR is the product of a Type Ia supernova; much lower such abundance in the lower remnant belies a Type II supernova.A 16 ms X-ray pulsar is associated with SNR 0538-69.1.JOURNAL, Marshall, F. E., Gotthelf, E. V, Zhang, W., Middleditch, J., Wang, Q. D., Discovery of an Ultrafast X-Ray Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant N157B, The Astrophysical Journal, 499, 2, 1998, L179–L182, 0004-637X, 10.1086/311381, astro-ph/9803214, 1998ApJ...499L.179M, 15812971, SNR 0540-697 was resolved using ROSAT.JOURNAL, Chu, Y.-H., Kennicutt, R. C., Snowden, S. L., Smith, R. C., Williams, R. M., Bomans, D. J., Uncovering a Supernova Remnant Hidden Near LMCX-1, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 109, 1997, 554, 0004-6280, 10.1086/133913, 1997PASP..109..554C, free, {{clear}}

Gallery

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 CloudWEB, Dark Energy Camera Snaps Deepest Photo yet of Galactic Siblings,weblink noirlab.edu, 19 December 2020, 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 EDR3File:Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3 without foreground stars.png|Large Magellanic Cloud rendered from Gaia EDR3 without foreground starsFile: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.WEB,weblink Revisiting a Celestial Fireworks Display, 2023-08-24, File:A long-dead star DEM L316A.jpg|DEM L316A is located some 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic CloudWEB, A long-dead star,weblink www.spacetelescope.org, 25 July 2016,

Notes

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Large Magellanic Cloud}}

• NASA Extragalactic Database
• Encyclopedia of Astronomy entry
• SEDS LMC page
• Large Magellanic Cloud at Constellation Guide

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