# Magellanic Clouds

Also called: LMC, SMC, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud.

Two small galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere.

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds look like detached pieces of the Milky Way in the far southern sky, 160,000 and 200,000 light-years away. A telescope sweeping across them finds clusters and nebulae galore — the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Cloud is the biggest star-forming region in our neighbourhood.

**Examples:** [ESO56-115](https://astropilot.space/object/ESO56-115.md), [NGC292](https://astropilot.space/object/NGC292.md), [NGC2070](https://astropilot.space/object/NGC2070.md)

**Related:** [Galaxy](https://astropilot.space/glossary/galaxy.md), [Milky Way](https://astropilot.space/glossary/milky-way.md)

From the AstroPilot astronomy glossary: https://astropilot.space/glossary/magellanic-clouds