Cosmic Scale
Small Magellanic Cloud
Dwarf irregular galaxy · 200,000 light-years
How big is Small Magellanic Cloud?
Small Magellanic Cloud is about 18,900 light-years across.
See Small Magellanic Cloud in 3D, at true scale
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, a companion of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Both are being stretched by our galaxy's gravity, and a stream of gas trails behind them across the sky.
At a glance
| Diameter | 18,900 light-years |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.39 × 10⁴⁰ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 1.4 × 10¹³ × Earth |
| Distance | 200,000 light-years |
| Size | About 19,000 light-years |
| Stars | Several hundred million |
| Seen from | The southern sky |
Good to know
- Studying its stars, Henrietta Leavitt found the law that let astronomers measure distances to other galaxies.
- It is visible to the naked eye as a faint cloud, like a piece of the Milky Way broken off.
- It and the Large Cloud were named after Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew recorded them in 1519.
- Next smaller: Tarantula Nebula · 1,000 light-years
- Next larger: Large Magellanic Cloud · 32,200 light-years