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Credit & Copyright:
Anglo-Australian Telescope Board
Explanation:
The southern sky contains wonders almost unknown in the north.
These wonders include the
Large and Small
Magellanic
Clouds: small irregular
galaxies orbiting our own larger
Milky Way spiral galaxy. The
Small
Magellanic Cloud (SMC), pictured here, is about 250,000 light years away.
The SMC contains many young, hot, blue stars indicating it has
undergone a recent period of star formation,
possibly due to a collision with the LMC 500 million years ago.
The bright object on the right is a
globular cluster near the outskirts of the
Milky Way.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day