Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 2, 2024 is “The Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Ireneusz Nowak ; Text: Natalia Lewandowska ( SUNY Oswego )). The original explanation runs about 180 words.

An unusual looking galaxy is shown with a light bar running nearly vertical and blue stars and red nebulas around the edges. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Ireneusz Nowak ; Text: Natalia Lewandowska ( SUNY Oswego ) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“It is the largest satellite galaxy of our home Milky Way Galaxy. If you live in the south, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is quite noticeable , spanning about 10 degrees across the night sky, which is 20 times larger than the full moon towards the southern constellation of the dolphinfish ( Dorado ).”

— APOD editors, October 2, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 2, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Ireneusz Nowak ; Text: Natalia Lewandowska ( SUNY Oswego )
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 180 words

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Topics in this entry

The Milky WayGalaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 2 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.