Magellanic Clouds - Revision history

DavidB4-bot: /* Characteristics */HTTP --> HTTPS #3, replaced: http://arxiv.org → https://arxiv.org

2019-04-09T17:03:00Z

‎Characteristics: HTTP --> HTTPS #3, replaced: http://arxiv.org → https://arxiv.org

FredericBernard: Tidy up references, change ^o to degrees symbol, wikify

2018-06-15T17:37:10Z

Tidy up references, change <sup>o</sup> to degrees symbol, wikify

FredericBernard: /* Small Magellanic Cloud */ Fix typo, convert ^o to degrees symbol and tidy up reference

2018-04-08T13:51:45Z

‎Small Magellanic Cloud: Fix typo, convert <sup>o</sup> to degrees symbol and tidy up reference

FredericBernard: Added Category:Galaxies

2017-09-29T16:00:16Z

Added Category:Galaxies

DavidB4-bot: clean up & uniformity

2016-07-13T15:37:24Z

clean up & uniformity

JoeyJ: /* References */

2015-02-22T15:49:29Z

‎References

JacobB: /* Characteristics */

2010-02-11T17:41:03Z

‎Characteristics

JacobB at 20:16, December 2, 2009

2009-12-02T20:16:29Z

BMcP: Added images.

2009-12-02T18:48:04Z

Added images.

BMcP: /* Large Magellanic Cloud */ Fixed link error

2009-11-25T21:16:07Z

‎Large Magellanic Cloud: Fixed link error

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 The two Magellanic Clouds were believed to be the closest galaxies to our own until 1994, when the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' galaxy was discovered.  The two galaxies themselves appear 21° apart in the night sky.
-In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480&nbsp;km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>Besla, G., Kallivayalil, N., Hernquist, L., Robertson, B., Cox, T., van der Marel, R. and Alcock, C. (2007). Are the Magellanic Clouds on Their First Passage about the Milky Way?. ''The Astrophysical Journal'', 668(2), pp.949-967. [http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196 arXiv:astro-ph/0703196]</ref><ref>[http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html The Magellanic Clouds Are First-Time Visitors] from cfa.harvard.edu</ref>
+In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480&nbsp;km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>Besla, G., Kallivayalil, N., Hernquist, L., Robertson, B., Cox, T., van der Marel, R. and Alcock, C. (2007). Are the Magellanic Clouds on Their First Passage about the Milky Way?. ''The Astrophysical Journal'', 668(2), pp.949-967. [https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196 arXiv:astro-ph/0703196]</ref><ref>[http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html The Magellanic Clouds Are First-Time Visitors] from cfa.harvard.edu</ref>
 ===Large Magellanic Cloud===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:B01Magellanic Clouds.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (the LMC and SMC, respectively). Image taken by the European Southern Observatory [http://www.eso.org/public/]]]
-The '''Magellanic Clouds''' are two nearby irregular [[galaxy|dwarf galaxies]] that are visible in the southern night sky, which are part of our [[Local Group]] of galaxies.  They are referred to individually as the '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) and the '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' (SMC).  Traditionally thought to be satellite galaxies, gravitationally bound to the [[Milky Way]], more recent observations have challenged that long held notion.
+The '''Magellanic Clouds''' are two nearby [[irregular galaxy|dwarf galaxies]] that are visible in the southern night sky, which are part of our [[Local Group]] of galaxies.  They are referred to individually as the '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) and the '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' (SMC).  Traditionally thought to be satellite galaxies, gravitationally bound to the [[Milky Way]], more recent observations have challenged that long held notion.
 ==History of Observation==
 [[File:165850main pia09071-516.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Stellar Debris in the Large Magellanic Cloud]]
-As the Magellanic Clouds appear as visible, misty patches in the night sky to the unaided eye, they have been known since the dawn of history to the people of the Southern hemisphere and even as far north as 12<sup>o</sup> Northern latitude.  The people of [[Polynesia]] referred to the galaxies as ''Mahu''. The first known recorded mention of the two galaxies is by [[Persian]] [[astronomer]] [[Al Sufi]] in 964 in his record known as the ''Book of Fixed Stars'', naming them ''al-Bakr'', or "the White Ox".<ref name="lore">http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Nubeculae_Magellani*.html</ref>
+As the Magellanic Clouds appear as visible, misty patches in the night sky to the unaided eye, they have been known since the dawn of history to the people of the Southern hemisphere and even as far north as 12° Northern latitude.  The people of [[Polynesia]] referred to the galaxies as ''Mahu''. The first known recorded mention of the two galaxies is by [[Persian]] [[astronomer]] [[Al Sufi]] in 964 in his record known as the ''Book of Fixed Stars'', naming them ''al-Bakr'', or "the White Ox".<ref name="lore">Allen, Richard Hinkley (1963). Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning. New York: Dover. ISBN 0-486-21079-0. Available online at: [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Nubeculae_Magellani*.html penelope.uchicago.edu]</ref>
 The two galaxies were unknown to [[Europeans]] until the end of the 15th century when they were observed by '''Peter Martyr d'Anghiera''' and '''Andreas Corsali''' and later recorded in the former's writings, collectively known as ''Decades''.  [[Amerigo Vespucci]] also made mention of the clouds during his third voyage in 1503-4.<ref>http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/vespucci.html</ref>  Later, during the circumnavigation voyage of [[Ferdinand Magellan]] (1519–22), they were observed and recorded by the [[Venetian]] [[scholar]] '''Antonio Pigafetta''', who traveled along.  The name "Magellanic Clouds" though did not become associated with the galaxies until much later.  In [[Italian]], the Large and Small cloud are called ''Nube Maggiore'' and ''Nube Minore'' respectively.  In [[French]] they are ''Grand Nuage'' and ''Petit Nuage'', and in [[German]], they are called ''Grosse Wolke'' and ''Kleine Wolke''.<ref name="lore"/>
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Characteristics==
-The two Magellanic Clouds were believed to be the closest galaxies to our own until 1994, when the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' galaxy was discovered.  The two galaxies themselves appear 21<sup>o</sup> apart in the night sky.
+The two Magellanic Clouds were believed to be the closest galaxies to our own until 1994, when the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' galaxy was discovered.  The two galaxies themselves appear 21° apart in the night sky.
-In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480&nbsp;km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196</ref><ref>http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html</ref>
+In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480&nbsp;km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>Besla, G., Kallivayalil, N., Hernquist, L., Robertson, B., Cox, T., van der Marel, R. and Alcock, C. (2007). Are the Magellanic Clouds on Their First Passage about the Milky Way?. ''The Astrophysical Journal'', 668(2), pp.949-967. [http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196 arXiv:astro-ph/0703196]</ref><ref>[http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html The Magellanic Clouds Are First-Time Visitors] from cfa.harvard.edu</ref>
 ===Large Magellanic Cloud===
-The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation]]s of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]], spanning 8<sup>o</sup> of the night sky.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud</ref>
+The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation]]s of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]], spanning 8° of the night sky.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Magellanic-Cloud Magellanic Cloud] from britannica.com</ref>
-The galaxy itself is an irregular dwarf.  It holds about one-tenth of the mass of our own Milky Way.  A central bar of stars show prominently in its structure, as well as a single spiral arm.  The galaxy is considered a treasure trove of celestial phenomena to astronomers, with 60 [[globular cluster]]s, 400 [[planetary nebula]], and 700 [[open cluster]]s identified thus far, along with hundreds of thousands of stars including many [[supergiant]]s.<ref>Burnham, Robert, Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two. New York: Dover. p. 840-47. ISBN 048623567X.</ref>
+The galaxy itself is an [[irregular galaxy|irregular dwarf]].  It holds about one-tenth of the mass of our own Milky Way.  A central bar of stars show prominently in its structure, as well as a single spiral arm.  The galaxy is considered a treasure trove of celestial phenomena to astronomers, with 60 [[globular cluster]]s, 400 [[planetary nebulae]], and 700 [[open cluster]]s identified thus far, along with hundreds of thousands of stars including many [[supergiant]]s.<ref>Burnham, Robert, Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two. New York: Dover. p. 840-47. ISBN 048623567X.</ref>
-Two of the most notable features of the Large Magellanic Cloud are the '''Tarantula Nebula''' and the supernova remnant known as '''Lionel-Murphy SNR'''.  The Tarantula Nebula is the known as the most active region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies as well as one of the largest nebulae known.  Lionel-Murphy SNR is the remains of Supernova 1987a, which occurred in 1987 and was the closest observed [[supernova]] to Earth since 1604.
+Two of the most notable features of the Large Magellanic Cloud are the '''Tarantula Nebula''' and the supernova remnant known as '''Lionel-Murphy SNR'''.  The [[Tarantula nebula|Tarantula Nebula]] is the known as the most active region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies as well as one of the largest nebulae known.  Lionel-Murphy SNR is the remains of Supernova 1987a, which occurred in 1987 and was the closest observed [[supernova]] to Earth since 1604.
 ===Small Magellanic Cloud===
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 The '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' is the fourth closest galaxy to our own.  In the night sky, it is located in the constellation of [[Tucana]], spanning 3° across in the night sky, lying some 20 degrees to the east of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
-The galaxy itself may perhaps have once a barred spiral galaxy much like our own, before being disrupted by the Milky Way.<ref>http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu//cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/smc.html</ref>  Its diameter is 7,000 light years across, and contains hundreds of million of stars with a total mass of one-fifteenth of that of the [[Milky Way]].
+The galaxy itself may perhaps have once a barred spiral galaxy much like our own, before being disrupted by the Milky Way.<ref>[http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu//cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/smc.html Small Magellanic Cloud] from coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu</ref>  Its diameter is 7,000 light years across, and contains hundreds of million of stars with a total mass of one-fifteenth of that of the [[Milky Way]].
-The Small Magellanic Cloud's greatest astronomical contribution is that it's the location where '''Henrietta Swan Leavitt''' first discovered the definite relationship between the variability period and the luminosity of a type of variable star later called [[Cepheid variable]]s.<ref>Leavitt, H. (1908). 1777 variables in the Magellanic Clouds. ''Annals of Harvard College Observatory'', 60, pp.87-108.3. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908AnHar..60...87L Online]</ref>  Today Cepheid variables are used as standard candles for measuring extra-galactic distances.
+The Small Magellanic Cloud's greatest astronomical contribution is that it's the location where '''Henrietta Swan Leavitt''' first discovered the definite relationship between the variability period and the luminosity of a type of [[variable star]] later called [[Cepheid variable]]s.<ref>Leavitt, H. (1908). 1777 variables in the Magellanic Clouds. ''Annals of Harvard College Observatory'', 60, pp.87-108.3. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908AnHar..60...87L Online]</ref>  Today Cepheid variables are used as standard candles for measuring extra-galactic distances.
 ==References==

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ===Small Magellanic Cloud===
-The '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' is the fourth closest galaxy to our own.  In the night sky, it is located in the constellation of [[Tucana]], spanning 3<sup>o</sup> across in the night sky, lying some 20 degrees to the east of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
+The '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' is the fourth closest galaxy to our own.  In the night sky, it is located in the constellation of [[Tucana]], spanning 3° across in the night sky, lying some 20 degrees to the east of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
 The galaxy itself may perhaps have once a barred spiral galaxy much like our own, before being disrupted by the Milky Way.<ref>http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu//cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/smc.html</ref>  Its diameter is 7,000 light years across, and contains hundreds of million of stars with a total mass of one-fifteenth of that of the [[Milky Way]].
-The Small Magellanic Cloud's greatest astronomical contribution is that it's the location where '''Henrietta Swan Leavitt''' first discovered the definite relationship between the variability period and the luminosity of a type of variable star later called [[Cepheid variables]].<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908AnHar..60...87L</ref>  Today Cepheid variables are used as standard candles for measuring extra-galactic distances.
+The Small Magellanic Cloud's greatest astronomical contribution is that it's the location where '''Henrietta Swan Leavitt''' first discovered the definite relationship between the variability period and the luminosity of a type of variable star later called [[Cepheid variable]]s.<ref>Leavitt, H. (1908). 1777 variables in the Magellanic Clouds. ''Annals of Harvard College Observatory'', 60, pp.87-108.3. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908AnHar..60...87L Online]</ref>  Today Cepheid variables are used as standard candles for measuring extra-galactic distances.
 ==References==

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 The Small Magellanic Cloud's greatest astronomical contribution is that it's the location where '''Henrietta Swan Leavitt''' first discovered the definite relationship between the variability period and the luminosity of a type of variable star later called [[Cepheid variables]].<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908AnHar..60...87L</ref>  Today Cepheid variables are used as standard candles for measuring extra-galactic distances.
 ==References==
@@ Line 36: / Line 34: @@
 {{Galaxies}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:B01Magellanic Clouds.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (the LMC and SMC, respectively). Image taken by the European Southern Observatory[http://www.eso.org/public/]]]
+[[File:B01Magellanic Clouds.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (the LMC and SMC, respectively). Image taken by the European Southern Observatory [http://www.eso.org/public/]]]
 The '''Magellanic Clouds''' are two nearby irregular [[galaxy|dwarf galaxies]] that are visible in the southern night sky, which are part of our [[Local Group]] of galaxies.  They are referred to individually as the '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) and the '''Small Magellanic Cloud''' (SMC).  Traditionally thought to be satellite galaxies, gravitationally bound to the [[Milky Way]], more recent observations have challenged that long held notion.
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 As the Magellanic Clouds appear as visible, misty patches in the night sky to the unaided eye, they have been known since the dawn of history to the people of the Southern hemisphere and even as far north as 12<sup>o</sup> Northern latitude.  The people of [[Polynesia]] referred to the galaxies as ''Mahu''. The first known recorded mention of the two galaxies is by [[Persian]] [[astronomer]] [[Al Sufi]] in 964 in his record known as the ''Book of Fixed Stars'', naming them ''al-Bakr'', or "the White Ox".<ref name="lore">http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Nubeculae_Magellani*.html</ref>
-The two galaxies were unknown to [[Europeans]] until the end of the 15th century when they were observed by '''Peter Martyr d'Anghiera''' and '''Andreas Corsali''' and later recorded in the former's writings, collectively known as ''Decades''.  [[Amerigo Vespucci]] also made mention of the clouds during his third voyage in 1503-4.<ref>http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/vespucci.html</ref>  Later, during the circumnavigation voyage of [[Ferdinand Magellan]] (1519-22), they were observed and recorded by the [[Venetian]] [[scholar]] '''Antonio Pigafetta''', who traveled along.  The name "Magellanic Clouds" though did not become associated with the galaxies until much later.  In [[Italian]], the Large and Small cloud are called ''Nube Maggiore'' and ''Nube Minore'' respectively.  In [[French]] they are ''Grand Nuage'' and ''Petit Nuage'', and in [[German]], they are called ''Grosse Wolke'' and ''Kleine Wolke''.<ref name="lore">http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Nubeculae_Magellani*.html</ref>
+The two galaxies were unknown to [[Europeans]] until the end of the 15th century when they were observed by '''Peter Martyr d'Anghiera''' and '''Andreas Corsali''' and later recorded in the former's writings, collectively known as ''Decades''.  [[Amerigo Vespucci]] also made mention of the clouds during his third voyage in 1503-4.<ref>http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/vespucci.html</ref>  Later, during the circumnavigation voyage of [[Ferdinand Magellan]] (1519–22), they were observed and recorded by the [[Venetian]] [[scholar]] '''Antonio Pigafetta''', who traveled along.  The name "Magellanic Clouds" though did not become associated with the galaxies until much later.  In [[Italian]], the Large and Small cloud are called ''Nube Maggiore'' and ''Nube Minore'' respectively.  In [[French]] they are ''Grand Nuage'' and ''Petit Nuage'', and in [[German]], they are called ''Grosse Wolke'' and ''Kleine Wolke''.<ref name="lore"/>
 ==Characteristics==
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 The two Magellanic Clouds were believed to be the closest galaxies to our own until 1994, when the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' galaxy was discovered.  The two galaxies themselves appear 21<sup>o</sup> apart in the night sky.
-In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480 km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196</ref><ref>http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html</ref>
+In 2007, a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using input from the [[Hubble Telescope]] accurately measured both the radial and proper velocity of the Magellanic Clouds, which clocked their passage through the region of our galaxy at over 480&nbsp;km/s.  Due to this high relative velocity, it is now believed that the two galaxies are not gravitationally bound satellites of the [[Milky Way]], as once believed, thus requiring a revision of many of the previously assumed effects they have on the Milky Way.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703196</ref><ref>http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2007/pr200722.html</ref>
 ===Large Magellanic Cloud===
-The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation|constellations]] of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa_(constellation)|Mensa]], spanning 8<sup>o</sup> of the night sky.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud</ref>
+The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation]]s of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]], spanning 8<sup>o</sup> of the night sky.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud</ref>
-The galaxy itself is an irregular dwarf.  It holds about one-tenth of the mass of our own Milky Way.  A central bar of stars show prominently in its structure, as well as a single spiral arm.  The galaxy is considered a treasure trove of celestial phenomena to astronomers, with 60 [[globular cluster|globular clusters]], 400 [[planetary nebula]], and 700 [[open cluster|open clusters]] identified thus far, along with hundreds of thousands of stars including many [[supergiant|supergiants]].<ref>Burnham, Robert, Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two. New York: Dover. p. 840-47. ISBN 048623567X.</ref>
+The galaxy itself is an irregular dwarf.  It holds about one-tenth of the mass of our own Milky Way.  A central bar of stars show prominently in its structure, as well as a single spiral arm.  The galaxy is considered a treasure trove of celestial phenomena to astronomers, with 60 [[globular cluster]]s, 400 [[planetary nebula]], and 700 [[open cluster]]s identified thus far, along with hundreds of thousands of stars including many [[supergiant]]s.<ref>Burnham, Robert, Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two. New York: Dover. p. 840-47. ISBN 048623567X.</ref>
 Two of the most notable features of the Large Magellanic Cloud are the '''Tarantula Nebula''' and the supernova remnant known as '''Lionel-Murphy SNR'''.  The Tarantula Nebula is the known as the most active region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies as well as one of the largest nebulae known.  Lionel-Murphy SNR is the remains of Supernova 1987a, which occurred in 1987 and was the closest observed [[supernova]] to Earth since 1604.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:49, February 22, 2015
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	==References==		==References==
	{{reflist}}		{{reflist}}
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		+	{{Galaxies}}

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ===Large Magellanic Cloud===
-The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) is located some 160,000 light years and once was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation|constellations]] of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa_{constellation)]], spanning 8<sup>o</sup> of the night sky.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud</ref>
+The '''Large Magellanic Cloud''' (LMC) is located some 160,000 light years and once was thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, (the '''Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical''' and '''Canis Major Dwarf''' are now known to be closer).  From our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 0.1 and sits across the [[constellation|constellations]] of [[Dorado]] and [[Mensa_(constellation)|Mensa]], spanning 8<sup>o</sup> of the night sky.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356551/Magellanic-Cloud</ref>
 The galaxy itself is a 14,000 light year in diameter irregular dwarf.  It holds about one-tenth of the mass of our own Milky Way.  A central bar of stars show prominently in its structure, as well as a single spiral arm.  The galaxy is considered a treasure trove of celestial phenomena to astronomers, with 60 [[globular cluster|globular clusters]], 400 [[planetary nebula]], and 700 [[open cluster|open clusters]] identified thus far, along with hundreds of thousands of stars including many [[supergiant|supergiants]].<ref>Burnham, Robert, Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Two. New York: Dover. p. 840-47. ISBN 048623567X.</ref>