The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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This image provides a view of the Large Magellanic Cloud in visible light.
The distribution of stars can be clearly seen in this image. The red outlined area corresponds to AKARI's far-infrared image. The green area shows the location of the near- and mid-infrared image. AKARI's far-infrared image reveals that interstellar clouds cover the entire galaxy, while the stellar distribution is concentrated in the lower part of the image.
This galaxy is located in the constellation Dorado, in the southern sky. When looking at the night sky, the Large Magellanic Cloud can be seen with a smaller neighbouring galaxy, called the Small Magellanic Cloud. Both appear as dim clouds in the sky.
The name 'Magellanic' is taken from the great 16th century navigator Magellan, who observed the two 'clouds' during his voyage around the world.