The Large Magellanic Cloud in visible light

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.