The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in LRGB
RA center: 05h21m47s.61
DEC Centre: -69°43′27″.1
Date: 7. - 8. January 2024
Location: Chile / Chilescope
Telescope: Nikkor 200mm f/2 IF-ED, remote
Recording camera: FLI Microline 16200
Mount: 10 Micron 1000HST
Exposure time: 6h
Frames:
RGB: 36 x 300″
Lum: 36 x 300″
Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight, Skylum Luminar AI
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is 160.000 light-years from the Milky Way and part of the Local Group. It is located relatively low in the southern sky in the constellation Dorado (Swordfish) and is therefore easy to observe from Chile. With an extent of 14.000 light years, it is a small galaxy. Due to its appearance, the LMC is one of the irregular dwarf galaxies. The irregular shape and central bar suggest that tidal interactions with the Milky Way and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) have distorted the LMC from a classic bar spiral to its current, more chaotic appearance.