Small Magellanic Cloud
A dwarf irregular galaxy that is a satellite of the Milky Way, situated about 210,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana. The SMC is characterized by its low metallicity and active star-forming regions like NGC 346.
Source: science.nasa.gov
APODs including "Small Magellanic Cloud"
Milky Way over Moon Valley
05/12/2014
Our Milky Way Galaxy arcs over a desolate landscape in this fantastic panoramic night skyview. The otherworldly scene looks across the arid, eroded terrain of the Valle de la Luna in the Chilean Atacama desert. Just along the horizon are lights from San Pedro, Chile, as well as the small villages of Socaire and Toconao, and a tortuous road from the city of Calama to San Pedro. Taken on October 18th, the five panel mosaic also features the four galaxies easily visible from our fair planet's dark sky regions. At the far left, satellite galaxies known as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are framed by their terrestrial namesakes. Much fainter and at the right, beyond the Milky Way's central bulge, is the Andromeda Galaxy. The most distant in view, Andromeda lies some 2.5 million light-years away. News: Orion Flight Coverage