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Small Magellanic Cloud
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Small Magellanic Cloud N81 and new stars, observed by the Hubble Space Telescope.The nebula, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, has a number of massive young stars at its centre, which have formed from its gases. The nebula's complicated interior structure is probably shaped by the tremendous forces that cause the gases to coalesce and by the energy given off by newborn stars.
Learn about galaxy clusters, superclusters, and the Local Group
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Small Magellanic Cloud

astronomy
Also known as: Nubecular Minor, SMC
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Small Magellanic Cloud
Small Magellanic Cloud Infant stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of two companion galaxies to the Milky Way Galaxy, visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere. Named after Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew discovered them, these galaxies are irregular in shape and lie about 190,000 light-years from Earth. The SMC is smaller than the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way, measuring about 7,000 light-years in diameter.12

Formed around 13 billion years ago, the SMC orbits the Milky Way and contains numerous young stars and star clusters, making it a valuable site for studying stellar formation and evolution. Scientists have even found evidence of the universe's first stars within the SMC.21

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