The Small Magellanic Cloud in the centre is a dwarf irregular galaxy containing several hundred million stars, that orbits our galaxy. It is around 7000 lightyears across and may once have been a barred spiral, long-disrupted by our galaxy. The red hydrogen emission indicates areas of star formation.
At a distance of 200,000 lightyears, it is a background object compared with 47 Tucanae at top right. This globular cluster also orbits our galaxy, but is much closer at 13,000 lightyears. It is the second-brightest globular cluster in the sky after Omega Centauri, and is 120 lightyears in diameter.
The smaller globular cluster to the left of the SMC is NGC 362. It is thought to be a comparatively youthful cluster and lies at a distance of 28,000 lightyears.
This LRGBHa image is the result of 1h 45m of remote data capture from Chile, in July 2021. A ZWO 1600MM camera was used, through a 135mm Samyang lens. This combination has a coverage of approx 7.8 x 6 degrees, though this image has been cropped slightly.
Date: 09/07/2021
Location: Chile
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
