Magellanic-type galaxy · Tucana
SMC Small Magellanic Cloud
Also known as: NGC 292
mag 2.35.3° across
About
SMC, the Small Magellanic Cloud, is a Magellanic-type galaxy of magnitude 2.3 in Tucana, about 5.3° across.
How to find it
- SMC is in the constellation Tucana.
- Best evenings: around mid-November it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
- Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 7° N.
When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.
What you will see
- EyesA misty patch from the southern hemisphere, smaller than the Large Cloud.
- Binoculars (10×50)A grainy glow, with the globular cluster 47 Tucanae beside it.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)Many clusters and nebulae inside; NGC 346 is the brightest.
For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.
Facts
| Designations | SMC, NGC 292, PGC 3085 |
|---|---|
| Type | Magellanic-type galaxy (SBm) |
| Magnitude | 2.3The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Apparent size | 5.3° × 3.2°position angle 45°; the full Moon is 31′ across |
| Surface brightness | 23.4 mag/arcsec²Average over its disc, in the blue band: the lower the number, the easier it is to see. |
| Constellation | Tucana |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 00h 52m 44.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −72° 49′ 43″ |
More in Tucana
Sources and credits
Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →