About Small Magellanic Cloud
Small Magellanic Cloud is a rare galaxy. It sits in the constellation Tuc and shines at apparent magnitude 2.3.
Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Rare galaxy 34 EP
Small Magellanic Cloud
RA 13.1866° · Dec -72.8286° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesRare 46 pts → Epic
- Galaxy +20
- Has a proper name +8
- Bright deep-sky object +6
Total score 34
12 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Galaxy · +20
- Bright deep-sky object · +6
- Has a proper name · +8
Trivia
How we found it
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Cosmic context
- Scale. Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Properties
- constellation
- Tuc
- dso type
- G
- hubble
- SBm
- mag
- 2.3
- name
- Small Magellanic Cloud
- named
- yes
How to see it
Look for Small Magellanic Cloud in the constellation Tuc. At apparent magnitude 2.3, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Small Magellanic Cloud is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Small Magellanic Cloud is a rare galaxy
Small Magellanic Cloud scores 34 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Galaxy, Bright deep-sky object and Has a proper name — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.