The Small Magellanic Cloud is on the left 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.
This LRGBHa image is the result of 2.5h of remote data capture from New South Wales, over two evenings in June and July 2021. An FLI Microline 16803 CCD camera was used, through a 106mm Takahashi FSQ refractor.
Date: 07/07/2021
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
