Large Magellanic Cloud
noun
: the larger of a small cluster of galaxies that is located 200,000 light-years away from the Milky Way and is visible within 25 degrees of the south celestial pole
The Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way, is known to be poor in metals compared with the Milky Way and other galaxies, so any star that condensed in it would likely be deficient in metals, and that could make it blue.—
Dietrick E. Thomsen
Dietrick E. Thomsencalled also Magellanic Cloud
Examples of Large Magellanic Cloud in a Sentence
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The Tarantula nebula lives approximately 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, in the constellations of Dorado and Mensa.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Exactly which of these scenarios ultimately occurs could be governed by the masses of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Triangulum galaxy, two galactic players in the Local Group.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2025
One confounding factor comes from two other LG galaxies: M33, a satellite galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
Its location, though, is suspicious: it’s located just three degrees from the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud (or LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
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Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Exactly which of these scenarios ultimately occurs could be governed by the masses of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Triangulum galaxy, two galactic players in the Local Group.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2025
One confounding factor comes from two other LG galaxies: M33, a satellite galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
Its location, though, is suspicious: it’s located just three degrees from the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud (or LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Large Magellanic Cloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Large%20Magellanic%20Cloud. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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