Small Magellanic Cloud
noun
: the smaller of two companion satellite galaxies near the Milky Way that is visible in the southern hemisphere and can be seen by the unaided eye
Scientists using the Spitzer Space Telescope claimed to have found the glowing traces of the universe's first generation of stars. Roughly 5,000 baby stars were discovered in the Small Magellanic Cloud, and spectrographic imagery captured a young star fleeing a giant black hole that had already swallowed the star's twin; at its present rate of speed, the star will eventually leave the Milky Way …—
Bill Armstrong
Bill Armstrongcalled also Magellanic Cloud
Examples of Small Magellanic Cloud in a Sentence
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Those interactions—particularly with the Milky Way and the neighboring Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) — have pulled at its structure, warping its disk and rearranging its stars and gas.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 3 Dec. 2025
The Large Magellanic Cloud lies about 160,000 light-years from Earth, the Small Magellanic Cloud about 200,000 light-years away.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Sep. 2025
The Small Magellanic Cloud has less elements heavier than helium than the Milky Way with conditions more similar to what existed in the earliest days of the universe.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
At present, Han says there’s no evidence for such a massive black hole in the Small Magellanic Cloud, the LMC’s companion galaxy, located some 200,000 light years away.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
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Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 3 Dec. 2025
The Large Magellanic Cloud lies about 160,000 light-years from Earth, the Small Magellanic Cloud about 200,000 light-years away.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Sep. 2025
The Small Magellanic Cloud has less elements heavier than helium than the Milky Way with conditions more similar to what existed in the earliest days of the universe.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
At present, Han says there’s no evidence for such a massive black hole in the Small Magellanic Cloud, the LMC’s companion galaxy, located some 200,000 light years away.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small Magellanic Cloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Small%20Magellanic%20Cloud. Accessed 12 Dec. 2025.
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