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Teaching tools > Pictures & facts > Overview: Small Magellanic Cloud facts > Fast Facts: Small Magellanic Cloud
| Name | Small Magellanic Cloud, SMC, NGC 292: named after the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, whose expedition first circumnavigated the globe between 1519 and 1522. |
| Description | Classified as an irregular galaxy, the SMC is a gravitationally bound companion of the Milky Way Galaxy. One of only three galaxies visible to the unaided eye, the SMC can be detected as an area of faint, diffuse starlight (appearing like a fuzzy glow in the sky) when viewed from dark locations in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| Location | The galaxy is in the constellation Tucana in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| Distance from Earth |
200,000 light-years |
| Size | The visible portion of the galaxy is 7,500 light-years across. |
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The Small Magellanic Cloud is an irregular galaxy, which means it has no definable shape.
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Teaching tools > Pictures & facts > Overview: Small Magellanic Cloud facts > Fast Facts: Small Magellanic Cloud