Small Magellanic Cloud

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf galaxy in the Local Group about 200,000 light-years away, apparently orbiting the Milky Way (though this depends upon determination of their velocity relative to each other, which is a measurement subject to improvement). It has a diameter of about 19,000 light-years and has hundreds of millions or a few billion stars. Characteristics:

• Tucana - constellation.
• 00h52m44.8s - right ascension.
• -72deg49m43s - declination.
• 200,000 ly - distance.
• SB(s)m pec - galaxy classification.
• 5 degrees - apparent dimension (angular diameter).
• 7 billion solar masses.

Both Magellanic Clouds were formerly called irregular, but are now often classified as a type of spiral galaxy, a single-armed type termed a Magellanic spiral galaxy (indicated by an appended lower-case "m").