Magellanic clouds are two irregular galaxies that were once thought to be the closest galaxies to the Milkyway. The two galaxies are situated in the southern hemisphere and may have been first observed by the Khosians. However, the first written evidence of the two clouds appears in 964AD in a book by Abd al Rahman al Sufi. The Large Magellanic Cloud, which is not visible from his native area, was referred to him as Al Bakr, the White Ox. Today, the two clouds are known by the name of the explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (NGC 292) is located around a declination of -720, which means anyone beyond 180 northwards from the equator will not be able to spot it. The Larger Magellanic Cloud, which interestingly lacks an NGC (or other formal numbering), consists of a multitude of nebulae and globular clusters, and is located between the declinations -670 to -710.
As someone living in Sri Lanka, which is located around the lattitudes 60N - 100N, I will be able to see the them only at a very low altitude of around 120-170 above the equator. Given the clouds (i.e. the meteorological ones) that usually cover the horizon, I don't think I have once seen the Magellanic Clouds with my own eyes till I travelled to the southern hemisphere.
The very first time I remember seeing the Magellanic Clouds was somewhere around 2014, when I travelled to South Africa. Unfortunately my attempt to photograph them was not successful due to the meteorological clouds and the light pollution in the city. This time when I travelled again to the southern hemisphere, I thought I will try my luck. As luck has it, my visit coincided with the new moon leading to darker skies.
And there we have, two of the first three naked eye obsereved galaxies in the world.
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| LMC, SMC and Achernar - 13 shots of 15sec 5.6F 18mm. Canon 550D. Location: Kirindy Forest Lodge, Madagascar |
The Small Magellanic Cloud (NGC 292) is located around a declination of -720, which means anyone beyond 180 northwards from the equator will not be able to spot it. The Larger Magellanic Cloud, which interestingly lacks an NGC (or other formal numbering), consists of a multitude of nebulae and globular clusters, and is located between the declinations -670 to -710.
As someone living in Sri Lanka, which is located around the lattitudes 60N - 100N, I will be able to see the them only at a very low altitude of around 120-170 above the equator. Given the clouds (i.e. the meteorological ones) that usually cover the horizon, I don't think I have once seen the Magellanic Clouds with my own eyes till I travelled to the southern hemisphere.
The very first time I remember seeing the Magellanic Clouds was somewhere around 2014, when I travelled to South Africa. Unfortunately my attempt to photograph them was not successful due to the meteorological clouds and the light pollution in the city. This time when I travelled again to the southern hemisphere, I thought I will try my luck. As luck has it, my visit coincided with the new moon leading to darker skies.
And there we have, two of the first three naked eye obsereved galaxies in the world.
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