The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one of the closest galaxies to our own Milky Way. It's only 180,000 light years away, and closer than its companion galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud.

But don't expect the LMC to have that classic spiral galaxy shape. Because of the gravitational attraction of the Milky Way—which is ten times larger—the Large Magellanic Cloud has an irregular shape and no central core.

The LMC spans several degrees in the southern sky and can be easily seen with the unaided eye by observers south of the equator. But it was unknown to Europeans until the voyage of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1519.

It appears as a huge and diffuse cloud in the sky and contains a treasure trove of celestial objects. Amongst its many interesting sights are nebulae, globular and open clusters, planetary nebulae, dust clouds, and a giant region of hydrogen gas.

In 1987, supernova 1987A exploded in the LMC, the nearest supernova in 400 years. The most prominent object in the LMC is the Tarantula Nebula, a large diffuse nebula. Sweep through this region with binoculars and rich field—or wide angle—telescopes to take it all in. But don't forget to zoom in afterwards and take some closer looks.

Click here to see if this object is visible in your sky tonight.