The Small Magellanic Cloud: A Dwarf Galaxy Companion

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf irregular galaxy orbiting the Milky Way.
It lies about 200,000 light-years away, just beyond the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The SMC spans roughly 7,000 light-years—tiny compared to the Milky Way.
It contains several hundred million stars, many of them young and bright.
The SMC is rich in gas and dust, making it an active star-forming galaxy.
Along with the LMC, it is easily visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere.
Gravitational interactions with the Milky Way and LMC have warped its shape.
Streams of gas, known as the Magellanic Stream, connect the SMC and LMC.
Ancient star clusters within the SMC preserve clues about early galactic history.
The SMC helps astronomers study how dwarf galaxies evolve under the pull of larger ones.