Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way located around 160,000 light-years from Earth. It is the 4th largest in the Local Group following the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).

The light blue area in the upper left central part of the image is the Tarantula Nebula which is the most active star-forming region in the Local Group.

Imaged from New Zealand in December 2017 with a Nikon D750, 180mm f2.8 Nikon lens on a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tracking mount. 7 x 50s exposures at ISO 3200, processed using Lightroom, Nebulosity, Photomatix Pro 5, Photoshop with NC's Astronomy Tools, AstroFlat Pro and Raya Pro 3.0