Most of what we know about Ferdinand Magellan's 16th-century circumnavigation of the globe comes from a journal written by the Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta. It was from the published version of Pigafetta's diary that Europeans first learned the existence of two dim celestial ''clouds'' in the southern sky. At this time of year, the Magellanic Clouds are high in the southern sky after sunset. That's why, this week, I'd like to invite you to join me on a brief sojourn around the larger of the two clouds. There's so much to see in the LMC that it's well worth spending some time scanning its beautiful star clouds.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 05, 2017 16:07 UTC