Large Magellanic Cloud. Optical image of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC, lower left) in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. North is at top. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, and is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way, lying around 170,000 light years away. The bright star at lower left is Canopus (Alpha Carinae), the second brightest star in the sky. At lower right is the bright star Achernar (Alpha Eridani), the ninth brightest star in the sky. These constellations are near the south celestial pole, and are best seen in summer for southern hemisphere observers.