This is the Large Magellanic Cloud, the main Local Group member and a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, some 160,000 light years away, It is visible only from the southern hemisphere. Nowhere else in the sky do we see such a profuse collection of star-forming nebulas as here in this frame the width typical of binocular fields, about 7.5° by 5º.

The LMC is a dwarf irregular galaxy though with structures that resemble a barred spiral galaxy. Tidal disruptions caused by its passage near our Galaxy are sparking an intense level of star formation and star death – some of the nebulas are bubbles blown out by exploding or dying stars.

The main region of nebulosity is the massive Tarantula Nebula complex (NGC 2070) at left, with its twisted and tortured structure. The other main area is the NGC 1763 complex at upper right. At upper left are the nebulas NGC 2020 and NGC 1955, among many others. At lower right is the NGC 1748 complex. At lower left is NGC 2018.

However, the region is so rich it is hard to identify which object is which, especially as most atlases don't agree on the labels. Even amateur photos such as this reveal patches of nebulosity that are not plotted as such on star charts.

While many of the nebulas are red or pink from hydrogen alpha emission, many are cyan from predominant oxygen III emission.

This is a blend of images taken through a dual-band nebula filter and without any filter. This is a stack of 12 x 10-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an IDAS NBZ dual-band (OIII and H-a) filter that adds most of the nebulosity, blended with a stack of 20 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 with no filter for the main "natural light" background content.

The Canon EOS R camera I used was modified by AstroGear.net to be more sensitive to H-a light. It was on the little Sharpstar 61mm EDPH III refractor with its Reducer for f/4.4, and on the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN III stand-alone auto-guider. Inter-frame dithering e