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Magellanic

Magellanic

8.7
Relating to the explorer Ferdinand Magellan or things named after him
  • adjective
  • /məˈdʒɛlənɪk/
translation icon : magallánico
  • Astronomers study the Magellanic Clouds to understand galaxy formation.

Does the Large Magellanic Cloud have a big black hole?

Examples

  • The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the closest galaxies to Earth.

  • There's a few now known in the Magellanic Clouds, which are companion galaxies to our Galaxy, but we don't know any further out.

  • Does the Large Magellanic Cloud have a big black hole?

  • Exist only in the magellanic galaxy.

  • So this is the Small Magellanic Cloud, which can be seen only from the Southern Hemisphere.

  • The Magellanic region is famous for its bright stars and nebulae.

Compounds

Magellanic Cloud
  • Specialized
1 9.4

One of two small irregular galaxies near the Milky Way visible from the Southern Hemisphere

1 8.8

A nearby irregular galaxy visible from the southern sky that orbits the Milky Way

Magellanic Clouds
  • Specialized
8.3

Two small irregular galaxies that orbit the Milky Way and are visible in the southern sky

8.8

A small irregular galaxy near the Milky Way that you can see from the Southern Hemisphere

Surface Forms

Magellanic positive

Morphology

Magellanic = Magellan (transparent) = Magellan + ic

Formation with the productive adjectival suffix '-ic' yields 'relating to Magellan', a directly derivable meaning.

Etymology

Magellanic comes from the name Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who sailed around the world and passed the southern tip of South America. So, something called Magellanic is simply 'named after' or 'connected to' him, as with the Magellanic Clouds of stars or Magellanic penguins.