Magellanic clouds

Magellanic clouds
Magellanic clouds 1680s, from Mod.L. Magellanicus, from Latinized name of Portuguese navigator Fernüo de Magalhües (c.1470-1521), the first European to round the tip of South America. He described them c.1520, hence the name in Europe; but at least the larger of the two had been mentioned by Anghiera in 1515. In English they were earlier the Cape Clouds, since they became prominent as sailors neared the Cape of Good Hope; "but after Magellan became noted and fully described them they took and have retained his name." [Allen]
Coompasinge abowte the poynt thereof, they myght see throughowte al the heaven about the same, certeyne shynynge whyte cloudes here and there amonge the starres, like unto theym whiche are scene in the tracte of heaven cauled Lactea via, that is the mylke whyte waye. [Richard Eden, translation of "Decades of the New World," 1555]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Magellanic clouds — /ma jə lanˈik klowdz, or gə / plural noun Two galaxies in the southern hemisphere, appearing to the naked eye like detached portions of the Milky Way, the nearest galaxies to the earth ORIGIN: Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480–1521), Portuguese… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Magellanic Clouds — The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The two Magellanic Clouds (or Nubeculae Magellani[1]) are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are …   Wikipedia

  • Magellanic Clouds — noun collectively, the pair of galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud; also sometimes includes the Magellanic Bridge and Magellanic Stream …   Wiktionary

  • MAGELLANIC CLOUDS —    two masses of stars and nebulæ seen in the southern hemisphere, not far from the South Pole …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Magellanic Clouds —   Pulelehua Kea, Pulelehua Kāwa ewa e, Pulelehua Uli …   English-Hawaiian dictionary

  • Magellanic Stream — Not to be confused with Magellanic Bridge. Magellanic Stream Type   Intergalactic High Velocity Cloud Observation data (Epoch J2000.0) Right ascension 00h 32m …   Wikipedia

  • Magellanic cloud — Astron. either of two irregular galactic clusters in the southern heavens that are the nearest independent star system to the Milky Way. [1675 85] * * * Either of two irregular companion galaxies of the Milky Way Galaxy, named for Ferdinand… …   Universalium

  • Magellanic Bridge — Not to be confused with Magellanic Stream. Magellanic Bridge Type   Transgalactic HI region Observation data (Epoch J2000.0) Right ascension 03h 11m …   Wikipedia

  • Magellanic cloud — Mag el*lan ic cloud, n. (Astron.) Either of two conspicuous celestial nebul[ae] near the south celestial pole, resembling thin white clouds, each of which is a galaxy[2] smaller than but separate from the Milky Way galaxy, and together they are… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Small Magellanic Cloud — Small Magellanic Cloud. Source: Digitized Sky Survey 2 Observation data (J2000 epoch) …   Wikipedia

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