Dorado is a constellation in the Southern Sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the dolphinfish, which is known as dorado in Spanish, although it has also been depicted as a swordfish. Dorado contains most of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the remainder being in the constellation Mensa. The South Ecliptic pole also lies within this constellation.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of around 50 kiloparsecs (160 kly), the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal (c. 16 kpc (52 kly) away) and the possible dwarf irregular galaxy called the Canis Major Overdensity. Based on the D25 isophote at the B-band (445 nm wavelength of light), the Large Magellanic Cloud is about 9.86 kpc (32.2 kly) across. It is roughly one-hundredth the mass of the Milky Way and is the fourth-largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way, and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).
An emission nebula is a nebula formed of ionized gases that emit light of various wavelengths. The most common source of ionization is high-energy ultraviolet photons emitted from a nearby hot star. Among the several different types of emission nebulae are H II regions, in which star formation is taking place and young, massive stars are the source of the ionizing photons; and planetary nebulae, in which a dying star has thrown off its outer layers, with the exposed hot core then ionizing them.
The Tarantula Nebula is a large H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), forming its south-east corner.
NGC 2070 is a large open cluster and candidate super star cluster forming the heart of the bright region in the centre-south-east of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is at the centre of the Tarantula Nebula and produces most of the energy that makes the latter's gas and dust visible. Its central condensation is the star cluster R136, one of the most energetic star clusters known. Among its stars are many of great dimension, including the second most massive star known, R136a1, at 215 M☉ and 6.16 million L☉.
NGC 2080, also known as the Ghost Head Nebula, is a star-forming region and emission nebula to the south of the 30 Doradus (Tarantula) nebula, in the southern constellation Dorado. It belongs to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, which is at a distance of 168,000 light years. NGC 2080 was discovered by John Frederick William Herschel in 1834. The Ghost Head Nebula has a diameter of 50 light-years and is named for the two distinct white patches it possesses, called the "eyes of the ghost". The western patch, called A1, has a bubble in the center which was created by the young, massive star it contains. The eastern patch, called A2, has several young stars in a newly formed cluster, but they are still obscured by their originating dust cloud. Because neither dust cloud has dissipated due to the stellar radiation, astronomers have deduced that both sets of stars formed within the past 10,000 years. These stars together have begun to create a bubble in the nebula with their outpourings of material, called stellar wind.
BAT99-98 is a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is located near the R136 cluster in the 30 Doradus nebula. At 226 M☉ and 5,000,000 L☉ it is one of the most massive and luminous stars known.
NGC 1763 (also known as N11 B, LH 10 or ESO 85-EN20) is an emission nebula with an embedded star cluster in the Dorado constellation in the Large Magellanic Cloud, It is very bright, very large and very irregular. Its apparent size is about 3.0-5.0 arcmin. It is part of a large region of stars called LMC-N11 (N11) which was discovered with a 23-cm telescope by the astronomer James Dunlop in 1826 and was also observed by John Herschel in 1834. The nebula itself is catalogued under LHA 120-N 11B, LH 10 or ESO 85-EN20. It is also part of an area commonly known as the Bean Nebula.
N119 is a spiral-shaped H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its dimensions are large, at 131 x 175 pc. It contains several luminous stars including S Doradus, LH41-1042, and LMC195-1. Its peculiar S-shaped structure is difficult to explain with classical models.
NGC 1858 is a bright, large, irregular open cluster and emission nebula. It is found in the Dorado constellation. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was first discovered by James Dunlop on August 3, 1826, and was first recorded as Dunlop 120. John Herschel recorded it on November 2, 1834. However, at the time, he did not associate it with Dunlop 120. Astronomers have now realised that Dunlop 120 and NGC 1858 are the same object.
NGC 2032 is an emission nebula in the Dorado constellation and near the supershell LMC-4 and it consists of NGC 2029, NGC 2035 and NGC 2040. It was first discovered by James Dunlop on 27 September 1826, and John Herschel rerecorded it on 2 November 1834. NGC 2032 is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
NGC 2029 is an emission nebula in the Dorado constellation and is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is part of a complex of nebulae and stars, including NGC 2032, NGC 2035 and NGC 2040. It was discovered by James Dunlop on the 27 September 1826. Its apparent magnitude is 12.29, and its size is 2.25 arc minutes.
NGC 1871 is an open cluster associated with an emission nebula located in the Dorado constellation within the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by James Dunlop on November 5, 1826. Its apparent magnitude is 10.21, and its size is 2.0 arc minutes.
NGC 1873 is an open cluster associated with an emission nebula located in the Dorado constellation within the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by James Dunlop on September 24, 1826 and rediscovered by John Herschel on January 2, 1837. Its apparent magnitude is 10.4, and its size is 3.50 arc minutes.
NGC 1936 is an emission nebula which is part of the larger LMC-N44 nebula located in the Dorado constellation in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by John Herschel in 1834 and added to the Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars as NGC 1936. It was later observed by John Dunlop on September 27, 1936 and Williamina Fleming in 1901 and added to the Index Catalogue as IC 2127. Its apparent magnitude is 11.60.
NGC 1929 is an open cluster associated with the emission nebula located within the N44 nebula in the Dorado constellation and part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by James Dunlop on August 3 1826. Its apparent magnitude is 14.0, and its size is 0.8 arc minutes.
NGC 1935 is an emission nebula which is part of the larger LMC-N44 nebula in the Dorado constellation. NGC 1935 is also located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by John Herschel in 1834 and added to the Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars as NGC 1935, then was observed by Williamina Fleming in 1901 and later added to the Index Catalogue as IC 2126.
NGC 1987 is an open cluster or a globular cluster located in the Mensa constellation and part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by John Herschel on November 3, 1834. Its apparent magnitude is 12.1, and its size is 1.7 arc minutes. It is thought to be around 600 million years old and has a significant number of red ageing stars.
N11 is the brightest emission nebula in the north-west part of the Large Magellanic Cloud in the Dorado constellation. The N11 complex is the second largest H II region of that galaxy, the largest being the Tarantula Nebula. It covers an area approximately 6 arc minutes across. It has an elliptical shape and consists of a large bubble, generally clear interstellar area, surrounded by nine large nebulae. It was named by Karl Henize in 1956.
NGC 1983 is an open cluster associated with an emission nebula which is located in the Dorado constellation and part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was discovered by John Herschel on 11 November 1836. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.9 and its size is 1.0 arc minutes.
