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The LMC is a Barred Spiral that has been twisted out of shape by the Milky Way. To the naked eye it does look like a big blob but with a good photo the spiral shape can be traced. the arms are best traced by looking at the distribution of the emmision nebula in tyhe galaxy. One of these arms appears to point to the SMC.
The SMC is a tube seen end on. it has no spiral shape really but the RC3 ( galaxy catalogue) does list it as an SBS9p. a sprial galaxy with weak arms with some pecular aspects.
The tidal pull of the milky way on these galaxies has pushed and pulled them out of shape.
As the galaxies orbit the milky way they leave behind a trail of stars and gas called the Magellanic Stream. This can be traced easily with a radio telescope.
If people would like, I can bring along some copies of my website detailing the SMC on cd. It has a comprehensive list of objects that can be seen with an 8-12" scope along with finder charts and finder maps and object descriptions. It no longer exists on the web, but i am hopping to have it restored soon.
Clear Skies
Andrew
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