Wide-field view of part of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the remarkable double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227

This wide field view of part of our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, was created from photographs taken in red and blue light as part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The remarkable double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227 lies at the centre of the picture, just one of huge numbers of faint stars. Studies of this very rare system have allowed astronomers to measure mass of a Cepheid variable star with unprecedented accuracy. The field of view is approximately 2.8 degrees across.