It is dumbfounding that we can sit at our telescopes in our own galaxy and see the tattered shreds of massive stars that died in titanic explosions in another galaxy

N49, N63A, and N132D were not only the first supernova remnants (SNRs) discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud, but they were also the first extragalactic SNRs discovered. They were discovered by Mathewson & Healey (1964), and later confirmed by Westerlund & Mathewson (1966) through follow-up radio and optical observations. Since then, there have been a considerable number of additions to that population, with ~60 confirmed supernovae to date (unfortunately most without optical remnants for us to observe). The rate of supernovae occurring in the LMC is estimated to be ∼1 per 200 years.

The Cloud offers us a nice smorgasbord of SNRs to observe, from the superbly bright N49 to the beautiful but somewhat challenging N63 to faint and tattered streaks fading away to nothingness in the sky. Not only does one need dark skies for SNRs but very good transparency is also key. I have found that even under a Bortle 1 sky, if transparency is not up to scratch then the ghostly whisps of the more challenging SNRs will remain invisible. And a good OIII filter is essential.