The large and small Magellanic clouds are actually satellite galaxies of our own milky way. The LMC lies about 160,000 light years away while the SMC is around 200,000.
Details
Date and Location - 2010-10-25 at Kerikeri, New Zealand.
Conditions - 22 deg C with scattered clouds moving through.
Equipment - Tripod mounted modifed Canon T1i camera with 17-50mm lens at 35mm focal length.
Exposure - 14 light frames at 30s ea. and ISO 3200 with 42 darks for calibration.
Processing in Images Plus and Photoshop