1997A&A...327..562H

We have discovered that the Fornax irregular galaxy NGC 1427A is in very many respects a twin of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Based on B, V, I, and Hα images, we find the following. The light of the galaxy is dominated by high surface brightness regions in the south-west that are superimposed by a half-ring of OB associations and HII regions indicating recent star formation. The colors of the main stellar body are (V-I)=0.8mag and (B-V)=0.4mag, comparable to the LMC colors. A low surface brightness cloud north of the main body as well as a LSB tail in the west have colors (V-I ≃0.2 mag) that are more typical for blue compact dwarf galaxies. We identified a system of cluster candidates with mean ages ≤2Gyr (assuming a LMC metallicity) comprising the richest cluster system in an irregular galaxy observed up to now outside the Local Group. In X-ray wavelengths NGC 1427A appears with a relatively soft and complex spectrum.