  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 H alpha
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 H II regions indicating recent star formation.
The colors of the main stellar body are (V-I) = 0.8 mag and (B-V) = 0.4 mag,
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 < 2 Gyr (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.
