Object Analysis

Messier 32 (M32) is a dwarf elliptical galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. It is a satellite galaxy of the massive Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and is situated 2.65 million light-years from Earth. It was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749.

M32 is small but dense. It measures only 6,500 light-years in diameter but contains a supermassive black hole at its core weighing 2.5 million solar masses. It is unusually compact for an elliptical galaxy, leading astronomers to believe it is the remnant core of a larger spiral galaxy that was stripped of its outer stars by Andromeda's gravity.

M32 has no active star formation and contains mostly older, red and yellow stars. It is the prototype for the "compact elliptical" class of galaxies.