Messier 32

Also known as M32, New General Catalogue 221, NGC 221

elliptical galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

AI overview

Messier 32 is a small elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda that can be seen through telescopes from Earth. It's scientifically important because studying its structure and behavior helps astronomers better understand how galaxies form and evolve in the universe.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth: 4.11
Radius: 4000
Mass: 3000000000
Image: M32.jpg

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Commons category: Messier 32
radial velocity: -199.0
catalog code: RX J0042.6+4052
time of discovery or invention: 1749-10-29
apparent magnitude: 5.095
Commons gallery: Messier 32
galaxy morphological type: cE2
right ascension: 10.6742708
declination: 40.8651694
redshift: -0.000684
right ascension component of proper motion: -17.0
declination component of proper motion: -5.0

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Article

Messier 32 (also known as M32 and NGC 221) is a dwarf "early-type" galaxy about 2,490,000 light-years (760,000 pc) from the Solar System, appearing in the constellation Andromeda. M32 is a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749.

The galaxy is a prototype of the relatively rare compact elliptical (cE) class. Half the stars are concentrated within the inner core, which has an effective radius of 330 light-years (100 pc). Densities in the central stellar cusp increase steeply, exceeding 3×10 M☉ pc (30 million solar masses per cubic parsec) at the smallest sub-radii resolved by Hubble Space Telescope, and the half-light radius of this central star cluster is around 6 pc (20 light-years). Like more ordinary elliptical galaxies, M32 contains mostly old faint red and yellow stars with practically no dust or gas and consequently no current star formation. It does, however, show hints of star formation in the relatively recent past.