M32

Messier 32 is a small elliptical satellite of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. At 8th magnitude, it is easily seen in small telescopes and lies at about 2.9 million light years, the same distance as M31. Since M32 is superimposed by the outer parts of M31's spiral arms, it cannot be determined whether it lies in front of or behind that huge spiral, thus it is not known whether it is slightly closer to or slightly farther from us at this time. The mass of this object is estimated to be about 3 billion solar masses and it is about 8,000 light years in diameter. Unlike its neighbor M110, M32 is a very ordinary elliptical galaxy, being compact and with a high surface brightness, and it does not host any globular clusters. Interestingly enough, the nucleus of M32 seems to display a great many stars rapidly orbiting a central massive core, which may, of course, be a black hole. M32, like most elliptical galaxies, is made up of mostly old, relatively low-mass stars, although there are a number of younger, metal rich stars mixed between the others. Since the galaxy seems nearly devoid of gas and dust clouds, it is not clear how these younger stars have managed to form in relatively recent times. A nova was seen in M32 in 1998 but no supernovae have ever been detected there. Some astronomers speculate that M32 may have once been larger but has lost some of its stars and all of its globular clusters to M31 when it had a close encounter with its huge neighbor.

Image taken August 25, 2012, with the C-14 operating at F:3.5 and the ST-8 camera binned 2 X 2. Exposure was 50 seconds.