M32

compact elliptical galaxy · satellite of Andromeda

2.52 million light-years from Earth

A small, dense galaxy close to Andromeda, and the first galaxy of the elliptical kind ever recorded: Guillaume Le Gentil saw it in 1749, long before anyone knew what galaxies were. It may be the stripped core of a big galaxy that Andromeda swallowed about 2 billion years ago.

• 2.52 million light-years · about 6,400 light-years across
• its black hole weighs about 2.5 million Suns

kind

galaxy

catalogue

M32 · NGC 221

size

6,400 light-years across