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Messier 32 (NGC 221), also known as Le Gentil (named after its discoverer, but a rarely used nickname for this galaxy), is a dwarf elliptical galaxy, satellite of our neighbor M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. It has a size of about 6500×5000 light years and the density of the stars increases dramatically close to the center. This makes M32 a member of the infrequent class “Compact Ellipticals”. In 1998, images from the Hubble Telescope resolved numerous blue stars near the center of M32. These are not like the classical O or B stars, but old stars that ran out of hydrogen and are burning helium, emitting in the UV part of the spectrum.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): Messier 32. M32. NGC 221
Type: Compact Elliptical Galaxy
RA: 00h 42m 42s
Dec: +40º 41’ 50”
Constellation: Andromeda
Size (arcmin): 8.5×6.5 arcmin
Magnitude: +8.1
Distance: 2.5 Mly
Image
Date: 2021-09-08
Location: Curiosity2 Observatory, New Mexico Skies, Mayhill, NM, USA
Size (arcmin): 31×30 arcmin
Telescope: 24” (61 cm) f/6.5 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 3 hours (L: 2 h; RGB: 1h)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2022