Messier 32, also known as NGC 221, is a dwarf elliptical galaxy found in the Andromeda constellation. It’s best viewed in autumn. If you are under dark skies, you can view M32 with a pair of binoculars. From the suburbs, backyard astronomers will be better served with a telescope.
The French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil first cataloged the dwarf galaxy on October 29, 1749, while observing the Andromeda Galaxy. On that night, Le Gentil wrote, “I saw another small nebula, about one minute in diameter which appeared to throw out two small rays; one to the right and the other to the left.” Years later, Le Gentil set sail from France to observe the 1761 transit of Venus from Pondicherry, India, and experienced a long tale of unfortunate events. The next time I’m feeling sorry for myself about the lack of clear skies during Pacific Northwest winters, I’ll remember the ordeals Le Gentil faced.
M32 is a sattelite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy, along with the Messier 110 galaxy. They all belong to a family of “nearby” galaxies called the Local Group.
My Observations
| Date | September 26, 2022 |
| Time | 10:32 p.m. |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Magnification | 169x |
| Scope | Meade 8″ SCT |
| Eyepiece | 12mm |
| Seeing | Average |
| Transparency | Average |
I’ve returned to view the Andromeda Galaxy for many years, which makes me scratch my head why I’ve not viewed M32 until tonight. I’ve known M32 is right by the famous galaxy, but I’ve simply never budged the scope over. Or, perhaps the sky conditions from the suburbs have not allowed for it. But tonight, I’m finally seeing Le Gentil under moonless skies. It’s a faint patch of light with a few brighter stars in my field of view.
Key Stats
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Best Viewing | Autumn |
| Visual Magnitude | +7.9 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -16.5 |
| Distance from Earth | 2.5 million ly |
| Diameter | 6,500 ly |
| Apparent Size | 7.7 x 4.9 arcmin |
| Milky Way Location | NA |
| My Viewing Grade | C+ |
Historical Observations
August 3, 1764 observation by Charles Messier
“Small nebula without stars, below & at some minutes [separation] from that of the belt of Andromeda (M31); this small nebula is round, it’s light fainter than that of the belt.”
Sources and Notes
M32 banner by Fabrizio Francione. Image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Additional details.
1 Guy McArthur, Hartmut Frommert. Messier 32, https://www.messier.seds.org/Mdes/dm032.html.
AKA: M 232, NGC 221, UGC 452, Local Group
The Garden Astronomer 