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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M32

M32 Observation Details

M32 Daily Motion

M32 will reach transit at 21:12. By the time twilight starts at 03:48 it will be at an elevation of 19° degrees and will set at 06:16, before twilight ends.
M32 will be visible until March, 11, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.

M32 Rise and Set Timetable

	Time	Elevation
Sunset	17:10	45°
Civil sunset	17:41	50°
M32 transit	21:12	89°
Astrosession begin	03:48	19°
M32 Set	06:16
Astrosession end	06:21	-1°
M32 Rise	12:04

Track M32 Position Throughout the Night

Time
Altitude
Azimuth

Shift the map to change the time and observe M32 changing position in the night sky.

M32 - Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy

M32 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749 and later included in Messier's catalog. M32 is a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

M32 spans about 6,500 light-years across and contains several billion stars. The galaxy is approximately 2.65 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.1, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.

M32 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M32 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter

These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M32

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Object name	M32
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M32 coordinates	0.71162, 40.86528
Center coordinates	0.71162, 40.86528

M32 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M32

Time	03:48
Latitude	39.9625
Longitude	-83.0061
M32 elevation	19°
M32 Azimuth	52°

Here you can see the current position of the M32 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M32's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M32

Date	Fri, 22 November 2024
Twighlight start	18:42
Twighlight end	05:44
Twighlight duration	11h 2m
Rise	12:04
Set	06:12
Elevation at transit	89°
Transit time	21:08
Equatorial coordinate	RA: 00h 42m 41s, Dec: 40° 51' 55"
Magnitude	8
Constellation	Andromeda

The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M32, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M32 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.

Data Credits

The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.

For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.

Observation Settings