M32, a.k.a. NGC 221, is a dwarf elliptical galaxy, which is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31, NGC 224). It’s smaller, fainter but just as cool! Perhaps even a more rewarding find because it’s a bit more difficult to spot.

In the first image above, M32 is the smaller smudge circled in yellow on the left, while Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the larger smudge on the right.

This dwarf galaxy is 2,650,000 light-years from our Solar System!! Here’s the thing about light-years that’s always blown my mind…..humans have never been able to create anything that travels as fast as light. Not even close. Light travels at a mind-blowing rate of 670,616,629 mph! That’s nearly 671 million miles per hour!

So, imagine traveling that fast for over 2 1/2 million years…..only then would you reach the M32 galaxy.