Right Ascension	00 : 42.7 (h:m)
Declination	+40 : 52 (deg:m)
Distance	2900 (kly)
Visual Brightness	8.1 (mag)
Apparent Dimension	8x6 (arc min)
Discovered by	Guillaume Le Gentil, 1764

M32 is the small yet bright companion of the Great Andromeda Galaxy, M31, and as such a member of the Local Group of galaxies. It can be easily found when observing the Andromeda Galaxy, as it is situated 22 arc minutes exactly south of M31's central region, overlaid over the outskirts of the spiral arms. It appears as a remarkably bright round patch, slightly elongated at position angle 150-330 deg, and is easily visible in small telescopes.

M32 is an elliptical dwarf of only about 3 billion solar masses, and a linear diameter of some 8,000 light years, very small compared to its giant spiral-shaped neighbor. Nevertheless and surprising for such a small galaxy, its nucleus is of comparable properties as that of M31: About 100 million solar masses, 5000 suns per cubic parsecs, are in rapid motion around a central super massive object.