NASA's Hubble Space Telescope clearly shows the central core of the elliptical galaxy M32. This green-light image was taken with HST's Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC), in high resolution mode, on August 17, 1991. The steady increase in brightness of M32 towards its center is readily apparent in the image, showing that the stars in M32 are strongly concentrated towards its nucleus, as if drawn into the center and held there by the gravitational field of a massive black hole. Theoretical models suggest that the structure of M32 is consistent with a central 3 million solar mass black hole. The density of stars at the center of the image is over 100 million times that within our Sun's neighborhood. The region shown is 175 light-years on a side at the distance of M32. The grainy appearance near the borders of the image is due to the Hubble Space Telescope resolving individual stars within M32.
Credits
Credit: Tod R. Lauer/NASA| About The Object | |
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| Object Name | M32 |
| R.A. Position | 00h 42m 41.86s |
| Dec. Position | 40° 51' 57.2" |
| About The Object | |
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| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
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| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
