Location of the slowdown: The decline is observed across most of Andromeda's disk. The study used Hubble data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) and the newer Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST) surveys to map star formation over the entire northern and southern halves of the galaxy's disk .
Proposed cause: Researchers propose that the slowdown is linked to Andromeda's eventual quieting as it transitions from an active star-forming spiral into a more quiescent, "middle-aged" galaxy . The Hubble surveys allowed astronomers to trace how the galaxy's gas supply — the raw material for new stars — has been gradually depleted.
Suspected role of satellite galaxy M32: The current NASA sources do not explicitly name satellite galaxy M32 as a cause of this particular 500-million-year slowdown. (Earlier Hubble work has explored M32's possible past interaction with Andromeda, but that is a separate finding from the 2026 study covered here.)
Future telescope: The NASA release does not specify a particular future telescope planned to study this further. However, the paper's authors note that the Hubble data provide a foundational map that next-generation observatories can build on .