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Can we talk about how people keep calling the Orion Nebula a galaxy
I saw it again in a comment on a photo from last night, someone said 'cool galaxy shot' when it's a nebula. It matters because they're totally different things, one is a star nursery and the other is billions of stars. Has anyone else noticed this mix-up happening a lot lately?
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skyler9216mo ago
What about the people who learn from these wrong comments though? If someone new to astronomy reads "cool galaxy" under a nebula pic, they'll remember it wrong. Then they might correct someone else later, spreading the mix-up even more.
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john_flores5mo ago
Thea asking if it really matters is the whole point. It matters because words mean things, and getting them right is how we learn. I once confidently told my whole family the Andromeda Galaxy was a nebula for like a year. I was that guy spreading the wrong info, and I still cringe about it. So yeah, it kind of matters, because nobody wants to be future me having to admit they were loudly wrong for a year.
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