evan_wilson18•27d agoMost Upvoted

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?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler92127d 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.

thea_wood8627d ago

Does it really matter if someone gets the name wrong though?

john_flores19d 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.