Update: I keep seeing people call the Orion Nebula a 'galaxy' in photo comments

I was looking at a great shot of M42 from a user in Tucson last night, and three separate comments called it a galaxy (it's a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust inside our own Milky Way). This mix-up keeps happening, and I think it matters because it confuses what we're actually looking at. Do you correct people when they get basic space stuff wrong, or just let it slide?

2 comments

2 Comments

linda6584d ago

Honestly, the bigger issue is how many science shows and articles use "galaxy" as a catch-all term for anything in space. It makes the mix-up understandable, but it does water down the real wonder. A nebula where stars are being born is just as cool as a whole galaxy, just a totally different scale. I usually drop a quick, friendly correction because getting it right makes the picture even more amazing.

brookerobinson4d ago

Yeah, it's like calling a single tree a whole forest. The scale difference is mind-blowing, and knowing what you're actually looking at makes it way cooler.