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This Picture of the Week showcases the emission nebula NGC 2313. The bright star V565 \u2014 surrounded by four prominent diffraction spikes \u2014 illuminates a silvery, fan-shaped veil of gas and dust, while the right half of this image is obscured by a dense cloud of dust. Nebulae with similar shapes \u2014 a star accompanied by a bright fan of gas \u2014 were once referred to as cometary nebulae, though the name is no longer used.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The language that astronomers use changes as we become better acquainted with the Universe, and astronomical history is littered with now-obsolete phrases to describe objects in the night sky, such as \u201cspiral nebulae\u201d for spiral galaxies or \u201cinferior planets\u201d for Mercury and Venus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While modern astronomical terminology has become steadily more precise, the nature of objects in astronomical exposures can still occasionally puzzle astronomers. For example, if you look very closely, you can see a faint bluish streak across the centre of this image to the bottom right of the blue region. This could be an asteroid, but seems to be travelling far too quickly for such an object \u2014 making this one of the remaining mysteries of the night sky.<\/p>\n