apod photo (2005 September 14) The Boomerang Nebula

[jimmycrackcorn90745]

I was just wondering why this object is called the boomerang nebula. It looks more like a butterfly to me. How do the astronomers decide what names to give such objects?

[BMAONE23]

Most nebula are named for certain features that are seen in visible light). as different filters can change the perspective appearance of objects, you could loose the (obvious???) reasons for their naminng unless you see the visible light image. Perhaps APOD could include the (sometimes striking) visible light images for all their pictures when one is shown that uses filters to display only certain wavelengths of light. (Even as a small inset or attachment to the picture or text hyperlink.)

[David E. Van Dyne]

Is the temperature so low around this nebula (1 degree above celcius) due to the rapid release of gas as in the frosting of a valve around a pressureized cyllinder when the valve is opened changing from a liquid to a gas?

[William Roeder]

called the bowtie nebula since the Hubble space telescope