The story
Minkowski + object. From being an unusually shaped object. Named after American astronomer Rudolph Minkowski, who discovered it.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Minkowski's Object
Today it means: A peculiar irregular dwarf galaxy in the Cetus constellation that was created by a radio jet from active galaxy NGC 541 colliding with and collapsing an intergalactic cloud. Full definition →