Meanings
alternative Hanny's voorwerp · alternative Hanny voorwerp · alternative Hanny Voorwerp
- A voorwerpje in the Leo Minor constellation near the galaxy IC 2497. The first such object discovered, an intergalactic gas cloud lit up by an extinguished quasar. The quasar jet has burned a hole in the intergalatic cloud, and some collapse, causing star formation, making this voorwerpje a candidate as a galaxy or star cluster.
Synonyms: Hanny object, Hanny Object, Hanny's object, Hanny's Object
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA voorwerpje in the Leo Minor constellation near the galaxy IC 2497. The first such object discovered, an intergalactic gas cloud lit up by an extinguished quasar. The quasar jet has burned a hole in the intergalatic cloud, and some collapse, causing star formation, making this voorwerpje a candidate as a galaxy or star cluster.
Origin
- Dutchvoorwerp“object”
- DutchHanny
- EnglishHanny's Voorwerp
Dutch Hanny + Dutch voorwerp (“object”). Literally, “Hanny's Object”. From being an unusual looking object discovered by a Dutch person. This became the archetypal object for the voorwerpje object class. Named after Dutch schoolteacher and amateur astronomer Hanny van Arkel who discovered in while participating in Galaxy Zoo, the first voorwerpje (light echo nebula)
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Hanny's Voorwerp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanny's%20Voorwerp
“Hanny's Voorwerp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanny's%20Voorwerp. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hanny's Voorwerp,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanny's%20Voorwerp.
Source: Hanny's Voorwerp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.