quasi-stellar
/ˌkweɪzʌɪˈstɛlə/ /ˌkwɑːziˈstɛlə/Astronomy
adjective
Of a celestial object: resembling a star optically (in that it gives an image that cannot be resolved) but believed not to be a star. Chiefly in designations of objects now usually called quasars, as quasi-stellar object, quasi-stellar radio source.
Origin
1960s; earliest use found in Scientific American. From quasi- + stellar.