Asterisk

The asterisk (/ˈæstərɪsk/), *, is a typographical symbol that is a stylised image of a star. An asterisk is usually five- or six-pointed in print and six- or eight-pointed when handwritten, though more complex forms exist. Its most common use is to call out a footnote. It is also often used to censor words considered offensive. It is often vocalized as star, especially by computer scientists and mathematicians (as, for example, in the A* search algorithm or C*-algebra).