NASA makes universe more inclusive: Eskimo nebula is now called NGC 2392 | Abroad

“Eskimo is seen as a colonial term with a racist past, imposed on the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic,” explains NASA.

The name ‘Siamese Gemini system’ is also deleted. Those are two galaxies that merge into each other. From now on, NASA uses the scientific names NGC 4567 and NGC 4568. The space agency is looking for more offensive and undesirable nicknames in the universe.

The International Astronomical Union deals with the official names in the universe, but these are mainly complex scientific codes full of numbers. Organizations themselves can choose to use names that are easier to remember. For example, the object Barnard 33 is also called the Horsehead Nebula because it resembles the head of a horse.

–