NASA Goes Woke: Bye Bye ‘Eskimo Nebula’ & ‘Siamese Twins Galaxy’

Reposted from Climate Depot

NASA official Aug. 5 statement: “It has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive but can be actively harmful. NASA is examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion….The Agency will be working with diversity, inclusion, and equity experts in the astronomical and physical sciences to provide guidance and recommendations for other nicknames and terms for review.”

“NASA will no longer refer to planetary nebula NGC 2392 as the “Eskimo Nebula.” “Eskimo” is widely viewed as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous people of Arctic regions.” – “NASA will also no longer use the term ‘Siamese Twins Galaxy’ to refer to a pair of spiral galaxies.”

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters in DC: “Our goal is that all names are aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, and we’ll proactively work with the scientific community to help ensure that.”

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Reaction was swift: “Seriously: Is this what is holding us back in space? Is the Sombrero Galaxy anti-Mexican? Is the Bullet cluster too violent? Should we now say “holes of color”? wrote Eric Weinstein. “Isn’t this mostly just wallowing?” he added. “Dwarf stars will henceforth be known as volumetrically challenged stars,” a Twitter critique noted.

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Also see:NASA scientist Dr. Kate Marvel links ‘climate change’ to ‘white supremacy’ – ‘We’ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy’ – Calls for climate & racial ‘justice’

Ornithologists Call For Allegedly Racist Bird Names To Be Changed – Some names ‘represent colonialism, racism and inequality’

By: Marc Morano – Climate DepotAugust 8, 2020 11:08 AM with 0 comments

Climate Depot Special Report

NASA has dove into identity politics in recent months with two high profile NASA scientists shifting the focus from science to politics. NASA scientist Dr. Kate Marvel links ‘climate change’ to ‘white supremacy’ – ‘We’ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy’ – Calls for climate & racial ‘justice’

NASA climate scientist Dr. Peter Kalmus: ‘Race justice & climate justice are one & the same: Oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize & kill black bodies & colonize & kill our planet are one & the same’

In addition, other fields of science are going woke as well.Ornithologists Call For Allegedly Racist Bird Names To Be Changed – Some names ‘represent colonialism, racism and inequality’

Full NASA Statement: 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-to-reexamine-nicknames-for-cosmic-objects

NASA to Reexamine Nicknames for Cosmic Objects

Distant cosmic objects such as planets, galaxies, and nebulae are sometimes referred to by the scientific community with unofficial nicknames. As the scientific community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive, but can be actively harmful. NASA is examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As an initial step, NASA will no longer refer to planetary nebula NGC 2392, the glowing remains of a Sun-like star that is blowing off its outer layers at the end of its life, as the “Eskimo Nebula.” “Eskimo” is widely viewed as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous people of Arctic regions. Most official documents have moved away from its use. NASA will also no longer use the term “Siamese Twins Galaxy” to refer to NGC 4567 and NGC 4568, a pair of spiral galaxies found in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Moving forward, NASA will use only the official, International Astronomical Union designations in cases where nicknames are inappropriate.

“I support our ongoing reevaluation of the names by which we refer to astronomical objects,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters, Washington. “Our goal is that all names are aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, and we’ll proactively work with the scientific community to help ensure that. Science is for everyone, and every facet of our work needs to reflect that value.” …

The Agency will be working with diversity, inclusion, and equity experts in the astronomical and physical sciences to provide guidance and recommendations for other nicknames and terms for review.

Many made jokes about NASA’s new initiative. “Dwarf stars will henceforth be known as volumetrically challenged stars,” a Twitter critic noted.

“This is silly. As long as Uranus doesn’t get changed I’ll be able to sleep at night though,” wrote another on Twitter.

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NASA has dove into identity politics in recent months with two high profile NASA scientists shifting the focus from science to politics. NASA scientist Dr. Kate Marvel links ‘climate change’ to ‘white supremacy’ – ‘We’ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy’ – Calls for climate & racial ‘justice’

NASA climate scientist Dr. Peter Kalmus: ‘Race justice & climate justice are one & the same: Oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize & kill black bodies & colonize & kill our planet are one & the same’

A NASA Jet Propulsion Lab climate scientist has linked race and climate issues during the racial protests sweeping the nation. NASA’s Peter Kalmus wrote:

“Here’s why race justice and climate justice are one & the same: The oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize and kill black bodies and colonize and kill our planet are one and the same.”

Kalmus (peter.m.kalmus@jpl.nasa.gov) was responding to the protests and riots springing up across the country in the wake of allegations of racism in law enforcement. Kalmus added: “They’d literally rather have a race war than charge even one cop for murdering an innocent black man.”

And NASA’s Dr. Kate Marvel declared on June 1: “Climate justice and racial justice are the same thing, and we’ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy.” Marvel is an Associate Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City.

In 2018, Marvel (katherine.d.marvel@nasa.gov) replied “DAMN RIGHT” when she tweeted out a Newsweek article titled: “Science Should Be A Feminist Institution.”

According to a 2018 article at Think Progress, “Marvel said she admires what Ocasio-Cortez and the Sunrise Movement activists are doing with appeals to support a Green New Deal.” According to Marvel: “What I do admire about that is the fact they are using new language. It’s not just, ‘Look at the sad polar bear,” Marvel said. “This is not talking about climate change like it’s this isolated issue. It’s talking about it in the context of all these other things that people care about. And I think that’s absolutely the right way to look at it,” she said.

Climate Depot Note: Climate activists have tried to link Racism and “white supremacy” to climate change for years. See: Identity politics invades climate change debate

Does Dr. Marvel also believe the “white man’s science” is different from other branches of science? See:2019: ‘White People’ blamed for causing Cyclone Idai in Africa – ‘Even the white man’s own science corroborates what we blacks know’

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john
August 10, 2020 2:03 pm

Brown and White Dwarfs too?

This all has gone way over the top.

rbabcock
Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 2:22 pm

Can’t use brown, white or dwarfs. Looks like the English language is going to be down to 300 words.

Reply to  rbabcock
August 11, 2020 7:57 am

So, what…brown dwarfs will now be “Little People of Color” stars?

Greg
Reply to  Nicholas McGinley
August 11, 2020 3:22 pm

Smaller, if you please , not little.

Red dwarfs are out too ( especially in Washington ) , native americans may be offended.
First nation, smaller galaxies is preferred.

The Sombrero galaxy will be next on the list : cultural appropriation !!

Just remember: black holes matter. Dark matter matters.

NASA doesn’t matter.

Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 2:41 pm

They all are turning the wheels, incredible….
Is ther nothing, that’s a bit more imortant than that BS ???
Taxpayers money misuse ^100

n.n
Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 3:52 pm

White Dwarfs, or rather their shredded remains, are progenitors to Rainbow Dwarfs, and Brown, Yellow, Orange, Albino, etc. Dwarfs only matter when they are politically congruent (“=”). And Baby Dwarfs are to be reduced, reused, and recycled (“cannibalized”) for social progress and their profitable parts.

Waza
Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 4:23 pm

The term white is not racist.
You are allowed to use derogatory terms to describe white people.
Additionally, sexism is not sexism when referring to men, and ageism is also not discriminatory when referring to you guessed it – old white men.
All old white men should be ashamed of themselves and not comment, as your comment will be deemed discriminatory.

Teewee
Reply to  Waza
August 10, 2020 6:38 pm

I agree with what you say but I always fight back. I am highly offended at the term white privilege because that is a racist term intending to denigrate an entire race of people. Whenever I hear the terms you mention I will shout down the sexiest or the racist or whoever else made the disparaging comment. We just can’t let this happen.

Reply to  Waza
August 10, 2020 6:39 pm

Yeah, it’s fantastic for the USA that its democratic party was able to sort through all the diversity and come up with a candidate that’s an ……

….. hold on a sec !!!!

F. Ross
Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 5:27 pm

“Black” holes?

Carlo, Monte
Reply to  F. Ross
August 10, 2020 5:51 pm

I remember the 1970s.

Scissor
Reply to  F. Ross
August 10, 2020 6:57 pm

It’s difficult to express the gravity of the situation.

Craig from Oz
Reply to  Scissor
August 10, 2020 8:17 pm

I want to escape this pointless pun filled sub thread but somehow find myself drawn in.

Bryan A
Reply to  Craig from Oz
August 10, 2020 9:45 pm

_________________________
.
.
Event horizon alert

F. Ross
Reply to  Craig from Oz
August 10, 2020 9:50 pm

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

Robert of Ottawa
Reply to  john
August 10, 2020 5:50 pm

The Red planet
Black Holes

Reply to  Robert of Ottawa
August 10, 2020 6:28 pm

African American Holes anyone ??

MarkW
Reply to  philincalifornia
August 11, 2020 7:23 am

I think it was Hillary, while Bill was president, visited Africa, and started referring to the locals as African Americans.

There are a lot of whites, whose families have lived in Africa for several hundred years. If they moved to America, would they also be African Americans?

Reply to  MarkW
August 11, 2020 8:01 am

My recollection is that it was suggested by Jessy Jackson on the late 1980s.
Prior to that, mentioning “The Dark Continent” in the context of the place of origin of anyone who was not a recent immigrant from there, was strictly verboten.
Yes…here is a reference…it was a news conference in 1988:
https://sites.duke.edu/dukeengagecapetown16/2016/06/10/three-things-wrong-with-the-term-african-american/

“Jun 10, 2016 · The term African-American has crept steadily into the nation’s vocabulary since 1988, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson held a news conference to urge Americans to use it to refer to blacks”

Garold
August 10, 2020 2:08 pm

“Moon child” is a racist term. I suggest we change “moon” to “that object in the night sky” or just name it “1”.

Bryan A
Reply to  Garold
August 10, 2020 9:46 pm

Luna
&
Sol

Philip Mulholland
August 10, 2020 2:11 pm

So that’s goodbye to the Big Dipper.

john
Reply to  Philip Mulholland
August 10, 2020 2:44 pm

There goes NGC, the new N word.

Quarks and Muons are next. I’d love to go to a protest and call them that!

n.n
August 10, 2020 2:12 pm

Woke and drowsy. Diversity dogma (i.e. class-based taxonomic systems, processes, and beliefs), not limited to racism, sexism, genderism, etc. is a progressive condition.

August 10, 2020 2:13 pm

Black holes??? Supermassive Black holes???
Let’s just not even go there.
because we all know Black holes matter.

Vuk
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 10, 2020 2:43 pm

Venus -goddess of love and beauty- sexist
Mars -red planet- racist

Ron Long
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 10, 2020 2:45 pm

You’re my hero, Joel, I couldn’t get away with that, you must know some mind tricks.

saveenergy
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 10, 2020 2:46 pm

Joel… factually; Black holes = places where the sun don’t shine, or are you talking about Uranus ?

Chaswarnertoo
Reply to  saveenergy
August 11, 2020 12:26 am

The French thought so. Trou noir….

Garold
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 10, 2020 5:13 pm
Wolf at the door
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 11, 2020 2:16 am

Joel O’Brien “Black holes matter”.Come to Britain! You deserve a knighthood and your own chat show for that one!

Todd
Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
August 11, 2020 8:05 pm

Does Dark Matter Matter?

August 10, 2020 2:17 pm

“Sun” sounds sexist.

john
Reply to  Jimmy Haigh
August 10, 2020 3:25 pm

Zhun. Fixed it for ya!

John Tillman
Reply to  Jimmy Haigh
August 10, 2020 4:39 pm

On the basis of “womyn”, how about “syn”?

Kevin kilty
August 10, 2020 2:18 pm

How does one become a social justice, diversity, equity expert in the astronomical sciences? What is the criterion? Is there a measure of the stature of one against another?

Isn’t this just a fake way to expand inclusivity in science which doesn’t involve any achievement in science? I ask because I know of people who were in school with me and who moved since then into the diversity, and inspirational speaking hustle.

Tom Abbott
Reply to  Kevin kilty
August 11, 2020 2:25 pm

“How does one become a social justice, diversity, equity expert in the astronomical sciences?”

And how much does it pay?

August 10, 2020 2:18 pm

White Dwarves, Red Giants, Deep Dank Black Holes? Aren’t they mixing up the work of the Brothers Grimm with what they are supposed to be doing? They should be contemplating the works of Ray Bradbury and Edgar Rice Burroughs during their day instead.

Beware the ruthless hunter of extravagance and frivolity known as ‘Budget Cut’.

John M
August 10, 2020 2:20 pm

In the name of all other appearance-challenged individuals, I demand they change the name of the Horsehead Nebula. I find it hurtful.

Of course, as always, The Babylon Bee is right on it…

https://babylonbee.com/news/infographic-the-official-nasa-guide-to-more-inclusive-space-terms

Vuk
Reply to  John M
August 10, 2020 2:48 pm
Bryan A
Reply to  Vuk
August 10, 2020 9:43 pm

Insectist

August 10, 2020 2:36 pm

In the old east Germany, GDR, with strong atheistic attributes, didn’t have Chrismastrees but “Year end trees”, and the chocolate Father Christmas was a “year-end chocolate hollow body”
It may be possible that these polemic names have been satirical outgrowths, but they existed, as the the “End-of-year wing figure” existed -guess, what it was 😀

John Tillman
August 10, 2020 2:37 pm

“Eskimo” is widely viewed as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous people of Arctic regions.”

Maybe in Canada and Greenland. Not in the US. Alaskan Eskimos are not “Inuit”, but Eskimos. No other term applies to all Eskimo groups, ie the Inuit of Greenland and eastern Canada, the Iñupiat of western Canada and northern Alaska and the Yupik of western Alaska and easternmost Siberia.

John Tillman
Reply to  John Tillman
August 10, 2020 4:37 pm

Clearly, the snowflakes at NASA didn’t bother to consult with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission:

https://www.ktoo.org/2018/12/06/reactions-from-utqiagvik-on-a-whaling-quota-rule-change-we-dont-have-to-beg-anymore/

Academics in Alaska have tried to get US Eskimos to adopt Canadian PC usage, but with limited success at best. American Eskimos are not Inuit.

Ill Tempered Klavier
Reply to  John Tillman
August 10, 2020 7:48 pm

( expletive deleted ) A right. I’m Aleut. You ( censored ) better call me “Eskimo” when it’s appropriate. I qualify.

John Tillman
Reply to  Ill Tempered Klavier
August 10, 2020 10:17 pm

The Eskimo-Aleut Language Family is being renamed.

John Tillman
August 10, 2020 2:40 pm

How about the Washington Flaring Red Dwarves?

Tom in Florida
August 10, 2020 2:41 pm

I suppose GE and Frigidaire will complain about naming a galaxy after their competition: Whirlpool Galaxy.
And the Cigar Galaxy is most likely offensive to Hillary Clinton.

Scissor
Reply to  Tom in Florida
August 10, 2020 7:01 pm

I suppose you are referring to the Milky Way on the blue dress?

John F. Hultquist
Reply to  Scissor
August 10, 2020 9:29 pm

That’s funny.

Chaswarnertoo
Reply to  Scissor
August 11, 2020 12:28 am

And elsewhere, AFAIK. 😎

Sciwiz
August 10, 2020 2:43 pm

The funding needs to be cut, these people have to much spare time on their hands. We are all born stupid and some work very hard to stay that way.

Curious George
August 10, 2020 2:56 pm

“[NASA] will be working with diversity, inclusion, and equity experts”. That should be enough. Why would they need any other employees?

dmacleo
August 10, 2020 2:59 pm
Don Perry
August 10, 2020 3:02 pm

Well, being white, I’m highly offended by that racist restaurant chain that calls itself Cracker Barrel.

Gary Ashe
August 10, 2020 3:02 pm

Ofcourse Nasa have to take political correctness seriously they don’t want to be seen as the n i g g er in the wood pile do they.

Not Always Silly Asshats.

czechlist
Reply to  Gary Ashe
August 10, 2020 5:22 pm

Wouldn’t that be NOT seen?
Interesting that NASA broke their new policy in announcing it

John the Econ
August 10, 2020 3:06 pm

So glad that everything that can be learned from space has been learned, and now NASA has the time and resources to tackle these sorts of problems. If this is the level of silliness that NASA feels compelled to participate in, perhaps some budget cuts are in order to fund some less absurd aspect of government, if there are any left.

Second, deciding to play in the Wokeness Olympics is a sure-fire loser. Once you begin to capitulate to the supposed sensitivity of the intellectual snowflakes, you’ve demonstrated your weakness to resisting insanity and there will be no end to the demands made of you. Today it’s the “Siamese Twins Galaxy”. Tomorrow it may be NGC 4567 because it’s numbers and math itself is now deemed racist.

And in less than a generation, the stars will cease to be cataloged at all and will revert to being those little twinkling lights in the sky that people see once they walk away from the bonfire that keeps them warm at night.

damp
August 10, 2020 3:15 pm

These politically incorrect names are “harmful” in what way? In the way that poor Orca Winfrey has been held down by White Privilege?

Believing that the stars influence happenings on Earth is called “Astrology.” Believing that our names for stars influence happenings on Earth is called another really stupid use of your tax dollars.

August 10, 2020 3:18 pm

Sigh . . . I guess professional and amateur astronomers alike will no longer be able to say that “black holes matter” or even “black holes consume matter”.

And, hey, how insensitive can one be to refer to “white dwarfs”, or even the “color” of stars? Sol no longer to be referred to as a “yellow dwarf” (doubly offensive) star on the main sequence of a H-R Diagram. The “red shift” must not be mentioned six months from now, for fear of offending.

Life is certainly not what it used to be, sadly.

n.n
Reply to  Gordon A. Dressler
August 10, 2020 3:46 pm

Some, Select Black Holes… Whores (h/t NAACP) Matter is a Pro-Choice sect of the Progressive Church.

Not Chicken Little
August 10, 2020 3:28 pm

Wow, in spite of my user name, just maybe the sky IS falling…

I’ve been an amateur astronomer since I was a teenager in the 1960s, when I used to lust after Unitron refractors, among other things…

This is stupidity on steroids. If they have the time and the taxpayer money to waste on things like this, I say cut their budget by at least 50%. Let the private sector do what needs to be done, more cheaply and effectively without the government screwing it up. NASA’s bureaucracy doesn’t “do science” – they apparently do what bureaucracies do, which is waste money that’s not theirs and then they dream of newer ways to waste it, that have no benefit. NASA does not define what we call the stars, nebulae and galaxies, etc. – that they think they can “officially” change this, shows their hubris which is not at all warranted, anyway.

I will not be changing my vocabulary just because they want to refer to everything by their NGC numbers. NASA shows how useless they have become by trying to force political correctness on to astronomy.

DB
August 10, 2020 3:34 pm

Probably that was the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is the nearest and brightest galaxy in our local group of about 51 galaxies:

Sounds about right. I seem recall Magellan get a mention :o)

What about the Magellan Clouds? There’s another name that has to go. It seems Magellan was a slave owner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_of_Malacca
Enrique of Malacca was a member of the Magellan–Elcano expedition that completed the first circumnavigation of the world in 1519–1522. He was acquired as a slave by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1511 at the age of 14 years….

tom0mason
Reply to  DB
August 10, 2020 6:12 pm

Change ‘Large Magellanic Cloud’ to ‘Large White Entitlement Cloud’?

n.n
August 10, 2020 3:44 pm

Diversity and exclusion, not limited to racism, sexism, genderism?, breeds adversity. They need to lose their Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic quasi-religion (“ethics”). Stop exercising liberal license to indulge color judgments (e.g. denial of individual dignity, denial of individual conscience, affirmative discrimination, color quotas, color blocs).

MarkW
August 10, 2020 3:46 pm

Coming up with nonsense like this is what people do, when they don’t have real jobs.

John Tillman
Reply to  MarkW
August 10, 2020 4:52 pm

Clearly, NASA needs to be RIFed, with extreme prejudice.

John Tillman
Reply to  MarkW
August 10, 2020 10:21 pm

The NASA employees previously assigned the agency’s main mission of promoting the glories of Islamic Science have been repurposed.

David S
August 10, 2020 3:49 pm

NASA adopts policies of loony left. Pretty soon it will be impossible to talk at all without offending someone.

August 10, 2020 3:50 pm

OK, change the names of celestial bodies, (can I say that?) but leave the bird names alone. If I can’t make puns about Great Tits that’s half my act gone. And don’t get me started on Hornbills. Oh yeah, and Swallows (snigger)

August 10, 2020 4:03 pm

Just as soon as you think that the Stupidity has peaked, they go over the top yet again.

HD Hoese
August 10, 2020 4:54 pm

It’s all over the place, these people don’t have enough to do. As I recently wrote an officer in a scientific society, it is getting more difficult to defend universities. It is also getting more easy to offend them, increasingly deserved.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0108-y
“In the wake of the pandemic, institutions elsewhere should consider adopting diversity quotas, Maas says. “Increasing diversity, equity and inclusion should be mandatory for institutions,” she says. “There should be concrete numbers and targets that institutions have to set for themselves. It was already urgent, but it’s more urgent in this moment.””

And they rely on some really strong statistics–“An analysis of preprints submitted to the servers arXiv and bioRxiv suggests that female productivity was affected during the early months of the pandemic. For example, in March and April 2020, the physical-sciences repository arXiv received 6.4% more submissions with male first authors than in the same period the previous year — but only 2.7% more submissions with female first authors.”

Steve Taylor
August 10, 2020 4:55 pm

Something weird going on – Looks like there are basically two copies of the same report in the text.

Kenji
August 10, 2020 5:14 pm

So Disney’s Lady and the Tramp needs to be burned as well, right? Not only is it derogatory about Homeless dogs aka Tramp … but one of the most memorable scenes are the Siamese cats … proudly singing … “we are Siamese, if you please, if you please” … ohhhhhh maaaa’maaaaaaa … I’m soooo racist for even mentioning that Classic Film

Reply to  Kenji
August 11, 2020 7:16 am

They’ve already started on the classic films, so might as well.

Quilter
August 10, 2020 5:34 pm

Clearly NASA’s budget is too big and there is nothing of importance in science for some of these idiots to do. Cut their budget immediately and spend the money on something useful like fixing the windows of businesses destroyed by BLM “peaceful” demonstrations.

August 10, 2020 5:43 pm

‘Cuz like some of my best friends, man, are like simeze twins and eskimoze. And stuff. And that galaxy sh*t really hurts their feelings.
Re:

Eric Weinstein
@EricRWeinstein
I suppose naming something the “Eskimo Nebula” was pretty CounterInuitive.

But seriously: Is this what is holding us back in space? Is the Sombrero Galaxy antiMexican? Is the Bullet cluster too violent? Should we now say “holes of color”?

Q: Isn’t this mostly just wallowing?

I was a redhead when I used to have hair. I went online and Googled for galaxies that should offend redheads but couldn’t find any. Don’t know what to make of that.

Ronald Bruce
August 10, 2020 5:56 pm

If this is all NASA has to do we should just fire the lot of them and save the country billions of dollars.

Reply to  Ronald Bruce
August 10, 2020 6:36 pm

….. but, but, but, some of them have real jobs, faking the temperature record. Where would we be without those hard-working giants of science ??

August 10, 2020 6:28 pm

I have a friend who claims to be a Mexskimo. He wears a parkabrero. But that is not important.

What is important is that highly paid government functionaries are censoring and cancelling like Big Brother’s witless lackeys without any guilt or remorse. The Overlords are hard at work dictating social malarky while the taxpayer class chokes on the gruel they spew.

NASA has now cancel-cultured itself into total irrelevance. They have lost all competence and gained superfluousness. They are a useless burden. Delete them.

Scissor
Reply to  Mike Dubrasich
August 10, 2020 7:05 pm

Does he live in a casagloo or igcasa?

August 10, 2020 6:29 pm

This is what happens when government agencies have to make diversity hires from non-STEM fields. Wokeness infests and then the dumb senior managers are unable to say Stop the madness.

Yirgach
August 10, 2020 7:07 pm

From Dr. Marvel’s 2017 Ted Talk

Climate change is real, case closed. But there’s still a lot we don’t understand about it, and the more we know the better chance we have to slow it down. One still-unknown factor: How might clouds play a part? There’s a small hope that they could buy us some time to fix things … or they could make global warming worse.

Translation:
We don’t know squat, but we need to fix it.
Now!

And US taxpayers are paying for this drivel?

Craig from Oz
August 10, 2020 8:23 pm

Just name everything Wakanda. It’ll be fine.

Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2020 8:26 pm

Only one possible answer to this one. Don’t eat the yellow snow!

Craig from Oz
August 10, 2020 8:32 pm

Actually, jokes and mocking aside, what really narks me with this woke rubbish is the amount of extra pointless work that needs to be created.

Little Miss or Mister Self Important Git may think it is a simple case of changing the offending word into a less offending word. The problem here is that you are not running an anarcho syndicalist commune where decisions can be simply ratified at special bi weekly meetings, you are part of a large scale scientific organisation with version controlled documents.

You change Green Parrot to Blue Steel on a feel good whim and you need to make sure ALL your documents are up-reved.

Prats

Zane
August 10, 2020 8:44 pm

My calendar must be wrong. I thought April Fool’s Day has already occurred this year.

Pat Lane
August 10, 2020 8:57 pm

Besides, “NGC 2392” is much catchier and easier to remember than “Eskimo Nebula.”.

John F. Hultquist
August 10, 2020 9:33 pm

NASA

Surely the ‘N’ has to go.
In fact the entire agency reeks of privilege.
Defund the entire thing.

Joe
August 10, 2020 9:42 pm

Any ETs arriving from space and seeking to “colonize” the Earth will not be allowed.
They’ll be shamed on Twitter until they stop, and go away.

Earth will also not be “colonizing” any other planets under the new plan. We can “peacefully occupy” the planets, but no “Captain Kirk” types will be allowed, due to his toxic “Western European Colonialist Masculinity”.

John F. Hultquist
August 10, 2020 9:42 pm

Can we use the word “Indian”?
comment image

August 11, 2020 12:13 am

The Milky Way…… I mean duh….. if that’s not a dog whistle to white supremacists.

Reply to  Climate believer
August 11, 2020 1:11 am

Milky Way is white. Why does milk have to be white?
soooo here’s another tribute to Frank Zappa:
“Let’s make the milk turn black…”

J Mac
Reply to  Eric Vieira
August 11, 2020 11:19 pm

Er…. we call that ‘chocolate milk’?!!

Wolf at the door
August 11, 2020 2:53 am

We’ll see the Hockey Stick Galaxy yet!
Truly,the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

Trevor
August 11, 2020 4:04 am

Well, there goes Uranus!

Paul C
August 11, 2020 4:35 am

It is all well and good that they finally got round to reading the novel “1984”, but it is double plus ungood that they misunderstood its purpose (truly a warning) is NOT an instruction manual. Newspeak is all about restricting ideas. Not what a supposedly scientific and exploratory agency should be engaging in.

August 11, 2020 4:57 am

OMG – just wait until Armageddon Pompeo discovers, from his Pastor in Rapture, that China’s famous Shenzhou series is variously translated as Divine vessel, Divine craft, or Divine ship.

And not only tha,t the Tiāngōng yīhào – ‘Heaven’s Palace 1″ or “Celestial Palace” space station too!

Looks like China has hijacked Heaven, and poor Armageddon Pompeo forgot to claim “Clean Heaven”. That could ruin the entire Last Day!

Meanwhile back at the Ranch, what will NASA now name Artemis? After all the warrior sister of Apollo was no tulip.

Just Jenn
August 11, 2020 6:24 am

There are approx 45 million people out of work right now and this is how NASA is spending it’s time, energy and effort? Did they also fire their accountants when the cost benefit calculations came in? Or is this just a “feel good” announcement to show how much NASA’s finger is on the pulse of the nation?

Feel good does nothing for real education, not when:

68% of Americans believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

Less than 3 years ago we had to actually tell people NOT to eat laundry detergent in pod packaging.

Even IF you change the name, given the above stupidity, is anyone going to know where they are in the sky?

August 11, 2020 6:45 am

So this isn’t the Babylon Bee? Really? Cheers –

EdA the New Yorker
August 11, 2020 6:58 am

Clearly, NASA does some good, important work. John and Roy have done remarkable studies from UAH. Santer and Schmidt, not so much.

The quote from Kate Marvel (Yirgach, above) is mind-boggling. “Climate change is real, case closed.” If she means that the atmosphere is never in equilibrium, and will undergo substantial fluctuations over time, she’s trivially correct.

Her other point, “How might clouds play a part?” blows up the whole NASA gravy train justification. As early as the 1980’s, if alarmists wanted to preach at me about global warming, I would point out that a child knows that when a cloud passes overhead, it gets cooler. If they would counter that clouds can cause warming or cooling, depending on their height, I could have a serious discussion with them. The discussion typically ended when I noted that the understanding of heat transfer, coupling with radiative effects associated with clouds was poor, and swamped any effect of carbon dioxide, as clouds represented the most wide-spread atmospheric phenomenon. Might clouds play a role??? If nothing has been accomplished on a known deficiency in modeling in 30 years, a substantial budget cut is in order!

ResourceGuy
August 11, 2020 10:28 am

Well, they needed something to keep busy in between the major ramp up of staff time and budgets for revising the new food pyramid and the next educational standards and testing model. Also, their misadventure into hard topics like mining engineering in the San Juans did not work out so well.

I do hope Kepler and Messier had a clean record when they get evaluated by the revisionist street protest committee.

ResourceGuy
August 11, 2020 10:49 am

I do hope Voyager 1 is not looking back at the small dot at this point. It went downhill since the last photo and will eventually disappear all together.

ResourceGuy
August 11, 2020 11:03 am

Just so you know, the Chinese see these news stories as a sign of weakness and are encouraged to speed past the lost turtles who lost their way. They already cleaned out the NASA computers and their NASA contractors by hacking anyway.

ResourceGuy
August 11, 2020 11:08 am

Next up is the Grand Maxine Waters Galaxy and the Pelosi Supergroup……by voice vote in the House of Reps.

john
August 11, 2020 1:41 pm

Uh-Oh…Geology is gonna take a hit!

https://www.levantina.com/en/product/granite/ranges-and-colours/black-granite/negro-galaxy

Even the kitchen counter is so un-PC.

john
August 11, 2020 1:48 pm

Uh-Oh…Geology is gonna take a hit!

https://www.levantina.com/en/product/granite/ranges-and-colours/black-granite/negro-galaxy

Even the kitchen counter is so un-PC.

Blackholes are now known as Great Looting for Reparations bodies.

https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/looting-in-chicago-should-be-viewed-as-reparations/

Komerade Cube
August 11, 2020 3:42 pm

How about we rename them the moron galaxy and the two idiots galaxies? Oh wait, i know, we could call one the griff galaxy and the other the loydo galaxy.

August 11, 2020 3:42 pm

Bye Bye ‘Eskimo Nebula’

Must we also bid, “Bye Bye (to) Ms. Eskimo Pie”?

noaaprogrammer
August 11, 2020 8:21 pm

Mathematics is next — too many derivatives undoing integration.

Adrian Mann
August 12, 2020 12:42 am

None of these names are either official or ‘NASA’ names, so they can pretty much do what they like and it won’t change a thing in the astronomy community. They all have other designations anyway – Siamese Twins = NGC 4567 & 4568, Sombrero Galaxy = M104, NGC 4594, Eskimo Nebula = NGC2392 etc. Serious work always uses the catalogue designations. The common names won’t change and no-one will stop using them.

Irrelevant non-issue that the Right can get their knickers in a twist over. Oh look – they have! How depressingly predictable!

August 12, 2020 7:53 am

Just a matter of time before “black hole” has to be renamed. And white-dwarf (a type of star). Already heard a family story about a relative being chastised for ordering black olives on a pizza — that’s racist, those are RIPE olives! Speech-policing is rampant.