A murderer and a slave owner have no place in heaven

According to a group of American astronomers, the Portuguese and Spanish navigator Ferdinand Magellan, who made the first known voyage around the world, is not worthy of having any space objects bear his name, since he was a murderer and a slave owner. The newspaper reports this The Guardianwhich cites a paper by one of these astronomers, Mia del los Reyes of Amherst College in Massachusetts, published in the Journal of the American Physical Society APS Physics.

Several space objects bear the name of Ferdinand Magellan. Thus, during a trip around the world in 1519–1522, one of the members of Magellan’s team, Antonio Pigafetta, described stellar objects known since ancient times, which later became known as the Magellanic Clouds – Large and Small. These are the two largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, which are connected by the Magellanic Bridge (a structure of gas and stars), from them comes a stream of gas called the Magellanic Stream, and all this together is called the Magellanic system.

As activist astronomers note, Magellan committed “creepy things” during his expeditions. On the islands that are now Guam and the Philippines, “he and his men burned entire villages and killed their inhabitants,” on the lands now occupied by Argentina, he made the “youngest and best-built” men slaves, handcuffed them, assuring them that these are gifts, etc. Researchers believe that no astronomical objects or structures should be named after people associated with “a brutal colonial legacy,” and call on the International Astronomical Union, which is responsible for changing the names of space objects, to give a different name to the Magellanic Clouds .

Possible replacement options include Milky Clouds.

The opinion about the need to rename this object is also supported by New York University professor David Hogg, but he adds that not only because of Magellan’s actions. “The main reason is that these clouds were not Magellan’s discovery,” he says.

The discussion about certain renamings in the scientific community is not limited only to stars. Recent such discussions include renaming species that were named after, for example, Hitler or Mussolini. Thus, two insects bear the name of the leader of the Third Reich. True, one thing, Rochlingia hitleri, according to scientists, became extinct millions of years ago. The second, Anophthalmus hitleri, is considered extremely rare. The butterfly Hypopta mussolinii is named after the Italian dictator. But this is not its only name; Mormogystia reibellii or Hypopta reibellii are also used. Requests for the final renaming have already been sent to the organizations responsible for this.

Alena Miklashevskaya