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.”

Nicknames are often more approachable and public-friendly than official names for cosmic objects, such as Barnard 33, whose nickname "the Horsehead Nebula" invokes its appearance. But often seemingly innocuous nicknames can be harmful and detract from the science.

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.

"These nicknames and terms may have historical or culture connotations that are objectionable or unwelcoming, and NASA is strongly committed to addressing them," said Stephen T. Shih, Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity at NASA Headquarters. "Science depends on diverse contributions, and benefits everyone, so this means we must make it inclusive.”

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Insiders say Justin Trudeau doesn’t want an election. He wants to remake Canada

OTTAWA—The notion that a crisis shouldn’t go to waste but can be used to do big, bold things is attributed to Machiavelli or alternatively to Britain’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.

Right now, it’s on the mind of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Inside Trudeau’s Liberal government an age-old debate is alive: how not to waste the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic — and there is a growing sense that key players believe now is the time to take a more aggressive approach to being progressive.

Trudeau is on vacation this week and next, staying close to home in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, after testifying and attempting to close off the WE controversy that battered his government’s previously positive reviews for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

It may be too soon to say whether the political hit from the defunct student volunteer program will last. Political controversies have a way of seeming to die down only to flare again in the public’s mind as new revelations emerge.

Sources tell the Star that thousands of documents related to the WE affair that the Liberal government transferred to a parliamentary committee are to be publicly released on Monday if not sooner.

Beyond the headlines, however, Trudeau and his inner circle are weighing how to roll out bigger, bolder changes aimed at bolstering Canada’s competitive position post-pandemic, and move past short-term solutions to the crisis.

The thinking goes like this: the pandemic exposed major social and economic inequities when it comes to child care, long-term care for seniors, women’s ability to remain in the workforce when schools are shut, the lack of social safety net backstops for precarious workers, and the disproportionate economic and health impacts of the virus on Black people and other minority communities. And so now is the time, with the cost of long-term borrowing so cheap due to historically low interest rates, to address those inequities for the longer term, sources said.

One said there is an “opportunity for us to think big to think about child care, to think about how we can accelerate the transition to clean energy and how we can fight climate change, how we can help vulnerable people, how we can root out discrimination and level the playing field for working people and on all the progressive ideas that we’ve talked about and made progress on but in a different context. So can we actually present a big vision? I think we can.”

The Star is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

One insider with knowledge of the prime minister’s thinking said Trudeau is not looking at provoking a fall election with the economy still in a crucial “restart” phase, but he is looking toward the “recovery” phase. That source suggested the more likely option is a budget in the new year that would lay out the bolder plan.

Opposition parties could choose to vote non-confidence in such a plan and trigger a vote. But sources said Trudeau is not aiming to trigger one with a plan that would not win support. They pointed to how in a minority position the government has been able to advance most of its big-ticket pandemic programs.

Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre doesn’t buy it. He says the government, spooked by the fallout of WE, aims to run a campaign on “this fairy tale that you can just continue to pour free money out of airplanes.” He said the Liberal government would be wrong to pursue even more borrowing and spending, because the “monstrous deficits” being racked up are going to continue to weigh down growth and slow down the economy, not stimulate it.

“That will be a recipe for a longer recession, perhaps even a depression,” Poilievre said in an interview. “We think it’s time for “free-market stimulus,” he said. The government should “fast-track” environmental approvals for about a dozen energy projects worth a total of about $20 billion and “unleash the productive forces of the private sector.”

One Liberal insider said the Liberals will not be pinned down by Conservative calls “for austerity.” Another said after the last election, which opened a worrying East-West divide in the country, the government adopted an “incrementally progressive” approach. That source said “this is a once in a century opportunity” to do more.

Trudeau has already declared he intends to devise “a better 21st century EI system.”

Just before he left on vacation, he promised details before the end of August on how Ottawa will ease the transition for workers off the CERB program emergency benefit payments — due to end by October — and onto employment insurance. EI doesn’t cover gig or contract workers, so Ottawa will create a “transitional, parallel benefit that is similar to employment insurance,” Trudeau said.