2023-11-29 16:22:25
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An alliance of astronomers is calling for the Magellanic Clouds to be renamed. The historical legacy of the namesake is heavy for various reasons, they say.
Frankfurt – The Magellanic Clouds – south of the equator, the bright satellite galaxies of our Milky Way are visible to the naked eye. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds owe their names to a man who was… important seafarer and explorer went down in the history books: Ferdinand Magellan. Under the leadership of the Portuguese, who served the Spanish Kingdom, the first historically documented circumnavigation of the world was achieved in the 16th century. But it is no honor for the two groups of stars to bear this name, according to a group of astronomers.
“Colonial ruler and slave trader” – Astronomers call for the Magellanic Clouds to be renamed
A “colonial lord, slave trader and murderer” should no longer be allowed to have the privilege of being the namesake of two star groups that are so important in the astronomical world. The scientists are therefore calling on the International Astronomical Union – the organization responsible for naming astronomical objects – to rename the Magellanic Clouds, as described in an article in the specialist magazine Physics APS write.
A statue in Sabrosa, Portugal, commemorates Ferdinand Magellan. (Archive image) © imago images/Xinhua
“Names reflect the values of the community,” says Mia de los Reyes, who wrote the article on behalf of the astronomical alliance, explaining the group’s motivations. “Naming objects, buildings, and places after people has long been a way for society to honor individuals for their discoveries, their achievements, or the values they symbolize.”
Names as a reflection of social values – Magellan should not bear this honor, say scientists
The Magellanic Clouds
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are companions to our galaxy. The Large Magellanic Cloud is about 180,000 light-years away from Earth, the smaller cloud is a little further away, around 190,000 light-years between it and Earth.
Over 150 years ago, the light from the Cepheid stars, whose luminosity changes over certain periods of time, served as the basis for calculations that made it possible to measure the universe.
But Magellan’s reputation is questionable for many – and not just in the world of astronomy. His critics’ arguments are tough: the Portuguese’s colonial legacy is too violent – that’s why his name shouldn’t be associated with celestial objects. Magellan committed “terrible acts” against the indigenous population in the regions he traveled to, de los Reyes also emphasizes. “In what is now Guam and the Philippines, Magellan and his men burned villages and killed their inhabitants.” He brutally enslaved the Tehuelche people in what is now Argentina.
In Original records From the period, for example, it is described how he put iron handcuffs on the “youngest and most well-proportioned men and told them that the handcuffs were gifts,” explains de los Reyes, who is an assistant professor of astronomy at Amherst College in the US state of Massachusetts . “I and many other astronomers believe that astronomical objects and facilities should not be named after Magellan or anyone else with a violent colonialist legacy.”
Critics argue that Magellan was not an astronomer himself
But from a scientific perspective there is also something to be said for renaming the Magellanic Clouds. Although Magellan was a captain, he was neither an astronomer nor the first to document these galaxies. A scribe on board Magellan’s expedition ship described two groups of stars in the southern night sky that looked like clouds.
Large Magellanic Cloud © JPL-Caltech/dpa
However, the clouds were discovered before Magellan’s big breakthrough, in which he discovered a passage between the South American mainland and the island of Tierra del Fuego – called the Strait of Magellan. Arab and Italian explorers reported the glowing celestial objects in their notes at least a decade before Magellan’s expedition, de los Reyes points out. “Magellan made no astronomical discoveries and for many he remains a symbol of imperialist and anti-Indigenous violence.”
The Hubble telescope managed to capture images of one to make the area in the Large Magellanic Cloud where stars were born – around 170,000 light-years from Earth.
The Magellanic Clouds were named by indigenous peoples thousands of years ago
In addition, there are legends about the bright sky clouds throughout the southern hemisphere – with their own names given by the indigenous peoples, which are thousands of years older than Magellan. “The communities that suffered under Magellan have rich astronomical traditions that are often less valued than those in the West. Even in the field of professional astronomy, the effects of Spanish colonization are still felt today.”
De los Reyes and her colleagues see it as their duty to “tell the story of the universe.” But what matters most is how it is told. Naming monuments or facilities after individuals can always pose difficulties. But such an honor should only ever be given to people who “represent our highest ideals,” according to the recommendation of the Astronomy Alliance around de los Reyes.
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