Posted on 11/12/2019 12:50:31 PM PST by 11th_VA
Ultima Thule, the farthest cosmic body ever visited by a spacecraft, has been officially renamed Arrokoth, or "sky" in the Native American Powhatan and Algonquian languages, following a significant backlash over the old name's Nazi connotations.
The icy rock, which orbits in the dark and frigid Kuiper Belt about a billion miles beyond Pluto, was visited by the NASA spaceship New Horizons in January this year, with the first detailed images showing it consisted of two spheres stuck together in the shape of a snowman.
Its technical designation is 2014 MU69 but the New Horizon team initially nicknamed it Ultima Thule (pronounced Tool-ey) after a mythical northern land in classical and medieval European literature described as beyond the borders of the known world.
That name sparked a backlash, however, because it was co-opted by far-right German occultists in the early 20th century as the fabled ancient northern country of the "Aryan" people (the term they used to describe proto-Indo-Europeans).
Their Thule Society later became Adolf Hitler's Nazi party, and the term remains popular in alt-right circles: it is, for example, also the name of a Swedish white-power rock group.
The new official name, which was chosen by the New Horizons team and ratified by the International Astronomical Union, was announced in a ceremony at NASA headquarters Tuesday. A subsequent NASA statement made no mention of the controversy.
(Excerpt) Read more at afp.com ...
Well Thankfully Hassium (106)and it’s anti matter form Hassnotium is safe. Well other than being wildly radioactive with an extremely short half life. When Chemistry meets Physics, lots of funny things happen. Sorry if I quark myself up.
It’s funny, in New Orleans, they took down the statue of General Lee, but the park it was in is still named “Lee Circle Park”.
We need to ban the word “thousand” because Hitler claimed that his Third Reich would last one thousand years.
We should demand that Robert B. Reich change his name.
How about naming it ‘Arkham’.
They should name it Hoth, thereby only possibly offending Star Wars fans.
Bohrium is boring.
In the early '40s all the plutonium in the world was stored in a cigar box on Glenn Seaborg's desk at Berkeley.
Hassnotium can decay into either Hasslessium or Hassmorium.
The most elusive of the transfermium elements (the group with atomic numbers > 100) is Unobtanium (Unob), atomic number ~ 119. Highly prized by Steampunkers.
“the term remains popular in alt-right circles”
I have the sense that “alt-right” is another leftwad invention, like “capitalist.”
Is there, or was there, an actual “alt-right?”
Ernest Tubb is safe since his big hit was Wakanda Floor Over You.
“They should name it Hoth, thereby only possibly offending Star Wars fans.”
Hoth was in a galaxy far far away. :-)
I’m sure those “native Americans” were as calm and peaceful as can be. Never harmed a fly, I’ll bet.
Great point - they did practice slavery, and some practiced human sacrifice.
Some folks worry about all the wrong things. :^) Thanks DoodleBob.
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