Renaming Galaxies: Astronomers Challenge Magellan's Legacy in the Night Sky

Astronomers are calling for the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies visible from the Southern Hemisphere, to be renamed due to their association with the violent colonialist legacy of their namesake, Ferdinand Magellan. The astronomers argue that indigenous peoples had already discovered and named these galaxies before Magellan's arrival. They propose changing the 'm' in LMC and SMC to 'meridional' or using 'Milky' to better reflect the clouds' connection to the Milky Way. However, not everyone agrees with the renaming, with some criticizing the plea as '#woke astronomy'.