NASA to Stop Using ‘Inappropriate’ Nicknames for Cosmic Objects

'Science depends on diverse contributions, and benefits everyone, so this means we must make it inclusive,' says official for diversity and equal opportunity

Tourists take pictures of a NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 14, 2010. Carlos Barria/Reuters

NASA has announced it is revising some unofficial nicknames used to refer to cosmic objects as it joins efforts by some within the scientific community to promote values of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The U.S. space agency said in a statement on Aug. 5 that certain nicknames historically used to refer to distant planets, galaxies, or nebulae that it considers “inappropriate” will no longer be used. Instead, the agency will adopt the official International Astronomical Union designations for the cosmic objects.