Earlier this month, a group of Ukrainian astronomers took out their frustration with the imperial actions of Russia’s president (see: annexing a chunk of his closest neighbor) by naming a star after him. Well, sort of. The Pale Blue Dot Project allows anyone wishing to donate $10 to give a name to an as-yet unnamed star, planet, or planet system (the money goes to science research). And so it is that with only a small fee and a little impish ingenuity, star KC9696936 got its new name: “Putin is a Dickhead!” (“Путiн – хуйло” in Ukrainian).
Initially, says Travis Metcalfe, founder of the Pale Blue Dot Project, he had not realized the colorful nature of the suggested name. But now that he does? The name stands. “Free speech is now written in the stars,” he said.
