Issue : Inappropriate French name for M61 in Stellarium

[fred-76]

Description du problème
Dans la traduction française de Stellarium, la galaxie M61 est nommée « Galaxie de l’enflure ».
Cette traduction pose un problème linguistique : en français contemporain, hors contexte médical, le terme enflure est principalement utilisé comme une insulte, ce qui rend l’appellation inappropriée et discriminante dans un contexte scientifique ou pédagogique.

Origine probable
Le nom semble provenir d’une traduction littérale du surnom anglais Swelling spiral galaxy.
Cependant, ce surnom n’a pas d’équivalent satisfaisant en français : les traductions possibles * spirale gonflée , gonflante, dilatée, bouffie, tuméfiée, étalée, levante, etc.* sont toutes maladroites ou sémantiquement imprécises, et en expansion est scientifiquement complétement absurde.

Impact

Connotation péjorative dans l’interface française.
Risque de confusion ou d’incompréhension pour les utilisateurs.

Proposition de correction
Remplacer le surnom actuel par une appellation neutre, correcte, scientifiquement et historiquement fondée, par exemple :

→ Galaxie d’Oriani, en référence à son découvreur Barnaba Oriani.
→ Galaxie de la Houle, plus proche du nom anglais, houle en français se traduisant par swell en anglais
→ Galaxie de la Coquille d'Escargot, selon la description faite par J. Herschell en 1845 avec le télescope de Ross

Avantages de cette solution

Nom scientifiquement neutre.
Évite toute connotation injurieuse ou inappropriée
Cohérence avec le surnom anglais (pour la seconde proposition)
Cohérence historique (pour la première proposition)

Alternative
Ne rien mettre et laisser tout simplement M61...

[alex-w]

@martignoni any comments please

[10110111]

This name does appear to be used. See e.g. here, here, here. Maybe it's just influence of Stellarium, but at least it isn't unheard of.

[fred-76]

These 3 links are from the exact same person...

[gzotti]

... and she is apparently not bothered by the name.

[fred-76]

true, she would not hesitate to talk about the "scumbag spiral galaxy"...

[10110111]

In Stellarium Mobile it's the same. I've asked Fabien and Guillaume, let's see what they reply.

[gzotti]

You can just propose a better translation on Transifex. The "Swelling" is sourced from a popular list and a deep-sky guide (and I'd like to know what the observer is supposed to see swelling), so replacing this by a completely different name is not the best solution. Maybe the French language also has a non-medical term that can be used. French amateur observers should know that, or what the best name is for this. I just call it M61.

[martignoni]

It is not to late to find a better name, should we need to give a name for each galaxy... but definitely Galaxie de l'enflure IS NOT convenient especially when you present astronomy at school : the equivalent in english is "Scumbag spiral galaxy" !!!!

French is also my mother tongue, and, as a matter of fact, I don't find this a problem. Certainly "enflure" can be used as an insult, but the first and propre meaning is not, see https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/enflure.

Anyway, why not change it to "Galaxie spirale en expansion", which is acceptable IMHO, and, importantly, a matching translation of the original string.

I've made the fix in Transifex.

[martignoni]

We use Stellarium to present astronomical objects at school to children aged 6 to 12, and these terms make them laugh a lot. As a result, the day after, teachers and parents complain, which is not ideal for promoting astronomy.

One could also educate the children (and parents) about what is really an "enflure".

[fred-76]

We use Stellarium to present astronomical objects at school to children aged 6 to 12, and these terms make them laugh a lot. As a result, the day after, teachers and parents complain, which is not ideal for promoting astronomy.

One could also educate the children (and parents) about what is really an "enflure"

Oui, c'est un salopard ! Enflure, as defined in the link you provided, is a medical term and has nothing to do with astronomy, let alone with the way we observe this galaxy. The proposed designation "Galaxie spirale en expansion" is completely inappropriate, since the term "expansion" has a very specific meaning in astronomy that does not apply to this galaxy - to date no study conclude that it is in expansion (not talking about the expansion of the Universe).

No reference provides any justification for the English designation of M61. The word "swelling" implies that the object is bulging or inflating, yet we observe this galaxy nearly face-on, and nothing in that viewing geometry allows such a conclusion to be made. Visually, it is simply a spiral galaxy. As J. Herschel noted in 1845, when he became one of the first astronomers to observe it through a very large telescope (72 inches), he described it as resembling a "snail shell."

[gzotti]

Calm down. Unfortunately Herschel's name was not chiseled in the stone slabs used for 19th-century lithographic atlases, else his name would be used now. M61 went as M61 for most of its known history. Then the author of the book that we used has given this name, and probably a handful of people on this planet is using it. Somebody could look into the book for motivation. But it's completely unimportant. Follow 8.1.2.1 and get rid of this name in your school.

Err... Are you really live casting this discussion into French Wikipedia?

[10110111]

No reference provides any justification for the English designation of M61.

Well, actually, the original reference, DSC-MO, does give a justification. Using ChatGPT as a search engine*, I found a copy of the book, and here's the relevant text (page 184):

M61 itself reveals a brightening at the center that pops into view only with averted vision. This nucleus is centered in a fairly condensed halo of light that is wrapped in an even fainter shell. The fading into view (or out of view, depending on how you stare at it) of this faint outer envelope is the reason the galaxy appears to swell (and shrink), which is why I refer to M61 as the Swelling Spiral.

---

^*The query was What source and why called M61 the Swelling Galaxy? Give me the number of chapter and possible the page number.

[10110111]

A data point from Fabien: he said he had never heard this French name, and he also thinks it would be better to remove this translation. I suppose we should just use the English string as the translation, maybe adding a translator's comment to the entry explaining why.

…

On Wed, 30 Sep 2026, 19:40 Georg Zotti, ***@***.***> wrote: This "Swell" is a maritime term, maybe not the original meaning. What does your famous baguette bread make in the oven? It grows bigger. Can you describe this process in French terminology so that parents won't get angry? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#5139?email_source=notifications&email_token=ABQU3MQORXBTLIB3JSD62EL5RTWJHA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBWG44DGNBVUZZGKYLTN5XKOY3PNVWWK3TUUVSXMZLOOSWGM33PORSXEX3DNRUWG2Y#discussioncomment-18678345>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABQU3MTHLQAEZUCC6NDRYA35RTWJHAVCNFSNUABHKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTQNZRHE4DKNR3IRUXGY3VONZWS33OHMYTAOJRHE3DAONBOYBA> . Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/ABQU3MUYTXHDVATKK5BO5CL5RTWJHA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBWG44DGNBVUZZGKYLTN5XKOY3PNVWWK3TUUVSXMZLOOSVGM33PORSXEX3JN5ZQ> and Android <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/ABQU3MQ4O6PKHAT6DMSY2PT5RTWJHA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBWG44DGNBVUZZGKYLTN5XKOY3PNVWWK3TUUVSXMZLOOSXGM33PORSXEX3BNZSHE33JMQ>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[fred-76]

I agree, but we should just leave the M61 without any translation nor english name, and add a comment "Discovered by B. Oriani in 1779".

[gzotti]

The authors of both references (B500 may have used DSC-MO) are well known, and anyone with the book full of fanciful names could probably look up the author's motivation. ("To annoy French parents" is not what I'd expect.) It is unexpected that this language is not able to express what happens when something gets larger without amusing infants and upsetting parents. I don't know how to translate into no name at all, as an empty string is replaced by the original. Maybe just "."? Or "(Galaxie de nom indécent censuré)" (sp)? The discoverer is already provided in the InfoString, so no need to repeat that. Or follow section 8.1.2.1 as outlined above, and you are safe from any of these weird names.

[fred-76]

The authors of both references (B500 may have used DSC-MO) are well known

What do you mean by B500 and DSC-MO ???

[10110111]

What do you mean by B500 and DSC-MO ???

From nebulae/default/names.dat:

#   B500: The 500 Best Deep Sky Objects' by Don Pensack; https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/472872-500-best-dso-list/
#   DSC-MO: Deep-Sky Companions: The Messier Objects 2nd edition by Stephen James OMeara, Cambridge University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1139087674

[fred-76]

I found that in 1845, Sir John Herschel observed the galaxy (No. 25 in his catalogue of nebulae) using Lord Rosse's telescope and described it as having the form of a snail shell. I have not been able to locate the original paper he wrote; however, the following translation can be found reproduced in several French scientific publications from that period:

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6447933x/f2.image.r

[martignoni]

This is now fixed and can be closed: the name was changed to "Galaxie spirale en expansion" in Transifex.

[fred-76]

No, the "expansion" term IS NOT CORRECT !

Expansion has a dedicated signification in astrophysics and IS NOT APPROPRIATE for this galaxy !!!!

You cannot close the subject.

[gzotti]

A story to tell at the fireplace...

[fred-76]

OK, I will propose "Spiralgalaxie der Aufgeblasenen" for the german version... 🥇, may I ?

[gzotti]

Nein. 'Anschwellend' ist im Alltagsgebrauch nicht obszön (außer man konstruiert etwas), und ich hatte einem Bezug zu indirektem Sehen (averted vision) vermutet.

[fred-76]

@10110111 found the answer:

M61 itself reveals a brightening at the center that pops into view only with averted vision. This nucleus is centered in a fairly condensed halo of light that is wrapped in an even fainter shell. The fading into view (or out of view, depending on how you stare at it) of this faint outer envelope is the reason the galaxy appears to swell (and shrink), which is why I refer to M61 as the Swelling Spiral.

Physically, the galaxy is not changing size. What changes is your perception of the very faint outer halo. As your eye alternately detects and loses that faint light, the galaxy seems to expand and contract.

The effect is indeed quite similar to watching the ocean swells. A sea swell is not a sudden sharp wave but a slow rise and fall, and that's the feeling conveyed by "Swelling Spiral". In fact, from what the author says, I would interpret "Swelling Spiral" less as "enflure" and more as:

• Galaxie spirale qui se dilate et se rétracte (swells and shrinks)
• Galaxie spirale ondoyante (fluctuates)
• Galaxie spirale qui respire (breaths)
• Galaxie spirale à houle => or to make it better : Galaxie spirale de la Houle which is exactly what Stephen James O'Meara had in mind when he gave this "swelling" nickname to the galaxy.

Please change the Transifex accordingly and forget the scientifically wrong "en expansion" proposal...

PS. however I find strange to name a galaxy from the impression a journalist-astronomer had in the 1990's while the first one who observed it in 1845 with a telescope large enough to see the details said it was looking like the shell of a snail , as one can see on Fred Espenak photo below.

https://www.astropixels.com/galaxies/images/M61-01z.jpg

[10110111]

however I find strange to name a galaxy from the impression a journalist-astronomer had in the 1990's while the first one who observed it in 1845 with a telescope large enough to see the details said it was looking like the shell of a snail

That's more or less the Stigler's law of eponymy ;)

[fred-76]

That's more or less the Stigler's law of eponymy ;)

True. But since the English name of this galaxy was virtually unknown beyond the Anglosphere until Stellarium (tried to) popularized the french name in what looks like a first-grade translation exercise, there is no compelling reason for the rest of the world to follow suit. O'Meara's discussion strongly suggests that Galaxie de la Houle would be a much better choice, although that may run afoul of Stigler's law of eponymy.

[fred-76]

Donc, la conclusion est Galaxie de la Houle ?

Merci de confirmer parce que pour le moment dans Transifex, c'est une ineptie qui est indiquée... "Galaxie spirale en expansion" !!!!