Black hole named 'Powehi' by Hawaii university professor

Pic/Twitter National Science Foundation

Hilo: A language professor has given a Hawaiian name 'Powehi' to the black hole depicted in an image produced in a landmark experiment. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Thursday that University of Hawaii-Hilo Hawaiian Professor Larry Kimura named the cosmic object.

The world's first image of a black hole revealed on Wednesday was created using data from eight radio telescopes around the world. The newspaper reports the word meaning "the adorned fathomless dark creation" or "embellished dark source of unending creation" comes from the Kumulipo, an 18th Century Hawaiian creation chant.

Astronomers say giving it a Hawaiian name was justified because the project included two telescopes in Hawaii. Jessica Dempsey, a co-discoverer of the black hole, says the word is an excellent match for the scientific description she provided to Kimura.

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