“Pōwehi” –Galaxy M87’s Gargantuan Black Hole Named After Hawaiian Creation Chant

That first black hole at the center of Galaxy M87 seen in the Event Horizon Telescope image is now called “Pōwehi” from the Kumulipo, a centuries-old Hawaiian creation chant of 2,102 lines; it means “the adorned fathomless dark creation.” It stems from “pō,” which means powerful, unfathomable and ceaseless creation, and “wehi,” an honorific befitting someone who would wear a crown, according to it’s benefactor, Larry Kimura, a professor of Hawaiian language with the University of Hawai’i.

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