411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Pōwehi
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Powehi
Translingual
Alternative forms
mul Powehi
Etymology
From mul haw Pōwehi, from haw pōwehi, the generative darkness of creation, from the Hawaiian creation chant en Kumulipo. From haw pō unfathomable ceaseless powerful creation + haw wehi honorific for crowned nobles. The Hawaiian name was chosen by Jessica Dempsey (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope observatory deputy director), Hawaiian language linguist Larry Kimura, and Geoffrey C. Bower (chief scientist of Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics division of Hawai’i).
Pronunciation
mul Hawaiian
Proper noun
mul proper noun
mul astronomy mul M87* en Messier 87*, the central supermassive blackhole of the galaxy Messier 87.
UH Hilo professor names black hole capturing world's attention https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/04/10/uh-hilo-professor-names-black-hole/ University of Hawaiʻi News 2019-04-10 2020-03-19 In April 2017, a groundbreaking observational campaign brought together eight telescopes at six locations around the globe to capture an image of Pōwehi, a supermassive black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy. https://web.archive.org/web/20260804115443/https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/04/10/uh-hilo-professor-names-black-hole/ 4 August 2026
Maunakea telescopes win the 'Oscars of Science' for Pōwehi https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/09/06/maunakea-telescopes-oscars-of-science-for-powehi/ University of Hawaiʻi News 2019-09-06 2020-03-19 Working together as one ʻohana was critical to our success in capturing the image of Pōwehi. https://web.archive.org/web/20260618015104/https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/09/06/maunakea-telescopes-oscars-of-science-for-powehi/ 18 June 2026
2020, Jessica T. Dempsey, "The Event Horizon Telescope: the impact of an image and finding Pōwehi", in Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII
Pōwehi: New research captures a decade of movement https://www.eaobservatory.org/jcmt/2020/09/movement-of-powehi/ James Clerk Maxwell Telescope 2020-09-23 2020-03-19 The most important thing that we have learned is that the shadow of Pōwehi is always there. That means it is real and is caused by the light bending from the black hole. The wobble tells us about how gas is flowing around the black hole, varying like clouds in the sky or waves on the ocean. What's next is to use our improved array and make images over years to come and learn from those changes to answer questions like, 'How does Pōwehi feed itself?' https://web.archive.org/web/20260215041000/https://www.eaobservatory.org/jcmt/2020/09/movement-of-powehi/ 15 February 2026
Synonyms
mul M87*
mul NGC 4486*
mul Vir X-1*
mul Vir A*
mul Black holes
Hawaiian
Etymology
From haw pō<t:unfathomable ceaseless powerful creation> wehi<pos:honorific for crowned nobles>.
Pronunciation
Pō+wehi
Proper noun
haw proper noun
the generative darkness of creation, from the Hawaiian creation chant en Kumulipo
haw 2018 K Lipe Toward equity and equality: Transforming universities into Indigenous places of learning Reclaiming Indigenous research in higher education Pua ana ke kupa ala leia ke kama nei Kama 'ia i kama'āina ke aloha Aloha Mānoa i ka ua Tuahine Halihali 'ia maila e ka 'olu Kahaukani Kani a'ela ia uka o Kaho'iwai Ia 'āina kaulana i ka ulu lehua Lehua-kea o ka uka la o Naniuapō Pōwehi i ka wai pe'e palai o Waiakeakua
Descendants
mul Pōwehi 1
haw Hawaiian mythology