This week, the world caught its first-ever glimpse of a black hole, something once thought unseeable. It now has a name: Powehi, a word from an 18th century Hawaiian creation chant. The word means “embellished dark source of unending creation” and was chosen by University of Hawaii-Hilo Professor Larry Kimura.
When one of the key researchers, Dr. Katie Bouman, saw the image of an orange ring of light surrounding, well, a black hole, she reacted with obvious joy — and awe.
Awe, scientists tell us, is an emotion we feel in response to something vast and that does not fit in our existing frame of reference.