Join us for Astronomy on Tap Hawaiʻi at Hale Kanikapila on Wednesday, October 14, from 7:00 to 9:00p! Astronomy on Tap is a free event for casual astronomy talks where no astronomy background is needed and all perspectives on the night sky are welcome. Come hang out, learn something new, and test your knowledge in the quiz for a chance to win prizes!
This month, we’re diving into Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua: the story of a supermassive black hole twin at the edge of the Universe. Silvia Onorato and Devin Chu will share the recent scientific discovery, along with the Hawaiian naming and its cultural relevance.
Click below to learn more about our guest speakers and their talks:
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What’s better than a supermassive black hole swallowing matter at the dawn of the Universe? Two of them, side by side! Silvia Onorato from the Gemini North Observatory will guide you through the exploration of a rare black hole twin system observed when the cosmos was less than a billion years old.
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Given the relevance of Maunakea in this discovery, through the A Hua He Inoa program at ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi, the following name was given to the double quasar system: Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua. This translates to ”Two celestial bodies of fathomless powerful darkness (black holes) in the brilliance of heat reincarnating energy into the Universe" in the indigenous Hawaiian language, ʻōlelo. Devin Chu from ʻImiloa will describe how the name was given by Larry Kimura, professor of Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani/College of Hawaiian Language.