Picture Courtesy: The New York Times
Soon after the world got its first glimpse of a real-life image of a black hole on Wednesday, a petition started to circulate to name the black hole after the late Chris Cornell, the rock band Soundgarden's frontman. One of Cornell's most famous songs is called Black Hole Sun. Cornell took his life two years ago.
Understanding black hole
By about 12:30 p.m. PT Friday, the petition had 7,794 signatures and that number kept climbing.
Despite the flood of fans pushing to give Cornell the honor, on Friday the black hole was dubbed Powehi, which is Hawaiian for "embellished dark source of unending creation," CNN reported. Astronomers involved with the project reportedly asked a Hawaiian language professor for help naming the black hole because two of the eight telescopes used to capture the photo are located in Hawaii.
"I ask NASA, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and all the astronomers and scientists involved in this discovery, to name this black hole after Chris Cornell," Giuliana Jarrin, the petition's creator said on Change.org. "This would be a 'surreal' and amazing way to honor his life and his contribution to music."
Jarrin wasn't immediately available for comment.
