{
  "id": 5660555,
  "title": "Hawaiʻi Students Help Name a Pair of Merging Galaxies More Than 200 Million Light-Years Away",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/hawai-i-students-help-name-a-pair-of-merging-galaxies-more-than-200",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-04T22:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Discover Magazine",
    "slug": "discover-magazine",
    "url": "https://www.discovermagazine.com/hawai-i-students-help-name-a-pair-of-merging-galaxies-more-than-200-million-light-years-away-49641"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two galaxies located more than 200 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, known as Ka Lupe o Kawelo in Hawaiian astronomy, are slowly being drawn together by gravity. To capture this cosmic encounter, the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi, has taken a detailed image of NGC 7253, a pair of galaxies in the process of merging. However, the decision to image NGC 7253 and name the resulting image involved more than just astronomers.\n\nStudents from middle and high schools on Hawaiʻi Island, through a program called Project Hōkūlani, played a crucial role in selecting the target for imaging and naming the picture. The students chose \"Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola,\" which translates to \"The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life.\" This name encapsulates the galaxies' gravitational interaction and the students' own experiences during their astronomy learning journey on Maunakea.\n\nThe first part of the name, \"Nā ʻUhane Māhoe,\" represents the twin spirits, inspired by the galaxies' spiral arms and their close proximity. The middle section, \"Huki Pū,\" describes the mutual gravity pulling the galaxies toward each other, transforming both over billions of years. The final part, \"i ke Ola,\" signifies the creation of new stars within the merging galaxies, as the collision and compression of gas and dust lead to bursts of star formation.\n\nThe students learned about this process while studying NGC 7253 and its merger, connecting the formation of new stars to the idea of life, given that stars, including our sun, are essential for life on Earth. The name, therefore, celebrates both the cosmic event and the students' personal growth and diverse experiences during the project.",
  "summary": "Learn how two galaxies slowly pulling toward each other inspired a name that captures their cosmic collision and the birth of new stars within them.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}