[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H3242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING FIRST-EVER IMAGE OF BLACK HOLE

  (Mr. CASE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the groundbreaking 
contributions of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and Submillimeter 
Array, located on the 13,803-foot summit of Mauna Kea on my home island 
in Hawaii, and to celebrate their contributions to a truly 
international effort producing the first-ever image of a black hole.
  Part of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, the JCMT and SMA 
joined six other telescopes around the globe to form an Earth-sized 
telescope of unprecedented power and resolution able to photograph the 
supermassive black hole in the M87 galaxy. Hawaii's key contribution 
was to place world-class telescopes in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
  Astronomers partnered with renowned Hawaiian language and cultural 
practitioner Dr. Larry Kimura to suggest the Hawaiian name ``Powehi,'' 
meaning embellished dark source of unending creation.
  These Hawaii observatories pioneered the study of black holes, and 
thanks to powerful new capabilities, perfect conditions atop Mauna Kea, 
and dedicated personnel, we can all look forward to more of JCMT and 
SMA's cutting-edge discoveries in the future, in addition to the 
continued growth and reputation of Hawaii as a world leader in 
exploring our heavens.

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