Crater on Mercury named after Hawaiian guitarist - General Tiki

P paranoid123 Tiki Socialite New York City Joined: Dec 13, 2002 Posts: 379	P paranoid123 Posted posted on Tue, Mar 26, 2013 9:08 AM For those of you who are astronomy buffs as well as slack key guitarist enthusiasts, here's a press release from NASA that might be of interest: Newly Named Mercury Craters Honor Hawaiian Guitarist, Beloved Young Adult Author The International Astronomical Union (IAU) — the arbiter of planetary and satellite nomenclature since its inception in 1919 — recently approved a proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to assign names to nine impact craters on Mercury. In keeping with the established naming theme for craters on Mercury, all of the newly designated features are named after famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors or other contributors to the humanities. The newly named craters are [snip] Pahinui, for Charles Phillip Kahahawai "Gabby" Pahinui, (1921-1980), a Hawaiian guitar player considered to be one of the most influential slack-key guitar players in the world. His music was a key part of the "Hawaiian Renaissance," a resurgence of interest in traditional Hawaiian culture during the 1970s. [snip] Ray Espiritu, a mission operations engineer on the MESSENGER team, submitted Pahinui's name for consideration. "I wanted to honor the place where I grew up and still call home even after many years away," he says. "The Pahinui crater contains a possible volcanic vent, and its name may inspire other scientists as they investigate the volcanic processes that helped to create Mercury, just as investigation of Hawaiian volcanoes helps us understand the volcanic processes that shape the Earth we know today." The full press release can be found here. By the way, HP Lovecraft got his name on a crater as well.

For those of you who are astronomy buffs as well as slack key guitarist enthusiasts, here's a press release from NASA that might be of interest:

Newly Named Mercury Craters Honor Hawaiian Guitarist, Beloved Young Adult Author

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) — the arbiter of planetary and satellite nomenclature since its inception in 1919 — recently approved a proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to assign names to nine impact craters on Mercury. In keeping with the established naming theme for craters on Mercury, all of the newly designated features are named after famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors or other contributors to the humanities. The newly named craters are

[snip]

Pahinui, for Charles Phillip Kahahawai "Gabby" Pahinui, (1921-1980), a Hawaiian guitar player considered to be one of the most influential slack-key guitar players in the world. His music was a key part of the "Hawaiian Renaissance," a resurgence of interest in traditional Hawaiian culture during the 1970s.

[snip]

Ray Espiritu, a mission operations engineer on the MESSENGER team, submitted Pahinui's name for consideration. "I wanted to honor the place where I grew up and still call home even after many years away," he says. "The Pahinui crater contains a possible volcanic vent, and its name may inspire other scientists as they investigate the volcanic processes that helped to create Mercury, just as investigation of Hawaiian volcanoes helps us understand the volcanic processes that shape the Earth we know today."

The full press release can be found here. By the way, HP Lovecraft got his name on a crater as well.

Post #672340 by paranoid123 on Tue, Mar 26, 2013 9:08 AM