Fans Start Petition to Name the Black Hole After Chris Cornell

Image by Bernard Star via creativecommons.org

An online petition has been launched on change.org to name the recently photographed black hole after the Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.

The very first image of the almost impossible to comprehend cosmic phenomenon made its debut earlier this week – and it didn’t take long for fans to organize and effort to pay tribute to Cornell and Soundgarden’s 1994 track Black Hole Sun.

The petition was started by Giuliana Jarrin, who says:

“Almost two years ago, we lost Chris Cornell. He was the lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, and above all, the voice of an entire generation. He was one of the most beloved figures not just in rock, but all of music, by people from all over the world. His music, his voice and his personality inspired, influenced, changed and even saved the lives of thousands of people. Chris left a heavy legacy for a new generation of musicians who follow in his footsteps. His memory will remain forever alive in the hearts of all his family, friends, fans and all the people who love him, and his music will do the same in each record, song or video we play.

“Black Hole Sun”, written by Chris Cornell is without a doubt Soundgarden’s most recognizable and most popular song, and one of the biggest anthems of the 90’s. For this reason, and the impact Chris Cornell had in the lives of so many and music itself, 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. This would be a “surreal” and amazing way to honor his life and his contribution to music.

I hope this petition is taken into consideration and with the respect with which it was created to honor a man loved by many. Thanks to all who sign, I hope we can achieve it!”

The petition may have come too late though, the black hole has now been called Powehi – a name that hails from Hawaii with a nod to the “embellished dark source of unending creation”. But, hey you never know, stranger things have happened.