Naga festival shines bright as star cluster gets its name

Guwahati: The Nagas are over the moon about the nicknaming of a cluster of stars, located about 54 million light years from Earth, “Nikhuli”, which means a festive period in Sumi Naga language. The name was given by a group of astronomers, who discovered that these stars act as a black hole delivery system.
This discovery of how black holes come to be inside spiral galaxies was made in 2021 using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, but the Naga connection was brought to light on Monday by Abu Metha, adviser to Nagaland chief minister.
Taking to X, Metha wrote, “NIKHULI - A Naga name 54 million light-years away. An astronomical research breakthrough by NASA; gets a proud Naga name from the Sumi community - a tribe known for their brave warriors. Many many moons from today - our future generations may make “contact” or even visit Nikhuli !! Imagine celebrating Tuluni there !!”