Starwatch: First interstellar visitor's name is nod to Hawaiian sighting

Astronomers using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Maui identified 1I/'Oumuamua as it passed 24m km from Earth

Astronomers finally have a name for the first known object from interstellar space to visit our solar system. The International Astronomical Union announced last week that it is to be called 1I/'Oumuamua where "1I" designates it as the first interstellar object and 'Oumuamua is a Hawaiian word that is said to reflect the way that this is akin to a scout or messenger reaching out to us from the past.