Asteroid Named After Douglas Adams

tc writes "MSNBC is reporting that an asteroid has been named after Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy fame. Fittingly, the asteroid carried the provisional designation 2001 DA42, thus commemorating the year of his untimely death, containing his initials, and incorporating the famous answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. This seems like a fitting tribute to me."

Comments

First thing to say when it hurdles towards Earth:

[hyu]

Don't Panic!

Tribute to who?

[Feztaa]

This seems like a fitting tribute to me.

This was a tribute to you?

They are just begging for it

[JumperCable]

They are just begging for that asteroid to change course & destroy earth.

Don't toy with fate.

Re:They are just begging for it

[lxs]

It won't do that. I've read somewhere that it's mostly harmless.

Re:Perhaps a more fitting tribute?

[KDan]

It would be fitting, if the asteroid turns out to be heading straight towards us and this threat is used to convince all the phone cleaners, insurance salesmen and other 1st ship people to get on a spaceship to another solar system :-D

Daniel

Re:DNA42

[pa-ching]

They didn't name it DA42 in the first place; they just happened to notice an asteroid having the provisional designation of 2001 DA42, if you read the summary correctly.

Not just HHGTG...

[timelady]

DNA was not just an author of amazingly funny and insightful books, he wrote many stories for Doctor Who. So a space object appropriate in many ways, imho:)

A rock eh? Let me guess...

[El_Muerte_TDS]

The rock hangs in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't?

Re:I always liked Douglas Adams

[Elphin]

I like him because he was the first person to tell me about Netscape. Sometime in 1994 I was lead developer on a product that won an award presented by Douglas, so I got to meet him after the presentation.

We got talking about the Internet. "What browser are you using?" he asked. "Mosaic" I replied. "Well, I only use Netscape now, you should check it out the beta". Sounds silly now, but it was a hot tip back then!

He was a nice guy. I had been to see Pink Floyd at Earls Court some time before meeting him, and he had actually been on stage playing guitar on "Brain Damage". He seemed rather pleased with himself about that.

All the time I just wanted to ask lame HHGTTG fanboy questions though. Managed to curb that. I did ask for more Dirk Gently books though....

Re:Perhaps a more fitting tribute?

[kaveat]

I think the most fitting tribute possible would be for the upcoming HHGTTG movie not to be absolute crap. Aside from that, this is quite a tribute from astronomers, being as they don't quite have the resources to manage your other suggestions. Have to work with what you have at hand and such.
Didn't someone name a new species of beetle after DNA a year or so ago? If so QED. If not... I wish I knew why I thought so...

Re:Enlighten me please..

[shreevatsa]

Please. Don't mention base 13, it's not true and DNA didn't like it. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Answer_to_Life,_t he_Universe,_and_Everything:

However, it was later pointed out that 6 X 9 = 42 if the calculations are performed in base 13, not base 10. Douglas Adams was not aware of this at the time, and has since been quoted as saying that "nobody writes jokes in base 13." and also "I may be a pretty sad person, but I don't make jokes in base 13."

Re:Perhaps a more fitting tribute?

[evilmrhenry]

Didn't someone name a new species of beetle after DNA a year or so ago?

Googling turned up:
Erechthias beeblebroxi Robinson & Nelson, 1993 (tineid) with a false head; after Zaphod Beeblebrox, two-headed character from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

From Here

Of course

[JustOK]

Of course the asteroid was named after Douglas Adams. He was named years ago, shortly after his birth, I guess.