Elliott Smith He joins the list of artists who have an asteroid in their honor. The name has been approved by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group, which is responsible for registering this nomenclature.
The International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) has registered a small planet discovered in 2014 under the official name “(861969. Elliottsmith)” after a long time with British independent film director Orlando Campopiano insisting that it become a reality.
It has been reported through media such as Stereogum or NME, Campopiano was looking up at the sky listening to the song “Shooting Star” by Elliott Smith and that was when the idea occurred to him. From there, he began a campaign that has now come to fruition. The filmmaker has stated that he “hopes that this news will at least help someone discover Smith’s brilliant discography.”
Finally the name of the asteroid is “(861969. Elliottsmith)”, that is, the date of birth of the deceased artist, along with his stage name. Let us remember that his real name was Steven Paul Smith.
The asteroid can be located through NASA’s 3D Jet Propulsion Laboratory Interactive Small Body Database, and joins the asteroids that have names in tribute to other artists such as David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Freddie Mercury, Brian Eno, all four members of The Beatles, Enya, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and even Frank Zappa.
