Arthurdent: the new name for Asteroid 18610. On May 10, 2001 (the day before
Douglas Adams' death), the minor planet centre of the
International Astronomical Union proposed the name for asteroid 18610, discovered in 1998.
Arthurdent was proposed by Felix Hormuth, of the Starkenburg Observatory in Germany, who spotted the space rock. The announcement from the minor planet centre said: "The earthling Arthur Dent is confronted with the adversities of life, the universe and everything in a highly amusing and entertaining way in
Douglas Adams's famous five volume trilogy ... "
And isn't there something marvellously Hitchhiker-ish in having a 'minor planet centre'?