The International Astronomical Union actually named a celestial body after the singer-songwriter.
In the future, Elliott Smith will not only be immortalized in the music world, but also in the night sky.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially named an asteroid after the singer-songwriter, who died in 2003. The celestial body now bears the name “Elliottsmith”.
But where does the idea even come from?
The initiative comes from Scottish filmmaker Orlando Campopiano. According to his own statement, the idea came to him while listening to “Shooting Star,” a track from Elliott Smith’s posthumously released album FROM A BASEMENT ON THE HILL.
Together with the musician’s estate, Campopiano submitted an application to the IAU, which has now been approved.
What else there is to know
The celestial body is the asteroid previously listed as “(861969) 2014 OS439”. The official renaming has since been published in the Bulletin of the International Astronomical Union.
Campopiano told Stereogum that the application was submitted with support from the Elliott Smith estate and the PAN-STARRS team that discovered the asteroid. The consent of all parties involved was a prerequisite for the process.
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Catalog number commemorates Elliott Smith’s birth date
The asteroid’s catalog number deserves special attention: the numerical sequence 861969 corresponds to the musician’s date of birth – Elliott Smith was born on August 6, 1969. Campopiano expressed the hope that the honor could make new listeners aware of Smith’s work.