Asteroid Adams

MSNBC.com reports today that Asteroid Douglasadams was among the 71 newly named celestial objects announced Tuesday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Adams is one of my favorite writers as I blogged about his long-awaited movie recently. Just before Adam’s death in 2001, one of the HHGTTG characters – Arthur Dent – became the name of another asteroid. Following the Columbia tradgedy, seven asteroids were named after the fallen astronauts. MSNBC.com solicited readers for future asteroid names. One reader suggested Adams, and upon further research, an asteroid known as 2001 DA42 was identified. How fitting – Douglas died in 2001, it already bore his initials, and the number 42 is, as all Guide fans are aware, the answer to live, the universe and everything.