18610 Arthurdent
Encyclopedia
18610 Arthurdent is a small main belt
asteroid
, discovered by Felix Hormuth of Starkenburg Observatory
on 7 February 1998. It is named after Arthur Dent
, the bewildered hero of Douglas Adams
's radio, play, and book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
.
The naming of this asteroid was announced by the Minor Planet Center
in Minor Planet Circular
MPC 42677 on 9 May 2001. Two days later, on 11 May 2001, Adams died of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California. The near coincidence of these events led to some media reports of the asteroid naming appearing after Adams's death was reported, and to assumptions that the two events occurred on the same day, even by those connected to the naming.
The naming citation reads:
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
, discovered by Felix Hormuth of Starkenburg Observatory
Starkenburg Observatory
Starkenburg-Sternwarte is an astronomical observatory in Heppenheim, Germany. It was formed in 1970, and currently has about 150 members.The instruments at the observatory consists of:* 0.45m newtonian* 0.30m Meade LX200...
on 7 February 1998. It is named after Arthur Dent
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist and anti-hero in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams....
, the bewildered hero of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's radio, play, and book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
.
The naming of this asteroid was announced by the Minor Planet Center
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory , which is part of the Center for Astrophysics along with the Harvard College Observatory ....
in Minor Planet Circular
Minor Planet Circular
The Minor Planet Circulars is a scientific journal that is generally published on the date of each full moon by the Minor Planet Center. The Circulars contain astrometric observations, orbits and ephemerides of minor planets, comets and certain natural satellites...
MPC 42677 on 9 May 2001. Two days later, on 11 May 2001, Adams died of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California. The near coincidence of these events led to some media reports of the asteroid naming appearing after Adams's death was reported, and to assumptions that the two events occurred on the same day, even by those connected to the naming.
The naming citation reads:
See also
- List of minor planets: 18001–19000
- 25924 Douglasadams25924 Douglasadams25924 Douglasadams is an asteroid from the asteroid belt. It was discovered by LINEAR on February 19, 2001 and given the provisional designation...
, an asteroid named after the character's creator.