The asteroid 2001 DA42 was recently renamed after Douglas Adams, of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame! Apparently there was already an asteroid named after Arthur Dent – named just days before Adams died, in a strangely appropriate bit of fate. Interestingly, Alan Boyle, the author of this MSNBC article, first proposed the name.

Asteroid named after ‘Hitchhiker’ humorist, from MSNBC

On a side note, I can’t get this story – or indeed, any content from MSNBC – to display in Firefox. The Evil Empire strikes again.