Iain M. Banks Gets Asteroid Named After Him

Apparently, Mr. Galache tried to get it through as fast as possible but unfortunately Mr. Banks passed away too soon.

I hope Mr. Galache does not mind my reposting of his post from http://friends.banksophilia.com/guestbook [banksophilia.com]:

J.L. Galache on July 2, 2013 at 2:06 am said:
Dear Iain,

We never met, and never will, but your words will remain with me forever. Well, until it?s my turn to turn the lights off. And let me be clear that it?s the Sci-Fi words I?ll keep, not the mainstream ones you used to subsidize them. I admit to not having read all your Sci-Fi novels, but I do have a day job, you know?

Speaking of which, my job as an astronomer at the Minor Planet Center allowed me the opportunity to propose that the International Astronomical Union name an asteroid after you. I really did try hard to get it through the bureaucracy as fast as possible, but alas the naming came a fortnight too late. As I say in my article, I?d like to think you would have been amused by this:

http://minorplanetcenter.net/blog/sci-fi-author-iain-m-banks-gets-asteroid-named-after-him/ [minorplanetcenter.net]

Dear Adele,

I hope you can accept this humble gift on Iain?s behalf. Even if he is ever forgotten (and he won?t be), his name will remain as that of asteroid Iainbanks, a 6.1 km hunk of rock orbiting our Sun between Mars and Jupiter every 3.94 years.

May it orbit forever.

Yours,

?JL Galache
Astronomer
Minor Planet Center

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/QBP0oYzUflU/story01.htm

Petraeus Mia Love wall street journal us map Electoral Map concede Obama Acceptance Speech