Late, great singer-songwriter Elliott Smith finds immortality as an asteroid

Late, great singer-songwriter Elliott Smith finds immortality as an asteroid An asteroid has been named after Smith, who died in 2003 at the age of 34. An asteroid now bears the name of beloved musician Elliott Smith, thanks to one ambitious filmmaker. Elliott Smith passed away at the age of 34 in 2003, but his impact and his music continue to connect with people around the world. And his influence has now extended to space, thanks to independent filmmaker Orlando Campopiano, who worked to get an asteroid named "Elliottsmith." "I hope this introduces at least one new person to Elliott's brilliant discography, and I'm happy to see a permanent legacy in the stars! To have this tribute to him blessed by the estate and discoverers is also a great honor," Campopiano told Stereogum. While listening to the song "Shooting Star," from Smith's album "From a Basement on the Hill," which was released in 2004 following his death, Campopiano had the idea to try and get an asteroid named after Smith, he told Stereogum. He took this inspiration and ran with it, connecting with Smith's estate and working together to submit a proposal to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which gives official names to cosmic objects, including asteroids. Maybe there are some Elliott Smith fans at the IAU, because the organization actually said yes. With this positive response, Asteroid (861969) 2014 OS439 is now officially "Elliottsmith." The asteroid was discovered back in 2014 by the Pan-STARRS 1 (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) project in Hawai'i. The IAU's announcement of the renaming reads: "Steven Paul 'Elliott' Smith (1969–2003) was an influential, Oscar-nominated American songwriter. His intricate music left a lasting impact on many musicians. Asteroid 861969 honors his birth date, August 6, 1969. Smith often used celestial motifs in his work, notably in the song 'Shooting Star,' which, in hindsight, symbolizes his brief but brilliant light." As this classification states, this asteroid is more than just a random rock in the sky. Its previous, numerical name 861969 happens to perfectly mirror Smith's birthday. This cosmic alignment makes it feel like this naming was truly meant to be. You can get a look at the asteroid's place in our solar system on the small-body website of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which you can find here. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Chelsea Gohd served as a Senior Writer for Space.com from 2018 to 2022 before returning in 2026, covering everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a M.S. in Biology, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including NASA JPL, the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her online @chelsea.gohd and @foxanne.music