Elliott Smith now has an asteroid named after him, over two decades since his death.
The move has been approved by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN), and will see a minor planet discovered in 2014 become officially named as “(861969) Elliottsmith”.
It was Edinburgh-based independent filmmaker Orlando Campopiano who came up with the idea for the heartwarming tribute, as reported by Stereogum.
According to reports, Campopiano was looking into the night sky when listening to the late songwriter’s song ‘Shooting Star’ – which was released as part of posthumous album, ‘From a Basement on the Hill’ – when the idea came to him. Fittingly, the final lyrics of that track see Smith repeat the line: “You’ll love me sad, shooting star”.
The filmmaker then reached out to Smith’s estate to make the idea into reality, and their proposal was later accepted by the International Astronomical Union.
The ‘861969’ part of the name is the asteroid’s numerical designation, and also comes as a nod to the late artist’s birthday: August 6 1969.
“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,” Campopiano said in a new statement. “To have this tribute to him blessed by the estate and discoverers is also a great honour.”
An official citation was published in the IAU’s bulletin, and confirms that the asteroid has been named in honour of the “American musician and songwriter [who was] born Steven Paul Smith on August 6, 1969”.
The asteroid can be located using NASA’s 3D Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s interactive Small-Body Database.
With the new cosmic tribute, Smith joins a number of musicians who have also had asteroids named after them, including David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Freddie Mercury, Brian Eno, all four members of The Beatles, Enya, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Frank Zappa.
Smith died in 2003 after suffering two stab wounds to the chest. He was aged 34.
In 2023, six of his albums that he recorded in high school (between 1985 and 1989) surfaced online, and his pre-solo band Heatmiser announced a rarities compilation.
Before then, Bright Eyes covered his song ‘St. Ides Heaven’ in 2022 as part of a special reissue of their 1998 album ‘Letting Off The Happiness’, and Smith’s self-titled second album was reissued to mark its 25th anniversary. The latter came with a live album called ‘Live At Umbra Penumbra’, which was recorded at the titular Portland cafe in September 1994.