Author: RichardWRichardW Date: Oct 3, 2007 05:26
Asteroid Named After Star Trek's Sulu
October 02, 2007
Samantha Gross
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK George Takei already had a place among the stars in the
minds of millions of Star Trek fans. Now he's taking up permanent
residence as the namesake of the asteroid formerly known as the 1994
GT9.
The asteroid, located between Mars and Jupiter, has been renamed 7307
Takei in honour of the actor, who is best known for his role as Hikaru
Sulu in the original Star Trek series.
``I am now a heavenly body," Takei said Tuesday, laughing. "I found
out about it yesterday. . . . I was blown away. It came out of the
clear, blue sky just like an asteroid."
The celestial rock, discovered by two Japanese astronomers in 1994,
joins the 4659 Roddenberry (named for the show's creator, Gene
Roddenberry) and the 68410 Nichols (for co-star Nichelle Nichols, who
played Lt. Uhura). Other main-belt asteroids are already named for
science fiction luminaries Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
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