Regular readers—or those who have read the quote in the masthead—know that I am a big fan of Iain M. Banks’ work. I was incredibly saddened by his premature death and (selfishly) the end of the Culture novels.
Now, in an wonderfully neat tribute, J.L. Galache has campaigned for and succeeded in getting an asteroid named after Banks. From now on, asteroid 5099 will be officially (per the International Astronomical Union) known as Iainbanks. You can find out more about Iainbanks at the link.
Kudos to Galache for taking the time and effort to do this. It’s a great way to honor a great story teller.