There's Now an Asteroid Named After SOPHIE

Asteroid 1980 RE1 has been dubbed "Sophiexeon"

BY Kaelen BellPublished Feb 8, 2022

Pioneering producer and art-pop hero SOPHIE died tragically last year after falling from a rooftop in Athens, Greece. SOPHIE was reportedly on the roof in order to get a better look at the full moon, and since her death, fans have wanted to commemorate the artist with some sort of celestial memorial (which would be fitting anyway, given SOPHIE's space-age vision of pop music). 

One such fan is Christian Arroyo, who started a petition to dedicate the planet TOI-1338 b to the late pop star, because its colouring resembled the album art for SOPHIE's full-length debut, Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides. "I am requesting that TOI-1338 b be named in honour of SOPHIE, in honour of a great LGBT+ influence," wrote Arroyo. "I want her name to be remembered and her influence to continue to flourish for many years to come."

The petition has now amassed more than 95,000 signatures, but Arroyo didn't get their exact wish. Instead of dedicating TOI-1338 b to SOPHIE, the International Astronomical Union announced that an asteroid called 1980 RE1 has been renamed in her honour, and is now dubbed "Sophiexeon." 1980 RE1 was discovered by Antonín Mrkos at the Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic back in 1980, as per Nylon .  

The IAU actually made the name change back in June of 2021, but it was announced in volume 3 of their WGSBN bulletin, so it didn't exactly make the rounds. In their statement, they wrote that SOPHIE's "futuristic style changed the landscape of pop music in the early 21st century."

Commenting on this development, Arroyo wrote on the original petition: "I was sadly not made aware of this naming until today, but we did it y'all! Sophie has influence[d] so many of us, and now she will forever be part of the cosmos. I thank every single one of you who signed and shared this petition."

Revisit SOPHIE's "Is It Cold in the Water" Below. 

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