Known worldwide for his powerful and pioneering work in charting the history of the universe, last week the world lost a scientific icon with the passing of Stephen Hawking, and while the world has mourned and honored his death in many ways, the players of the space-faring game Elite: Dangerous took to the stars to celebrate his life.
In response to the passing last week of Stephen Hawking — the esteemed physicist, cosmologist, author, and professor that illuminated the mysteries of the universe to millions through works like his book A Brief History of Time — numerous members from the Elite: Dangerous player community gathered on the game’s official forum to organize a commemorative event to honor the late Hawking this past weekend in a unique and inspiring way.
Specifically, the event entailed a marathon run across 19 locations in the galaxy of Elite: Dangerous, with all 19 points being the various in-game locations and landmarks that were named after Hawking over the course of the game’s development, such as Hawking Station, Hawking Terminal, and others.
Completed on Saturday, March 17th, the cross-platform event took players through a 5-hour excursion across the galaxy in Elite: Dangerous, with the trip culminating with a final stop at a black hole located in HIP 34707, where players took the in-game Tea item and dropped it into the black hole, as tea was Hawking’s drink of choice. Players also changed their ID plates to “T4 SWH” to match that of Hawking’s own one-time car license plate number in his honor.
With his renown and contributions to the worlds of science, physics, cosmology, and beyond, Hawking’s work has had a profound effect on our understanding of the universe, and the way that the Elite: Dangerous community gathered to honor his memory is definitely fitting for a man that helped humanity look beyond the stars.
For a closer look at the event as it went underway this past weekend, you can look below at the list of locations and the route map that players took in their marathon run to honor Stephen Hawking:
