Frank Kameny with former Mayor Adrian Fenty and Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) in 2010.

Gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny may have died last year, but his legacy will live on—an asteroid has been named after him, reports the AP:

When astronomer Gary Billings read Kameny’s obituary, he consulted with others in the astronomy world. They decided to submit a citation to the Paris-based International Astronomical Union and Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. to designate Minor Planet 40463 as Frankkameny.

A published citation naming the asteroid this month notes Kameny’s history as a gay rights pioneer.

Kameny was one of the pioneers of the gay rights movement, suing the U.S. government for being fired due to his sexual orientation. Kameny argued his case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961, and, despite losing, went on to found the Mattachine Society of Washington, a gay rights organization that was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary tomorrow. While an advocate, Kameny created a number of emblematic slogans for the movement, including “Gay is Good.”

In 1971, Kameny ran for the non-voting D.C. delegate seat in the U.S. Congress, the first openly gay candidate to run for a seat in the country’s legislature. He then founded the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, an organization which continues lobbying for gay rights in the District today and was instrumental in the fight to legalize same-sex marriage.

UPDATE, 3:15 p.m. A reader writes: “[Kameny] was a Harvard-trained astronomer who had hoped to be a part of America’s space program when he was fired back in 1957 for his sexual orientation. He was forced to give up his chosen profession, and now those in that profession honor him.”