An intergalactic celebration of The Beatles is being launched on Monday with the beaming of their peace anthem 鈥淎cross the Universe鈥� into outer space.
The man behind the idea, which marks the 40th anniversary of the recording of the song in 1968, is an avid Beatles fan who has persuaded space agency NASA to kick off the party and now hopes to convert alien life forms to The Beatles.
鈥淎t the moment, we are sending up Morse code as a way of contacting aliens,鈥� Martin Lewis told BBC radio. 鈥淢aybe we should send them something a little more cheery.鈥�
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If all goes according to plan, NASA will transmit the Beatles tune via its at midnight GMT (1900 EST).
At exactly the same time, fans across the world are being asked to play 鈥淎cross The Universe鈥� in a bid to 鈥渃reate a harmonic convergence鈥� around planet Earth and throughout the universe.
According to a statement from NASA, the transmission will be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at the speed of light 鈥� about 300,000 kilometres per second.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney, who beamed his first intergalactic concert to the International Space Station in 2005, congratulated NASA and asked them to pass on his regards to anyone else out there.
鈥淎mazing! Well done, NASA!鈥� he said in a statement released by the space agency. 鈥淪end my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul.鈥�
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