Bowie album lands at No.1 as a constellation is named in his honour

AS DAVID BOWIE’s Blackstar album knocked Adele from the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart to give him his first US No. 1 album, Belgium astronomers announced that the late, great rock god will receive his own constellation.

In the week following Blackstar’s release on January 8, two days before David Bowie´s death, the album is said to have sold 181,000 units. A figure which includes physical album sales and also digital downloads. 

Data provided by Nielson Music has shown that is the biggest week of album sales for Bowie, since the tracking of sale numbers started in 1991.

Nine of the star’s other albums have also joined Blackstar in the top 40 chart, with Best of Bowie reaching No.4 and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars landing at No.21.   

In the same week, Studio Brussel – a Belgian radio station – and the MIRA public observatory registered a constellation in the self-titled ‘cosmic yob’s’ name. 

The constellation is made up of seven stars in the vicinity of Mars and its registration is said to be part of the Stardust for Bowie project. Bereft fans can view their idol´s constellation using Google Sky, while a virtual equivalent will allow them to tag notes and their favourite Bowie songs to the lightning bolt-shaped cluster.