Today's Sun reports that an astronomer who is a fan of the Harry Potter series of books and movies, Dr. Mark Hammergren, who works at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, nominated author J.K. Rowling's name to be given to Asteroid 43844, which he discovered.

He said: "I hadn't read any of the books until the autumn of 2004. But when I did I was hooked. So I immediately thought of naming the asteroid after JK Rowling."

The International Astronomical Union accepted the nomination, and now 43844's official name is Asteroid Rowling.

So far, the Harry Potter books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide, and been turned into a hugely successful film series.

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