Stephen Hawking's family has announced a lottery offering 1,000 people the chance to honor the famed scientist at Westminster Abbey in London, England on June 15.
To Be Buried With Other Great Scientists
During the ceremony, the theoretical physicist's ashes will be buried between the graves of other great scientists notably Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton.
The organizers of the memorial services also appear to have provided time travelers a chance to be at the event.
Chance For Time Travellers To Attend Stephen Hawking's Memorial Service
Those who want to honor Hawking, who died on March 14 at the age of 76, can apply via a public ballot and would have to provide their birth date, which can be any day up to December 21, 2038. The ballot for tickets will close at midnight on May 15.
Time Travel Cannot Be Ruled Out
Hawking himself made mention in one of his lectures that rapid space-travel or travel back in time cannot be ruled out based on current understanding.
"We cannot exclude the possibility of time travel as it has not been disproven to our satisfaction," a spokesman for the Hawking's foundation said. "All things are possible until proven otherwise."
London travel blogger IanVisits who noticed that people born from 2019 to 2038 were permitted to attend the memorial service said it seems perfect that the memorial website would allow people born in the future to attend the service as Hawking himself had hosted a party for time travelers.
Hawking's Party For Time Travellers
In 2009, Hawking conducted an odd experiment on time travel. It required balloons, champagnes, and hors d'oeuvres.
He dressed up and waited for time travelers to arrive at a particular location at the University of Cambridge on June 28, 2009. He even provided the exact GPS coordinates to prevent confusion.
The invitations for the time travelers party, however, were not sent out until after the reception was over. This was an important part of the experiment since only those capable of traveling back in time would be able to attend.
Unfortunately, nobody showed up, which led to Hawking concluding that backward time travel likely is not possible.
"I have experimental evidence that time travel is not possible," Hawking said in 2012. "I gave a party for time-travelers, but I didn't send out the invitations until after the party. I sat there a long time, but no one came."
