Fans want to rename Mars after David Bowie (and put him on the £20 note)

LONDON — Rename planet Mars after David Bowie. Get God to say it's not true. Put Bowie on a new banknote.

Fans across the world are starting petitions to honour David Bowie, and they're racking up the signatures.

In the UK, almost 11,000 have signed a petition to have him featured on a new £20 note. "A 2002 poll of '100 Greatest Britons' voted for by the public listed Bowie as number 29," the petition states, "which demonstrates how celebrated and familiar he is to British people. There is no better person to be on the next £20 note."

The petition isn't that far-fetched; the Bank of England asked for nominations for visual artists to feature on the note last year. However, the poll closed in July. Bowie does feature in the Bank's promotional video, albeit as a subject in the photography section.

Failing that, almost 7,000 want to see him featured on a stamp range. "It would mean a huge deal to his fans and would be a lovely way of commemorating his life and work as he gave so much to the entertainment industry," Natalie Fenn from Crawley wrote.

Elsewhere and Danny Rapscallion from London started the petition to rename Mars after Bowie. That one has just over 3,000 signatures at time of writing. The page reads:

"He gave us so much. A piece of the galaxy in return is just a drop in the universe."

If a planet is too much, thousands are calling for the next star to be named after the Starman. That one has 7,000 supporters. "I know the official way of naming stars does not allow for this but there could be a common name much like our historical constellations have common names," Liz Williams from Redruth in Cornwall wrote.

Almost 8,000 have signed the petition to get God to say Bowie isn't dead, started by Andrew Natella in Rome. The last Twitter account David Bowie's official account followed? God. They may be conspiring as we speak.

The petitions don't stop there. Users of Change.org are calling for a number of things, with varying degrees of support. Naming a street in Austin after Bowie, getting him commemorated in World Of Warcraft, a state funeral in the UK, a memorial in Beckenham and creating a David Bowie museum in place of the Thatcher museum are among them.