Google

Today's Google's doodle is a tribute to Douglas Adams, the late author of the acclaimed novel, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Adams, who would have been 61 today, published the "Hitchhiker's Guide" among five books in 1979. It was originally a radio comedy, broadcast on the BBC's Radio 4 in 1978.

Google's doodle includes references to Adams' work: a towel, which according to Adams' book, is an essential item for space travel, a cup of tea, a staple of his oeuvre, and when users click the door in the doodle, Marvin, the beloved "paranoid android," from "Hitchhiker's Guide" appears.

Click for Pictures: Great Google Doodles

Clicking on the tablet-like item on the spacecraft dash, which reads 'Don't Panic," a phrase written on the cover of "Hitchhiker's Guide," will also reveal some fun Easter eggs. A Babel fish, Adams' fictional animal that feeds on brain wave energy and can translate any language, and a drawing of earth and a message reading "mostly harmless" - the title of the fifth installment in Adams' "trilogy," appear with several clicks.

Adams wrote novels, plays and comics throughout his career, including "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul," and the script for the 2005 adaptation of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," which featured Martin Freeman and Zooey Deschanel.

Adams died at 49 in May 2001 of a heart attack.