On a day honouring one of the world’s most brilliant theoretical physicists, it was only fitting that Professor Stephen Hawking’s farewell be a unique blend of the terrestrial and extra-terrestrial.

On Friday afternoon, thousands gathered to see the ashes of Prof Hawking, who died in March at the age of 76, buried between those of Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Charles Darwin in an entirely earthly thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey. Some 3,500 light-years away, meanwhile, the nearest black hole from our planet, 1A 0620-00, was preparing to receive a special message.

Shortly after the noon service in London, scientists from the European Space Agency were to use the Cebreros antenna in central Spain to beam a recording of Prof Hawking’s voice giving a message of “peace and hope” to the black hole, his family said in a statement. The recording had been set to music by Greek composer Vangelis – famed for his Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner scores – and lasts six-and-a-half minutes.

If traversing galaxies wasn’t indicative enough of Prof Hawking’s extraordinary influence and fame, the sheer range of guests arriving in Westminster earlier in the day certainly was. Alongside the scientist’s family, friends and former colleagues from Cambridge University were actors, musicians, politicians, astronauts and Nobel prize winners.