The Beatles' "Across the Universe" is set to be beamed out by NASA into open space. The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. EST (0000 Feb. 5 GMT) on Feb. 4 using the space agency's Deep Space Network, or DSN. The 1969 song will travel the distance between the Earth and the North Star, Polaris, with at a speed of 186,000 miles per second.

"Amazing! Well done, NASA!" Paul McCartney said in a message to the space agency. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul."

Feb. 4 has been declared "Across The Universe Day" by Beatles fans to commemorate the anniversaries. As part of the celebration, the public around the world has been invited to participate in the event by simultaneously playing the song at the same time it is transmitted by NASA.

"I've been a Beatles fan for 45 years – as long as the Deep Space Network has been around," said Dr. Barry Geldzahler, the network's program executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "What a joy, especially considering that 'Across the Universe' is my personal favorite Beatles song."

"Across the Universe" first appeared on a charity release in December 1969, and later, in modified form, on their final album, Let It Be. It was written by John Lennon and features John Lennon singing lead. In a 1970 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, its composer John Lennon referred to "Across the Universe" as perhaps the best, most poetic lyric he ever wrote.

NASA will beam "Across the Universe" to the star Polaris, 430 light years away through its Deep Space Network. The DSN is an international network of communication facilities made up of large radio antennas across the world. Its tasks include communications with spacecraft missions, and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe.

The current configuration of the DSN is made up of three deep-space communications facilities: the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex outside of Barstow, California; the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex in Spain; and the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) in the Australia.

Legendary English pop and rock group The Beatles were ranked #1 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004. Their record company, EMI, estimated that by 1985 they had passed the one billion mark of records sold worldwide. The Beatles are also the best-selling musical act of all time in the United States, according to the RIAA.