Congratulations to Dr. Brian May of the legendary rock band Queen, the hardest working man in show business. The Times reported that picking up where he left off more than 30 years ago as a student in astrophysics, Brian May completed his PhD from Imperial College.
“Using a giant telescope in the Canary Islands, May was able to show for the first time that dust clouds in the solar system are moving in the same direction as the planets. He will receive his PhD next May, provided that his thesis is approved by assessors,” the Times stated.
This is rekindling my interest in podcasting the interview that Earth & Sky did with Dr. May, where he shared his thoughts on those huge telescopes pointed to the vastness that surrounds us.
You can write Dr. May a note of congrats and check out the rock star in his cap and gown at his blog, Brian’s Soapbox. ROCK ON!

Brian May’s blog is the only blog I’ve seen that alternates astrology with reminiscent photos of the blogger chatting with David Bowie and Princess Diana. Plus, what astrophysicist can claim their own collectible action figure?! (I know Einstein has one, so maybe Carl Sagan isn’t too far off.) What a life.
cool.
I want to scope out the stars with Brian May. Do you think he plays for the other astronomers when he’s not looking through the scope, because that’d be cool to hear “We Will Rock You” when I’m looking at space rocks.
Given that I regularly see Brian on the stair case we (computing) share with physics, his PhD when examined will come from Imperial College. I think you are mixing up his ‘real’ PhD with the honorary one from Exeter.
Thank you for the correction, Jules! From what I gather Imperial College is where Brian May first started his advanced degree in astrophysics, before he got sidetracked with the guitar thing.
Nerds can rock too.