Asteroid named in honor of Freddie Mercury

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died in 1991; it just so happens that the same year, a distant asteroid was discovered by astronomers. In honor of what would have been the influential singer's 70th birthday, that asteroid is now taking on Mercury's name, BBC reports — a rather appropriate tribute for a man who sang, "I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky."

Queen guitarist Brian May said Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury reflects "Freddie's outstanding influence in the world."

"It's a dark object — rather like a cinder in space. Viewed from the Earth it is more than 10,000 times fainter than you can see by eye, so you need a fair-sized telescope to see it and that's why it wasn't discovered until 1991," May said. Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury sits in a belt between Mars and Jupiter, and measures about two miles across.

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"But even if you can't see Freddie Mercury leaping through the sky, you can be sure he's there — 'floating around in ecstasy,' as he might sing — for millennia to come," said Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute, which issued the designation.