Freddie Mercury had an asteroid named after him to honor the late rocker's 70th birthday, forever sealing the Queen frontman's reputation as a "shooting star."
Mercury, born Sept. 5, 1946, received the honor by way of Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute, who issued the asteroid's certificate of designation on behalf of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, said BBC News.
"Freddie Mercury sang, 'I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky' – and now that is even more true than ever before," Parker said about naming Asteroid 17473 after the singer, per BBC. "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."
The International Astronomical Union certificate said Mercury was honored for "his distinctive sound and large vocal range were hallmarks of his performance style, and he is regarded as one of the greatest rock singers of all time," said CNN.
The asteroid, now known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury, was found in 1991, the year of the singer's death. It is located in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and is roughly two miles across.
Mercury's former bandmate and friend, Brian May, made the announcement on video that was posted on YouTube. The video was played during a party honoring Mercury's birthday at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland in aid of Mercury Phoenix Trust.
"It's a dark object – rather like a cinder in space," May said in the video. "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."
Mercury, whose real name was Farrokh Bulsara, formed Queen with May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon in 1971, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band, whose songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You," and "We Are the Champions," remain popular today, was inducted into the hall of Fame in 2001.
Mercury died Nov. 24, 1991, of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia, sadi Biography.com.
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