Asteroid named after Freddie Mercury on his 70th birthday

Freddie Mercury, the late Queen frontman who once sang of himself as “a shooting star leaping through the sky”, received his very own asteroid to mark his 70th birth anniversary.

In a YouTube video published yesterday, Queen guitarist Brian May announced that Asteroid 17473 will from now on be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury honouring his outstanding influence in the world, reports The Verge.

The announcement was formally made yesterday with a certificate of adoption from the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center.

The asteroid, which was discovered in 1991, is located in the main Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.  It is nearly two miles wide, and reflects only about 30 percent of the light that falls on it and can only be seen with powerful telescopes.

"It's just a dot of light," May said in the video, "but it's a very special dot of light."