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Queen's Guitarist Explores the Cosmos
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/23/may.space.book.reut/index.html
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Rock star Brian May from the supergroup Queen swapped his guitar for a telescope on Monday to launch a new book on his other great passion -- astronomy.
"I was always torn and I still am," said May, who abandoned the stars for stardom.
He gave up his PHD studies in interplanetary dust to help form Queen but now, almost four decades on, he has come full circle to co-write "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe" with astronomers Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott.
"To me it is a spiritual force in my life," May told Reuters at the book's London launch.
"I have been through some wonderful times in my life and also through some very deep depressions. The stars are one of the things that have always given me hope," said the tall and affable guitarist who revels in the contrasts of his life.
Rock icons may appear, to some people, to be egomaniacs in a world where hype reigns supreme and every whim is pandered to. But curly-haired May could not be further from the stereotype.
"I guess it keeps my feet on the ground," May said of his adoration of astronomy. "It helps me, it keeps my head straight."
The sky at night
"Just going out on a clear night and looking at the stars and seeing the steady light of these beautiful objects and realizing how small my problems were has always been a source of inspiration," he said.
The glossy tome is determinedly populist with May using himself as a yardstick to test out and understand its most complicated theories.
It tells how the universe was born 13.7 billion years ago. Infinitely small at first, it expanded more rapidly than anyone can contemplate.
The authors explain how all this came about, from the moment when time and space came into existence to the evolution of human beings able to ponder their origins and ultimate destiny.
Not bad for the composer of the ultimate stadium chant -- "We Will, We Will Rock You."
So what on earth would Freddie Mercury, Queen's outrageously flamboyant lead singer, have made of all this?
Reflecting on how the singer who died of AIDS in 1991 might have reacted to the astronomer-author, May concluded: "I am sure he would be sitting there smiling and saying 'Oh Well, if you want to get into that darling, that's very good for you.'"
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/23/may.space.book.reut/index.html
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Rock star Brian May from the supergroup Queen swapped his guitar for a telescope on Monday to launch a new book on his other great passion -- astronomy.
"I was always torn and I still am," said May, who abandoned the stars for stardom.
He gave up his PHD studies in interplanetary dust to help form Queen but now, almost four decades on, he has come full circle to co-write "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe" with astronomers Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott.
"To me it is a spiritual force in my life," May told Reuters at the book's London launch.
"I have been through some wonderful times in my life and also through some very deep depressions. The stars are one of the things that have always given me hope," said the tall and affable guitarist who revels in the contrasts of his life.
Rock icons may appear, to some people, to be egomaniacs in a world where hype reigns supreme and every whim is pandered to. But curly-haired May could not be further from the stereotype.
"I guess it keeps my feet on the ground," May said of his adoration of astronomy. "It helps me, it keeps my head straight."
The sky at night
"Just going out on a clear night and looking at the stars and seeing the steady light of these beautiful objects and realizing how small my problems were has always been a source of inspiration," he said.
The glossy tome is determinedly populist with May using himself as a yardstick to test out and understand its most complicated theories.
It tells how the universe was born 13.7 billion years ago. Infinitely small at first, it expanded more rapidly than anyone can contemplate.
The authors explain how all this came about, from the moment when time and space came into existence to the evolution of human beings able to ponder their origins and ultimate destiny.
Not bad for the composer of the ultimate stadium chant -- "We Will, We Will Rock You."
So what on earth would Freddie Mercury, Queen's outrageously flamboyant lead singer, have made of all this?
Reflecting on how the singer who died of AIDS in 1991 might have reacted to the astronomer-author, May concluded: "I am sure he would be sitting there smiling and saying 'Oh Well, if you want to get into that darling, that's very good for you.'"
