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A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud

  • Book
  • © 2007

Overview

Authors:
  1. Brian Harold May

    1. Astrophysics Group Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, UK

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  • Written by Brian May, guitarist of the legendary rock band, Queen

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
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  2. Introduction

    • Brian Harold May
    Pages 1-39

  3. Preparations and experimental details 1971–1974

    • Brian Harold May
    Pages 41-75

  4. Reduction of the data

    • Brian Harold May
    Pages 77-104

  5. Interpretation of results in terms of physical models

    • Brian Harold May
    Pages 105-147

  6. Current developments and future plans

    • Brian Harold May
    Pages 149-160

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 161-215
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Keywords

About this book

In the summer and autumn of 2006 I read several interviews with Brian May in which he mentioned his desire to complete the PhD that he had abandoned in 1974. I looked up the papers he had published while a PhD student, which were on spectroscopic studies of the motion of the dust responsible for the zodiacal light, and felt that there was a basis for a thesis. Since he had been a student at Imperial, I knew, as Head of the Astrophysics Group at Imperial, that it would be good for the Group if he came and worked with us. I got in touch with him by email and suggested he come and talk about it. He replied enthusiastically and said that he was working on typing up what he had completed by 1974. I gradually realized that I was the only staff member at Imperial who had previously worked on zodiacal dust, so that I would have to act as his supervisor. Eventually we met and I tried to assess whether he would be able to find time for the huge amount of work that finishing off a thesis involves, particularly if it has not been touched for over 30 years. Since some of Brian’s emails were coming from the recording studio I knew there was strong competition for his time.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"The Queen guitarist Brian May has achieved a new milestone: he has published his PhD thesis in astronomy. … Entitled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, his thesis analyses what happens to the dust particles left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. … Mike Lockwood, a physics professor at Southampton University, said May’s work was timely … . Brian Cox, a physics professor at Manchester University, applauded May’s tenacity. … That’s hugely impressive." (Jonathan Leake and Robert Watts, Times Online, August, 2008)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Astrophysics Group Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, UK

    Brian Harold May

About the author

Brian May CBE, PhD, ARCS, FRAS
Is a founding member of Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer. Brian was forced to abandon his PhD studies at Imperial College London in 1974 when Queen’s popularity first exploded. He always retained a keen interest in astronomy and has been a regular contributor to The Sky at Night, BBC TV’s monthly astronomy programme hosted by Sir Patrick Moore. Returning to astrophysical research in 2006, he was awarded his PhD in 2007. He is Chancellor of John Moores University, and a patron to a number of charities, including the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the British Bone Marrow Donor Association. To contact Brian and enjoy updates on astronomy and his thoughts on various subjects from relativity to rock, visit his interactive website at www.brianmay.com.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud

  • Authors: Brian Harold May

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77706-1

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York 2007

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-77705-4

  • eBook ISBN: 978-0-387-77706-1

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXII, 215

  • Number of Illustrations: 25 b/w illustrations, 54 illustrations in colour

  • Additional Information: Jointly published with Canopus Publishing Ltd, Bristol, UK

  • Topics: Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Popular Science in Astronomy, Planetology

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