Queen guitarist Brian May made headlines earlier this month in the United Kingdom for turning in his astronomy PhD thesis some 36 years after he abandoned it to pursue his rock career.

Quoth the Beeb: “May recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of ‘zodiacal dust clouds.’ The subject forms the basis of a 48,000-word thesis for Imperial College, London, where 60-year-old May studied before becoming a rock star.”

Nice pun.

May is supposed to defend said thesis later this month. He is also arranging a concert to mark the inauguration of a telescope at the Observatory of the Roque de Los Muchachos in La Palma in the Canary Island, where he completed his thesis studies last month.

Would a joke about “space rock” be too obvious right now?

In related news, Universal Studios just released the 1980 Flash Gordon movie — featuring the badass soundtrack from Queen — to DVD. Sweet.