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Date: 24 Oct 2006 17:35:47
From: Craig M. Bobchin
Subject: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/23/may.space.book.reut/index.html
Queen's guitarist explores the cosmos
POSTED: 11:08 a.m. EDT, ober 23, 2006
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.'"
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 00:28:26
From: OG
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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"Craig M. Bobchin" <CBobchin@sbcglobal.net > wrote in message
news:MPG.1fa6f9563d4c78f69896dd@news.la.sbcglobal.net...
> http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/23/may.space.book.reut/index.html
>
> Queen's guitarist explores the cosmos
> POSTED: 11:08 a.m. EDT, ober 23, 2006
>
> 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.
>
according to http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannews06a.html
he has a 12 inch Meade and a homemade 4 inch refractor.
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 00:37:46
From: lal_truckee
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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OG wrote:
> homemade 4 inch refractor.
- maybe I'll try to listen to Queen again. Had a terminal boredom
attack the first time, but anyone who makes his own scope deserves a
second listen...
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 05:31:39
From: Paranalense
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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The fact that is homemade doesn't imply the he made it... I do like
Queen a lot, though...
Clear skies,
Alex.
lal_truckee wrote:
> OG wrote:
>
> > homemade 4 inch refractor.
>
> - maybe I'll try to listen to Queen again. Had a terminal boredom
> attack the first time, but anyone who makes his own scope deserves a
> second listen...
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 17:58:12
From: Pat O'Connell
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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Paranalense wrote:
> The fact that is homemade doesn't imply the he made it... I do like
> Queen a lot, though...
>
> Clear skies,
> Alex.
>
> lal_truckee wrote:
>> OG wrote:
>>
>> > homemade 4 inch refractor.
According to the article on Brian's website, he built that scope with
his father.
>> - maybe I'll try to listen to Queen again. Had a terminal boredom
>> attack the first time, but anyone who makes his own scope deserves a
>> second listen...
Tastes vary, but A Night at the Opera, A Day of the Races, and News of
the World are Queen albums that deserve repeated listening (well I liked
them, anyway). I'd not consider listening to them during an evening's
stargazing, as I prefer classical or quasi-classical music (Star Wars,
Aaron Copeland, Bach etc.) or the more cerebral Pink Floyd albums
(Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon ("there is no dark side of the moon
actually") for instance).
--
Pat O'Connell
[note munged EMail address]
Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints,
Kill nothing but vandals...
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 19:14:40
From: Greg Crinklaw
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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Pat O'Connell wrote:
> ("there is no dark side of the moon
> actually")
Really? Then what's on the other side of a full moon? ;-)
--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)
SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html
To reply take out your eye
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Date: 27 Oct 2006 03:14:38
From: lal_truckee
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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Greg Crinklaw wrote:
> Pat O'Connell wrote:
>> ("there is no dark side of the moon actually")
>
> Really? Then what's on the other side of a full moon? ;-)
Scaffolding. Didn't you see the cartoon?
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 17:29:03
From: lal_truckee
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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Paranalense wrote:
> The fact that is homemade doesn't imply the he made it... I do like
> Queen a lot, though...
Actually, reading his website, it's even cooler. He and his Dad built it
when he was a boy (We all know how that goes, right?) and he's still
using it.
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Date: 28 Oct 2006 06:18:06
From: Paranalense
Subject: Re: I wonder what kind of scope he has.
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That's nonsense... everybody knows the full moon is made of cheese.
lal_truckee wrote:
> Greg Crinklaw wrote:
> > Pat O'Connell wrote:
> >> ("there is no dark side of the moon actually")
> >
> > Really? Then what's on the other side of a full moon? ;-)
>
> Scaffolding. Didn't you see the cartoon?
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