Asteroid rhapsody for Freddie Mercury on late singer’s 70th birthday

Freddie Mercury has his own celestial body now — a quarter-century after passing away from AIDS complications.

“The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre has designated an asteroid discovered in 1991, the year of Mercury’s death, as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury,'” said the Ottawa Citizen.

Honors for the famed frontman for Queen was announced by bandmate and astrophysicist Brian May on YouTube and May’s own website.

“In issuing the Certificate of Designation, Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute said: ‘Singer Freddie Mercury sang, “I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky” – and now that is even more true than ever before.'”

May said Mercury’s asteroid is between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and is about 3.5 kilometers.

“Viewed from the Earth, it is more than 10,000 times fainter than you can see by eye, so you need a fair-sized telescope to see it … and that’s why it wasn’t discovered until 1991.” May said.

Mercury — known for writing and performing “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Are The Champions” — was born Farrokh Bulsara on Sept. 5, 1946, in Tanzania.