Queen guitarist Brian May will henceforth be known as Dr May, as the axe-slinger has finally been awarded his PhD.

May presented his thesis, entitled Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, to the examining board at Imperial College, London, on 23 August. The academic scrutineers gave May a category two pass, which means he needs to make some changes to his work.

"You can call me Dr May!" he said, upon hearing the news. He told reporters he felt very comfortable using the title, since he had worked very hard to earn it.

He told the BBC the viva was "very, very tough", and that he is keen to continue his research.

Dr May began work on his thesis back in 1971, before the lure of spandex and big hair temporarily overcame his academic ambitions. But 36 years after he made his first observations, the Dr returned to the Observatory of the Roque de Los Muchachos in La Palma to gaze at the skies once more.

Dr May, we salute you. ®

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