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Brian May, the iconic Queen guitarist and a remarkable astrophysicist, shared with his fans a notice about an extremely rare celestial event involving Saturn that would soon occur. The planetary discoverer and chemist was displaying a picture of the planet with its rings and said that on the 22nd of November this year, the Earth would shortly cross over Saturn’s plane, so that simultaneous viewing would turn the massive ring system into a “disappeared” state.
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In his post, Brian May again mixed his two loves, music and science, this time focusing on the heavenly beauty of Saturn. The legendary guitarist and an astrophysicist revealed an unbelievable photo of the gas giant planet which was taken by his friend Jamie Cooper and used it to describe an extremely rare cosmic event that would happen later in the year.
May’s post was full of specifics and he also drew a parallel with his earlier attempts to shoot Saturn using an iPhone in which he claimed that the planet resembled having “little sticks poking out each side” in his low-quality photos. He elaborated that the strange looking appearance was caused by the Earth’s present point of view which was almost in the plane of Saturn’s ring.
The actual surprise came when May proceeded to tell us what would happen around the 22nd of November 2024. “The Earth will really cross the plane of the rings,” he said. He provided an astonishing view of the size of the ring system – more than 250,000 miles wide (approximately the distance from Earth to the moon) while being only 10 cm thick which is extremely thin. This thinness implies that the rings will be completely out of our sight during this alignment.
“I’ve never witnessed it,” May admitted, and he was very pleased about the phenomenon being observed. He encouraged people to look at Saturn with small telescopes or even binoculars in the coming weeks and suggested astronomy apps such as Sky Guide or Star Walk 2 to help locate the planet in the night sky.
The interaction between Sir Brian May and his followers demonstrated that there was a great deal of interest not only in the photograph’s beauty but also in the scientific explanation. A person commented on the situation saying that it was hard to accept that the rings were only 10 m thick and asked, “How long will that period of invisibility last, roughly? Hours, or days?” This very practical question reveals the people’s curiosity about the rare astronomical events and their desire to witness them.
Another user replied, “That’s it! I’m getting a telescope,” thereby reflecting the inspirational effect of May’s passion for astronomy. The post without a doubt encouraged many people to engage in amateur astronomy at home, and some of the participants even mentioned that they would be looking for Saturn in their part of the night sky.
People initiated discussions and one of the questions even was “If Saturn was turned with, for instance, one of its poles facing us, would we then see Saturn as if it had a halo?” This astute question signals that May’s explanation has not only made the audience wanting to know more about planetary movements and viewing angles but also understanding them better.
A handful of people acknowledged the individual connections to Saturn that they had. One of them stated, “Whenever I read or see something about Saturn, Huygens, the ESA spacecraft that landed on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, comes to my mind,” Another one of the forum participants said, “the first photographs of Saturn taken by Voyager so long ago and how they were just breathtaking at that time,” connecting May’s present-day photo back to the past of space exploration through images.
It was a clear sign of how vast the reach of Brian May was when comments from non-English speakers began to appear. An Italian user was truly happy that the scientific rock star was the one doing the teaching in astronomy and said, “Brother, thank you, you are so kind and thorough in your explanations. Thanks for the photos; I would not be able to see the beauty of such beauty. For words, beauty can only speak.”
One of the factors that make this cosmic event very special is the duality of being a rock star and a scientist of great reputation in case of Brian May. His success in simplifying the complex cosmic phenomena with words that anyone can understand, along with his large following, creates unique situations for public science education. The crossing of the planetary plane is a quintessential example of celestial dynamics and public participatory outreach, with a charming cultural figure that makes the tens of thousands appreciate the cosmic scene on the lunar scale that happens only. Sir Brian May continues to bridge the worlds of music and science.
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As the month of November approaches, all levels of astronomers and skywatchers of all types will be anticipating this extraordinary event, many of them being just inspired by May’s animated reasoning. The short time when the rings of Saturn will be out of our sight will signal powerfully the change of viewpoint we have in our solar system and the never-ending battle of celestial mechanics that takes place constantly even without human supervision. Queen’s legendary guitarist has also been celebrating musical milestones recently, while teasing rare recordings from the band’s early days.