Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud

Brian May CBE, PhD, ARCS, FRASIs a founding member of Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer. Brian was forced to abandon his PhD studies at Imperial College London in 1974 when Queen’s popularity first exploded. He always retained a keen interest in astronomy and has been a regular contributor to The Sky at Night, BBC TV’s monthly astronomy programme hosted by Sir Patrick Moore. Returning to astrophysical research in 2006, he was awarded his PhD in 2007. He is Chancellor of John Moores University, and a patron to a number of charities, including the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the British Bone Marrow Donor Association. To contact Brian and enjoy updates on astronomy and his thoughts on various subjects from relativity to rock, visit his interactive website at www.brianmay.com.

• Dedication.- Preface and Acknowledgements.- List of Figures.- Abbreviations and Acronyms.- Introduction.- The Zodiacal Light, The Phenomenon.- Preparations and experimental details 1971-1974.- Reduction of the Data.- Interpretation of results in terms of physical models.- Current developments and future plans.- Appendix 1 program ZLPLT.- Appendix 2 programs LSQFIT, GAUSSN.- Appendix 3 programs POLYPT, FLEXPT, MINIPT, MINIPS, GAUSPT.- Appendix 4 programs STREAM, CONVL.- Appendix 5 Hicks, May & Reay NATURE paper, 1972.- Appendix 6 Hicks, May & Reay MNRAS paper, 1974.- References.

From the reviews: "The Queen guitarist Brian May has achieved a new milestone: he has published his PhD thesis in astronomy. ... Entitled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, his thesis analyses what happens to the dust particles left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. ... Mike Lockwood, a physics professor at Southampton University, said May's work was timely ... . Brian Cox, a physics professor at Manchester University, applauded May's tenacity. ... That's hugely impressive." (Jonathan Leake and Robert Watts, Times Online, August, 2008)