An asteroid has been named after Freddie Mercury to celebrate what would've been the singer's 70th birthday.

Asteroid 17473, now known as Freddiemercury was discovered in 1991, the very same year that Freddie passed away.

Queen guitarist Brian May spoke to fans at a Switzerland casino that the honour marked "Freddie's outstanding influence in the world".

The lyric that Freddie sang so many times - "I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky" could now, not be any more true! How fitting.

The asteroid itself can be found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and it is just over 3 kilometres in diameter. You might need a pretty decent telescope to see the asteroid - which is why it was not discovered until 1991.

We love you Freddie! Now who has a telescope big enough to see this asteroid?! We're coming over!!

Source: BBC