Astronomers urge Queen guitarist Brian May to don Patrick Moore’s monocle
Astronomers are bandying together to tout Queen guitarist Brian May as the candidate with the right amount of star appeal to replace Sir Patrick Moore on The Sky at Night.
The death of the programme’s long-standing presenter last week leaves a black hole in the BBCs scheduling until managers can fill the space with a new front man.
Moore presented the astronomy show from its inception in 1957 right through to his death at the age of 57, gathering a cult following of admirers who could interpret his machine gun delivery.
As well as being handy with a guitar May is also a qualified astrophysicist.
Speaking to the Telegraph Professor David Southwood, president of the Royal Astronomical Society said: “Both of them have a terrific gift for communication, which I must say I am quite jealous of.
“Brian is an enthusiast for astronomy, exactly like Patrick. Patrick cared about the Moon as much as black holes as much as life on Mars. He didn’t discriminate.
“The problem with professional astronomers is that all of us have our favourite bits but Patrick could talk about anything.”