UK’s first lady Astronomer Royal

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It solely took 350 years, however the U.Ok. has appointed a lady to the place of astronomer royal. Michele Dougherty will tackle the accountability advising King Charles III on all issues astronomical. She says she first felt the pull of house when she was about 10 and her dad constructed his personal telescope.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

He floor the glass for the mirror, and Dougherty and her sister helped combine concrete for the telescope’s base. The very first thing she noticed had been Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings. Decades later, she labored with NASA to check Jupiter and Saturn.

FADEL: Now, for those who’ve by no means heard of the Astronomer Royal, Louise Devoy can clarify. She’s the curator of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which is the place the place began.

LOUISE DEVOY: The function of Astronomer Royal dates proper again to the very origins of the observatory itself in 1675. John Flamsteed was appointed as the primary Astronomer Royal, and he was tasked with mapping the celebrities to assist enhance navigation at sea.

MARTIN: Then, as we began to higher perceive the world round us, the place developed, and the Astronomer Royal turned to totally different areas of examine.

DEVOY: Photography, spectroscopy, analyzing starlights, and what I actually like is the truth that we used to do magnetic measurements right here as effectively, so detecting variations within the Earth’s magnetic area. And that is one thing that Professor Dougherty focuses on as effectively, enthusiastic about the magnetic fields across the planets. So there’s some good synergy there, I feel.

FADEL: Today, an Astronomer Royal’s major goal is to get folks extra enthusiastic about astronomy. Dougherty says she desires extra folks to know how astronomy is a part of our on a regular basis lives.

MARTIN: Devoy does, too. She says she hopes having the primary ever lady within the function will get extra folks speaking in regards to the Royal Observatory.

DEVOY: I feel it is also an thrilling second and likewise an necessary milestone to indicate that, sure, girls are type of acknowledged inside skilled astronomy. When girls first began working right here within the Eighteen Nineties, they had been very poorly paid. They had little or no recognition for his or her work, and I feel they might be completely delighted to be right here on this second.

FADEL: Dougherty will be part of the ranks of a number of the most notable astronomers in historical past, like James Bradley, who supplied proof that the Earth orbits the Sun. Another previous astronomer royal, Edmond Halley, a reputation many may know since he is obtained a comet named after him. Transcript supplied by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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