Heather Anita Couper, (2 June 1949 – 19 February 2020) was a British astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser. After studying astrophysics at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

and researching clusters of galaxies at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, Couper was appointed senior planetarium lecturer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. She subsequently hosted two series on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

television – ''The Planets'' and ''The Stars'' – as well as making many TV guest appearances. On radio, Couper presented the award-winning programme ''Britain’s Space Race'' as well as the 30-part series ''Cosmic Quest'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. Couper served as president of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborati ...

from 1984 to 1986 and was Astronomy Professor in perpetuity at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...

, London. She served on the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

, for which she was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2007. Asteroid

3922 Heather 39 may refer to: * 39 (number), the natural number following 38 and preceding 40 * one of the years: ** 39 BC ** AD 39 ** 1939 ** 2039 * ''39'' (album), a 2000 studio album by Mikuni Shimokawa * " '39", a 1975 song by Queen * "Thirty Nine", a so ...

is named in her honour.

Early life

Born on 2 June 1949 in Wallasey, Cheshire, Couper was the only child of George Couper and Anita Couper (née Taylor). At the age of seven or eight, she was watching planes in the night sky because her father was an airline pilot when she unexpectedly witnessed a bright green

meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...

. Her parents said there was no such thing; but a newspaper headline the next day referred to a "green shooting star," and Couper then determined to become an astronomer. She attended St Mary's Grammar School (merged with St. Nicholas Grammar School in 1977 to become Haydon School) on Wiltshire Lane in Northwood Hills,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. At the age of 16, she wrote to British television astronomer Patrick Moore asking if she would be able to take up a career in astronomy, and received the reply "being a girl is no problem at all"!

Career

Astronomy

After two years as a management trainee, with the Peter Robinson fashion store and its Top Shop division (now

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...

), Couper joined Cambridge Observatory as a research assistant in 1969, becoming a Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

in 1970. She graduated from the University of Leicester in 1973 with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Astronomy and Physics. At Leicester, she met fellow astronomy student

Nigel Henbest Nigel Henbest (born 1951) is a British astronomer, born in Manchester and educated in Northern Ireland and at Leicester University, where he studied physics, chemistry and astronomy. He did postgraduate research at the University of Cambridge b ...

; they formed a working partnership – Hencoup Enterprises – that focuses on astronomy popularisation. She then researched at the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, whilst a postgraduate student at

Linacre College, Oxford Linacre College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the UK whose members comprise approximately 50 fellows and 550 postgraduate students. Linacre is a diverse college in terms of both the international composition of its me ...

. From 1977 to 1983, Couper was Senior Lecturer at the Caird Planetarium of the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich (superseded in 2007 by the Peter Harrison Planetarium), leaving to become a freelance writer and broadcaster. In 1984, she was elected President of the British Astronomical Association, the first woman and the second-youngest person to hold the position. Couper served as President of the Junior Astronomical Society (now the Society for Popular Astronomy) in 1987–9. The

London Planetarium The London Planetarium building is located on Marylebone Road, London. It is adjacent to and owned by Madame Tussauds. It previously housed a planetarium, offering shows related to space and astronomy. In 2006, it closed as a separate attrac ...

invited Couper to write and present its major new 1988 public show, ''Starburst!'' Couper was appointed Professor of Astronomy at

in 1993 – the first female professor in the 400-year history of the college – and held the position until 1996.

Books and other publications

From 1978, Couper wrote over 40 popular-level books on astronomy and space, many in collaboration with Henbest. According to one reviewer, Couper and Henbest are 'great storytellers with an eye for a colourful character'. Her articles appeared in leading astronomy and science magazines, including ''

BBC Sky at Night ''BBC Sky at Night magazine'' is a British monthly magazine about astronomy aimed at amateur astronomers and published by Immediate Media Company. Its title is taken from the television programme produced by the BBC, '' The Sky at Night''. T ...

'', ''

BBC Focus ''BBC Science Focus'' (previously ''BBC Focus'') is a British monthly magazine about science and technology published in Bristol, UK by Immediate Media Company. Edited by Daniel Bennett, it covers all aspects of science and technology and is writ ...

'' and ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

''. She was a columnist for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' online newspaper.

Eclipses

In 1999, the Royal Astronomical Society and La Société Guernesiaise invited Couper to deliver keynote lectures on the forthcoming

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

, the first visible from the British Isles since 1927. Couper also led expeditions to view total eclipses of the Sun in Sumatra (1988), Hawaii (1991), Aruba (1998), Egypt (2006), China (2009) and Tahiti (2010).

Public appearances

Couper's international lecture tours and public speaking engagements ranged from the US to China; Colombia to New Zealand. She was the chief guest celebrity speaker on the maiden voyage of the P&O cruise ship '' Arcadia'' and gave presentations on

Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

's ''

Queen Mary 2 RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...

'' and ''

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

''. In 1986, Couper was aboard

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

on its first flight from London to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand, as the astronomer responsible for showing passengers

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...

while flying at 18,000 metres over the Indian Ocean. Couper appeared at many festivals, including the

Brighton Festival Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brighton and Hove in Engla ...

, the

Cheltenham Science Festival Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year. The 2018 Cheltenham Science Festival (6–11 June) ...

and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' Oxford Literary Festival. Her corporate work included keynote presentations to

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Servi ...

, AXA SunLife and IBM.

Radio

Couper presented many programmes and series on BBC Radio 4, including the live ''Starwatch'' series, ''Worlds Beyond'' and ''The Modern Magi''. She won the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for ''Britain's Space Race'' on Radio 4's Archive Hour. She also made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and Radio 5Live, as well as regional and local radio stations across the UK. In 2008 Couper presented the 30 x 15-minute Radio 4 series ''Cosmic Quest'', on the history of astronomy. Her major series for BBC World Service Radio ranged from ''A Brief History of Infinity'' and ''The Essential Guide to the 21st Century'', to the long-running ''Seeing Stars'' (presented with Nigel Henbest). Outside astronomy, Couper was a guest presenter on the Radio 4 flagship programmes ''

Woman’s Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'', the John Dunn Programme, and ''

Start the Week ''Start the Week'' is a discussion programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 which began in April 1970. The current presenter is the former BBC political editor and the BBC's former political Sunday morning presenter Andrew Marr. The previous regular ...

''. She showcased her interests in literature and local history in presenting episodes of Radio 4’s ''With Great Pleasure'' and '' Down Your Way'', and in classical music by selecting her "pick of the Proms" for ''In Tune'' on BBC Radio 3.

Television appearances

Couper appeared as an astronomy expert on news and current affairs programmes, and presented many series and programmes, mainly on Channel 4. Her first TV appearances were as a guest on ''

The Sky at Night ''The Sky at Night'' is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first broadcast on 24 April 1957 until 7 January 2013. The latter date ...

'', a long-running series hosted by Patrick Moore. Couper (with Terence Murtagh) presented the 1981 children's series ''Heavens Above'', produced by Yorkshire Television for the

ITV network ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...

. In 1985, Couper presented the seven-part series ''The Planets'' for

, followed in 1988 by the six-part ''The Stars''. Her television presentational roles included ''The Neptune Encounter'' (ITV), ''A Close Encounter of the Second Kind'' ('' Horizon'', BBC2) and ''Stephen Hawking: a Profile'' (

BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

). She narrated many factual TV programmes, ranging from ''Ekranoplan: The Caspian Sea Monster'' (Channel 4) to ''Raging Planet'' (Discovery Channel).

Television production

Couper, along with Henbest and Stuart Carter (director of her series ''The Stars''), founded Pioneer Productions, an independent UK TV

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

creating factual programming, in 1988. Couper presented the company’s first documentary, ''The Neptune Encounter'', in 1989, covering

Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, '' Voyager 1'', o ...

's flyby of Neptune. As producer, Couper's TV credits for Channel 4 include the award-winning ''Black Holes'' and ''Electric Skies'', along with the series ''Universe: Beyond the Millennium''. Couper left Pioneer Productions in 1999 to concentrate on more general radio and TV appearances.

Millennium Commission

In 1993, Couper was invited to join the newly created Millennium Commission, as one of nine commissioners responsible for distributing money from the National Lottery to projects that would celebrate and commemorate the new millennium. She was one of only two commissioners (along with

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...

) who stayed in post from the commission’s inception until it was wound up in 2009. For her work on the Millennium Commission, as well as her promotion of science to the public, Couper was appointed a

in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2007.

Death

Couper died at

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was established i ...

on 19 February 2020 at the age of 70 after a short illness.

Awards

* ''

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

'' Senior Information Book Award 1987 * Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

, Loughborough University 1991 * Honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

1994 * Honorary Doctor of Science, Leicester University 1994 * Gold Medal, New York Festivals 1993, 1995, 1998 *

Banff Rockie Award The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world ...

1995 * Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 2007

Bibliography

* ''Space Frontiers'', 1978, Woodpecker, * ''Exploring Space'', 1980, Hennerwood, * ''Heavens Above!'', 1981, Franklin Watts, * ''The Restless Universe'', 1982, George Philip, * ''Astronomy'', 1983, Franklin Watts * ''Physics'', 1983, Franklin Watts, * ''The Planets'', 1985, Pan * ''The Universe: A Three-Dimensional Study'' ( pop-up book), 1985,

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, * '' Halley's Comet Pop-Up Book'', 1985, Hamlyn, * ''The Stars'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts UK US * ''The Planets'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts UK US * ''Comets and Meteors'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts UK US * ''The Sun'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts UK US * ''The Moon'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts, UK; US * ''Galaxies and Quasars'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts UK US * ''Telescopes and Observatories'' (Space Scientist), 1987, Franklin Watts UK US * ''Spaceprobes and Satellites'' (Space Scientist), 1987, Franklin Watts UK US * ''The Stars'', 1988, Pan, * ''The Space Atlas'', 1992, * ''How the Universe Works'', 1994, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Guide to the Galaxy'', 1994, Cambridge University Press, * ''Black Holes'', 1996, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Big Bang'', 1997, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Is Anybody Out There?'', 1998, Dorling Kindersley, * ''To the Ends of the Universe'', 1998, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Universe'', 1999, Channel 4 Books, hardback; paperback * ''Space Encyclopedia'', 1999, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Extreme Universe'', 2001, Channel 4 Books, * ''Mars'': The Inside Story of the Red Planet, 2001, Headline, * ''Encyclopedia of Space'', 2003, Dorling Kindersley, * ''Universe: stunning satellite images from outer space'', 2006, Cassell Illustrated (UK) ; Thunder Bay (US) * ''The History of Astronomy'', 2009, Cassell Illustrated (UK), ; Firefly (US), * ''The Story of Astronomy'', 2011, Cassell, * ''The Astronomy Bible: The Definitive Guide to the Night Sky and the Universe'', 2015, Firefly (US), ; Philip's (UK), * ''The Secret Life of Space'', 2015, Aurum, * ''Space Visual Encyclopaedia'', 2016, Dorling Kindersley, * ''2019 Stargazing'', 2018, Philip's, * ''The Universe Explained: A Cosmic Q&A'', 2018, Firefly,

Radio presentation

* ''With Great Pleasure'', 1987, BBC Radio 4 * ''Down Your Way'', 1989, BBC Radio 4 * ''Seeing Stars'' (monthly series), 1990–2001, BBC World Service * ''The Modern Magi'', 1995, BBC Radio 4 * ''Starwatch'' (6-part series), 1996, BBC Radio 4 * ''Naming the Universe'' (5-part series), 1999, BBC Radio 4 * ''The Essential Guide to the 21st Century'' (5-part series), 2000, BBC World Service * ''Red Planet'' (3-part series), 2003, BBC Radio 4 * ''Worlds Beyond'' (3-part series), 2004/5, BBC Radio 4 * ''Arthur C. Clarke: the Science and the Fiction'', 2005, BBC Radio 4/BBC World Service * ''A Brief History of Infinity'' (2-part series), 2006, BBC World Service * ''Britain’s Space Race'', 2006, BBC Radio 4, winner of the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Award * ''Cosmic Quest'' (30-part series), 2008, BBC Radio 4

Filmography

References

External links

Heather Couper's websiteRadio 4 ''Cosmic Quest'' 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couper, Heather 1949 births 2020 deaths People educated at Haydon School Alumni of the University of Leicester Alumni of Linacre College, Oxford 20th-century British astronomers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Ruislip British science writers British science journalists British television presenters Professors of Gresham College Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society 20th-century British women scientists British women television presenters Science communicators