The First Woman Astronomer Royal

by Kimberly Mitchell

On July 30, 2025, Michele Dougherty became the first woman Astronomer Royal in the United Kingdom. It is only the latest achievement in Dougherty’s long astronomical career, and one she never envisioned as a child.

Dougherty grew up in South Africa and became interested in astronomy and the stars through her father. He built a telescope when she was ten and showed Dougherty Jupiter’s moons and Saturn. Though Dougherty enjoyed the experience, she didn’t pursue science in secondary school. Still, her enjoyment of science and math stuck with her, strong support for the idea that building science capital in children by the age of 11 is impactful for their involvement in science and math later in life. 

When Dougherty arrived at the University of Natal, she decided to study mathematics and science despite not having a strong secondary school background in these subjects. Dougherty says of this experience, “It was like learning a new language,” but that didn’t stop her from ultimately succeeding. She got her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics before moving to physics for her graduate degree. She graduated in 1988, with her PhD work focused on wave-particle interactions in dispersive and anisotropic media. 

Michele Dougherty addressing the Royal Astronomical Society in 2015.

Photo: TowardsTheLight - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Dougherty completed a fellowship in mathematics in Germany before moving to London, where she joined Imperial College in 1991. Dougherty is a professor of space physics, and she was head of the Department of Physics at Imperial from 2018 until 2024. Dougherty has been the principal investigator for major planetary space missions, notably the magnetometer instrument on NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn, and the European Space Agency's JUICE mission, which will explore Jupiter’s icy moons starting in 2031. She led the work that discovered an atmosphere containing water and hydrocarbons around Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a critical finding in the search for extraterrestrial life.

The position of Astronomer Royal dates back to 1675 and is officially appointed by the British monarch. King Charles II appointed the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed. Flamsteed’s main role was observing and cataloging stars to create navigational maps. Flamsteed and several of his successors are credited with establishing a tradition of extensive research and precise astronomical observations.

The position has changed somewhat, in that the Astronomer Royal now holds the title along with their current roles. Michele Dougherty is currently the Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the President-elect of the Institute of Physics, as well as a professor at Imperial College. As the Astronomer Royal, she will serve as an ambassador for astronomy, space, and STEM in the UK and beyond, and an advisor to King Charles III in any matters of astronomy. 

John Flamsteed, first Astronomer Royal.

Painting by Thomas Gibson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dougherty is aware of the importance of becoming the first woman Astronomer Royal, as she understands how younger women and girls can draw on her achievements to inspire their own. “I think when young children in particular see someone that looks like them doing a job they think they would never get an opportunity to do, it changes their mindset a little," she told BBC News,

Dougherty joins another female astronomer, Catherine Heymans, who is the first female Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Heymans took on the role in 2021, and now both positions are held by women for the first time in history. 

In her recent BBC interview, Dougherty said: 

“For the last 350 years, the title of Astronomer Royal has been held by a white male astronomer, and that kind of reflected what the astronomical community has looked like for the last few centuries. But things are changing," she said.

"Science is becoming more diverse, which it needs to be if we want to answer these big questions, and I'm absolutely delighted now that the two Astronomers Royal across the UK are female, reflecting the fact that science is for everyone."