Heather Couper
Encyclopedia
- For the Canadian artist and graphic designer see Heather CooperHeather CooperHeather Cooper is a Canadian artist and graphic designer who lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.She began working in the early 1970s. She is perhaps best known for creating the original Roots "beaver" logo and the accompanying advertising campaign...
Heather Anita Couper CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
CPhys (born 2 June 1949) is a British astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
who popularized astronomy in the 1980s and 1990s on British television. She is a former president of the British Astronomical Association
British Astronomical Association
The British Astronomical Association is the senior national association of amateur astronomers in the UK.-Function:It encourages observational astronomy by non-professionals in areas which cannot be covered by professional observatories...
from 1984 to 1986.
Early life
She attended St Mary's Grammar School (merged with St. Nicholas Grammar SchoolSt. Nicholas Grammar School
St. Nicholas Grammar School was an English grammar school, located in Northwood Hills, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England.-History:The school existed as a grammar school for 22 years from 1955 until 1977 when it joined with the neighbouring St Mary's Grammar School for Girls, to become a...
in 1977 to become Haydon School
Haydon School
Haydon School is a comprehensive foundation school located in Hillingdon, west London, England. The school serves approximately 2000 students aged 11–18...
) on Wiltshire Lane in Northwood Hills
Northwood Hills
Northwood Hills is a suburban town within the London Borough of Hillingdon in west London.The nearest places are Hatch End, Northwood, Pinner, Ruislip, South Oxhey, Eastbury and Eastcote....
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. She graduated from the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
with a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Astronomy and Physics and did research at the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, whilst a postgraduate student at Linacre College, Oxford
Linacre College, Oxford
Linacre College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the UK, currently offering graduate entry only. It is located on St Cross Road at the corner of St Cross Road and South Parks Road, next to the University Parks and opposite the Tinbergen Building, which is shared by...
.
Career
From 1967-9, she was a management trainee with Peter Robinson Ltd. From 1969-70, she was a research assistant at the Cambridge ObservatoryCambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was first established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy...
. She was a lecturer at Greenwich Planetarium (superseded in 2007 by the Peter Harrison Planetarium
Peter Harrison Planetarium
The Peter Harrison Planetarium is a 120-seat digital laser planetarium, situated in Greenwich Park, London and is part of the National Maritime Museum. It opened on May 25, 2007....
) and the Old Royal Observatory
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
from 1977-83. She became a television presenter in 1981.
Couper has written and co-written several books on astronomy and space, many of these in collaboration with Nigel Henbest
Nigel Henbest
Nigel Henbest is a British astronomer educated in Northern Ireland and at Leicester University where he studied physics, chemistry and astronomy. He did postgraduate work at the University of Cambridge but left to become a science writer. He has written 36 books and over 1,000 articles on...
and made many presentations for radio, television, and in public. From 1993 to 1996, she gave public lectures as professor of astronomy at Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
, London.
She became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
in 1970 and of the Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
in 1999, when she also became a Chartered physicist
Chartered Physicist
Chartered Physicist is a chartered status and a professional qualification awarded by the Institute of Physics.Achieving chartered status in any profession denotes to the wider community a high level of specialised subject knowledge and professional competence...
. She was President of the British Astronomical Association
British Astronomical Association
The British Astronomical Association is the senior national association of amateur astronomers in the UK.-Function:It encourages observational astronomy by non-professionals in areas which cannot be covered by professional observatories...
in 1984-6, and of the Junior Astronomical Society (Society for Popular Astronomy
Society for Popular Astronomy
The Society for Popular Astronomy is a national astronomical society based in the United Kingdom for beginners to amateur astronomy.It was founded in 1953 as the Junior Astronomical Society by experienced amateur astronomers including Patrick Moore, Ernest Noon and Eric Turner to encourage...
) from 1987-9. She is the astronomy correspondent for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper.
On 2 June 1999, asteroid 3922 Heather
3922 Heather
3922 Heather is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 26, 1971 by C. Torres at Cerro El Roble.- External links :*...
was named in her honour.
Broadcasting
Couper along with Henbest and Stuart Carter co-founded Pioneer ProductionsPioneer Productions
Pioneer Productions is an independent British television production company based in London, United Kingdom. The company has produced over 500 hours of science and technology, docudrama, lifestyle, current affairs and history programming for both the US and International markets...
, an independent UK TV production company focusing on factual programming, in 1988. Couper subsequently left Pioneer Productions in 1999 to concentrate on more general radio and TV appearances.
In 2006 she presented a two-part radio series A Brief History of Infinity
Infinity
Infinity is a concept in many fields, most predominantly mathematics and physics, that refers to a quantity without bound or end. People have developed various ideas throughout history about the nature of infinity...
for BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, produced by Heavy Entertainment. In 2007 she was appointed CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her work on the Millennium Commission
Millennium Commission
The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery....
which she joined in 1994.
In 2008 she won the Sir Arthur Clarke Award
Sir Arthur Clarke Award
The Sir Arthur Clarke Award is a British award given in recognition of notable contributions to space exploration, particularly British achievements. It is owned by the Space Education Trust and is independent of and separate from . Founded in 2005, the awards are an annual event. They take place...
with Martin Redfern for their programme Britain's Space Race on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Archive Hour. Also in 2008 she presented a 30 part x 15 minute history of Astronomy Cosmic Quest also for Radio 4.
Selected bibliography
Co-authored with David Pelham:- 1985: The Universe: A Three-Dimensional Study (pop-up bookPop-up bookThe term pop-up book is often applied to any three-dimensional or movable book, although properly the umbrella term movable book covers pop-ups, transformations, tunnel books, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, and more, each of which performs in a different manner...
). Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, ISBN 0-394-54691-1
Co-authored with Nigel Henbest:
- 1998: Is Anybody Out There? (Dorling Kindersley), ISBN 0-7894-2798-2
- 1999: Space Encyclopedia (Dorling Kindersley), ISBN 0-7894-4708-8
- 2001: Mars: The Inside Story of the Red Planet (Headline Book), ISBN 0-7472-3543-0
- 2001: Universe (Boxtree), ISBN 0-7522-7255-1
- 2007: The History of Astronomy (Firefly), ISBN 1-55407-325-1
See also
- Gresham Professor of AstronomyGresham Professor of AstronomyThe Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1596 / 7, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to eight and in addition the college now has visiting professors.The...
- The Sky at NightThe Sky at NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
- Patrick MoorePatrick MooreSir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...