South African-born Prof Michele Dougherty has made history as the first woman appointed Astronomer Royal in the UK!
South Africa (04 August 2025) – It’s not every day someone from South Africa helps rewrite history on another continent. But that’s exactly what Professor Michele Dougherty has done, becoming the first woman ever appointed as the UK’s Astronomer Royal in the title’s 350-year existence.
And the best part? Her story began under southern skies.
Professor Dougherty was born in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and spent her formative years there, long before her name would appear in textbooks and space science missions. As a child, science wasn’t even on the cards, the school she chose to attend didn’t offer it as a subject.
“One of them taught science, but none of my friends were going to it,” she told the BBC. “So as a young 13-year-old, I thought, I want to go with my friends.”
But even then, something was already taking shape. At around 10 years old, her father built a telescope, and Michele helped mix the concrete for its base. Through it, she saw Jupiter and its four largest moons for the very first time. All from their KZN backyard.
“That was when I got my first view of Jupiter… never thinking I’d end up sending instruments on a spacecraft there,” she said.
Fast forward to today, and not only has she done that, but she’s also played a lead role in major international space missions. Her work with NASA’s Cassini mission revealed strong evidence that Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has a subsurface ocean with the potential to support life. She’s also been instrumental in the European Space Agency’s ongoing mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moons, which might hold similar promise.
Now, it’s her appointment as Astronomer Royal that has left her pinching herself.
“I’m having to pinch myself at the thought that I’m now Astronomer Royal!”
The honorary title, which dates back to 1675, has historically been reserved for Britain’s most respected scientific voices. Its roots lie in advising the monarch on matters of astronomy, initially for maritime navigation. Over time, it’s grown into a symbol of thought leadership in the sciences, and Dougherty is now the first woman to wear that crown.
She hopes her appointment will do more than just break a 350-year streak of male predecessors.
“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 said.
During her time as head of the physics department at Imperial College, she witnessed this firsthand; the number of first-year female undergraduates rose from 19% to 25%.
Not only is Dougherty now one of the most influential figures in UK science, she’s also still very much hands-on. She serves as executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council and continues to design instruments that measure magnetic fields in deep space.
But at her core, she’s still that young girl looking through a homemade telescope, only now, she’s helping the rest of the world look up too.
Her message, especially to those who might feel that science isn’t for them, carries impact:
“I’ve always wanted to make sure that if I’m ever selected for a role, it’s because of what I do, and not because I’m female. Particularly for young girls, seeing someone who looks like them in a role like this will potentially allow them to dream that they might be able to do something like this in the future,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
From South Africa to the stars, the amazing Prof. Michele Dougherty reminds us what’s possible when curiosity is met with a boat load of courage, and when we reach for the sky, not just for ourselves, but for those who will come next.
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