Ever looked through a telescope and dreamed of the stars?
Michele Dougherty did—and that childhood wonder just made history.
Prof Dougherty, who didn’t even study science in secondary school, is now the UK’s first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years.
Yes, the official space adviser to King Charles III.
And she’s not just sitting behind a desk—she’s helping send probes to Jupiter’s icy moons in search of life.
How Did She Get Here?
“I didn’t choose the science school because my friends weren’t going,” she laughed.
But her math skills were too sharp to ignore. After a tough start—“like learning a new language,” she says—she caught up fast.
She climbed the ranks to become one of Britain’s top space scientists.
Her journey began at age 10 with a DIY telescope and a glimpse of Jupiter. “I’m having to pinch myself,” she said, grinning.
Now she hopes to “open people’s eyes” to the magic—and real-world importance—of astronomy.
Fellow scientist Prof Catherine Heymans calls her appointment a sign of changing times: “Science is becoming more diverse, as it should be.”
Dougherty sums it up simply: “When kids see someone like them doing the impossible, they start to believe they can too.”
