英国帝国理工学院的空间科学家米歇尔·多尔蒂已被任命为新一任英国皇家天文学家，成为该职位史上的首位女性。她将接替剑桥大学的宇宙学家马丁·里斯，后者已担任此职位三十年。皇家天文学家的头衔可追溯至1675年格林威治皇家天文台的建立，最初主要负责为查理二世在海上导航方面提供星象建议。多尔蒂将在担任帝国理工学院职务、科技设施委员会执行主席以及物理学会会长（10月起任期两年）的同时，履行皇家天文学家的职责，为国王查尔斯三世提供天文事务的官方咨询。她的任命被视为科学界的一大突破，预示着天文学领域将更加多元化和包容。

👑 米歇尔·多尔蒂，一位来自英国帝国理工学院的空间科学家，被任命为英国下一任皇家天文学家，这是该历史性职位首次由女性担任。她将接替已任职三十年的马丁·里斯，成为英国王室在天文事务上的官方顾问。

🔭 皇家天文学家的职位历史悠久，可追溯到1675年格林威治皇家天文台的建立，最初的职责是为国王提供改善海上导航的星象建议。自那时起，已有15人担任过此职位，多尔蒂是第16位。

🚀 多尔蒂的学术和职业生涯十分辉煌，她拥有南非纳塔尔大学的物理学博士学位，曾在帝国理工学院担任物理系主任，并曾担任土星探测任务“卡西尼-惠更斯”和即将前往木星的“JUICE”任务的磁力计首席研究员。她还因对英国物理科学研究的贡献而获得大英帝国司令勋章，并是英国皇家学会会员。

🌟 多尔蒂表示，她对担任皇家天文学家一职感到非常高兴，并期待能激发公众对天文学的兴趣，强调天文学及其成果对我们日常生活的重要性。她的任命被视为科学界的一项重要里程碑，尤其对于激励年轻一代投身物理和天文学领域具有榜样作用。

The space scientist Michele Dougherty from Imperial College London has been appointed the next Astronomer Royal – the first woman to hold the position. She will succeed the Cambridge University cosmologist Martin Rees, who has held the role for the past three decades.

The title of Astronomer Royal dates back to the creation of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in 1675, when it mostly involved advising Charles II on using the stars to improve navigation at sea. John Flamsteed from Derby was the first Astronomer Royal and since then 15 people have held the role.

Dougherty will now act as the official adviser to King Charles III on astronomical matters. She will hold the role alongside her Imperial job as well as being executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the next president of the Institute of Physics, a two-year position she will take up in October.

After gaining a PhD in 1988 from the University of Natal in South Africa, Dougherty moved to Imperial in 1991, where she was head of physics from 2018 until 2024. She has been principal investigator of the magnetometer on the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons and also for the magnetometer for the JUICE craft, which is currently travelling to Jupiter to study its three icy moons.

She was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 New Year Honours for “services to UK Physical Science Research”. Dougherty is also a fellow of the Royal Society, who won its Hughes medal in 2008 for studying Saturn’s moons and had a Royal Society Research Professorship from 2014-19.

“I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the important role of Astronomer Royal,” says Doughtery. “As a young child I never thought I’d end up working on planetary spacecraft missions and science, so I can’t quite believe I’m actually taking on this position. I look forward to engaging the general public in how exciting astronomy is, and how important it and its outcomes are to our everyday life.”

Tom Grinyer, IOP group chief executive officer, offered his “warmest congratulations” to Dougherty. “As incoming President of the IOP and the first woman to hold this historic role [of Astronmer Royal], Dougherty is an inspirational ambassador for science and a role model for every young person who has gazed up at the stars and imagined a future in physics or astronomy.”

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