Professor Michelle Doherty has been appointed Astronomer Royal of Great Britain. She is the first woman in the country’s history to hold this post, as reported by The Telegraph.
Doherty became Astronomer Royal after Lord Martin Rees retired. He held this post for 30 years.
The post of Astronomer Royal was established in 1675. At that time, he dealt with issues of marine navigation using the stars. Over time, the post became ceremonial. Nowadays, the Astronomer Royal informs the monarch about new discoveries in the field of space.
Michelle Doherty works at Imperial College London and is an expert in the field of astrophysics. Her scientific interests lie in the field of research of the giant gas planets of the Solar System: Saturn and Jupiter. Doherty worked on the interaction of their magnetic fields, the detection of water vapor around Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and the launch of automatic interplanetary stations to Jupiter.
