{{Short description|British astronomer (1949–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|CBE|FInstP|FRAS}} | image = Heather_Couper.jpg | alt = Heather Anita Couper | caption = Heather Anita Couper |birth_name = Heather Anita Couper | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1949|6|2}} | birth_place = Wallasey, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|2|19|1949|6|2|df=yes}} | death_place = Aylesbury, England | fields = Astronomy | thesis1_title = | thesis1_url = | thesis1_year = | workplaces = {{ublist |Cambridge Observatory |Greenwich Planetarium |Pioneer Productions}} | alma_mater = University of Leicester<br />Oxford University | doctoral_advisor = | doctoral_students = | known_for = | awards = {{ublist |{{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE|FInstP|FRAS}}|Sir Arthur Clarke Award}} | website = {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101018080451/http://hencoup.com/en/heather http://www.hencoup.com/]}} }} '''Heather Anita Couper''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|CBE|FInstP|FRAS}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hencoup.com/heather/|title=Heather Couper|website=hencoup.com|language=en|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107143434/http://hencoup.com/heather/|archive-date=7 November 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref> (2 June 1949 – 19 February 2020) was a British astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser.
After studying astrophysics at the University of Leicester and researching clusters of galaxies at Oxford University, Couper was appointed senior planetarium lecturer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. She subsequently hosted two series on Channel 4 television – ''The Planets'' and ''The Stars'' – as well as making many TV guest appearances. On radio, Couper presented the programme ''Britain’s Space Race'' as well as the 30-part series ''Cosmic Quest'' for BBC Radio 4. Couper served as president of the British Astronomical Association from 1984 to 1986<ref name="Ben Hall 32">{{cite magazine |date=October 1988 |author=Ben Hall |title=Behind the scenes |magazine=The Guider |location=London, UK |edition=Vol. 76 No. 10 |publisher=Girl Guides Association |page=32}}</ref> and was Astronomy Professor in perpetuity at Gresham College, London. She served on the Millennium Commission, for which she was appointed a CBE in 2007. Asteroid 3922 Heather is named in her honour.<ref name="radio4">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/cosmology/heather_couper.shtml|title=Profile of Heather Couper|work=BBC Radio 4|date=26 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620200949/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/cosmology/heather_couper.shtml|archive-date=20 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Early life== Born on 2 June 1949 in Wallasey, Cheshire,<ref name="Who's Who 2015">{{cite web|title=COUPER, Heather Anita|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U12025|website=Who's Who 2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> Couper was the only child of George Couper and Anita Couper (née Taylor). At the age of seven or eight, she was watching planes in the night sky because her father was an airline pilot when she unexpectedly witnessed a bright green meteor. Her parents said there was no such thing; but a newspaper headline the next day referred to a "green shooting star," and Couper then determined to become an astronomer.<ref name="passfail">{{cite web|last1=Sale|first1=Jonathan|title=Passed/failed: Heather Couper|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-heather-couper-1266174.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-heather-couper-1266174.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Independent|access-date=22 October 2017|date=10 April 1997}}</ref>
She attended St Mary's Grammar School (merged with St. Nicholas Grammar School in 1977 to become Haydon School) on Wiltshire Lane in Northwood Hills, Middlesex. At the age of 16, she wrote to British television astronomer Patrick Moore asking if she would be able to take up a career in astronomy, and received the reply "being a girl is no problem at all"!<ref name="astrotalk">{{cite web|title=Astronomy – A cultural perspective|url=http://astrotalkuk.org/2008/05/20/astronomy-a-cultural-perspective|access-date=1 October 2018|date=20 May 2008|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611075521/http://astrotalkuk.org/2008/05/20/astronomy-a-cultural-perspective/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Career== ===Astronomy=== After two years as a management trainee, with the Peter Robinson fashion store and its Top Shop division (now Topshop), Couper joined Cambridge Observatory as a research assistant in 1969, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1970.<ref name = "astrotalk" /> She graduated from the University of Leicester in 1973 with a BSc in Astronomy and Physics. At Leicester, she met fellow astronomy student Nigel Henbest; they formed a working partnership – Hencoup Enterprises – that focuses on astronomy popularisation. She then researched at the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, whilst a postgraduate student at Linacre College, Oxford.<ref name="Who's Who 2015" />
From 1977 to 1983, Couper was Senior Lecturer at the Caird Planetarium of the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich (superseded in 2007 by the Peter Harrison Planetarium), leaving to become a freelance writer and broadcaster.<ref name = "astrotalk" /> In 1984, she was elected President of the British Astronomical Association, the first woman and the second-youngest person to hold the position. Couper served as President of the Junior Astronomical Society (now the Society for Popular Astronomy) in 1987–9.<ref name="radio4" /> The London Planetarium invited Couper to write and present its major new 1988 public show, ''Starburst!''<ref>{{Citation | last =Marcus | first =Chown | year =1988 | title =The life and death of a star | publisher =New Scientist | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=S-uyZw8e8XAC&pg=PA63 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Couper was appointed Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in 1993 – the first female professor in the 400-year history of the college – and held the position until 1996.<ref name="gresham">{{cite web|author1=Gresham College|title=Professor Heather Couper|url=https://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/professor-heather-couper/|access-date= 1 October 2018}}</ref>
===Books and other publications=== From 1978, Couper wrote over 40 popular-level books on astronomy and space, many in collaboration with Henbest.<ref name=BBCFeb2020/> According to one reviewer, Couper and Henbest are 'great storytellers with an eye for a colourful character'.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Andy Sawers|title=The Secret Life of Space|url=https://astronomynow.com/2015/07/08/the-secret-life-of-space/|website=Astronomy Now|access-date=21 October 2015|date=8 July 2015}}</ref>
Her articles appeared in leading astronomy and science magazines, including ''BBC Sky at Night'', ''BBC Focus'' and ''New Scientist''. She was a columnist for ''The Independent'' online newspaper.<ref>{{cite web|title=Authors: Heather Couper|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/author/heather-couper |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/author/heather-couper |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Independent|access-date=24 September 2018}}</ref>
===Eclipses=== In 1999, the Royal Astronomical Society and La Société Guernesiaise invited Couper to deliver keynote lectures on the forthcoming total solar eclipse, the first visible from the British Isles since 1927. Couper also led expeditions to view total eclipses of the Sun in Sumatra (1988), Hawaii (1991), Aruba (1998), Egypt (2006), China (2009) and Tahiti (2010).<ref>{{Citation | last =Dayton | first =Leigh | year =2009 | title =Fun in the Egyptian Sun | publisher =The Australian | url =https://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/fun-with-the-egyptian-sun/news-story/b3910ee5bd921bc9363f53ba9213bf3d | access-date =24 September 2018 }}</ref>
===Public appearances=== Couper's international lecture tours and public speaking engagements ranged from the US to China; Colombia to New Zealand. She was the chief guest celebrity speaker on the maiden voyage of the P&O cruise ship ''Arcadia'' and gave presentations on Cunard's ''Queen Mary 2'' and ''Queen Victoria''. In 1986, Couper was aboard Concorde on its first flight from London to Auckland, New Zealand, as the astronomer responsible for showing passengers Halley's Comet while flying at 18,000 metres over the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=David Hughes|title=Reminiscences of Halley's Comet|journal=Vistas in Astronomy|volume=32|issue=2|pages=163–180|doi=10.1016/0083-6656(88)90402-3|year=1988|bibcode=1988VA.....32..163H}}</ref>
Couper appeared at many festivals, including the Brighton Festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival and ''The Sunday Times'' Oxford Literary Festival. Her corporate work included keynote presentations to British Gas, AXA SunLife and IBM.
===Radio=== Couper presented many programmes and series on BBC Radio 4, including the live ''Starwatch'' series, ''Worlds Beyond'' and ''The Modern Magi''.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Paul Vallely|title=Time to raise the couch potatoes|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/24-april/comment/opinion/time-to-rouse-the-couch-potatoes/|website=Church Times|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> She won the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for ''Britain's Space Race'' on Radio 4's Archive Hour.<ref>{{cite web|author1=British Interplanetary Society|title=Sir Arthur Clarke Awards Winners|url=https://www.bis-space.com/2013/04/05/9719/sir-arthur-clarke-awards-winners/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426174001/http://www.bis-space.com/2013/04/05/9719/sir-arthur-clarke-awards-winners|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 April 2017|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
She also made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and Radio 5Live, as well as regional and local radio stations across the UK. In 2008 Couper presented the 30 x 15-minute Radio 4 series ''Cosmic Quest'', on the history of astronomy.<ref name="radio4" />
Her major series for BBC World Service Radio ranged from ''A Brief History of Infinity'' and ''The Essential Guide to the 21st Century'', to the long-running ''Seeing Stars'' (presented with Nigel Henbest).<ref>{{cite web|author1=BBC World Service|title=Seeing Stars episodes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p033f8jv/episodes/guide|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
Outside astronomy, Couper was a guest presenter on the Radio 4 flagship programmes ''Woman’s Hour'', the John Dunn Programme, and ''Start the Week''. She showcased her interests in literature and local history in presenting episodes of Radio 4’s ''With Great Pleasure'' and ''Down Your Way'', and in classical music by selecting her "pick of the Proms" for ''In Tune'' on BBC Radio 3.<ref>{{Citation |year=2008 |title=In Tune |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cq7cz |access-date=24 September 2018 }}</ref>
===Television appearances=== Couper appeared as an astronomy expert on news and current affairs programmes, and presented many series and programmes, mainly on Channel 4.<ref name="gresham" />
Her first TV appearances were as a guest on ''The Sky at Night'', a long-running series hosted by Patrick Moore.<ref name=BBCFeb2020>{{cite news |title=TV astronomer Heather Couper dies at 70 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51562165 |access-date=20 February 2020 |work=BBC News |date=19 February 2020}}</ref> Couper (with Terence Murtagh) presented the 1981 children's series ''Heavens Above'', produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network.<ref name=BBCFeb2020/>
In 1985, Couper presented the seven-part series ''The Planets'' for Channel 4, followed in 1988 by the six-part ''The Stars''. Her television presentational roles included ''The Neptune Encounter'' (ITV), ''A Close Encounter of the Second Kind'' (''Horizon'', BBC2) and ''Stephen Hawking: a Profile'' (BBC4).{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
She narrated many factual TV programmes, ranging from ''Ekranoplan: The Caspian Sea Monster'' (Channel 4) to ''Raging Planet'' (Discovery Channel).{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
===Television production=== Couper, along with Henbest and Stuart Carter (director of her series ''The Stars''), founded Pioneer Productions, an independent UK TV production company creating factual programming, in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|author1=David Higham|title=Heather Couper|url=https://www.davidhigham.co.uk/authors-dh/heather-couper/|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> Couper presented the company’s first documentary, ''The Neptune Encounter'', in 1989, covering Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune. As producer, Couper's TV credits for Channel 4 include the award-winning ''Black Holes'' and ''Electric Skies'', along with the series ''Universe: Beyond the Millennium''. Couper left Pioneer Productions in 1999 to concentrate on more general radio and TV appearances.<ref name="astrotalk" />
===Millennium Commission=== In 1993, Couper was invited to join the newly created Millennium Commission, as one of nine commissioners responsible for distributing money from the National Lottery to projects that would celebrate and commemorate the new millennium. She was one of only two commissioners (along with Michael Heseltine) who stayed in post from the commission’s inception until it was wound up in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Millennium Commission|title=Millennium Commissioners|url=http://www.millennium.gov.uk/about/commissioners.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030806121128/http://www.millennium.gov.uk/about/commissioners.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 August 2003|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
For her work on the Millennium Commission, as well as her promotion of science to the public, Couper was appointed a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|author1=The Gazette|title=Birthday Honours List 2007|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58358/supplement/1|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
==Death== Couper died at Stoke Mandeville Hospital on 19 February 2020 at the age of 70 after a short illness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/magazine/science/2020/02/19/news/-charismatic-tv-astronomer-heather-couper-dies-after-short-illness-1847225/|title='Charismatic' TV astronomer Heather Couper dies after short illness|date=19 February 2020|website=The Irish News}}</ref>
==Awards== * ''Times Educational Supplement'' Senior Information Book Award 1987<ref name="Ben Hall 32"/> * Honorary Doctor of Letters, Loughborough University 1991 * Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Hertfordshire 1994 * Honorary Doctor of Science, Leicester University 1994 * Gold Medal, New York Festivals 1993, 1995, 1998 * Banff Rockie Award 1995 * Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 2007
==Bibliography== * ''Space Frontiers'', 1978, Woodpecker, {{ISBN|0856853399}} * ''Exploring Space'', 1980, Hennerwood, {{ISBN|978-0907812753}} * ''Heavens Above!'', 1981, Franklin Watts, {{ISBN|978-0531042878}} * ''The Restless Universe'', 1982, George Philip, {{ISBN|978-0540010691}} * ''Astronomy'', 1983, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|978-0531046517}} * ''Physics'', 1983, Franklin Watts, {{ISBN|978-0531046524}} * ''The Planets'', 1985, Pan {{ISBN|0330290827}} * ''The Universe: A Three-Dimensional Study'' (pop-up book), 1985, Random House, {{ISBN|0-394-54691-1}} * '' Halley's Comet Pop-Up Book'', 1985, Hamlyn, {{ISBN|978-0603004469}} * ''The Stars'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|978-0531100547}} UK {{ISBN|978-0863132681}} US * ''The Planets'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|978-0531100011}} UK {{ISBN|978-0863132667}} US * ''Comets and Meteors'' (Space Scientist), 1985, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|978-0863132674}} UK {{ISBN|978-0863132674}} US * ''The Sun'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|0863132693}} UK {{ISBN|0-531-10055-3}} US * ''The Moon'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts, {{ISBN|0863134726}} UK; {{ISBN|0-531-10266-1}} US * ''Galaxies and Quasars'' (Space Scientist), 1986, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|0863134734}} UK {{ISBN|0-531-10265-3}} US * ''Telescopes and Observatories'' (Space Scientist), 1987, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|0863135277}} UK {{ISBN|0-531-10361-7}} US * ''Spaceprobes and Satellites'' (Space Scientist), 1987, Franklin Watts {{ISBN|0863135285}} UK {{ISBN|0-531-10360-9}} US * ''The Stars'', 1988, Pan, {{ISBN|033030352X}} * ''The Space Atlas'', 1992, {{ISBN|978-0863188299}} * ''How the Universe Works'', 1994, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|0751300802}} * ''Guide to the Galaxy'', 1994, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521458825}} * ''Black Holes'', 1996, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|0-7513-5371-X}} * ''Big Bang'', 1997, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-0789414847}} * ''Is Anybody Out There?'', 1998, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-0751356663}} * ''To the Ends of the Universe'', 1998, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-0751358254}} * ''Universe'', 1999, Channel 4 Books, {{ISBN|0752217127}} hardback; {{ISBN|0752272551}} paperback * ''Space Encyclopedia'', 1999, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-0789447081}} * ''Extreme Universe'', 2001, Channel 4 Books, {{ISBN|978-0752261638}} * ''Mars'': The Inside Story of the Red Planet, 2001, Headline, {{ISBN|978-0747235439}} * ''Encyclopedia of Space'', 2003, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-1405301091}} * ''Universe: stunning satellite images from outer space'', 2006, Cassell Illustrated (UK) {{ISBN|978-1844034376}}; Thunder Bay (US) {{ISBN|978-1592236992}} * ''The History of Astronomy'', 2009, Cassell Illustrated (UK), {{ISBN|978-1844035700}}; Firefly (US), {{ISBN|978-1554075379}} * ''The Story of Astronomy'', 2011, Cassell, {{ISBN|978-1844037117}} * ''The Astronomy Bible: The Definitive Guide to the Night Sky and the Universe'', 2015, Firefly (US), {{ISBN|978-1770854826}}; Philip's (UK), {{ISBN|978-1844038084}} * ''The Secret Life of Space'', 2015, Aurum, {{ISBN|978-1781313930}} * ''Space Visual Encyclopaedia'', 2016, Dorling Kindersley, {{ISBN|978-0241228432}} * ''2019 Stargazing'', 2018, Philip's, {{ISBN|978-1849074803}} * ''The Universe Explained: A Cosmic Q&A'', 2018, Firefly, {{ISBN|978-0228100829}}
==Radio presentation== * ''With Great Pleasure'', 1987, BBC Radio 4 * ''Down Your Way'', 1989, BBC Radio 4 * ''Seeing Stars'' (monthly series), 1990–2001, BBC World Service * ''The Modern Magi'', 1995, BBC Radio 4 * ''Starwatch'' (6-part series), 1996, BBC Radio 4 * ''Naming the Universe'' (5-part series), 1999, BBC Radio 4 * ''The Essential Guide to the 21st Century'' (5-part series), 2000, BBC World Service * ''Red Planet'' (3-part series), 2003, BBC Radio 4 * ''Worlds Beyond'' (3-part series), 2004/5, BBC Radio 4 * ''Arthur C. Clarke: the Science and the Fiction'', 2005, BBC Radio 4/BBC World Service * ''A Brief History of Infinity'' (2-part series), 2006, BBC World Service * ''Britain’s Space Race'', 2006, BBC Radio 4, winner of the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Award * ''Cosmic Quest'' (30-part series), 2008, BBC Radio 4
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Broadcaster ! scope="col" | Notes
|- | 1985 | ''The Planets'' (7-part series) | Presenter |The Moving Picture Company for Channel 4 | Episodes: Children of the Sun, Mercury and Venus, Blue Planet, The Angry Red Planet, Planets of Gas, The Search for Planet X, Are We Alone? |- | 1988 | ''The Stars'' (6-part series) | Presenter |The Moving Picture Company for Channel 4 |Episodes: Reach for the Stars, Messages from the Stars, Secrets of the Sun, A Star is Born, Stardoom, Beyond the Big Bang |- | 1989 | ''The Neptune Encounter'' | Presenter | Pioneer Productions for network ITV |Fast turnaround documentary on the Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune |- | 1992 | ''ET: Please Phone Earth'' | Narrator/scriptwriter | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4/ABC | Gold Medal, New York Festivals |- | 1992 | ''A Close Encounter of the Second Kind'' | Presenter | BBC2 Horizon | Live outside broadcast as the Giotto spacecraft flew past Comet Grigg-Skjellerup |- | 1993 | ''Space Shuttle Discovery'' | Narrator | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4 |Inside story of a space shuttle mission, partly filmed by the astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery mission STS-51 |- | 1994 | ''Electric Skies'' | Producer/narrator | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4 |Documentary on lightning. Winner of 1995 Banff Rockie award for Best Popular Science Program; Gold Medal at the New York Festivals |- | 1995 | ''Arthur C. Clarke: Visionary'' | Presenter |Pioneer Productions for Discovery Channel Europe | |- | 1996 | ''Wonders of Weather'' (13-part series) | Producer | Pioneer Productions for TLC | |- | 1997 | ''Black Holes'' | Producer | Pioneer Productions for Discovery Channel | Gold Medal, Best Science Documentary, New York Festivals |- | 1997/8 | ''Raging Planet'' (10-part series) | Narrator | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4/Discovery Channel | |- | 1998 | ''Ekranoplan: The Caspian Sea Monster'' | Narrator | Ideal World for Channel 4 | |- | 1998 | ''Killer Earth'' | Narrator | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4 | |- | 1999 | ''Universe: Beyond the Millennium'' (4-part series) | Producer | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4/TLC/ABC |Episodes: Planets, Stars, Creation, Alien Life. Glaxo Wellcome/ABSW Science Writers' Award |- | 1999 | ''Stormforce'' | Narrator | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4 | |- | 2002 | ''Stephen Hawking: a Profile'' | Presenter | BBC4 |Documentary marking Stephen Hawking's 60th birthday |- | 2003 | ''Space Shuttle: Human Time Bomb?'' | Narrator/writer | Pioneer Productions for Channel 4 |Fast turnaround documentary on the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster
|}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101018080451/http://hencoup.com/en/heather Heather Couper's website]}} *[https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/cosmology/heather_couper.shtml Radio 4 ''Cosmic Quest'' 2008]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Couper, Heather}} Category:1949 births Category:2020 deaths Category:People from Wallasey Category:People educated at Haydon School Category:Alumni of the University of Leicester Category:Alumni of Linacre College, Oxford Category:20th-century British astronomers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Ruislip Category:British science writers Category:British science journalists Category:British television presenters Category:Academics of Gresham College Category:Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Category:20th-century British women scientists Category:British women television presenters