1. On radio, Heather Couper presented the programme Britain's Space Race as well as the 30-part series Cosmic Quest for BBC Radio 4.
29 Facts About Heather Couper
1. 2.
Heather Couper served as president of the British Astronomical Association from 1984 to 1986 and was Astronomy Professor in perpetuity at Gresham College, London.
3.
Heather Couper served on the Millennium Commission, for which she was appointed a CBE in 2007.
4.
Heather Couper's 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.
5.
Heather Couper graduated from the University of Leicester in 1973 with a BSc in Astronomy and Physics.
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Heather Couper then researched at the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, whilst a postgraduate student at Linacre College, Oxford.
7.
From 1977 to 1983, Heather Couper was Senior Lecturer at the Caird Planetarium of the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich, leaving to become a freelance writer and broadcaster.
8.
From 1978, Heather Couper wrote over 40 popular-level books on astronomy and space, many in collaboration with Henbest.
9.
Heather Couper's articles appeared in leading astronomy and science magazines, including BBC Sky at Night, BBC Focus and New Scientist.
10.
Heather Couper was a columnist for The Independent online newspaper.
11.
In 1999, the Royal Astronomical Society and La Societe Guernesiaise invited Heather Couper to deliver keynote lectures on the forthcoming total solar eclipse, the first visible from the British Isles since 1927.
12.
Heather Couper led expeditions to view total eclipses of the Sun in Sumatra, Hawaii, Aruba, Egypt, China and Tahiti.
13.
In 1986, Heather 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.
14.
Heather Couper appeared at many festivals, including the Brighton Festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival and The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival.
15.
Heather Couper presented many programmes and series on BBC Radio 4, including the live Starwatch series, Worlds Beyond and The Modern Magi.
16.
Heather Couper won the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Britain's Space Race on Radio 4's Archive Hour.
17.
Heather Couper made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and Radio 5Live, as well as regional and local radio stations across the UK.
18.
In 2008 Heather Couper presented the 30 x 15-minute Radio 4 series Cosmic Quest, on the history of astronomy.
19.
Outside astronomy, Heather Couper was a guest presenter on the Radio 4 flagship programmes Woman's Hour, the John Dunn Programme, and Start the Week.
20.
Heather Couper 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.
21.
Heather Couper appeared as an astronomy expert on news and current affairs programmes, and presented many series and programmes, mainly on Channel 4.
22.
Heather Couper presented the 1981 children's series Heavens Above, produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network.
23.
In 1985, Heather Couper presented the seven-part series The Planets for Channel 4, followed in 1988 by the six-part The Stars.
24.
Heather Couper narrated many factual TV programmes, ranging from Ekranoplan: The Caspian Sea Monster to Raging Planet.
25.
Heather Couper presented the company's first documentary, The Neptune Encounter, in 1989, covering Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune.
26.
Heather Couper left Pioneer Productions in 1999 to concentrate on more general radio and TV appearances.
27.
In 1993, Heather 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.
28.
Heather Couper was one of only two commissioners who stayed in post from the commission's inception until it was wound up in 2009.
29.
Heather Couper died at Stoke Mandeville Hospital on 19 February 2020 at the age of 70 after a short illness.