Caroline Herschel Medal awarded to Heike Rauer: ceremony at the Britisch Embassy Berlin
April 29, 2026
Caroline Herschel Medal awarded to Heike Rauer: ceremony at the Britisch Embassy Berlin
Ceremony at the British Embassy: Awarding of the Caroline Herschel Prize to Heike Rauer
At a ceremony held at the British Embassy in Berlin on 28 April 2026, Prof. Dr Heike Rauer was awarded the Caroline Herschel Medal. From left to right: the British Ambassador Andrew Mitchell, the President of the Royal Astronomical Society Mike Lockwood, Heike Rauer and the President of the German Astronomical Society, Stefanie Walch-Gassner
Heike Rauer, awardee of the Caroline Herschel Medal, giving a lecture at the ceremony at the British Embassy
In her speech at the ceremony, Heike emphasised that Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) was a comet researcher, who enjoyed a high standing within the scientific community during her lifetime.
For her leading role in the development of the ESA’s PLATO mission and her scientific contributions to exoplanet research, Heike Rauer (DLR and FU Berlin) was awarded the Caroline Herschel Medal. At a ceremony at the British Embassy in Berlin, the Caroline Herschel Medal was presented to the astronomer jointly by Mike Lockwood, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the President of the German Astronomical Society.
Since 2022, the prize has been awarded to an outstanding female astronomer, alternating between the UK and Germany. The British government announced the award in 2021 during a visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel. It also serves as a symbol of the close scientific ties between the UK and Germany, as Ambassador Andrew Mitchell emphasised in his speech. He pointed out the ongoing cooperations as well as recent joint investments in areas of science like quantum technology.
