Heather Couper (1949-2020) was a British astronomer and science populariser, one of the best-known faces of astronomy in the United Kingdom. A graduate in astronomy and physics from the University of Leicester (1973), she was a senior lecturer at the planetarium of the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich (1977-1983) before turning to writing and broadcasting. In 1984 she became the first woman elected president of the British Astronomical Association, and later the first female professor of astronomy at Gresham College (1993-1996). With her long-time partner Nigel Henbest she produced more than forty popular books and several television series (The Planets, The Stars). Appointed CBE in 2007, she has an asteroid, (3922) Heather, named after her.