Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a former president of the Royal Astronomical Society, is among four Fellows recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.
She has been appointed a Companion of Honour (CH) – a special distinction limited to a total of 65 people at any one time – for services to astronomy and physics and to diversity.
Other members include Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Elton John.
Professor Dame Bell Burnell was a radio astronomy graduate student at Cambridge when she famously made the first ever detection of a pulsar in 1967, a discovery which opened up a new area of physics and astronomy.
She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, has been a leading advocate for inclusivity in science throughout her career, and received her Damehood in 2007 for services to astronomy. Professor Dame Bell Burnell served as president of the RAS from 2002 to 2004.
Three other RAS Fellows were also recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, including Professor Lyndsay Fletcher, of the University of Glasgow.
She is made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to solar physics and to diversity and inclusion in physics and astronomy.
Professor Fletcher served on the Council of the RAS from 2006 to 2009, and then as the geophysical and senior secretaries for the RAS from 2011 to 2022.
RAS Fellows Professor Raman Prinja, of University College London, and Dennis Ashton, founder of the mobile planetarium Stardome, are also recognised.
Professor Prinja is made an MBE for services to academia and to education and Mr Ashton for services to astronomy education.
The latter has worked as a planetarium presenter for more than 30 years, taking astronomy to schools and festivals.
Sue Horne, former head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency, is made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), for her exceptional contributions to space exploration and to Mars science.
RAS President Professor Mike Lockwood congratulated all those honoured.
"The UK is home to many of the most talented scientists in the world, including in astronomy and geophysics – the disciplines represented by the RAS," he said.
"I'm delighted that four RAS Fellows are recognised in the King's Birthday Honours this year – my congratulations to them all!"