Heidi Hammel

Why you should listen

As a planetary astronomer, Heidi Hammel has studied our Solar System's outer planets, and their rings and moons, with equipment including the Gemini Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope and will now continue her work with the JWST. She is the Vice President for Science at AURA, a consortium that operates large astronomical observatories such as Hubble and Gemini. She has studied Uranus and Neptune extensively, and she worked on the imaging team for Voyager 2’s Neptune encounter in 1989, humanity’s closest approach to the farthest known planet.

The recipient of the Sagan Medal and the Public Understanding of Science Award from the San Francisco Exploratorium, Hammel has been recognized for both her science and her work in public outreach. In 2020, she received the Masursky Award for outstanding service to planetary science and exploration from the American Astronomical Society. An asteroid orbiting the Sun in the area between Mars and Jupiter, 1981 EC20, was renamed 3530 Hammel in her honor.