Cathie Clarke facts for kids

Catherine Jane Clarke is a leading scientist. She is a Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. She is also a fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. In 2017, she made history. She became the first woman to win the Eddington Medal. This is a very important award from the Royal Astronomical Society. In 2022, she became the first female director of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.

Her Journey in Science

Cathie Clarke started her university studies in 1980. She went to Clare College, Cambridge. There, she studied Natural Sciences and finished in 1983. After that, she went to the University of Oxford. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1987. Her research was about binary stars. These are systems with two stars orbiting each other. Her main project looked at how material forms discs around these stars.

What She Studies

Professor Clarke studies how gases and liquids move in space. This field is called astrophysical fluid dynamics. She looks at how material gathers into discs around stars. These are called accretion discs. She also studies protoplanetary discs. These are the discs where planets are born. She also researches stellar winds, which are flows of gas from stars.

She was the first to show how radiation from young stars affects protoplanetary discs. This radiation can remove material from the disc. This process is very important for how planets form and move. Professor Clarke uses special computer programs. These programs are called hydrodynamical simulations. They help her study how light and heat affect these discs. This process is known as photoevaporation.

In 2001, she received an award for her teaching. It was the Pilkington Prize from the University of Cambridge. In 2014, she co-wrote a textbook. It is called Principles of Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics. This book helps people understand how fluids behave in space. She also helped write a book in 2015. It was about how young star clusters move.

Her recent work combines observations and computer models. She uses them to find exoplanets. These are planets outside our solar system. In 2017, she found the first evidence of external disc photoevaporation. This happened around a small star called IM Lupi. She showed that this star had a cloud of carbon monoxide. This cloud stretched very far out into space.

Professor Clarke also found a young star with four planets orbiting it. The star is called CI Tauri. One of its planets is a candidate for a hot Jupiter. A hot Jupiter is a large gas giant planet that orbits very close to its star. She used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array to find these planets. The closest planet orbits like Mercury. The furthest orbits three times further than Neptune. She also showed that nearby stars can affect how long protoplanetary discs last. She helps edit a science journal called New Astronomy Reviews. She is also a member of the International Astronomical Union.

Professor Clarke also studies how gravity affects discs. She researches how brown dwarfs form. Brown dwarfs are objects that are bigger than planets but smaller than stars.

Special Awards

In 2017, Professor Clarke won the Eddington Medal. This award is given by the Royal Astronomical Society. She was the first woman ever to receive this medal. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.