Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE is a space scientist with a passion for sharing the wonders of the universe with everyone. She presents BBC Four’s The Sky at Night, recently published The Book of the Moon (£19.87, BBC Books), and her first children’s book, Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System (£12.99, Buster Books), is also out now. Maggie studied at Imperial College, where she obtained her degree in Physics and PhD in Mechanical Engineering.
Since then, she has spent much of her varied career making novel, bespoke instrumentation, ranging from handheld land-mine detectors to an optical subsystem for the James Webb Space Telescope. She was recently announced as President of the British Science Association and, to further share her love of science, she conducts ‘Tours of the Universe’, showing schoolchildren and adults the wonders of space.
My first single was Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This by Eurythmics. Annie Lennox just looked so powerful, she seemed amazing! I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and recently someone told me he had made an album called A Time To Love. There’s a track on it called Moon Blue, and he’s talking about his longing for the moon. I want to travel to the moon so it was the ultimate combination for me!
What's everyone reading?
The book that influenced me is a science-fiction novel called Chocky by John Wyndham. It’s about a boy who has an alien living in his mind. I didn’t like reading because I’m dyslexic, but my elder sister told me the story in such a compelling way and it seemed so intriguing that I had to read the book. It broke the barrier– after that I realised that books had a lot to offer.
I’ve just started reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I’ve never read it before and I saw an Apple TV adaptation and thought ‘My goodness, this is amazing!’.
My best-loved quote is by Maya Angelou: ‘I learned that people will forget what you say, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ As a science communicator, because science is seen as a bit distant and unemotional, getting people to feel joy and passion is important.
My favourite painting is The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Firstly, it’s beautiful; but also, when I hear the story of Van Gogh and the fact that he never sold a painting while he was alive, it makes me feel sad. It’s nice to appreciate his work now.
I love the British Museum and my daughter and I will spend hours wandering around and going, ‘Oh, I didn’t know this was here!’. I’ve been a member of the Royal Academy of Arts for years and always try to go to its Summer Exhibition, occasionally buying small pieces. It makes me feel like a bit of an aficionado – ‘Oh yes I have some art.’ The event makes the world of art accessible and I love that.
One of my hobbies is shared with my daughter. We do space-themed Lego and Playmobil – things like the International SpaceStation or a rocket going to Mars!
My favourite place in the world is a mountain in Chile where there is a large telescope called Gemini. I spent six months working out there. During the day it’s dry and arid and you’ve got condors flying overhead. Then at night, you can see right to the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. It’s breathtaking.
