A NORTH-East professor who has discovered more than 200 planets is returning to her home town to help promote the area.
Professor Carole Haswell, the Open University's head of astronomy, is keynote speaker at the next Redcar & Cleveland Ambassadors event on Friday.
Joining the Ambassador scheme as the 300th member, Professor Haswell, originally from Saltburn, will be part of a growing movement to promote the borough of Redcar and Cleveland.
Although she is now based in Milton Keynes, she remains a Boro fan and keen advocate for the Teesside region.
The astrophysicist said: “I have vivid, happy memories of playing in Locke Park when I lived near there, and when we were 11 or so with friends I used to walk from Saltburn to Redcar in the summer holidays.
“All my friends down here know I am a proud Teessider, even down to my Boro mug. I have some potentially useful contacts with a wide variety of skills and am always happy to help spread the word!”
A renowned expert in the field of Exoplanets, (the study of planets orbiting stars other than our sun), Professor Haswell has discovered more than 200 planets in her career. Her most significant find was the discovery of Barnard’s Star b, a planet which orbits the red dwarf Barnard’s star.
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