Herschel in 1828. No other woman received the award until Vera Rubin in 1996. Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge were jointly awarded the 2005 Gold Medal in astronomy, the first joint award since 1886. The medal features an image of the 40-foot telescope constructed by Sir William Herschel, the first President of the RAS. Recipients See also List of astronomy awards List of geophysics awards References Astronomy prizes Astronomy in the United Kingdom British science and technology awards Awards established in 1824 1824 establishments in the United Kingdom Royal Astronomical Society Geophysics awards