August 12, 2026 Solar Eclipse in Photos

Yesterday much of Europe enjoyed a solar eclipse. The path of totality swept across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, along with a tiny corner of Portugal. For those not in the path, the partial solar eclipse was still an exciting event.

I live outside of Lisbon, which experienced a deep partial eclipse with 95% coverage. In the days leading up to the eclipse, certified eclipse glasses sold out in nearly every pharmacy and vision center. I turned to online shopping and managed to have some delivered overnight, ordering a box of 50 to do so. Though I only needed four, the other 46 pairs were quickly claimed through my local running club, and I was happy to play a small role in their enjoyment of the event.

My family headed to a local park during the afternoon to let the kids run off some energy, then we walked to the nearby coastline, where we had a clear view of the sun. We carefully used our eclipse glasses and spent time using our kitchen colander to project shadows onto the concrete and a park bench. My daughters were particularly fascinated with this trick. We were awed by how the sun "set" during the eclipse and then set again on our drive home. Even though we weren't in the path of totality, this was the most coverage I've seen, and it was an experience to remember. 

I've added a few of my event pictures here, although I'm not a photographer, so I don't have any true eclipse photos. I also added links to photos from other sites for those of you not able to see this one. And mark your calendars, since next year's eclipse on August 2, 2027, will include a partial eclipse in the U.S. (Maine) and Canada, and the path of totality will once again cross part of Spain and into North Africa and the Middle East. Time to start planning now!

Find professional photos of the eclipse at Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, NPR, and NASA. 

Eclipse viewers walking back after the peak and sailboats on the Atlantic viewing the eclipse in Cascais, Portugal.
Photo: Kimberly Mitchell

Getting ready for the eclipse.
Photo: Kimberly Mitchell

Colander moons
Photo: Kimberly Mitchell

CSWA blogger Kimberly Mitchell
Photo: Kimberly Mitchell

Solar eclipse shadows
Photo: Kimberly Mitchell

AASWomen Newsletter for August 7, 2026

Keitumetse Molamu, item 6.
Credit Keitumetse Molamu.

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 7, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Physics Bachelor’s Degree Recipients : Recent Trends, Educational Characteristics, and Influences
2. American Association of University Women announces 2026-2027 fellowship and grant recipients
3. American Doctoral Fellowship Applications Open Soon
4. How women in physics in India are breaking down barriers and shaping the future
5. Australian Museum 100 people exhibition: Ruby Payne-Scott
6. Interview with Keitumetse Molamu, head of Engineering and Technology Development for the South African Radio Observatory
7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Crosspost: Physics Bachelor’s Degree Recipients : Recent Trends, Educational Characteristics, and Influences

AIP released its report over physics bachelor's degree recipients. There is good news for women in STEM. 

• Women earned 27% of the physics bachelor’s degrees awarded in the 2024–25 academic year, the highest proportion on record.

Since 1983, the percent of women receiving physics bachelor's degrees has risen from around twelve percent of all degrees awarded. Though that's good news, it still places well below the total percentage of women receiving bachelor's degrees each year at 58% of all awarded degrees.

Read more from the AIP Physics Bachelor's Degree Recipients Report on recent trends, characteristics, and influences at https://www.aip.org/statistics/physics-bachelors-degree-recipients-recent-trends-educational-characteristics-and-influences.

AASWomen Newsletter for July 31, 2026

Dr. Gay Jane Perez, item 2. Credit: Rappler.

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 31, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Women In STEM Podcasts for Summer (or anytime!)
2. Gay Jane Perez brings outer space closer to home
3. When women take up space
4. Australia’s National Science Week 2026 Puts Women In Science And Overlooked Research Centre Stage
5. Scientists bring Comic-Con's first immersive STEAM experience to life
6. Job Opportunities
7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Women In STEM Podcasts for Summer (or anytime!)

Find a new podcast this summer, or revisit some old favorites. Many of the following feature women in STEM and astronomy (with some hosted by women in STEM). Find your new favorite pod below! 

Image by Yol Gezer from Pixabay

In Her Orbit

Hosted by aerospace CEO Shawn Linam, this podcast spotlights women working across the space industry. Linam features interviews with planetary scientists, space strategists, and NASA researchers (such as planetary scientist Jasmine Singh working on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission). Spotify

STARS Launch Pod

STARS Launch Pod is a podcast that explores the intersection of space technology and life sciences. Each episode uncovers how scientists, researchers, and innovators are building space tech to transform lives both in space and on Earth - overcoming challenges, pushing boundaries, and collaborating to make the cosmos more accessible and sustainable for humanity. Whether you’re a scientist, engineer, researcher, or future innovator, STARS Launch Pod brings you the stories that are propelling us forward - one Launch at a time. Hosted by Susan Wise. Spotify

Her Impact 

Her Impact is a narrative podcast hosted by geologist Konstantia Achilleos. Through intimate conversations with women leading in environmental science, the show explores how landscapes, culture, and community shape their work. Rooted in the Mediterranean yet globally relevant, Her Impact blends scientific insight with human stories to highlight the women transforming our relationship with nature. Season 2 expands this vision by exploring geostories from around the world and the women shaping environmental culture and the future of sustainable tourism and geotourism. Apple

Lost Women of Science

For every Marie Curie or Rosalind Franklin whose story has been told, hundreds of female scientists remain unknown to the public at large. In this series, we illuminate the lives and work of a diverse array of groundbreaking scientists who, because of time, place and gender, have gone largely unrecognized. Each season we focus on a different scientist, putting her narrative into context, explaining not just the science but also the social and historical conditions in which she lived and worked. We also bring these stories to the present, painting a full picture of how her work endures. Spotify

Gardeners of the Galaxy

Emma the Space Garder (Doughty) features botany and life sciences in space exploration. She frequently interviews NASA scientists, plant biologists, and astronauts growing crops in microgravity and simulated Mars environments. Apple

Ordinarily Extraordinary – Conversations with Women in STEM

Kathy Kale Nelson and Linda LaTourell cohost this podcast focused on ordinary women doing extraordinary work in STEM. From early career professionals to experienced leaders, their guests share how they got started, how they've grown, and what they've learned along the way. This is a space where women in STEM can be seen, heard, and supported—because representation isn't just powerful, it's essential. Spotify

Initial Conditions

AIP ran Initial Conditions through 2022 to provide the context in which physics happens. Likewise, in Initial Conditions: A Physics History Podcast, we provide the context in which physical discoveries happened. We dive into the collections of the Niels Bohr Library & Archives at the American Institute of Physics to uncover the unexpected stories behind the physics we know. Through these stories, we hope to challenge the conventional history of what it means to be a physicist. Spotify

My Nuclear Life

Sherry Lesher explores the intersection of nuclear science and society using interviews with historians, policymakers, experts in their fields, and first-hand accounts to weave a picture of your nuclear life. Spotify

Clear+Vivid

Alan Alda (yes, the actor turned science communicator) frequently hosts scientists on his podcast about communication. Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people—whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations—they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. It's something we need now more than ever. Spotify

Many of these podcasts can be found on more than one platform (Spotify, Apple, YouTube). Enjoy hearing from some of the voices of women in STEM this summer. 

AASWomen Newsletter for Juy 24, 2026

Maria Mitchell, America’s first professional female astronomer, is celebrating her birthday on August 1.

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 24, 2026
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Sethanne Howard, Ferah Munshi, Stella Kafka, and Ben Keller

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. American Physical Society and American Astronomical Society Civic Science Fellow
2. Crosspost: Upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in US
3. "Death by a thousand cuts": Professor Rachel Oliver on why women in STEM suffer
4. What explains gender pay gaps in academia?
5. The Meteoriticists, a trio of women scientists hunting fallen celestial bodies in Brazil
6. Celebrating the next generation of female space tech pioneers
7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
9. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Crosspost: Upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in US

Today's crosspost highlights the upward trend in percentage of women physics and astronomy faculty in the US, according to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Physics. The academic workforce report examined statistics from 2006 to 2024 and was originally published by Physics Today on December 18, 2025.

Women made up 21% of faculty members in US physics departments in 2024, up from 16% a decade earlier (see the figure). The percentage of women faculty members in the nation’s astronomy departments rose from 19% in 2014 to 25% in 2024. Those are among the findings in a recent report on the academic workforce by the statistical research team at the American Institute of Physics (publisher of Physics Today). See the Physics Today article at https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/upward-trend-in-percentage-of-women-physics-and-astronomy-faculty-in-us.

Overall, the State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astronomy, 2000-2024 report held good news for female astronomers. Women made up 25% of faculty members in astronomy departments in 2024, up from roughly 19% a decade earlier. 

Astronomy leads physics. The proportion of women in astronomy departments remained higher than in physics departments, where women were 21% of faculty in 2024.

From 2022 to 2024, the percentage of women in astronomy departments increased among associate professor ranks and "other" ranks (research and visiting professors).

New hires dipped from 38% in 2022 to 34% in 2024. Even after dipping, women were 34% of new astronomy hires in 2023–24.

Despite a decade of growth, women remain only one-quarter of astronomy faculty, so the gender gap at the senior/tenured level (full professors) is still substantial even as associate and "other" ranks improve. 

Read the full State of the Academic Workforce in Physics and Astrkonomy, 2000-2024 report at https://www.aip.org/statistics/the-state-of-the-academic-workforce-in-physics-and-astronomy-2000-2024.