Issue of October 2, 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. Call for Nominations for the 2027 Gruber Cosmology Prize
2. Spotlight on Astronomer Laurie Rousseau-Nepton
3. First Samoan astrophysicist encourages Pasifika students to reach for the stars
4. The young women guiding tourists through India's night sky
5. From Asteroid Research to Asteroid Alyankovic: Spotlight on Dr. Allison McGraw
6. Astrophysicist France A. Córdova Named 2026 Nierenberg Prize Recipient
7. Women astronauts use social media to reframe science and femininity together
8. October 1, 1847, Maria Mitchell discovered comet C/1847 T1, later known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet.
9. Funding opportunities for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment
10. Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day: A Woman’s Pursuit of Astronomy and Independence
11. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
13. 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.
The Gruber Foundation invites nominations on behalf of individuals whose achievements in cosmology, genetics, or neuroscience would make them suitable candidates for recognition through the 2027 Gruber International Prize Program. Each prize, which is accompanied by a $500,000 unrestricted monetary award, is designed both to recognize groundbreaking work in each field and to inspire additional efforts that effect fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture.
Read more at
https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/09/call-nominations-2027-gruber-cosmology-prize
Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton made history when she became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to obtain her PhD in astrophysics. Since Rousseau-Nepton finished her doctoral dissertation and graduated from Université Laval in 2017, she has forged her own path as an astronomer and a science co
Read more at
https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2026/10/spotlight-on-astronomer-laurie-rousseau.html
Dr. Sean Richards, the University of Auckland’s first Samoan PhD graduate in physics and the first Samoan astrophysicist, is encouraging Pasifika students to see themselves represented in academia and know that they belong and can succeed.
Read more at
Astronomy tourism in Hanle, India, is creating new opportunities for young women as “astro-ambassadors,” giving them income, confidence, and visible leadership roles in their community.
Read more at
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvp8d0nezkeko
Dr. Allison McGraw discusses her path from graduate school to a postdoc at LPI, asteroid research, professional development, and her role as an LPSC Science Ambassador.
Read more at
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/features/2026/092826/dr-allison-mcgraw/
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has selected astrophysicist France Anne Córdova as the recipient of the 2026 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest.
Read more at
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/astrophysicist-france-a-cordova-named-2026-nierenberg-prize-recipient
A new study finds that women astronauts use social media to combine scientific expertise with personal identity and femininity, challenging stereotypes about who belongs in STEM and offering visible role models for future generations.
Read more at
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-women-astronauts-social-media-reframe.html
The comet – C/1847 T1, or “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” – brought Mitchell recognition in America and abroad, including a gold medal awarded by King Christian VIII of Denmark. Mitchell would go on to become the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College, and the first female member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Read more at
Various fuding opportunities worldwide for women
Read more at
https://impactfunding.substack.com/p/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment-72b
Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day (2026) follows Katharine Hilbery, a brilliant young woman in 1910 London who resists expectations of marriage to pursue her passion for astronomy in a society determined to constrain women’s ambitions. Adapted from Woolf’s 1919 novel, the film explores women’s independence, intellectual aspiration, and the struggle to claim a place in fields, and a world, shaped by societal expectations.
Read more at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf%27s_Night_and_Day
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