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 20, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women           
Issue of August 20, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailey, and Alessandra Aloisi

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

This week's issues:

Carolyn Shoemaker at the telescope

1. In Memoriam: Carolyn Shoemaker, 1929–2021 

2. Academic Institutions Must Do Better to Protect Caregivers This Fall
3. Underrepresented Minority Communities in Planetary Science Travel Grant
4. Message from the IAU About the Scientific Community in Afghanistan
5. Sonar, Esforzarse y Lograr: Reach, Strive, Achieve - From Costa Rica to Mars
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 of the AASWomen Newsletter 

First time away from the kids? Whoop it up!

Today’s guest blogger is Evgenya Shkolnik. Evgenya is a tenure-track astronomer at Lowell Observatory, where she studies exoplanets, young low-mass stars, and star-planet interactions. She also is the mother of three young children: Reuben (age 6), Sima (age 4), Leona (age 1.8). Below is an email exchange Evgenya had recently with her friend Kim, a geophysicist.

Hi Evgenya,

I need advice/help from a veteran. In two weeks, I'll be heading out to Dublin for a week-long conference and leaving my kids for the first time ever.  I'm not too concerned about Sam but I'm worried about how Beatrix is going to deal with my absence. She's almost 2 so won't really understand that I'm just temporarily away. How have your littlest ones coped when you've been away? Any tips? Colin will be with them and I've got my Mom coming out to stay while I'm away so I'm hoping that offers enough distraction. Also, Beatrix still nurses a few times a day so I'm worried that my absence will be traumatizing. And, how do you personally cope with being away from your kids for extended periods? I'm missing them already and I haven't even left yet!! I think I'm going to need therapy after this! Any words of wisdom, or consoling, are greatly appreciated.

All the best,
Kim