February 11: Women, Science, and the Sky

A personal story from AstroLaPalma and LaPalmaStars.com

Today, February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I want to talk about women in science and astronomy from a personal point of view—from lived experience, from the sky that has accompanied me since childhood, and from the women who today and in the past have been part of AstroLaPalma.

From La Palma, under one of the best skies in the world—between stargazing, science outreach, and visits to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory—these stories are also part of science.

I wanted to be an astronomer from the age of seven

I was seven years old when I saw a lunar eclipse. I don’t remember many technical details, but I clearly remember the feeling. Something clicked. From that moment on, looking at the sky stopped being just looking—it became a constant question.

That moment shaped everything that came after.

In 1998, I became an astrophysicist.
In 2005, I earned my PhD.
In 2019, I became a Starlight Guide.
In 2023, an environmental educator.

It was not an easy path, nor a straight or perfect one. But it was mine. And above all, it was possible because no one ever told me I couldn’t.

Candy: when science begins without you even realizing it

Candy’s story is very different—and that is precisely why it is so important to tell.

Candy did not grow up dreaming of becoming an astronomer. Her first contact with the sky was in 2012, while working at a rural guesthouse, where she learned how to use a telescope almost by chance. There was no plan, no scientific career in mind. Just curiosity. And an opportunity.

From curiosity to astronomy

By 2015, Candy was already an astronomer.
In 2019, she became a Starlight Guide.

What happened in between was learning, perseverance, confidence… and someone who believed in her before she fully believed in herself.

Many women, many paths toward the sky

And it wasn’t only Candy. AstroLaPalma was also built by many other women who arrived almost by chance—and stayed out of passion.

Lea: rigor, mathematics, and stars

Lea worked with us from 2017 to 2024. An astronomer and almost a mathematician—she has only three subjects left to finish her degree—and now living in Germany, where she continues to look at the sky with the same rigor and curiosity as always. She, too, began without a fixed plan.

Petra: engineering, night photography, and beauty

Before that came Petra, between 2015 and 2018, more drawn to night photography and the beauty of the sky than to numbers. An engineer by training, with a special sensitivity for capturing what cannot always be explained with words.

Bianca: art, the cosmos, and the pandemic

And then Bianca, who worked with us between 2018 and 2020, until COVID brought everything to a halt. An art historian, fascinated by the firmament, the aesthetics of the cosmos, and the silent dialogue between science and beauty.

Each of them arrived by a different path.
None of them started out thinking, “I’m going to be an astronomer.”
All of them became one, in their own way.

We miss them. And we hope that no volcano, no pandemic, and no circumstance will ever separate us like that again. Because AstroLaPalma is not just a project—it is a network of women who looked up at the sky, dared to learn, and proved that science is also built from unexpected places.

Spectacular Milky Way seen from Mirador de Andenes in La Palma. AstroLaPalma Team Photo.

Why should girls choose science?

Because they can.
Because the world needs them.
Because science is not just formulas—it is curiosity, questions, observation, patience, and emotion.

Many girls do not choose scientific careers not because they don’t like them, but because:

they think they are too difficult,
they believe they are not meant for them,
they don’t know any women close to them who work in science,
or someone, at some point, told them—directly or indirectly—that they should choose something else.

And that weighs more than we realize.

What really makes the difference: real role models

We don’t need unreachable heroines.
We need ordinary women, with real stories, doubts, mistakes, and passion.

Candy is one of them.
I am another.
And so were Lea, Petra, and Bianca.

When a girl sees another woman explaining the sky naturally—whether during a stargazing session, on a visit to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, or behind a camera on a dark night—she understands something essential:

“If she can do it, so can I.”

From AstroLaPalma: opening doors, not imposing paths

At AstroLaPalma we don’t only do astrotourism.
We do science outreach, education, and—without making too much noise—we help create role models.

It’s not about convincing every girl to become a scientist.
It’s about not closing that door too early.

Let them choose whatever they want.
But let them choose without fear, without prejudice, and with information.

Looking at the sky is still an act of rebellion

I still look at the sky like that seven-year-old girl.
Candy does too.

And if tonight, some girl looks up and feels that same spark… then this whole journey will have been worth it.

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
— Ana ✨

Tajinaste flowers with Milky Way as background. Starry sky, La Palma — Tajinaste flowers with Milky Way as background. Starry sky photo, La Palma

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

2025 article for February 11. Women astronomers throughout history
https://lapalmastars.com/en/women-and-girls-in-science

United Nations – International Day of Women and Girls in Science

https://www.un.org/es/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day

UNESCO – Women in Science

https://www.unesco.org/es/gender-equality/science-technology

Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands – February 11

https://www.iac.es/es/divulgacion/noticias/el-iac-refuerza-su-compromiso-con-la-igualdad-en-ciencia-con-actividades-educativas-y-divulgativas-por

Women in Science and Astronomy: Stories from AstroLaPalma