Women held half the sky at Rundetårn on International Women’s Day

On Wednesday Rundetårn was the center of International Women’s Day with astrophysicist Anja C. Andersen in front leading a talk on women in astronomy throughout history.

The audience listened intensely as Anja honoured women in Astronomy Photo: Milena Beswick

By Milena Beswick

A clear evening sky full of stars formed the atmosphere around Rundetårn where Anja C. Anderson gave an insightful talk on women who had made their mark in astronomy over time. Anja C. Andersen knew from a very young age that she wanted to work as an astronomist even though it’s a man-dominated field. Worldwide there are around 10.000 astrophysicists, and only 25 percent are women.

“I’ve definitely suffered from imposter syndrome and feeling like I didn’t belong,” Anja C. Andersen says about climbing the ladder in the astronomy world and feeling out of place. However, she’s come to realize that everyone feels this way at one point or another, male or female.

In her everyday life she teaches astrophysics at the University of Copenhagen, a part of her career she’s very proud of as she explains one of the best parts of her career is being able to inspire young people.

Women in Astronomy throughout history

The sold-out event left the crowd in awe and laughter as Anja C. Andersen joyfully presented the women who had inspired her.

After the talk, everyone had the opportunity to view the night sky from the observatory at the top of Rundetårn, outliving their own astronomy dreams for an evening.