2026 Will Be an 'Exciting Year' for Sky Shows

The moon and sun will share top billing in 2026. Kicking off the year's cosmic wonders is the moon, drawing the first astronauts to visit in more than 50 years, as well as a caravan of robotic lunar landers, including Jeff Bezos' new supersize Blue Moon. An astronomical blue moon is on the books for May, per the AP. The sun will also generate buzz with a "ring of fire" eclipse at the bottom of the world on Feb. 17, as well as a total solar eclipse at the top of the world on Aug. 12. And that comet that strayed into our turf from another star? While still visible with powerful backyard telescopes, the recently discovered comet known as 3I/Atlas is fading by the day after swinging past Earth in December; Jupiter is next on the dance card in March. Here's what else the universe has in store for us in 2026:

• Parading planets: Six of the solar system's eight planets will prance across the sky in a must-see lineup around Feb. 28. A nearly full moon is even getting into the act, appearing alongside Jupiter. Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or telescopes, but Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn should be visible with the naked eye shortly after sunset, weather permitting, though Mercury and Venus will be low on the horizon. Mars will be the lone no-show. The good news is that the Red Planet will join a six-planet parade in August, with Venus the sole holdout.
• Supermoons: Three supermoons will lighten up the night skies in 2026, the stunning result when a full moon inches closer to Earth than usual as it orbits in a not-quite-perfect circle. Appearing bigger and brighter, supermoons are a perennial crowd-pleaser requiring no equipment—only your eyes. The year's first supermoon on Jan. 3 coincides with a meteor shower, but the moonlight likely will obscure the dimmer fireballs. The second supermoon of 2026 won't occur until Nov. 24, with the third—the year's final and closest supermoon—occurring the night of Dec. 23 into Dec. 24. This Christmas Eve supermoon will pass within 221,668 miles of Earth.
• Northern and southern lights: The sun is expected to churn out more eruptions in 2026 that could lead to geomagnetic storms here on Earth, giving rise to stunning auroras. Solar action should start to ease, however, with the 11-year solar cycle finally on the downslide. Still, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Rob Steenburgh says that 2026 "will be an exciting year for space weather enthusiasts."

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