A NEW YEAR OF COSMIC WONDERS

Moon and sun loom large in the lineup of events. U.S. astronauts plan lunar visit; others will send robotic landers.

- BY MARCIA DUNN

The moon and sun 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 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ new supersized Blue Moon.

A supermoon looms Saturday and an astronomical blue moon is on the books for May.

The sun will also generate buzz with a “ring of fire” annular eclipse at the bottom of the world in February and a total solar eclipse at the top of the world in August. Expect more auroras in unexpected places, though perhaps not as frequently as in the last couple of years.

And that comet that strayed into our neighborhood from another star? Though 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 its dance card in March. Once the icy outsider departs our solar system a decade from now, it will be back where it belongs in interstellar space.

It’s our third known interstellar visitor. Scientists anticipate more.

“I can’t believe it’s taken this long to find three,” said NASA's Paul Chodas, who has been on the lookout since the 1980s. And with ever better technology, “the chance of catching another interstellar visitor will increase.”

Here’s a rundown on what the universe has in store for us in 2026:

Next stop, moon