Space and Astronomy News: What's ahead in 2026

2026 is certainly shaping up as an exciting year for the astronomy and space community!

Humans are heading back to the Moon for the first time since 1972

Possibly the most exciting event for the first part of 2026 is the Artemis II mission due to launch NET (No Earlier Than) February 2026. 

That's right; people are flying to the Moon next month!

Artemis II Crew. Image via: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Four astronauts will launch from the famous Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center and spend around 10 days in their Orion capsule. Around 24 hours after successful insertion into Earth orbit and system checkouts, their spacecraft will perform at TLI (Trans Lunar Injection) burn that will send the crew on their way to the Moon.

This will be the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 that humans have left Earth orbit.

Artemis II doesn't have enough fuel to insert Orion into orbit around the Moon and then perform another burn to escape the Moon's gravity and return to Earth. 

Rather it will loop around the Moon just the once, using a free-return trajectory that doesn't require any propellant. Orion will be at approx. 7,4000 kms to the Moon at its closest approach. 

(For space history fans, this mission profile is not dissimilar to the flight path of Apollo 13.)  

While no landing, let alone time spent in Lunar orbit will be attempted, this is an important step in a permanent human presence on the Moon.

Read more about Artemis at the NASA site here.

Blue Moon Mk1 - the largest Lunar lander ever built

Another major Moon mission is the expect launch in the first half of 2026 of the Blue Moon Mk1 aboard the New Glenn mega rocket. 

This is due to land near the Shackleton Crater at the Moon's south pole. It's designed to be a cargo ship, capable of delivering approx. 3 tonnes of supplies to anywhere on the Moon's surface and is larger and heavier than Apollo era Lunar Landers which landed and returned two humans to the Moon from Lunar orbit.

Read more here.

Supermoons in 2026: there's three of them kicking off tonight!

A "Supermoon" is where the Earth and Moon are closest together in their orbits and because of this, the Moon appears slightly larger in the sky, especially in the early evening.

They're great spectacles and well worth checking out. The first Supermoon is tonight, 3rd of January 2026 in Australia, so head outside if the weather is clear.

Total Lunar Eclipse March 3-4, 2026

There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse visible in a large part of Australia in early March 2026.

This is where the entire surface of the side of the Moon visible from Earth is covered by the Earth's shadow, turning a dull red and sometimes called a "Blood Moon".  It's a slow moving event and easily observed through a telescope or binoculars. 

The Total Lunar Eclipse in March as seen from Sydney check it out here where you can also see the times for your location.

Jupiter at Opposition January 10th

An opposition is the best time to see a Solar System planet as it's when the Earth and the planet are closest or "opposite" each other. 

The best time for the year to see Jupiter is around the 10th of January where it rises in the early evening sky and be visible all night. 

Jupiter as seen from Sydney on the 10th of January 2026 around 10.30pm local time. Image via Stellarium.

Jupiter won't be hard to miss as it will be the bright "star" in that part of the sky and will appear to twinkle less. 

Oppositions are also slow events, and planets are ideally placed for viewing in the weeks before and after the date. No need to rush out on the night or worry that you'll miss it.

Another bright comet?

While 2025 will be remembered as a great year for comet viewing with multiple visitors to the inner Solar System including one from deep space, there's some hope that Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) might also become bright enough to be seen with just your eyes.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this one! You can keep track of it here.

Cool Telescope Tech

Smart Telescopes continue in 2026 to make astronomy and astro imaging more accessible for everyone!

We've already seen the upcoming availability of the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro and the super compact DWARF mini. These are both perfect for travelling and easy storage and the image quality from these new little telescopes is stunning. 

We expect to see even more new products throughout the year as telescope makers continue to open up the Universe to everyone to discover and wonder at.

Image stabilised spotting scopes

For bird watchers and nature viewers, for long distance observing there's always been a challenge juggling the handheld usability of binoculars and the use of more powerful spotting scopes that require a tripod to avoid shakes and hand movements. 

2026 sees the roll out of the new Swarovski Balance spotting scopes that have inbuilt image stabilising tech. 

We're expecting these to find a home with folks who are after the best possible optical quality and rock steady views. If you get a chance, swing by BINTEL to try one out in person.

Cheers.

Earl White

BINTEL

3rd January 2026