All upcoming Astronomy & Space programs

The story of life has always been one of great transitions and of crossing new frontiers. Each has ushered in waves of innovation, opportunity, and hazard. It might seem there are no more realms for life to venture, but NASA astrobiologist and author Caleb Scharf contends there is one: space. He discusses why he finds that journeying into space is life’s next great transition, an evolution of evolution itself in which he sees humans and technology as catalysts for an interplanetary transformation.

The search for planets outside our solar system has found more than 6,000 such worlds, known as exoplanets. Now the race is on to find Earth-sized temperate planets, understand their atmospheres, and discover any signs of life on them. Learn how astronomers are carrying out this search and what they’ve been finding with Peter Plavchan, the NASA Landolt Space Mission’s principal investigator. Following the talk, Rob Parks, director of the George Mason Observatory, brings the skies into your living room with remote control of the observatory, weather permitting.

This year promises to be a good one for stargazers and astronomers. J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, highlights exciting celestial events in 2026, including the March 3 total lunar eclipse, which will be visible across the U.S. He also lets you know where and when to look for all the bright planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—and two meteor showers.