2026: The year in space... And at sea?!
2/11/202626 min
What are the biggest space missions of 2026? And what are the best stargazing opportunities this year? The Supermassive Team - Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and Richard Hollingham - share their astronomical excitement for the year ahead and ponder if they should charter a boat for the August eclipse.
Thank you to listeners Anne Edgeworth and Karolina who inspired this episode.
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First 90 secondsBecky Smethurst· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to another bonus episode of the Supermassive podcast from the Royal Astronomical Society. With me, science journalist Izzy Clark, astrophysicist Dr. Becky Smethurst, the society's deputy director Dr. Robert Massey, and producer, editor, silent lurker, Richard Hollingham.
Izzie Clarke· Host0:19
[laughs] [laughs] I'm really not co- I'm really not comfortable with this silent lurker business.
Becky Smethurst· Host0:23
I think he might have been supermassive lurker- Really not comfortable with this at all ... is his official title. Also, I love how we just didn't explain last episode, like, the... You know, we had that question last episode about, like, what's an asteroid, what's a comet, what's a meteor? We should have explained like, "I'm the astrophysicist. Robert's the astronomer. Rich is, like-" [laughs] "... the, the rocket scientist," [laughs] like- And I'm here for the vibes.
Richard Hollingham0:44
Okay.
Becky Smethurst· Host0:45
[laughs] [laughs] And then, yeah, we should explain the difference between those three different things- [laughs] ... because obviously they get confused. Anyway, these bonus episodes, right, we usually tackle your questions that you've sent in. But if you listened to last episode, you'll notice we're a little bit questioned out [laughs] after that. So we thought it would be fun to take the opportunity to look at the year ahead and chat about some of the biggest space events happening in 2026.
Izzie Clarke· Host1:09
So yeah, before we dive into that, I just wanna say thank you again to everyone that supports this show. I realize it's not possible for everyone, but it really helps us keep making the show if you join the Supermassive Club for a small monthly fee. Not only do you get ad-free episodes, but there are a few forums on there, and it's where me and a few other of the members chat about stargazing, book recommendations,