- Do you know of all the weird stuff that's been happening in 2026?
There are more strange things happening everyday. What else do you think will happen this year?
A Total Solar Eclipse Turned Europe Dark in August
On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse crossed parts of Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain. Millions of people watched the daytime sky suddenly become dark as the Moon completely covered the Sun. Scientists even sent research balloons and a NASA aircraft into the eclipse zone to study the atmosphere and the Sun’s corona.
Scientists Chased the Eclipse in a Jet
This wasn’t simply people standing outside with eclipse glasses. NASA researchers used a WB-57 aircraft flying around 50,000 feet above Earth to observe the eclipse. Student teams also launched dozens of scientific balloons to measure atmospheric changes caused by the sudden darkness. Do you think this is one of the strange things happening in 2026?
The Moon Was About to Get Hit by a Human-Made Rocket Stage
On August 5, a spent Falcon 9 upper stage was predicted to impact the Moon near Einstein Crater. Scientists planned observations of the artificial lunar impact because watching a human-made object strike the Moon could provide useful information about lunar dust, impact physics and future experiments.
The World’s Oceans Hit an Extraordinary Heat Record
July 2026 brought the highest global sea-surface temperatures ever recorded for that month. Scientists reported that marine heatwaves were affecting large areas, while extreme heat and drought were simultaneously creating major problems across Europe.
Wildfires Became a Massive European Problem
Hundreds of thousands of hectares had already burned across the European Union in 2026. Extreme heat, drought and dry vegetation created conditions capable of turning relatively small fires into enormous disasters. Do you think this is one of the strange things happening in 2026?
Power Plants Ran Into a Very Strange Problem: Not Enough Water
In parts of Europe, rivers became so depleted by drought and heat that some power plants faced shutdowns because they didn’t have enough cooling water. It’s an unusual example of extreme weather affecting infrastructure in a way many people wouldn’t immediately expect.
A Radio Signal From Space Behaved in an Extremely Strange Way
Astronomers studying a repeating fast radio burst discovered incredibly rapid changes in its signal. Some variations occurred on millisecond timescales, suggesting the object is surrounded by an extraordinarily turbulent environment. Researchers proposed that a highly magnetized stellar system could be involved.
People Thought There Was a “Surge” of Fireballs in the Sky
Early 2026 saw unusually high numbers of reports of large fireballs. Scientists later analyzed the reports and concluded that the apparent February fireball phenomenon wasn’t as unusual as it initially seemed. It is a great example of how something can look mysterious until scientists examine the statistics. Do you think this is one of the strange things happening in 2026?
Animals Can Act Like the Sun Just Disappeared
During total eclipses, animals can become confused because daylight suddenly disappears. Researchers have documented unusual animal responses to eclipses, although scientists are still studying exactly how different species interpret the sudden environmental change.
The Eclipse Created Weird Shadows on the Ground
During an eclipse, ordinary shadows can become bizarre. Tiny crescent-shaped images of the partially eclipsed Sun can appear on surfaces, while mysterious-looking ripples called “shadow bands” can sometimes move across the ground shortly before or after totality.
The Sun Was Doing Something Different From What People
Expected
Every total eclipse gives scientists a different view of the Sun’s corona because the corona constantly changes with solar activity. The 2026 eclipse therefore provided a snapshot of the Sun that will never be exactly duplicated.
Scientists Are Studying How Darkness Changes the Atmosphere
When daylight disappears during an eclipse, Earth’s atmosphere responds. Scientists are using balloons and other instruments to measure changes in temperature, ozone and the atmosphere’s boundary layer. Some of these effects are still not completely understood. Do you think this is one of the strange things happening in 2026?
A Cosmic Signal May Be Coming From a Violent Stellar Environment
The strange fast radio burst studied this year appears to have traveled through a highly turbulent region containing magnetized material. Researchers suggested that a Be-star binary system could potentially explain the unusual environment.
2026 Is Becoming a Year of “Weather That Sounds Fake”
Extreme heat, marine heatwaves, drought, wildfires and depleted rivers have occurred together in parts of Europe. The unusual combination demonstrates how one environmental problem can trigger several seemingly unrelated problems at once.
The Weirdest Part: Reality Keeps Outdoing Fiction
Perhaps the strangest theme of 2026 is the combination of events happening simultaneously: humans flying aircraft through an eclipse to study the Sun, a human-made object hitting the Moon, mysterious radio bursts arriving from distant galaxies, and oceans reaching extraordinary temperatures. None of these sounds particularly normal—and yet they’re all things scientists have been dealing with this year.
What do you think of these strange things happening in 2026? Tell us what you think in the comments!