The 247th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society
Physics of the Cosmos at AAS 247
All Times Mountain Time (MT)
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Dates
4-8 January 2026
Community
Physics of the Cosmos
Type
Meeting
AAS Meeting 247
Physics of the Cosmos Sessions
The PhysPAG session will be a community brainstorming session focusing on “Physics of Cosmos in the 2030s and Beyond: Science, Missions, and Innovations Shaping the Future of NASA Astrophysics.”
The joint meeting of the program analysis groups (PAGs) – for PhysCOS (PhysPAG), Cosmic Origins (COPAG), and Exoplanet Exploration (ExoPAG) – will include updates from the HWO, TDAMM, and AI/ML SIGs and a discussion with Shawn Domagal-Goldman (director of NASA Astrophysics) and the PAG Executive Committee chairs.
Other Sessions of Interest about Physics of the Cosmos Sessions
NASA Science at AAS 247
The 247th AAS meeting (joint with the Historical Astronomy Division) will be held 4-8 January in Phoenix, Arizona at the Phoenix Convention Center.
- Sign up for our news email list
- Check out what opportunities are available with NASA
- Follow along for breaking news releases this week
- NASA Press Release: Supernova Remnant Video From NASA’s Chandra Is Decades in Making
- Check out our Hyperwall schedule
Join us in the exhibit hall at the NASA booth and attend the NASA sessions.
Please ask your questions to the panel members during the Joint Program Analysis Group meeting at the AAS conference here.
Sunday, 4 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| PhysPAG | 9:00am-1:00pm | 126C |
| Joint PAG | 2:30pm-6:00pm | 301D |
Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group (PhysPAG) Agenda
| Time | Topic | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00am | Introduction: Overview | Brian Humensky Francesca Civano | |
| 9:15am | Introduction to Science/Mission Discussion | Dave Pooley (PhysPAG EC Chair) | [PDF] |
| 9:25am | Brainstorming in Breakout Groups | Group #1 Cosmic Structure: Johannes Lange, Rebekah Hounsell, Tim Eifler Group #2 X-Ray: Rob Petre, Renee Ludlam Group #3 Gamma Ray: Liz Hays, Chris Karwin Group #4 GW: Igor Andreoni, Ann Hornschemeier Group #5 CMB: Tom Essinger-Hileman, Brendan Crill | [PDF] |
| 10:15am | Group Presentations (5 Groups, 10 min each) | Reports of Brainstorming Groups (10 min each) | |
| 11:00am | Break | ||
| 11:20am | Introduction to Technology Discussion | Manel Errando (PhysPAG EC Vice Chair) | |
| 11:30am | Brainstorming in Breakout Groups | Group #1 Tech from Moon: Scott Porter, Jenna Cann, Richard Green, John Conklin, Tabby Boyajian Group #2 Mirrors: Dustin Swarm, Kristin Madsen Group #3 Detectors: Carolyn Kierans, John Tomsick, Johanna Nagy Group #4 Industry Partnership: Jon Arenberg, Rita Sambruna, Michelle Hui Group #5 Software: Adam Goldstein, Johannes Eser | [PDF] |
| 12:10pm | Group presentations (5 Groups, 10 min each) | Group Moderators Present | |
| 1:00pm | End |
Joint PAG Session Agenda
| Time | Event | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30pm ‑ 4:00pm | Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) SIG | Vivian U (IPAC) Joe Burchett (NMSU) | [PDF] |
| Time Domain and Multi-Messenger Astrophysics SIG | Rebekah Hounsell (UMBC/GSFC) | [PDF] | |
| Swiftly | Jamie Kennea (Penn State) | [PDF] | |
| ACROSS & 4th TDAMM Workshop | Brian Humensky (NASA/GSFC) | [PDF] | |
| Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI/ML) STIG | Yuan-Sen Ting (OSU) Digvijay Wadekar (JHU) | [PDF] | |
| 4:00pm ‑ 4:30pm | Break | ||
| 4:30pm ‑ 6:00pm | Q&A Panel Discussion | Shawn Domagal‑Goldman, NASA APD Director | [PDF] |
| Shouleh Nikzad, Cosmic Origins | [PDF] | ||
| Dave Pooley, Physics of the Cosmos | |||
| Ian Crossfield, Exoplanet Exploration | [PDF] |
Monday, 5 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| NASA Update | 12:45pm-1:45pm | 301AB |
| Beyond the Mid-Decadal: Community Inputs for Space Mission Concepts Toward Astro 2030 | 2:00pm-3:30pm | 225 B |
| X-Ray SIG | 3:30pm-5:00pm | 131A |
Space Mission Concepts Toward Astro 2030 Session Agenda
| Topic | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Astro 2030 Community Workshop | David Ardila | [PDF] |
| Preparing for Astro2030 | Jessica A. Gaskin | [PDF] |
X-Ray SIG Agenda
| Topic | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome / Intro | Dave Pooley | [PDF] |
| HiReX SAG | Kim Weaver | |
| Lynx2030 SAG | Fabio Pacucci | |
| BBX SAG | Kristin Madsen |
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Introducing NASA’s Astrophysics Cross-Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) Facility: Enabling People, Tools, and Observations for TDAMM Science | 10:00am-11:30am | 226 B |
| Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning STIG Session Recording | 10:00am‑11:30am | 231 A/B/C |
| Cosmic Pathfinders Session Recording | 1:00pm-2:30pm | 231 A/B/C |
ACROSS Session Agenda
| Topic | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| An Overview of the Astrophysics Cross Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) Pilot | Jamie A. Kennea | [PDF] |
| ACROSS System: Server and Data Ingestion | Craig Pellegrino | [PDF] |
| ACROSS Tools -Client Demo | Samuel Wyatt | [PDF] |
| 4thTDAMM Workshop: Community-Defined Observing Plans for Rare, High-Importance Transient Events | Brian Humensky | [PDF] |
Physics of the Cosmos Poster
Artistic Vision of the Complex Physics of the Cosmos
Physics of the Cosmos Poster
Other Sessions of Interest
Monday, 5 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 127 - HEAD I: The Legacy of Dr. Katja Pottschmidt: Accreting Compact Objects | 10:00am ‑ 11:30am | 225 B |
| 141 - Multi-messenger Observations of Compact Objects | 10:00am ‑ 11:30am | 221 A |
| Sharing the Sky: Satellite Interference Mitigation Solutions for Optical Astronomy | 10:30am - 11:00am | Exhibit Hall B/C/D |
| The Moon and Beyond, Now: Lunch Reception for Missions and Partnerships shaping Near-Term Lunar Science | 12:30pm ‑ 2:00pm | 127 A/B/C |
| Leveraging the Power of Cosmic Messengers with Rubin, LIGO, and Gemini | 12:30pm ‑ 3:30pm | 131 C |
| 147 - Exploring the MeV Gamma-ray Sky with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager | 2:00pm ‑ 3:30pm | 226 A |
| 148 - The Moon and Beyond, Now: Missions and Partnerships Shaping the Next Five Years | 2:00pm ‑ 3:30pm | 226 C |
| AstroAI: Physical and Generative Models for Astronomy | 6:00pm - 6:30pm | Exhibit Hall B/C/D |
| Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | 7:30pm - 9:30pm | 224 A |
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 224 - NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory | 10:00am ‑ 11:30am | 224 B |
| 258 - Multi-messenger Observation and Theory in Gravitational Wave Astronomy | 10:00am - 11:30am | 227 C |
| Final Cosmological Constraints from the Dark Energy Survey | 1:00pm - 2:30pm | 126 C |
| 248 - The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) | 2:00pm - 3:30pm | 225 B |
| 262 - Little Red Dots and Early Supermassive Black Hole Seeds | 2:00pm - 3:30pm | 229 A |
| Resources for the Roman Cosmology, Exoplanet, and Time Domain Communities | 3:00pm - 5:00pm | 126 C |
| National Radio Astronomy Observatory Town Hall | 6:30pm - 8:30pm | 301 C |
| The HEAD Social and Business Meeting | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | 127 A/B/C |
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| NOIRLab Town Hall | 12:45pm ‑ 1:45pm | 222 B |
| 343 - The PRobe Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) Mission Concept Special Session | 2:00pm ‑ 3:30pm | 224 B |
| 363 - 2025 Dannie Heineman Prize Lecture: Priyamvada Natarajan, Unveiling the First Black Holes in the Universe | 3:40pm - 4:30pm | West Building 301AB |
| 364 - Plenary: Tonima Tasnim Ananna, Probing the Accretion History of AGN using X-ray and Multi-wavelength Surveys | 4:40pm - 5:30pm | West Building 301AB |
| Science from the TESS Extended Mission | 6:00pm - 9:00pm | 301 C |
Thursday, 8 January 2026
| Event | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 401 - 2025 Annie Jump Cannon Award Lecture: Maya Fishbach, Gravitational Waves from the Stellar Graveyard | 8:00am ‑ 9:00am | West Building 301AB |
| 425 - The Euclid Mission: Science with Quick Data Release 1 and Plans for the Future | 10:00am ‑ 11:30am | 225 B |
| 436 - Gravitational Waves and Multi-messenger Astronomy | 10:00am - 11:30am | 228 A |
| 442 - Bruno Rossi Prize Plenary: Maura McLaughlin & Xavier Siemens (on behalf of the NANOGrav Collaboration), The Dawn of Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave Astronomy | 11:40am ‑ 12:30pm | West Building 301AB |
| 445 - Science Results from XRISM's First Year | 2:00pm - 3:30pm | 226 A |
| 464 - Lancelot M. Berkeley – New York Community Trust Prize Lecture: Daniel Eisenstein (on behalf of the DESI collaboration), Measuring Cosmic Sound with DESI | 4:40pm - 5:30pm | West Building 301AB |
American Astronomical Society
The 247th Meeting of the AAS
The 247th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (joint with the Historical Astronomy Division) will be held 4-8 January 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Learn More
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American Astronomical Society (AAS)
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