Hundreds of fans, professionals and curious skywatchers will collect this weekend for the world’s largest and most spectacular astronomy and house expo.
The Northeast Astronomy Discussion board & House Expo 2026 (NEAF) takes place April 11–12 at Rockland Group Faculty in Suffern, New York, and marks the occasion’s thirty fifth 12 months. The 2-day occasion options house talks with NASA specialists, cutting-edge tech and hands-on stargazing experiences.
Greater than 100 distributors and exhibitors from around the globe attend NEAF, representing main producers and sellers. That breadth, Siemenn famous, makes it “one of many largest commerce reveals and collaborative venues of its sort on the earth” in addition to “an fanatic’s buying paradise.”
“NEAF is a real ‘Discussion board’ of occasions for anybody who has gazed upward to the night time sky and located a curiosity to grasp the cosmos that lies past our personal skinny ambiance,” Siemenn stated. “Annually NEAF searches the globe to current an all star line up of fantastic friends which are making historical past right now. Nowhere else can you discover such an thrilling array of applications introduced collectively in a single place and at one time.”
The exhibit corridor spans telescope makers, imaging gear suppliers, astronomy golf equipment and house organizations, complemented by stay demonstrations, photo voltaic observing, newbie telescope classes, planetarium programming and a big raffle.
Amongst this 12 months’s standout audio system is Anna Fisher, a trailblazing NASA astronaut and one of many first girls to fly in house. She made historical past in 1984 aboard the house shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51A, serving to to seize and return two malfunctioning satellites — probably the most technically difficult rescue operations ever carried out in orbit. A doctor in addition to an astronaut, she later turned the first mom to journey to house, and has performed a key position in shaping NASA’s human spaceflight applications by way of many years of service.
Becoming a member of her is Pettit, a veteran NASA astronaut recognized for his long-duration missions aboard the Worldwide House Station and his strategy to science in microgravity. Pettit has spent greater than a 12 months in house throughout a number of missions, conducting experiments starting from fluid physics to orbital pictures, whereas additionally gaining a following for his putting photographs of Earth and the cosmos taken from orbit. His work blends engineering, science and creativity, providing a singular perspective on life and analysis in house.
Different notable audio system in this 12 months’s lineup embody veteran astronauts and main house science voices, corresponding to Robert Gibson (Hoot Gibson), Michelle Thaller, Ken Kremer, David McComas, Mike Ciannilli, Jim Garvin, Gerry Griffin and Kevin Schindler. The occasion might be hosted by NEAF Talks Grasp of Ceremonies Vince Coulehan and House.com’s personal skywatching columnist Joe Rao, who will assist open the ceremony on Saturday. A full schedule of occasions is out there on-line.
Displays will cowl human spaceflight, astrophysics, mission operations and ongoing exploration efforts, reflecting NEAF’s long-standing give attention to each schooling and inspiration, in keeping with the occasion program.
Main as much as the primary occasion, the Northeast Astro-Imaging Convention (NEAIC) will run April 9–10, providing workshops and talks devoted to astrophotography methods, processing workflows and superior imaging instruments for novices and skilled imagers alike.
Tickets can be found prematurely on-line or on the door, with free admission for youngsters and school college students with legitimate ID. One-day passes begin at $41, or $75 for each days when bought on-line, with greater costs on the door.
“Fairly merely — if house and astronomy curiosity you, then you definitely don’t need to miss NEAF,” Siemenn stated.
