A small town in New York is about to become stargazing central for thousands of space fans hoping to check out the latest telescopes and more. And this year may be the event's biggest yet.
The Northeast Astronomy Forum 2025 (NEAF) is billed as the "world's largest astronomy and space expo," and runs this weekend from April 5-6 at the State University of New York Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York.
"We are expecting record turnout as gauged by the advance ticket sales," NEAF exhibit coordinator Sarah Colker, a club board member, told me. The Rockland Astronomy Club, which puts on NEAF, is expecting nearly 4,000 people this year, the biggest crowd since it began 34 years ago. NEAF runs concurrently with an astrophotography-focused show, the Northeast Astro-imaging Conference, also based at SUNY Rockland.
As Space.com's editor-in-chief, I try to attend NEAF every year to see the latest telescopes from manufacturers like Celestron, Explore Scientific, Unistellar and others. NEAF is like a comic-con for astronomy fans, where you can get hands-on with new telescope tech (or maybe an entire personal observatory), meet an astronaut or hear the latest research on the search for life beyond Earth from pioneering scientists.
Eileen Collins, NASA's first female space shuttle pilot and commander, to discuss her career this weekend, as will astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Famed Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin and next-gen counterpart Zebulon Scoville, a flight director with NASA's Artemis moon program, will discuss the state of moon exploration.
If you read Space.com regularly, you may recognize one of the speakers at NEAF, our own skywatching columnist Joe Rao, who will help open ceremonies on Saturday. My favorite highlight is the solar viewing on the college lawn, where safely filtered telescopes let you gaze at sunspots and prominences (if it's not cloudy).
The event is open to the public, but there is a ticket fee ($38 per day or $70 for the weekend), with student discounts available. Children under 12 are free.
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