Northeast Astronomy Forum & Space Expo

04/12/2026

NEAF is being covered by FoxNews, The NY Daily News, and Space.com

Don't forget to follow NEAF's livestream today !

https://www.space.com/astronomy/neaf-2026-returns-to-new-york-this-weekend-with-all-star-astronaut-lineup-and-worlds-largest-space-expo

The Northeast Astronomy Forum & Space Expo 2026 (NEAF) takes place April 11–12 at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York.

04/07/2026

NEAF SPEAKER CONFIRMED !! Mike Ciannilli, Manager of NASA's Apollo Challenger and the "Columbia Lessons Learned Program", is only days away from appearing at NEAF 2026.

Michael Ciannilli joined NASA in 2005 and currently manages the Apollo Challenger Columbia Lessons Learned Program (ACCLLP). In this role, he produces multimedia and storytelling events at Kennedy Space Center, focusing on the emotions behind the Space Shuttle accidents which are seared into our memories -- and hearts.

Before assuming his current position, he was a curator of NASA's Columbia Research and Preservation Office. Prior to NASA, he served for eight years as a Test Project Engineer with the United Space Alliance.

After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Mike participated by helicopter in searching East Texas for wreckage. What he and others found – over 80,000 pieces - was cataloged and laid out in a room at NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. Items recovered are included in a memorial to those who lost their lives in the shuttle disasters, "Forever Remembered", located at the Kennedy Space Center.

One special item in the memorial exhibit, Ciannilli personally retrieved from the silo in which wreckage retrieved from the Challenger disaster is permanently entombed is a fifteen-foot section bearing the damaged but recognizable American Flag.

He received his B.Sc. from Florida Institute of Technology.

04/01/2026

SPEAKER CONFIRMED !!! David McComas, the Principle Investigator for NASA's IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), will be at NEAF in 10 days, April 11-12th.

McComas is noted for his accomplishments in experimental space plasma physics, including leading instruments and missions to study the heliosphere and solar wind. These probes and missions include IMAP, IBEX, TWINS, Ulysses/SWOOPS, ACE/SWEPAM, and the Parker Solar Probe.

He received the National Academy of Science's 2023 Arctowski Medal, European Geosciences Union 2022 Hannes Alfven Medal, SCOSTEP 2022 Distinguished Scientist Award, a NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal in 2015, the 2014 COSPAR Space Science Award, and other honors. McComas is a Professor of Astrophysical Sciences, and leads the Space Physics at Princeton Group at Princeton University. He was the Princeton University Vice President for the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL) from 2016 - 2024 and previously Assistant Vice President for Space Science and Engineering at the Southwest Research Institute as well as other higher educational positions.

Don't miss this UNIQUE and FIRST TIME appearance of one of the leading behind-the-scenes key members of many of the probes that have expanded our knowledge of the Solar System, the Sun, and other celestial objects !!

03/27/2026

NEAIC....The Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference....the country's PREMIERE astro-imaging and CCD conference for beginners to experts....dozens of vendors....door prizes...speakers galore....STILL TIME TO REGISTER !

For more information......

https://www.neafexpo.com/neaic