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US
NEAF is a production of the Rockland Astronomy Club and is a 501(c)3 non-profit event.
The Cold War was raging, and amateur radio operators began reporting that they could hear signals from space. There were huge Newspaper headlines and people were upset and concerned. It was October 4, 1957 and the Soviets had just placed a satellite in orbit. The world was shocked and would never be the same again.
However, for a small group of neighbors in Rockland County, it was a chance to get together and look up to the night sky for the new Russian satellite called Sputnik.
In fact, they had such a splendid time scanning the sky with binoculars that they all agreed to reconvene in a few months. One of the neighbors even promised to bring along a new telescope he had been tinkering with.
It was now 1958 and a new agency called NASA had been formed to answer the space threat that had been posed by our Russian rivals, at the same time our group of neighbors began meeting on a regular yet informal basis to explore the night sky.
In fact, they had such a splendid time scanning the sky with binoculars that they all agreed to reconvene in a few months. One of the neighbors even promised to bring along a new telescope he had been tinkering with.
It was now 1958 and a new agency called NASA had been formed to answer the space threat that had been posed by our Russian rivals, at the same time our group of neighbors began meeting on a regular yet informal basis to explore the night sky.
Word eventually spread of this fascinating ‘get-together’, and the group quickly grew beyond just neighbors and even attracted a soon to be prominent politician. By October of 1958, it was decided to form a club and Rockland Astronomy was born. Leadership changed hands several times in the early years, but the interest and the club grew steadily, adding the Joy of the Universe (JOU) star parties in the early 1980’s, the Summer Star Party (SSP) in the late 80’s, the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) in 1991, the Northeast Astro Imaging Conference (NEAIC) in 2006, the Children’s Space & Astronomy Fair (CSAF) and the Lecture Series (RLS) in the early 2000’s and the Northeast Pro/Am Conference (NPAC) in 2013.
The Rockland Astronomy Club continues to grow and create important pubic programs to enrich the awareness of space and astronomy. Now, as a 501c3 educational organization with 250 members and volunteers, RAC’s mission to bring these kinds of educational programs and outreach to the general public and to the astronomical community is even more focused.