Astronomy at the Beach - Friday

Astronomy at the Beach - Michigan's largest FREE astronomy event for 30 years!

Our theme this year is Artemis – returning to the Moon!
The Artemis II mission, which successfully concluded on April 10, 2026, was the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program, sending four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon. This historic test flight validated the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems and broke the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, reaching 252,756 miles away.

Raffle for a Dwarflabs Dwarf Mini Electronic Telescope!
Tickets will be available at the event

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dale Partin: Dale has a B.S. and M.S. in physics and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of Sigma Xi. He teaches astronomy at Macomb Community College. He served in several officer positions in the Warren Astronomical Society.

Presentations by local astronomers - many of whom are volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors! Learn about astronomy, space science and imaging technology.

Astronomy Club Tables - Several Astronomy clubs and event hosts will be at tables with freebies, teacher resources, demonstrations and more! You can chat with local astronomers, and schedule a lecturer to speak to your group and/or set up telescopes at your venue.

Jeff MacLeod will have his Gemini Spacecraft simulator there - get your tickets early!

Solar telescope viewing starts at 4:00 PM until sundown - you can see sunspots, prominences and other features on the Sun.

Shows and talks start at 6:00 PM
For kids, we're holding a Scavenger Hunt of objects in the sky--with Prizes!

Dark-sky viewing starts at 8:00 PM and and goes till midnight - with dozens of telescopes owned by astronomy club members on the viewing field!

Educators have often given extra credit to students attending our in-person event in the past!

Parking: MI license plate “recreation passport” is required. If you don't have one, you may purchase one at the gate)

If cloudy/rainy, the show will still go on in the presentation tent, and there will still be a display of space images, plus local astronomy club tables.

Location: Island Lake State Recreation Area, Brighton on the Kent Lake Beach

Events on Facebook: Fri, Sat
Website: https://www.glaac.org/

Astronomy at the Beach is hosted by the Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs.