We attended NEAF 2016 in April. We definitely know how late this blog post is - it's been over 6 months since our trip to the States. It's just that we never got around to writing about it. But it's time we sat down for a bit and told you our story. It's a pretty interesting one. We're also posting this to give our readers a good idea of what the biggest astronomy show in the US is like and whether it's worth going (it is!).

Astronomers use their big brains for things other than discovering planets and galaxies. They’re now naming them for profit. Whilst it’s not uncommon for someone to receive a gift of a star to name, some people want entire planets. And one entrepreneurial astronomer, Dr Alan Stern, decided to cash in on this need, creating an organisation called Uwingu that charged people $10 to name the various exoplanets found across the universe.

As astronomers, we tend to spend a certain amount of time observing, so it's no surprise that we like to people-watch. This little habit has led us to discover a humorous phenomenon at one of our favourite astro events.

Star parties are one of the social highlights of amateur astronomy. Most states are bound to have a star party close by, and some people even cross state lines to attend the biggest and the best in their country. They’re great for both beginners and veterans, and are a favourite event for most.

Each star party is unique depending on factors such as location and the time of the year - but there’s a certain set of people that are always present. Throughout our attendance at various parties, we’ve come to see the same people over and over. There are six types of people that we consistently meet again and again and they’ve become quite easy for us to identify.