TriStar 2026

Tri*Star* -- The Triad Star Festival,  is a  one-day conference presented by Greensboro Astronomy Club and hosted on the main campus of Guilford Technical Community College. It has been held annually since 2001. The conference features presentations by astronomy researchers, educators and enthusiasts, along with Dennis Hands Memorial Astro-imaging Contest and prize drawings. The event is free and open to the public. 

TriStar 2026 is April 11th and will once again be held in the Koury Auditorium on the main campus of Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC.

Tentative Speaker List:

Joe Heafner, Catawba College, "Imaging with Unistellar telescopes"

Doug Lively, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, "Back to the Moon: NASA's Artemis Program"

Hank Corbett, UNC, "Argus Array"

Charlotte Wood, NC A&T, Topic TBD

This year's schedule:
8:30 a.m. – Doors open

9:15 a.m. – Welcome and announcements

9:30 a.m. – First Speaker

10:30 a.m. – Break

11 a.m. – Second Speaker

Noon: Lunch Break, Solar Observing (weather permitting)

2 p.m. – Third Speaker 

3 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m. – Fourth Speaker

4:30 p.m. – Final announcements and prize drawings

More information can be found on the GTCC TriStar event page 

Have a question or suggestion?  Email Steve Desch, GTCC professor. 

NOTE: The below links are from 2025. TriStar 2026 t-shirt ordering will be available soon.

IF YOU PRE-ORDERED A T-SHIRT, PLEASE VISIT THE GAC TABLE TO PICK UP YOUR ORDER. ANY UNPAID ORDERS MUST BE PICKED UP BY THE END OF LUNCH. UNPAID ORDERS WILL BE RELEASED FOR SALE. THERE WILL BE EXTREMELY LIMITED ADDITIONAL T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE.

If you pre-ordered a shirt and have not yet paid, you can use a credit or debit card; please use the appropriate button below  (there is a $1 service fee included in the price of each item). Use the following links for card payment. 

Men's t-shirt (crew neck) $25 pre-order ($30 day of event) 

Women's t-shirt (v-neck) $25 pre-order ($30 day of event) 

Sweatshirts (crew neck) $35 pre-order ($40 day of event)
Note: 2X (XXL) and 3X (XXXL) sizes are an additional $2.

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.