For Release: Oct. 15, 1999

Steve Roy
Media Relations Department
(256) 544-0034
steve.roy@msfc.nasa.gov
/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/

MEDIA ADVISORY: 99-267

Debate Continues Over Celestial Mystery; NASA’s Marshall Center Sponsors 5^th Gamma Ray Burst Symposium Oct. 18-22

More than 30 years after the discovery of gamma ray bursts -- titanic explosions in the outer reaches of the universe -- scientists are still baffled by them. Undaunted, more than 200 astrophysicists and astronomers will converge next week in north Alabama, hoping to shed new light on one of the cosmos’ great mysteries.

The 5^th Gamma Ray Burst Symposium will convene Oct. 18-22 at the Huntsville Hilton in Huntsville, Ala. The biannual event is sponsored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Universities Space Research Association, headquartered in Columbia, Md.

Researchers from a range of astronomical fields will pore over new findings and continue the debate over gamma ray bursts and their strange origins. Other topics of discussion will include the physics of the phenomenon, typical burst characteristics and plans for future space missions and ground-based observation.

Media are invited to attend the five-day event. To make arrangements, or for more information, contact Steve Roy in Marshall Media Relations at (256) 544-0034.

A special seminar on soft gamma repeaters -- a type of recurring gamma ray burst that occurs within our galaxy -- will kick off the symposium on Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in the Hilton’s Grand Salon Ballroom.

The Huntsville Museum of Art will host a gala reception Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. for symposium attendees. Marshall Center Director Arthur G. Stephenson and Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer are expected to attend.

A complete agenda can be found on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov/events/5hgrbs/

First detected in 1967 by a team of researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, gamma ray bursts have mystified and fascinated scientists ever since. Occupying the shortest wavelength at the high end of the electromagnetic spectrum, bursts occur at random across the heavens, many appearing to lack any association with known objects.

Findings made in the last few years indicate these bursts most likely originate far outside our galaxy -- some as far away as 8 or 12 billion light years.

That immense gulf should come as a relief to Earth inhabitants, given that gamma ray bursts signal cataclysmic explosions in space -- some big enough to wipe out every sign of life within light years of the blast.

Note to Editors / News Directors: Interviews and photos supporting this release are available to media representatives by contacting Steve Roy of the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034. For an electronic version of this release, digital images or more information, visit Marshall's News Center on the Web at:

/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/

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