NASA TO ANNOUNCE SWIFT GAMMA-RAY BURST FINDINGS

NASA Space Station will hold a media teleconference Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 1 p.m. EDT, to discuss new results regarding the gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B, which was visible to the naked eye.

The burst's optical emission is the brightest seen to date and appears to have been aimed almost directly at Earth. Extensive observations from NASA's Space Station Swift satellite and ground-based observatories show the burst emission mechanism in unprecedented detail.

The panelists include:
-- David Burrows, NASA Swift X-ray Telescope lead, Penn State, College Park, Pa.
-- Judith Racusin, graduate student, Penn State
-- Grigory Beskin, senior scientist, Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Russia
-- Dieter Hartmann, professor, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters should e-mail a request to J.D. Harrington at j.d.herrington@nasa.gov by noon, Sept. 10. Requests must include media affiliation and a contact telephone number. Supporting information for the briefing will be posted at noon, Sept. 10, at:

http://www.nasa.gov/swift

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For more information about the Swift mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/swift