NASA Announces Detection Of Most Distant Explosion

NASA is hosting a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT, Monday, September 12 to announce the detection of the most distant explosion yet, a gamma-ray burst from the edge of the visible universe.

Scientists detected the burst using NASA's Swift satellite. Several ground-based telescopes, including the international Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR) in Chile, measured the astounding distance as the embers faded. Panelists:

- Kim Weaver, Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Richard Reichart, assistant professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Neil Gehrels, Swift principal investigator, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Donald Lamb, professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago Media can participate by calling Dolores Beasley or Erica Hupp at 202/358-1753/1237.

The teleconference will be available live on the Web at:
Teleconference Live

For more information about the Swift mission on the Web, visit: http://swift.nasa.gov

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