NASA Announces California Tweetup to Tour Airborne Observatory

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Sep 27, 2011, 02:32 ET

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will host a Tweetup for 50 of its Twitter followers on Oct. 14 at the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The Tweetup includes a tour of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft, which will visit Ames.

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SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a telescope with a 100-inch reflecting mirror to conduct astronomy research not possible with ground-based telescopes. SOFIA is housed at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

In addition to climbing aboard SOFIA, the Tweetup guests will speak with NASA officials, managers and SOFIA scientists. The Tweetup will include a session where participants can mingle with fellow Tweeps and the staff behind the tweets on @NASA, @NASAAmes and @SOFIATelescope.

Tweetup registration opens at 7 a.m. PDT on Monday, Oct. 3, and closes at 2 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, Oct. 4. NASA will randomly select 50 participants from online registrations.

For more information and rules about the Tweetup and registration, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/tweetup

To follow NASA on Twitter, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASA

For more information about NASA's Ames Research Center, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ames

SOURCE NASA