NASA Invites Media, Public to Discussion on Astronomy's Expanding 'Senses'

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Nov 15, 2017, 17:35 ET

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Nov. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, invites media and the public to hear from some of the first scientists to detect light and gravitational waves -- ripples in space-time -- caused by colliding neutron stars.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville will host a free science discussion, "Multi-messenger Astronomy: A New Era in Space Science," at 3:30 p.m. CST Monday, Nov. 20, in Room 112 of the Student Services Building at 301 Sparkman Drive.

Astronomers will share the story and science behind the violent stellar smashup and how a small team of Alabama scientists helped alert the global science community that something extraordinary was happening. Speakers and panelists will be:

Julie McEnery, project scientist for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Tyson Littenberg, astrophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and member of the LIGO Science Collaboration
Colleen Wilson-Hodge, principal investigator for the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Wen-fai Fong, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University
Adam Goldstein, astrophysicist from the Universities Space Research Association at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Peter Veres, postdoctoral fellow at The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Rachel Hamburg, graduate research assistant at The University of Alabama in Huntsville

Before the discussion, media will be invited to conduct one-on-one interviews with participants beginning at 3 p.m. in Room 114 of the Student Services Building.

Media interested in attending the discussion should contact Molly Porter by noon on Monday, Nov. 20, at [email protected] or 256-544-2771.

For information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:

www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

SOURCE NASA