NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Galaxy Evolution Explorer Media Telecon: Aug. 15, 2007, 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST)

Astronomers are scheduled to announce new findings about a star unlike any seen before at a media teleconference Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST). The findings are from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

+ News release

Toll free number: 1-800-593-1179 | International toll number: 210-795-9369
Passcode: Galex

An instant replay of the telecon is available 24 hours a day through Aug. 22:
Toll free number: 866-505-9257
International toll number: 203-369-1881

Note to TV reporters: Broadcast quality video file (animation, images and sound bites) to accompany this story are available through the Pathfire distribution service. In the DMG Content Provider Panel, select News, Video News Feeds, VNF Provider B. Select the NASA-JPL tab. Double-click on the Slug to preview the package contents. For other video options, call JPL Media Relations at 818-354-5011.

Participants: + Bios page
Christopher Martin, Principal Investigator, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Michael Shara, Curator, Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, N.Y.
Mark Seibert, Astronomer, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Pasadena, Calif.

---

Images


1. Johnny Appleseed of the Cosmos
A new ultraviolet mosaic from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star named Mira (pronounced my-rah) that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems.
+ Full image and caption

---

2. A Real Shooting Star
This artist's animation illustrates a star flying through our galaxy at supersonic speeds, leaving a 13-light-year-long trail of glowing material in its wake.
Play animation: + Play animation - Lower resolution (Quicktime - 6.5Mb)
+ Play animation (Quicktime - 27Mb)
+ Full image and caption

---

3. Evolution of Mira's Enormous Tail
This chart illustrates the length (top) and age (bottom) of a long comet-like tail of material trailing behind a speeding star called Mira (pronounced My-rah).
+ Full image and caption

---

4. Anatomy of a Shooting Star
A close-up view of a star racing through space faster than a speeding bullet can be seen in this image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer.
+ Full image and caption

---

5. Supersonic Bullet
A bullet traveling through air at about 1.5 times the speed of sound can be seen in this image.
+ Full image and caption

---

6. Mira's Tail There All Along
As this composite demonstrates, Mira's tail is only visible in ultraviolet light (top), and does not show up in visible light (bottom).
+ Full image and caption