NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

"Naked-Eye" Gamma Ray Burst Telecon - September 10, 2008 1 p.m. EDT

NASA will hold a media teleconference Wednesday, September 10, at 1 p.m. EDT to discuss new results regarding the naked-eye gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B. The burst's optical emission is the brightest seen to date and appears to have been aimed nearly head-on to Earth. Extensive observations from NASA's Swift satellite and ground-based observatories show the burst emission mechanism in unprecedented detail.

> Naked Eye Telecon Main Page

> Naked Eye Press Release

Contact Information
Dial In:
-- Toll Free: 800.369.1122
-- Toll Numbers: 1.517.623.4705
-- Passcode: SWIFT

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: > NASA News Audio

---

Mission Update:

For mission updates visit the Swift Mission Director's Status Report Log.

Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to:

• Determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts
• Classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types
• Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings
• Use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe
• Perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky