July 6, 2004

Donald Savage 
Headquarters, Washington 
(Phone: 202/358-1727) 

Jim Sahli 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-8141)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N04-101

NASA VIRTUAL NEWS BRIEFING: SCIENTISTS TRACK BLAST WAVE TO THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

On Thursday, July 8, at 1 p.m. EDT, during a listen-and-log-on news 
briefing, scientists will discuss what was learned from last fall's 
record-shattering solar storms that are just now reaching the outer 
limits of the solar system, eight billion miles away. 

An unprecedented fleet of explorers including solar and Earth-orbiting 
craft, as well as Mars Odyssey, Ulysses, Cassini and the Voyagers, 
tracked the largest solar storms in recent years from the sun's 
surface to the edge of interplanetary space, for the first time ever.

Briefing participants will be:


Dr. Eric Christian, Solar Physics Division, NASA Headquarters, 
Washington


Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Professor at University of Michigan, 
Ann Arbor, Mich.


Dr. Ed Stone, David Morrisroe Professor of Physics, Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory/Caltech


Carl Walz, Program Executive for Advanced Concepts, Project 
Prometheus, NASA Headquarters



This virtual news briefing is only for reporters, who can participate 
by using the information below to listen to the scientists and log on 
to the Web site established for the briefing, which will have 
graphics and images supporting the presentations. At the end of the 
briefing, questions will be taken from participating reporters. 

TELECON DIAL-IN NUMBERS: 888-913-9967
PASSCODE: JULY 8TH SOLAR EVENT
BRIEFING WEB SITE: 
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0708flare1.html  

A video file supporting this press conference will be uplinked on NASA 
TV at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT on July 8.

	
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