ITHACA, N.Y.--Astronomers analyzing data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft will announce they have solved a long-standing mystery, the origin of Jupiter's rings, at a news briefing on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at noon, EDT, at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., in the ILR Conference Center. Los Angeles-area news media are invited to watch the briefing via video teleconference at JPL and ask questions over a live audio link.

New Galileo images, including views of Jupiter's rings, will be available, along with a new Galileo video animation, both on the Internet and on NASA TV.

Panelists will include Galileo imaging team leader Dr. Mike Belton of the National Optical Astronomical Observatories, Tucson, Ariz.; team members Dr. Joseph Burns and Dr. Joseph Veverka, both of Cornell; and imaging team affiliate Maureen Ockert-Bell, also of Cornell.

The briefing will be carried live on the Internet. Reporters wishing to view the briefing online are asked to register before the conference on the web at http://www.news.cornell.edu/signup.html. Participants will be able to send their questions to the panel by e-mail.

The Galileo spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter and its moons for the past 2-1/2 years. It concluded its primary mission in December and is currently in the midst of a two-year extension, known as the Galileo Europa Mission. JPL manages Galileo for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.

Images and animation will be transmitted on NASA TV on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight (all times EDT). NASA TV is available through GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz and audio at 6.8 MHz. The new images will be released on the Internet at the following URLs: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/sept98/jupiter_rings.html.

Contact: David Brand
Office: (607) 255-3651
Home: (607) 256-0849
E-mail: [email protected]
JPL: Jane Platt (818) 354-0880