NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: Oct. 25, 1999

Media Advisory m99-221

Summary:

NASA CONFERENCE EXPLORES THE CUTTING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Video File for Oct. 25, 1999

ITEM 1 - CHANDRA IMAGES EXTENDED X-RAY JETS THAT REVEAL

ENERGY SOURCE IN NEARBY GALAXY

ITEM 2 - SHARPEST PICTURE EVER TAKEN OF JUPITER'S

VOLCANIC MOON IO (replay)

----------

NASA CONFERENCE EXPLORES THE CUTTING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGY

The best new inventions from America's chief research and

development laboratories will be on display in November at NASA's
premier technology showcase, Technology 2009. The inventions, on
display Nov. 1-3, 1999, at the Miami Beach Fontainebleau Hilton,
provide a wealth of new business ideas and ready-made solutions to
companies experiencing engineering problems. The first-ever forum
on emerging commercial opportunities in aerospace and aviation
will be presented as part of Technology 2009. And NASA officials
will discuss NASA's commercial technology network, how to do
business with NASA, and NASA contributions to medicine.

More information can be found on the Internet at:

http://www.techeast.net
and
http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/success/index.html

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC; Michael Braukus

DC: (Phone: 202/358-1979).

For full text, see:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-054.txt
**********

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-

mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

**********

Video File for Oct. 25, 1999

ITEM 1 - CHANDRA IMAGES EXTENDED X-RAY JETS THAT REVEAL

TRT :15
ENERGY SOURCE IN NEARBY GALAXY

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has made an extraordinary image

of Centaurus A, a nearby galaxy noted for its explosive activity.
The image shows X-ray jets erupting from the center of the galaxy
over a distance of 25,000 light years. Also detected are a group
of X-ray sources clustered around the nucleus, which is believed
to harbor a supermassive black hole. The X-ray jets and the
cluster of sources may be a byproduct of a titanic collision
between galaxies several hundred Million years ago.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage

(Phone: 202-358-1547).
Contact at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL: Steve
Roy (Phone: 256-544-6535).
Contact at Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA: Dr. Wallace Tucker
(Phone: 617-496-7998).

ITEM 1a - CENTAURUS A (NGC 5128) IN X RAY TRT :15

The Chandra X-ray image of Centaurus A shows a bright source in

the nucleus of the galaxy, which is thought to be due to a
supermassive black hole. The main jet extending to the upper left
far outside the galaxy is caused by explosive activity around the
black hole. A smaller "counter jet" extending to the lower right
can also be seen. The faint arc on the lower right is thought to
represent a shock wave produced by energetic particles expanding
away from the nucleus. Numerous point-like sources of X-rays are
also apparent. These are probably due to neutron stars or black
holes that are accreting matter from nearby companion stars.

Images from Chandra X-ray Observatory/ High Resolution Camera.

CREDIT: (NASA/CXC/SAO)

ITEM 1B - CENTAURUS A (NGC 5128): OPTICAL-X RAY TRT :15

COMPARISON

This picture shows the Chandra X-ray image overlaid on the optical
image of Centaurus A. The optical image shows that Centaurus A is
an elliptical galaxy with huge dust lanes across the middle of the
galaxy. This has led astronomers to speculate that Centaurus A
was the site of a merger between a small spiral galaxy and a large
elliptical galaxy several hundred million years ago. This merger
could have provided a large supply of gas for a central black hole
that triggered the explosive activity observed by X-ray and radio
telescopes. The energetic central region, or nucleus, is obscured
by the dust lanes in optical images, but shines clearly in X-rays,
as do the dramatic jet structures extending in either direction
from the nucleus well beyond the edges of the galaxy.

X RAY: Chandra X Ray Observatory/High Resolution Camera image

(Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO)
OPTICAL: Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory 4-meter Blanco
telescope image
(Credit: AURA/NOAO/NSF)

To follow Chandra's progress, visit the Chandra site at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.harvard.eduhttp://chandra.nasa.gov

High resolution digital versions of the x-ray image (300 dpi JPG,
TIFF) and other information associated with this release are
available on the Internet at:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/0157/index.html or via links in:
http://chandra.harvard.edu

ITEM 2 - SHARPEST PICTURE EVER TAKEN OF JUPITER'S TRT :15

 VOLCANIC MOON IO (replay)

This black-and-white image is the highest resolution picture ever

taken of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. The image was taken by
NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Oct. 10, 1999, during its 24th orbit
of Jupiter, at an altitude of 420 miles (670 km). The image
resolution is 30 feet (9 meters) per pixel, 289 times better than
Galileo's earlier views of this region and 50 times better than
the best Voyager image.

This image targeted lava flows that erupted from the volcano
Pillan. It shows a complex mix of smooth and rough areas with
clusters of pits and domes, many of which are the size of houses.
The volcanic features are similar to those found on the Earth and
Mars. However, this complex combination of different types of
lava flows has not been seen before in such a small area,
demonstrating the variety of volcanic processes that continue to
change the surface of Io. Galileo scientists estimate that the
cliff on the left side of the image ranges from 3 to 10 meters (10
to 33 feet) high.

Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Jane

Platt 818/354-5011.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell
202/358-1753.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

----------

Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN.

ANY CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO

FILE
ADVISORY ON
THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt
WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m.
and midnight Eastern Time.

NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees

West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0
megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz.
Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Elvia Thompson,
202/358-1696, elvia.thompson@hq.nasa.gov

During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will

continue to be posted at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html

For general information about NASA TV see:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/

**********

Contract Awards

Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information

Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

**********

The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at

approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the media who wish
to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, please send e-mail
message to:

Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov

**********

end of daily news summary