SETI public: Latest good reason to keep the Voyagers online

Voyager 1 has become the first spacecraft to enter the heliosheath, the last step before it leaves the solar system. On December 17, 2004, when Voyager 1 was 94 times Earth's distance from the Sun, energetic particle beams became steady in strength, the direction of these beams nearly reversed, and the magnetic field strength jumped. New radio waves were observed. Voyager scientists will discuss why they conclude that the spacecraft has reached the heliosheath, as well as some puzzling and unexpected aspects of these observations, and predict what Voyager will see in this new and unexplored region of space.

Time/Location: Tuesday, May 24, at 10 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. local CDT). Related sessions are: SH22A/SH23A. Reporters Off-Site and within the U.S. may call into the News Conference by dialing toll free: 1-888-935-0266 PASSCODE: AGU.

News Conference Participants:
- Edward C. Stone, Downs Laboratory , California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
- Donald A. Gurnett, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City
- Alan Coffman Cummings, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
- Leonard F. Burlaga, Laboratory for Solar and Space Physics, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md.

http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm05/