Sept. 19, 2008 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Lynn Cominsky Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, Calif. 707-664-2655 lynnc@universe.sonoma.edu RELEASE: 08-239 NASA'S SWIFT CATCHES FARTHEST-EVER GAMMA-RAY BURST WASHINGTON -- NASA's Swift satellite has found the most distant gamma-ray burst ever detected. The blast, designated GRB 080913, arose from an exploding star 12.8 billion light-years away. "This is the ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 18 September 2008. -- STORM (1 updated events, 2 new images) -- HURRICANE IKE Between the last week of August and the first week of September 2008, the Atlantic Ocean queued up a series of tropical storms. Ike became a large storm that raked over Cuba and targeted the Texas coast. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=15077 *** Camera(Aircraft) image from Sep 14 2008 (Posted on Sep 19 2008 11:45AM) * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=15076 *** E ...Continue Reading

Sept. 19, 2008 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-237 SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD 39B CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Space shuttle Endeavour completed a 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B on Friday, Sept. ...Continue Reading

Sept. 18, 2008 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov Angela Storey Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 angela.d.storey@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-057 NASA ANNOUNCES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONTRACT EXTENSION HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA has extended the Unified NASA Information Technology Services, or UNITeS, contract with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of San Diego. This extension ...Continue Reading

Sept. 18, 2008 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 agle@jpl.nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-176 NASA TO DISCUSS CONDITIONS ON AND SURROUNDING THE SUN WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 12:30 p.m. EDT, to discuss data from the joint NASA and European Space Agency Ulysses mission that reveals th ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 17 September 2008. -- FLOOD (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- FLOODING ALONG THE GULF COAST Hurricane Ike pushed water far inland over a wide swath of the Gulf Coast when it came ashore on September 13, 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=15075 *** MODIS(Terra) image from Sep 17 2008 (Posted on Sep 18 2008 2:01PM) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural Hazards is a service of NASA's Earth Observatory. http://nat ...Continue Reading

Sept. 18, 2008 Michael Curie Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4715 michael.curie@nasa.gov John Ira Petty Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 john.i.petty@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-236 NASA'S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER TO REOPEN MONDAY AFTER IKE HOUSTON -- NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is scheduled to reopen Monday, Sept. 22, ending its closure related to Hurricane Ike. Johnson shut down Sept. 11 as Ike approached the Texas coast. International Space Station flight ...Continue Reading

Sept. 17, 2008 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-235 NASA ECLIPS: A NEW APPROACH TO LEARNING WASHINGTON -- NASA is making available a free Web-based educational product to learners of all ages across the country. NASA eClips consists of more than 55 short, 5-10 minute video segments, which are available on-demand via the Internet for the 2008 -2009 school year. NASA eClips features many of the agency's missions and engages students in the exciteme ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 16 September 2008. -- DUST AND SMOKE (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- DUST STORM IN IRAQ A massive cloud of dust hovered over Iraq in mid-September 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=15074 *** MODIS(Aqua) image from Sep 16 2008 (Posted on Sep 16 2008 5:56PM) -- FIRE (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- FIRES IN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA A handful of large fires were burning in Oregon and Northern California as fall approached in September 2008. ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 15 September 2008. -- DUST AND SMOKE (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- DUST PLUMES OVER THE PERSIAN GULF Dust plumes blew over the Persian Gulf in early December 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=15072 *** MODIS(Aqua) image from Sep 12 2008 (Posted on Sep 15 2008 3:15PM) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural Hazards is a service of NASA's Earth Observatory. http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/ http://earthobse ...Continue Reading