Scientists will discuss new research from NASA missions – on topics ranging from exoplanets to citizen science discoveries – at the 240th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The meeting began Sunday, June 12, and continues through Thursday, June 16, at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California.

Agency leaders and researchers will discuss the latest developments in astrophysics during various press conferences, scientific sessions, and town halls. News conferences, highlighting results enabled by NASA missions such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, as well as NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), will stream live to the public on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel.

In addition to press conferences, NASA highlights for registered attendees include:

• NASA Town Hall: 12:45 p.m. PDT Monday, June 13
• Plenary lecture by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate: 11:40 a.m. PDT Tuesday, June 14
• James Webb Space Telescope Town Hall: 6:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday, June 14
• SOFIA Town Hall: 6:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday, June 15
• Roman Space Telescope Town Hall: 12:45 p.m. PDT Thursday, June 16

The full of list of NASA meeting highlights is as follows:

Monday, June 13

10:15 a.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from NASA's SOFIA mission will be highlighted with results from the following presentation:

• “Polarization and Dust Properties of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A”

12:45 p.m. PDT – NASA Town Hall
Ballroom D
Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, will provide a status update on NASA's astrophysics programs.

2:15 p.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from NASA's SOFIA mission will be highlighted with results from the following presentation:

• “Large- and Small-Scale Magnetic Fields in the Cygnus-X Star-Forming Region”

Tuesday, June 14

10:15 a.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Disk Detective citizen science program will be highlighted with results from the following presentations:

• “Disks in Nearby Young Stellar Associations Found Via Citizen Science and Virtual Reality”
• “The Largest Ultraviolet Survey of Distant Galaxies by the Hubble Space Telescope”

11:40 a.m. PDT – Plenary lecture by Thomas Zurbuchen
Hall C
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, will present a plenary lecture: “Enabling a Decade of Great Astrophysics by Excellent Teams.”

6:30 p.m. PDT – James Webb Space Telescope Town Hall
Hall C
Mission experts will provide a status update on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is currently completing the months-long process of preparing for science operations, ahead of the release of its first full-color images and data, scheduled for Tuesday, July 12.

Wednesday, June 15

10:15 a.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from NASA's TESS mission will be highlighted with results from the following presentation:

• “The HD 260655 System: Two Rocky Worlds Transiting a Bright M Dwarf at Just 32 Light-Years”

2:15 p.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble will be highlighted with results from the following presentations:

• “A High Velocity Pulsar in a Galactic Supernova Remnant Measured by the Chandra X-ray Observatory”
• “Strange Abundances in a White Dwarf: Evidence for Simultaneous Accretion of Rocky and Icy Bodies”

6:30 p.m. PDT – SOFIA Town Hall
Ballroom C
The SOFIA team will provide a report on the status of the airborne observatory, which will end operations by Sept. 30, 2022, after a successful eight years of science.

Thursday, June 16

10:15 a.m. PDT – AAS News Conference
Room 107, lower-level conference room
News from a variety of missions with NASA involvement will be highlighted with results from the following presentation:

• “New Images Combine Telescopes to Reveal the Growth and Destruction of Interstellar Dust in Nearby Galaxies”

12:45 p.m. PDT – Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Town Hall
Ballroom D
Mission experts will provide a status update on the development of the Roman Space Telescope, which is planned to launch no earlier than May 2027.

For more information on the meeting, including press registration and the complete meeting schedule, visit:

https://aas.org/meetings/aas240

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Press Contacts

Alise Fisher / Liz Landau
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546 / 202-358-0845
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / elizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov

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