Dedication of Observatory Science Center

M E D I A A D V I S O R Y

Dedication of Observatory Science Center

WHAT: The dedication of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) Science Center. When launched in 2002, SIRTF will be the last of NASA's four "Great Observatories" that are designed to crack the mysteries of the cosmos.

WHEN: October 22, 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: East Plaza of Caltech's Keith Spaulding Building, which is located on the southeast corner of California Boulevard and Wilson Avenue at the California Institute of Technology.

DETAILS: The Science Center will be responsible for all aspects of the science operation for the observatory. Refreshments and tours of the center will follow the dedication. Among the dignitaries attending will be Dr. Edward Weiler, associate administrator for Space Science for NASA, Caltech President David Baltimore, JPL Director Charles Elachi, and Thomas Soifer, Caltech professor of physics and Science Center director.

SIRTF will join the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in space. Each of these observatories looks at different kinds of light along the electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from the visible to the infrared. The SIRTF observatory will fill an important gap in wavelength coverage—the thermal infrared—that is not available from ground-based observatories. By seeking this infrared light, SIRTF will be looking for such objects as brown dwarfs and super planets, along with newly born planetary systems that may exist around other stars in our Milky Way Galaxy.