NASA Reschedules Teleconference To Explain Missing Sunspots

Trent J. Perrotto

Headquarters, Washington

WASHINGTON -- NASA has rescheduled a media teleconference for 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 2, to discuss the first computer model that explains the recent period of decreased solar activity during the sun's 11-year cycle. The recent solar minimum, a period characterized by a lower frequency of sunspots and solar storms, ended in 2008 and was the deepest observed in almost 100 years.

The teleconference panelists are:

-- Richard Fisher, director, Heliophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington

-- Dibyendu Nandi, assistant professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India

-- Andres Munoz-Jaramillo, visiting research fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.

-- Delores Knipp, visiting scientist, University of Colorado at Boulder

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact Trent Perrotto at 202-358-0321 or trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov by 10 a.m. EST on March 2 for dial-in instructions. Requests must include media affiliation and telephone number.

Supporting information for the briefing will be posted at http://www.nasa.gov/sunearth.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on the Web at http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio.

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