Dolores Beasley 
Headquarters, Washington, DC                 March  7, 2000
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

William Steigerwald
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone: 301/286-5017)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N00-6

SOHO SEES THROUGH THE SUN TO FIND STORMY REGIONS ON THE 
OTHER SIDE

     With a new technique that uses ripples on the Sun's 
visible surface to probe its interior, scientists are able 
to see right through the Sun to observe active regions on 
its far side, the side facing away from the Earth.  With a 
far-side preview, scientists may be able to have a week's 
advance warning of potential bad weather in space. 

     This new observation from the Solar and Heliospheric 
Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft is the subject of a Space 
Science Update at 1 p.m. EDT, Thursday, March 9, at the 
James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., 
SW, Washington, DC.

     Panelists will be:
     *    Dr. George Withbroe, Science Director, Sun-Earth  
          Connection Program, NASA Headquarters 
     *    Dr. Douglas Braun, solar physicist, Northwest 
          Research Associates, Boulder, CO
     *    Dr. Craig DeForest, solar physicist, Southwest 
          Research Institute, Boulder, CO
     *    Dr. Charles Lindsey, solar physicist, Solar 
          Physics Research Corp, Tucson, AZ

    The event will be carried live on NASA Television with 
question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the 
briefing from participating NASA centers.  NASA Television 
is broadcast on satellite GE-2, transponder 9C, at 85 
degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 
3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz.

     SOHO is a cooperative project between the European 
Space Agency and NASA.  The far-side helioseismology 
research was funded by the National Science Foundation and 
NASA.

                           -end-