NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Margaret “Peggy” Piper from Lincoln Way High School in Frankfort, Il. (center), joins program manager Pamela Harman and teacher Kathleen Fredette from Desert Willow Intermediate School in Palmdale, Calif., in front of the SOFIA’s telescope prior to flying aboard the observatory in June 2011. (NASA / Carla Thomas) MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- Margaret "Peggy" Piper, a high school science teacher at Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort, Ill., and one of the original six educators selected by NASA to fly on board the agency's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), will be on-site and available for interviews throughout the 2012 winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), Jan. 8-12 at the Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, Texas.

SOFIA is an extensively modified 747SP airliner fitted with a 2.5-meter (100-inch) infrared telescope. SOFIA’s Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program began in 2010 and flew six educators from the United States and two from Germany on science flights in May and June 2011. In 2012/2013, the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program expects to fly more than 50 educators from around the United States.

To schedule an interview, contact:

Nicholas A. Veronico • 650/224-8726 cell
SOFIA Science Center Public Affairs Officer
nveronico@sofia.usra.edu

For a complete list of NASA-related news briefings and town halls at the American Astronomical Society meeting, visit:

The website contains detailed information about how reporters can participate in the briefings, both on-site and remotely. This site will be updated throughout the week with additional information about NASA presentations.