National Radio Astronomy Observatory
P.O. Box O
Socorro, NM 87801
http://www.nrao.edu

EMBARGOED For Release: 9:30 a.m., CST, Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Contact:

Dave Finley, Public Information Officer
(505) 835-7302
dfinley@nrao.edu

Credit: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF

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A new series of short radio programs designed to bring the space-age science of radio astronomy down to Earth is being launched by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Allegheny Mountain Radio. The series, called Cosmic Radio, covers topics ranging from exciting recent scientific discoveries to how radio telescopes help explore the Universe, to the fascinating history of radio astronomy.

"The discoveries and history of radio astronomy include many exciting stories, and Cosmic Radio will bring those stories to listeners across the country," said Sue Ann Heatherly, the NRAO Education Officer in Green Bank, West Virginia, and co-producer of the series. Gibbs Kinderman, of Allegheny Mountain Radio, the other co-producer, added, "The subject matter is fascinating, and we did a lot of work making the complex topics comprehensible even to a science dummy like me."

Cosmic Radio includes 26 self-contained radio programs, each
2.5 minutes in length, explaining some aspect of radio astronomy.
Produced with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the programs are available to all radio stations at no cost. The programs have been provided on CD to more than 500 NPR-affiliated stations, and will be available through a Web site that will be updated with a new program each week.

Sue Ann Heatherly

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Gibbs Kinderman

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Dr. Felix "Jay" Lockman

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Beth Vorhees

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The Web site is at:

http://www.nrao.edu/cosmicradio

Station managers who wish to use Cosmic Radio programs on the air will find contact information on the Web site.

NRAO Senior Scientist Felix "Jay" Lockman, a leading researcher at the NRAO Green Bank, West Virginia, observatory, served as scientific advisor to Cosmic Radio, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting veteran and news host Beth Vorhees is narrator.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.