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MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Jane Platt (818) 354-0880

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         January 17, 2000

JPL PUBLIC LECTURES ZOOM IN ON ASTEROIDS AND COMETS

     Comets and asteroids that may pass close to Earth are 
explored in free, public lectures to be held at Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory on Thursday, Jan. 20, and at Pasadena City College on 
Friday, Jan. 21. 

     Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis for the 
lectures, titled "Near-Earth Objects -- Finding Them Before They 
Find Us."

     The featured speaker is Dr. Donald Yeomans, a senior 
research scientist at JPL who is a renowned expert on comets and 
asteroids, the leftovers from the formation of our solar system. 
Yeomans manages NASA's Near-Earth Object Office, is project 
scientist of the MUSES-CN mission to explore the surface of an 
asteroid, and is on the science teams for the Near-Earth Asteroid 
Rendezvous mission and two planned comet missions. Yeomans has 
received numerous awards, and the asteroid 2956 Yeomans was named 
in honor of his professional achievements.

     "These comets and asteroids that can approach Earth can be 
either friend or foe," Yeomans said. "They have played a key role 
in the development of life on Earth and their collisions with 
Earth have wiped out many developing species. While sometimes 
threatening, these near-Earth objects can also supply the 
valuable raw materials necessary for the future colonization of 
the inner solar system."     

     The lecture at JPL, located at 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, 
near the Oak Grove Dr. exit of the 210 (Foothill) Freeway, will 
be held in the von Karman Auditorium. On Friday, the lecture will 
be held in Pasadena City College's Forum at 1570 E. Colorado 
Blvd. For more information, call (818) 354-5011.

     JPL, a NASA center, is a division of the California 
Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena.

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