News Release

August 7, 1998

International conference on the Galactic Center to take place in Tucson,
AZ


The University of Arizona Department of Physics and Steward Observatory
will host a conference the week of September 7-11 to discuss the latest
research on the inner regions of our galaxy, including the mounting
evidence for a super massive black hole in the Galactic Center (GC).

The conference, named "The Central Parsecs", is bringing together leading
international astrophysicists for the express purpose of facilitating a
broad discussion between observers and theorists on newly available data
and possible interpretations, said Dr. Heino Falcke, of the
Max-Planck-Institut f|r Radioastronomie (Bonn), a conference co-chair.
Conference discussions will concentrate on the most recent results from
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST/NICMOS), radio telescopes (VLBI and VLA),
and theory groups. The workshop will focus on a number of controversial
topics currently being studied that relate to the inner 100 parsecs of the
galaxy.

To help encourage open debate between conference participants, the number
of participants has been limited to 60. In addition, the conference will
deviate from the conventional workshop format by reserving a large
fraction of session time for facilitated discussions.

The GC has been one of the most interesting regions for scientific
investigation by astronomers and astrophysicists since Carl Jansky first
identified it as the source of extremely strong radio emission in 1932,
said Falcke. "The GC provides a unique laboratory for studying galaxies in
general since it is the closest available galactic nucleus and therefore
can be studied with a resolution that is impossible to achieve in other
galaxies. It also contains a wealth of unusual and unique phenomena both
at the 10-100 of parsec scale and within the inner few parsecs," said
Falcke. 

Because of strong obscuration from the galactic disk, the central regions
of the galaxy are not accessible by conventional optical astronomy, and
therefore observational exploration of the GC had to await the era of
Radio, Sub-millimeter and Infrared Astronomy. Vast improvements in
technology have allowed high-resolution observations of the GC in the
near-infrared (NIR, 1-3 micron ), mid-infrared (MIR, 3-20 micron),
far-infrared (FIR, 20-200 micron ), sub-millimeter, and millimeter
resulting in remarkable progress towards obtaining the answers to long
standing questions in the last 5-10 years. 

According to Falcke, the GC is now known to harbor by far the best
candidate for a super massive black hole: Sgr A*. It also has been found
to contain a collection of some of the most luminous stars in the galaxy.
It contains the densest molecular clouds in the galaxy which seem to be
interacting with both hot gas and strong ambient magnetic fields to
produce filaments of nonthermal gas which are coherent over large (50-100
parsecs) distances. Therefore, "the Galactic Center provides a complex
laboratory for the study of galactic nuclei wherein each part seems to be
intimately linked," said Falcke. "In the last several years, large pieces
of the puzzle have been uncovered, and we are converging towards a unified
picture."

Conference participants will focus on various topics relating to the
possibility of a super massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
Topics to be covered include whether the possible black hole is really
"black" and whether the black hole "spits". "We really have a large
fraction of the major players in this field at the conference and we
expect quite a heated debate" says Falcke. 

In addition, the scientists will analyze data from the Hubble Space
Telescope camera NICMOS, new Keck observations, and VLA and VLBI radio
data.

"The Central Parsecs" will take place September 7-11 at the Sheraton El
Conquistador Resort and Country Club in Tucson, Arizona. It is jointly
sponsored by The University of Arizona Department of Physics and Steward
Observatory, Sonderforschungsbereich 328 (Heidelberg), the
Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie (Bonn), and the Galactic Center
Newsletter. Co-chairs of the meeting are Dr. Fulvio Melia (UA), Dr. Angela
Cotera (Tucson), Dr. Heino Falcke (MPIfR Bonn), and Dr. Wolfgang Duschl
(ITA, Heidelberg).

Journalists and science writers who would like to attend one or several
sessions should contact the organizers at gc98@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de or call
either Angela Cotera at (602) 315-1899 or Heino Falcke at 011 49 228 525
217 (Germany).

There will be ample time to contact individual scientists and if there is
an interest, special meetings with individuals or groups can be arranged
by the organizers.

Detailed information about the conference, including the participant list
and program, can be obtained at the official conference website,
http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/gc98, or by emailing the conference
organizers at gc98@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de. 


Contacts:	Angela Cotera
		Conference Co-Chair
		(602) 315-1899
		cotera@as.arizona.edu

		Heino Falcke
		Conference Co-Chair
		011-49-228-525-217 (Germany)
		hfalcke@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de

		Fulvio Melia		(Note: Dr. Melia will be out of
contact until August 11)
		Conference Co-Chair
		(520) 621-9651
		melia@physics.arizona.edu		

		Alaina G. Levine
		Communications Director
		(520) 621-4969
		alaina@physics.arizona.edu