March 22, 1996 Jim Sahli Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Md. 20771 (Phone: 301-286-0697) NOTE TO EDITORS: 96-017 NASA GODDARD SCIENTIST AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS COMETS NASA Space Scientist Dr. Stephen P. Maran will be available Monday, March 25, 1996 to do interviews with local news media about the Comet Hyakutake, about comets in general and also about what observations that the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Md.) has planned for the Comet Hyakutake. Maran is Assistant Director of Space Sciences for Information and Outreach at the NASA Goddard and the Press Officer of the American Astronomical Society. An investigator of stars, nebulae, and comets, he has worked in recent years on the Hubble Space Telescope, the ASTRO-2 mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, and other NASA projects in astronomy and space science. Dr. Maran is the host of the NASA satellite TV program, "SPACE SCIENCE UPDATE" (previously called Space Astronomy Update) . Dr. Maran will be available at the NASA Greenbelt Visitor Center from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday. News media interested in interviews should contact Jim Sahli at 301-286- 0697 in advance to arrange for an interview. The NASA Goddard Visitor Center is located off of Soil Conservation Road in Greenbelt. -30-