Rockland Astronomy Club Presents Lecture, “Mars - An Earthlike planet?” at SUNY Rockland Community College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: October 12, 2007

CONTACT: Lisa Saunders

(845) 574-4244

Rockland Astronomy Club Presents Lecture, "Mars - An Earthlike planet?"
at SUNY Rockland Community College

Suffern, NY - A member of the Rockland Astronomy Club will lecture at SUNY Rockland Community College on how recent discoveries made by rovers and orbiters show similarities between Mars and Earth.

Keith Murdock, a software engineer and renewable energy systems designer, will present, “Mars - An Earthlike planet?” on Friday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m. in Academic 1, Room 1106, on the main campus in Suffern. Admission is free and open to the public.

Murdock will first give a grand tour of the Solar System, highlighting the dramatic variations in size, composition, climate, and geography throughout our planetary menagerie, and also how some planets, such as Earth and Mars, have a strong family resemblance. With this perspective, Murdock will then take a close look at Mars, highlighting its unique and dramatic geography, and recent discoveries by rovers and orbiters, including evidence for past presence of possible lakes and surface water flows. Lastly, Murdock will give some tips on how to get the most out of observing Mars during this year's favorable opposition in late December.

Murdock is the lecture series coordinator for the Rockland Astronomy Club and has been a dedicated amateur astronomer since 1996. He is a frequent lecturer on visual astronomy and planetary science. His recent astronomy expeditions include a trip to Hawaii in 2003, when he observed Mars during its closest opposition in recorded history from near the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 13,000 ft. In October 2005, Murdock used the 82” Struve telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas to locate and acquire the recently-discovered Planet 10 – an observation never before accomplished.

For more information, contact Saeed Safaie, SUNY Rockland Community College Professor, Science, at (845) 574 – 4534

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Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.