FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2006
Media Contact:
Michael Corby
904.632.3310

Mercury on the Move: see the smallest, fastest-moving planet race across the sun one day only at FCCJ Kent Campus

About 13 times each century it’s possible to see tiny little Mercury, our smallest planet (now that Pluto has been demoted) race across the face of the sun as it courses on its speedy orbit. On November 8, Mercury will be visible as a small black disk against the sun for about three-and-one-half hours, from 2 p.m. until about 5:34 p.m. FCCJ Kent Campus is inviting the public to safely view this phenomenon and learn a little more about another of our solar system’s star performers.

Dr. Mike Reynolds, professional astronomer and Kent Campus Associate Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, will offer a short presentation each hour beginning at 2 p.m., shortly before Mercury begins to appear to contact the sun at 2:12 p.m. Presentations follow again at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. Reynolds will share fun facts about Mercury and its place in the solar system. Telescopes provided by the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society will be set up on the top floor of the Kent Campus parking garage.

Reynolds recently offered another free public presentation in which Pluto’s status as a planet was pondered by more than 300 people. He is a former state teacher of the year, was a national finalist in the NASA Teacher-in-Space program. He is Executive Director Emeritus of the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland and author of numerous books and articles on astronomy. Reynolds was the 2002 recipient of the G. Bruce Blair medal, the “Nobel Prize” of amateur astronomy awarded to a living astronomer who has made an important contribution to amateur astronomy. His fifth book, “Binocular Stargazing,” makes astronomy and star-gazing accessible to anyone even without a telescope.

Kent Campus is located at 3939 Roosevelt Blvd. For more information call 904.381.3424.