Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths
For Andy the center of my universe VOW Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to Dr Geoffrey W Marcy who invited me to the W M Keck Observatory in Hawaii and patiently taught me about planet hunting He has always been available to answer my nonstop questions even from remote locations around the world His compelling story inspired me to write this book Special thanks to Dr Debra Fischer for her expertise on many topics and for kindly agreeing to read and comment on the manuscript The following scientists were also generous with their time and expertise Dr David Bennett University of Notre Dame Dr Paul Butler Carnegie Institution of Washington Dr David Charbonneau Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Dr Kevin P Hand NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Dr Jennifer Heldmann NASA Ames Research Center Dr Carolyn Porco Cassini Imaging Team and Dr Dirk Schulze Makuch Washington State University Thanks also to Koa Rice Hawaiian outreach and
cultural specialist and to the people at Keck especially Sarah Anderson senior engineering assistant observing assistants Jason McIlroy and Cynthia Wilburn and Ashley Yeager public information officer Sarah Anderson bundled me in warm clothing and drove me to the summit of Mauna Kea Her assistance friendship and beautiful photographs were invaluable I especially want to thank Andy Boyles my editor adviser and friend whose love of science and enthusiasm for the topic guided me through every step of this project I am grateful to my husband Andy my family Ted Alyssa Amanda and Jeff and my mom Millicent Nathan all of whom cheered me on along the way I also want to acknowledge my writing friends Diana Kekla Kitsy and Susan as well as my Vermont College teachers and my classmates Barb Debbie Rose Tami and Zu VOW Text copyright 2010 by Vicki 0 Wittenstein All rights reserved For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book please contact permissions highlights
ONE Hunting for Planets like Earth Sunset at the Keck Observatory on top of Mauna Kea W M Keck Observatory Hawaii As the sun sets on the summit of Mauna Kea a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii golden light bathes the huge domes anchoring each end of a narrow white building A halo of
