Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths
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
orange pink and magenta swirls overhead while below waves of clouds form a blanket so thick and wide that it looks like an ocean The weather on the shore is hot and humid But here at almost fourteen thousand feet above sea level temperatures rapidly drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit even in the summer No trees or plantS grow on the rounded hills Coffee colored lava and gray cinder cover the mountaintop and crunch underfoot as workers arrive Except for the occasional howl of the wind all is silent
Gentle hills in the background dot the remote summit of Mauna Kea They are known as pu u in Hawaiian Some are important cultural landmarks named for Hawaiian goddesses When the sky begins to darken a loud buzzer warns any technicians walking on the decks and catwalks inside the domes A motor drones as the top and bottom shutters of one of the domes open The dome rotates rumbling like a train as its steel wheels roll along a track at the base One of the twin telescopes at the W M Keck Observatory points to the stars The night s viewing is about to begin Farther down the mountain about two thousand feet above sea level lies the W M Keck Observatory Headquarters From there astronomers can operate the telescope using a real time video connection between headquarters and the observatory Tonight Dr Geoffrey W Marcy an astronomer who hunts for planets is at headquarters Jason Mcllroy an observing assistant mans the telescope on the summit Mist hides the sky from headquarters but Geoff Marcy isn't worried He studies a computer screen that details the weather conditions at the summit Wow the viewing is excellent Jason Marcy says into a
