InterViews

Geoffrey Marcy
astronomy
(recorded in 2003)

Geoffrey Marcy is the director of the Center for Integrative Planetary Science and a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. His search for planets elsewhere in the universe succeeded in dramatic fashion in 1996 with his discovery, with R. Paul Butler, of several large planets orbiting other stars, and in 1999 he was the first to find a system with multiple planets. Today Marcy, with Butler, directs the pioneering team at the Lick and Keck Observatories that has found the majority of known planets outside of our solar system. These discoveries have had a dramatic impact on astronomy, astrophysics and the search for life in the universe. Marcy, born in Detroit, earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1982. Before joining the UC Berkeley faculty in 1999, Marcy was a professor of physics and astronomy at San Francisco State University. Prior to that, he was a fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C.

Listen to the Interview (requires free RealPlayer software):

 TRACK 1
Marcy describes how he became fascinated with stars when his parents give him a map of the solar system and a used telescope. He then recounts how his academic pursuits were inspired by the Apollo missions and lectures by the astronomer Carl Sagan. (12 minutes)

 TRACK 2
Marcy recalls how he became disillusioned with his doctoral research on measuring the magnetic fields of stars, not knowing that the expertise he gained in high-resolution spectroscopy would be crucial to his life's work. Hitting a professional low, he decided to pursue a question that his colleagues at the time believed couldn't be answered: Do other planets exist, including ones like Earth? (10 minutes)

 TRACK 3
Marcy talks about how indirect observation can prove that something exists. He describes how he teamed up with Paul Butler at San Francisco State University, cobbling together resources and innovative techniques to hunt for planets. (9 minutes)

 TRACK 4
Marcy explains how he and Butler stayed motivated while going down many blind alleys before making their first discovery after 10 years of collaboration. He recounts finding their first two planets. (10 minutes)

 TRACK 5
Marcy describes the media flurry around his discoveries and the transition to the University of California, Berkeley. His next exciting pursuit, he says, is to try to locate a solar system with a planet like Jupiter, whose gravitational mass and orbit protects Earth from asteroids and comets. Such a planet would be a signpost that could aid efforts to find a planet similar to Earth. (10 minutes)

 TRACK 6
Marcy talks about new theories of planet formation and evolution, and how solar systems evolve over time. He predicts that within our lifetime, we will know if there are other planets like Earth in the universe. (13 minutes)

Last Updated: 07-19-2004