This summer, the University of California at Berkeley appointed him the head of its new Center for Integrative Planetary Studies, an interdisciplinary group of chemists, biologists, physicists and astronomers combining their efforts to look for life beyond our solar system. Marcy doesn't gloat, and he hasn't slowed down. Throughout his apotheosis, he has kept his eye on the technique and on the data, determined to keep finding planets. Stay tuned for more results of Geoff Marcy's play. He promises more solar systems soon, and more attention to smaller Earth-like rock planets, which are harder to find than huge gas giants like Jupiter.
Rocks are of special interest.
They're where the little green men should be. William Speed Weed is a freelance writer and radio producer living in San Francisco. All rights reserved.