Book Cover!
This seems like the perfect day to begin this blog. Today I received the pdf of the cover for my book, Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths!
After two and a half years of researching, interviewing experts, writing and revising text and sidebars, compiling the glossary and index, finding the images and arranging for permissions to use them, the book is almost in book stores. Yay! The release date is March 15, 2010.Here are some of the wonderful things that have happened as a result of writing this book:
1. I went to Hawaii! To research the book, I traveled to the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the Big Island, to the W. M. Keck Observatory. Keck is about 14,000 feet above sea level. It is freezing cold, but is gorgeous beyond belief. Bright blue skies hover above a blanket of thick clouds, and coffee-colored lava crunches beneath your feet. If there is a place on Earth that looks like Mars and feels as remote, this might be it.
Image credit: Sarah Anderson
2. I met Geoff Marcy, the extraordinary astronomer in my book, and Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. Geoff invited me to Keck, where I watched him planet hunt for several days. Hearing Geoff’s inspiring life story made me realize that the search for Earth-like planets had to be told through Geoff’s personal journey to becoming one of the most renowned planet hunters in the world.
Geoff Marcy in the control room at Keck Headquarters in Hawaii.
Image credit: Sarah Anderson
3. I got to know Andy Boyles, science editor at Boyds Mills Press. Andy is not only a first-rate editor, but a scientist and educator who truly cares about teaching children about the wonders on our planet and beyond.
4. I continue to love science, especially the study of the universe, astrobiology, and the search for life on other planets. My mind is already percolating on the next book . . .
Carina Nebula
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio
and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
5. Ditto for my love for research. As a former lawyer, I have always enjoyed researching and analyzing all the details of a topic. For me, there is nothing more exciting and satisfying than accumulating a roomful of research and synthesizing it down to its essence. Although when I see children reading my book, I might enjoy that most of all.
