Geoff Marcy in the News
In case you missed it, journalist Kate Murphy wrote an article about astronomer Geoff Marcy’s personal tastes in reading, watching, listening, and purchasing in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times yesterday. Marcy recommends a new book about how to travel to extrasolar planets, called “Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration” by Paul Gilster. Check it out! Gilster thinks that one day, “solar sails” may be used to propel space ships to planets which are over 10,000 times farther away than than the planets in our own solar system.
Marcy’s recent purchases suggest two great gift ideas for budding astronomers. One is a Mova globe, which seems to float and spin effortlessly. The other is a $19 optical zoom telephoto lens that works with an iPhone 5, and can be mounted to a tripod that comes with the lens. Use the lens to spot planets and moons in the night sky!
