Interview With Planet Hunter, Geoff Marcy

mindpixel writes "I was told as a child we'd never 'see' atoms or planets of other stars. Now with atomic force microscopes we 'see' atoms and with almost any telescope and statistics we 'see' planets. In the amazing online journal - Astrobiology - Planet-finding scientist, Geoff Marcy, describes just how it feels to find a new world."

Comments

Ground Breaking discovery

[Syncdata]

This "Doppler shift" indicates a star being tugged back-and-forth by an orbiting planet's gravity.
I like the way the put Doppler shift in quotes, as though they were indicating this was some fantastic new discovery, used only in the detection of extra-solar planets.
One of the most heinous offenses being committed today is the dumbing down of news-writing. Look, if someone is reading the paper, or a science website, chances are they have more than a fourth grade education. The days when people of that level read newspapers is dead and gone. Those people are watching TV news now. So punch up the writing. Don't feel the need to put a well recognized phenomenon in quotes (on a science oriented website no less).
Hell, even if this was a website oriented towards young students, they're probably above the fourth grade level if they are dealing with astronomy and the detection of extra-solar planets. And if I'm wrong about that, then why don't they explain more thoroughly what the Doppler shift is?
Sometimes I just need to take a deep breath, and tell myself that I'm not alone in this world.