Steven S. Vogt
Encyclopedia
Steven Scott Vogt is an American astronomer
whose main interest is the search for extrasolar planet
s.
He is credited, along with R. Paul Butler
, for discovering Gliese 581 g
, the first potentially habitable planet outside of our own solar system.
He is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz
, and is known worldwide for designing and building HIRES, a high-resolution optical spectrometer mounted permanently on the W. M. Keck Observatory 10-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. HIRES is an instrument critical to observations and discoveries about the planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe. Vogt also built the Hamilton spectrometer at Lick Observatory
(with which most of the first extrasolar planets were discovered). In 1987, earlier in his career, Dr. Vogt invented the technique of "Doppler imaging
" for mapping the surface features of stars.
Dr. Vogt is currently a member of the California-Carnegie Planet Search Team
. This team is building a new telescope in the Lick Observatory, the Automated Planet Finder
, expected to be the most powerful in the world for detecting extrasolar planets. It will be able to track planets moving at velocities as little as 1 meter per second (the speed of a walking man). Vogt and his team are credited with detecting a majority of the 100 planets now known.
Dr. Vogt received his bachelor's degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley
, in 1972, his Master of Science degree in Astronomy from UT Austin
in 1976, and Ph.D in Astronomy from UT Austin in 1978.
He's been a member of the University of California Observatories (UCO) at Lick Observatory since 1978.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
whose main interest is the search for extrasolar planet
Extrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
s.
He is credited, along with R. Paul Butler
R. Paul Butler
R. Paul Butler is an astronomer who searches for extrasolar planets.He received a BA and an MS from San Francisco State University, completing a Master's thesis with Geoffrey Marcy, and then completed his doctoral studies at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1993...
, for discovering Gliese 581 g
Gliese 581 g
Gliese 581 g , also Gl 581 g or GJ 581 g, is a hypothesized extrasolar planet proven nonexistent by the Geneva Team, orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581, 20.5 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Libra. It is the sixth planet discovered in the Gliese 581 planetary system and the fourth...
, the first potentially habitable planet outside of our own solar system.
He is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, and is known worldwide for designing and building HIRES, a high-resolution optical spectrometer mounted permanently on the W. M. Keck Observatory 10-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. HIRES is an instrument critical to observations and discoveries about the planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe. Vogt also built the Hamilton spectrometer at Lick Observatory
Lick Observatory
The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
(with which most of the first extrasolar planets were discovered). In 1987, earlier in his career, Dr. Vogt invented the technique of "Doppler imaging
Doppler imaging
Inhomogeneous structures on stellar surfaces, i.e. temperature differences, chemical composition or magnetic fields, create characteristic distortions in the spectral lines due to the Doppler effect. These distortions will move across spectral line profiles due to the stellar rotation...
" for mapping the surface features of stars.
Dr. Vogt is currently a member of the California-Carnegie Planet Search Team
Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey
The Lick–Carnegie Exoplanet Survey is a search for exoplanets using the Keck I optical telescope of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The survey is sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation. The survey comprises a decade of observations. The survey is led by Steven Vogt, professor...
. This team is building a new telescope in the Lick Observatory, the Automated Planet Finder
Automated Planet Finder
The Automated Planet Finder Telescope is a fully automated 2.4-meter optical telescope under construction at Lick Observatory designed to search for extrasolar planets in the range of five to twenty times the mass of the Earth. The instrument will examine 25 stars per night. Over a decade, the...
, expected to be the most powerful in the world for detecting extrasolar planets. It will be able to track planets moving at velocities as little as 1 meter per second (the speed of a walking man). Vogt and his team are credited with detecting a majority of the 100 planets now known.
Dr. Vogt received his bachelor's degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, in 1972, his Master of Science degree in Astronomy from UT Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in 1976, and Ph.D in Astronomy from UT Austin in 1978.
He's been a member of the University of California Observatories (UCO) at Lick Observatory since 1978.
Planets discovered
- 55 Cancri f55 Cancri f55 Cancri f is an extrasolar planet approximately 41 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cancer...
, with coauthors Debra FischerDebra FischerDebra A. Fischer is a professor of astronomy at Yale University. Fischer has co-authored over 100 papers on dwarf and sub-stellar mass objects in the galactic neighborhood, including many on extrasolar planets. She is a principal investigator with the N2K Consortium searching for exoplanets...
, Paul ButlerR. Paul ButlerR. Paul Butler is an astronomer who searches for extrasolar planets.He received a BA and an MS from San Francisco State University, completing a Master's thesis with Geoffrey Marcy, and then completed his doctoral studies at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1993...
, Geoffrey MarcyGeoffrey MarcyGeoffrey W. Marcy is an American astronomer, who is currently Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, famous for discovering more extrasolar planets than anyone else, 70 out of the first 100 to be discovered, along with R...
(Vogt's first graduate student ), et al., published by Science DailyScience DailyScience Daily is a news website for topical science articles. It features articles on a wide variety of science topics including: astronomy, exoplanets, computer science, nanotechnology, medicine, psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, geology, climate, space, physics, mathematics,...
, November 6, 2007. - Gliese 581 gGliese 581 gGliese 581 g , also Gl 581 g or GJ 581 g, is a hypothesized extrasolar planet proven nonexistent by the Geneva Team, orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581, 20.5 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Libra. It is the sixth planet discovered in the Gliese 581 planetary system and the fourth...
, with co-investigator Paul Butler, September 29, 2010.
Prizes
- 1983
- Bergmann Memorial Award, for Vogt's High Speed Observations of Be Stars Associated with X-Ray Sources.
- 1995
- Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award - The award for recent observations using innovative advances in astronomical instrumentation, software, or observational infrastructure.
- 2002
- Beatrice M. Tinsley PrizeBeatrice M. Tinsley PrizeThe Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize is awarded every other year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics of an exceptionally creative or innovative character...
, for Vogt, Geoffrey Marcy, and Paul Butler on their Pioneering work in characterizing planetary systems orbiting distant stars. - Carl Sagan Memorial AwardCarl Sagan Memorial AwardThe Carl Sagan Memorial Award is an award presented jointly by the American Astronautical Society and The Planetary Society to an individual or group "who has demonstrated leadership in research or policies advancing exploration of the Cosmos." The annual award, first presented in 1997, was created...
- The award for an individual who has demonstrated leadership in research or policies advancing exploration of the Cosmos.
- Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize
Books
- Steven Scott Vogt. A magnetic study of the spotted UV Ceti flare stars and related late-type dwarfs. s.n.Sine nomine"Sine nomine" is a Latin expression, meaning "without a name". It is most commonly used in the contexts of publishing and bibliographical listings such as library catalogs, to signify that the publisher of a listed work is unknown, or not printed or specified on the work...
, 1978. - Steven Scott Vogt. HIRES, a high resolution echelle spectrometer for the Keck ten-meter telescope: phase C, HIRES core - Issue 57 of Lick Observatory technical reports. University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory, 1991
- Steven Scott Vogt. HIRES user's manual - Issue 67 of Lick Observatory technical reports. Lick Observatory, 1994.
- Steven Scott Vogt. A thorium-argon line atlas for the Keck HIRES spectrometer - Issue 88 of Lick Observatory technical reports. Lick Observatory, 1999.
See also
- Discoveries of extrasolar planetsDiscoveries of extrasolar planetsAn extrasolar planet is a planet located outside the Solar System. As of , astronomers have announced confirmed detections of such planets. This is a list of the most notable discoveries.-1988–1992:...
- Radial velocityRadial velocityRadial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight . In astronomy, radial velocity most commonly refers to the spectroscopic radial velocity...
- Science BuddiesScience BuddiesScience Buddies, formerly the Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation, is a non-profit organization that provides a website of free science fair productivity tools and mentoring to support K-12 students in science and engineering research projects, especially for science fairs...
External links
- Home page at University of California Observatories (UCO)/Lick ObservatoryLick ObservatoryThe Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
at Vogt's home page