Steven S. Vogt

Steven Scott Vogt
Born	20 December 1949 Rock Island, Illinois
Nationality	United States
Fields	Astronomical instrumentation Optical design High-dispersion spectroscopy Exoplanet hunting
Institutions	University of California, Santa Cruz UCO/Lick Observatory
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley (A.B., Physics, 1972, A.B., Astronomy, 1972) University of Texas at Austin (M.S., Astronomy, 1976, Ph.D., Astronomy, 1978)
Doctoral students	Geoffrey Marcy [1][2]
Known for	discovery of Gliese 581 g[3]

Steven Scott Vogt is an American astronomer^[4] of German descent whose main interest is the search for extrasolar planets.

He is credited, along with R. Paul Butler, for discovering Gliese 581 g, the first potentially habitable planet outside of the Solar System.^[5][6][7][8]

He is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz,^[9] 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.^[10] HIRES is an instrument critical to observations and discoveries about the planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe.^[11][12] Vogt also built the Hamilton spectrometer at Lick Observatory (with which most of the first extrasolar planets were discovered).^[13] In 1987,^[14] earlier in his career, Vogt invented the technique of "Doppler imaging" for mapping the surface features of stars.^[15][16]

Vogt is currently a member of the California-Carnegie Planet Search Team.^[13] 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).^[13] Vogt and his team are credited with detecting a majority of the 100 planets now known.^[12]

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.^[17]

He's been a member of the University of California Observatories (UCO) at Lick Observatory since 1978.^[9]

Planets discovered

• 55 Cancri f, with coauthors Debra Fischer, Paul Butler, Geoffrey Marcy (Vogt's first graduate student ^[2] ), et al., published by Science Daily, 6 November 2007.^[18]
• the controverted Gliese 581 g planet, with co-investigator Paul Butler, 29 September 2010.^[5]

Prizes

• 1983
  • Bergmann Memorial Award, for Vogt's High Speed Observations of Be Stars Associated with X-Ray Sources. ^[19]
• 1995
  • Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award ^[20][21] - The award for recent observations using innovative advances in astronomical instrumentation, software, or observational infrastructure.
• 2002
  • Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, for Vogt, Geoffrey Marcy, and Paul Butler on their Pioneering work in characterizing planetary systems orbiting distant stars. ^[22]
  • Carl Sagan Memorial Award ^[21] - The award for an individual who has demonstrated leadership in research or policies advancing exploration of the Cosmos.

Books

• Steven Scott Vogt. A magnetic study of the spotted UV Ceti flare stars and related late-type dwarfs. s.n., 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 planets
• Radial velocity
• Science Buddies

References

1. Overbye, Dennis (12 May 2013). "Finder of New Worlds". New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
2. Tim Stephens (4 September 2007). "Major gift supports crucial piece of Automated Planet Finder". University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
3. Kaufman, Marc (30 September 2010). "Astronomers find first habitable planet outside solar system". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
4. "NASA - Planets". World Book at NASA. NASA. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
5. Vogt, Steven S.; Butler, R. Paul; Rivera, Eugenio J.; Haghighipour, Nader; Henry, Gregory W.; Williamson, Michael H. (29 September 2010). "The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: A 3.1 M_⊕ Planet in the Habitable Zone of the Nearby M3V Star Gliese 581". arXiv:1009.5733.
6. Michael D. Lemonick (29 September 2010). "Found: An Earthlike Planet, at Last". Time. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
7. Dennis Overbye (29 September 2010). "New Planet May Be Able to Nurture Organisms". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
8. Associated Press (30 September 2010). "Could 'Goldilocks' Planet Be Just Right For Life?". National Public Radio. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
9. "Steven S. Vogt - Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics". University of California Santa Cruz. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
10. Dr. Steven S. Vogt. "HIRES: High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph". UCO/Lick Observatory. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
11. Dr. Steven S. Vogt. "The Keck I Telescope High Resolution Spectrometer". UCO/Lick Observatory. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
12. "Outstanding Alumnus Award". University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
13. "Staff & Advisory Boards". Science Buddies. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
14. "News from McDonald Observatory and the Department of Astronomy". Astronomy Program · University of Texas at Austin. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
15. "High-order nonradial oscillations on rapidly rotating early-type stars". Bibcode:1983PASP...95..599P.
16. "Doppler images of rotating stars using maximum entropy image reconstruction". Bibcode:1987ApJ...321..496V. doi:10.1086/165647.
17. Dr. Steven S. Vogt. "Dr. Steven S. Vogt". UCO/Lick Observatory. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
18. "Astronomers Discover Record Fifth Planet Around Nearby Star 55 Cancri". Science News. Science Daily. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
19. "Bergmann Memorial - List of Past Awards". Prof. Bergman Award. United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
20. "Past Winners of the Maria & Eric Muhlmann Award". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
21. "Honors and Awards". University of California, Santa Cruz Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
22. "MR. CARNEGIE'S IDEA". Carnegie Institution for Science. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2010.

External links

• Home page at University of California Observatories (UCO)/Lick Observatory
• Steve S. Vogt Refereed Publications PDF at Vogt's home page