Space Scientist: Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler

Thirteen state-of-the-art telescopes stand on Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the Pacific basin, looming over the island of Hawaii. By day the view from the peak is of a rich blue black sky. By night, the pitch darkness is studded with starry diamonds. At nearly 14,000 feet, the mountain offers an untainted view of the heavens that is increasingly rare in a lit-up world, a view that makes an astronomer’s work a lot easier.