DTM staff scientist Paul Butler and several of his partners in the search for extrasolar planets were interviewed at the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by KITV, Honolulu.  The interview aired on 24 November.

Two months after announcing the discovery of Gliese 581g, the first extrasolar planet that could potentially support life, Butler, former DTM postdoctoral fellows Nader Haghighipour (now at the University of Hawaii) and Eugenio Rivera (now at the University of California, Santa Cruz), along with team leader Steven Vogt (UCSC), were queried regarding their continuing planet-hunting research at the Observatory.  When asked by Catherine Cruz of KITV what was “the prize at the end of the day,” Butler replied, “More telescope time.”

Although a competing team of Swiss astronomers has issued comments casting some doubt on the existence of Gliese 581g, Butler and Vogt have vigorously defended their discovery.  Vogt added, “In 15 years of exoplanet hunting, with over hundreds of planets detected by our team, we have yet to publish a single false claim, retraction, or erratum.”

DTM Predoctoral Fellow Pamela Arriagada (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), who is working with Butler, was also present during the interview.