Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, The Planets, and A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Universe are all written by Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947). She has written for a variety of publications, including Discover, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian, and The New Yorker. Her most memorable work at the Times required her to spend 25 days as a research subject in the chronophysiology lab at Montefiore Hospital, where she was kept safe by boarded-up windows and specially trained personnel. She also earned the 2004 Harrison Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in England and the 2008 Klumpke-Roberts Prize from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for improving public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1964 and has taught various science writing workshops at the university level, as well as a two-year residency at the University of California, Berkeley.