Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:20,360
Our universe is an enigma,
2
00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,320
an endless, inexhaustible paradox.
3
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:30,600
It's largely...
4
00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,760
a dark, cold, and lifeless ocean.
5
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:45,280
But within this ocean,
6
00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:49,240
there are islands...
7
00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:53,760
blazing with light.
8
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,600
Galaxies, trillions of them,
9
00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,120
each one,
home to hundreds of billions of stars,
10
00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,000
and around many of these stars,
11
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,400
there are planets,
12
00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:27,880
alien worlds,
13
00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,000
each incomprehensibly strange.
14
00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,320
There are trillions
of planets in our universe
15
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:44,440
and one of them
16
00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,720
nurtured beings capable of
contemplating this cosmic drama,
17
00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,440
miraculously improbable,
18
00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,640
brief candles flickering
against the eternal night.
19
00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:12,960
As darkness begins to fall,
20
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,000
if you know that
all those points of light
21
00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,240
that appear one by one
in the darkening sky are distant suns,
22
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,840
then it's impossible
not to be overwhelmed
23
00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:25,960
at the sheer scale
and majesty of it all.
24
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,360
The universe
is infinite in all directions,
25
00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,000
and terrifying in all directions.
26
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,200
But if you can overcome your fear,
then questions arise.
27
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,760
And surely the most
profound question of all is,
28
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,280
"How did all this come to be here?"
29
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,960
That's a question
that's defined much of human history.
30
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,760
But it's only in the last century or so
31
00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,400
that we've had the intellectual
and technical tools
32
00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,880
to interrogate nature directly
in search of an answer.
33
00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,600
And we've found
that it looks, for all the world,
34
00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,360
like there was a first moment in time,
35
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:12,520
a beginning to the universe
13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang.
36
00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,600
For all the world, but not quite,
37
00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,640
because we've begun to suspect
that there's more to it,
38
00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,720
and we've embarked on
a heroic quest to search for
39
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,680
and to explore the time before the dawn.
40
00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,680
I can see
everything quite clearly. The light...
41
00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,600
It has a stark beauty all its own.
42
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:13,240
Magnificent desolation.
43
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,080
- Beautiful view.
- Isn't that something?
44
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,280
For all the people back on Earth,
45
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,000
the crew of Apollo 8
46
00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,160
has a message that
we would like to send to you.
47
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,600
In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth.
48
00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,240
And the earth was without form and void,
49
00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,040
and darkness was
upon the face of the deep.
50
00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,400
And God said, "Let there be light',
51
00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,160
and there was light.
52
00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,240
And God saw the light that it was good.
53
00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:22,840
Since we first became
conscious of ourselves,
54
00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,280
we've looked to the heavens,
to those mysterious lights...
55
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,040
searching for answers.
56
00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:45,760
What is the universe?
57
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,640
How did it come to be?
58
00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,240
And what is our place in the cosmos?
59
00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:58,320
We sometimes doubt
60
00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,120
the creation stories
that our ancestors told.
61
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,960
But those ancient myths
conceal a profound truth.
62
00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:19,040
The clues to the origins of everything
can be found out there...
63
00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:35,400
in light which ripples to us
from beyond the stars.
64
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,800
If we're going to dare to know
about the origin of the universe,
65
00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:56,800
then we have to have some evidence.
66
00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:00,920
And the connection we have
with the deep past is light.
67
00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,480
See, light travels very slowly
on the universal scale,
68
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,040
only 186,000 miles a second.
69
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,600
It takes light eight minutes
to journey from the sun to the earth.
70
00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,560
It takes four years for light
to journey from the next nearest star.
71
00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,160
And that means we see that star
as it was four years in the past.
72
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,160
So, the further out
into the universe we look,
73
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,240
the further back in time we look.
74
00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,680
And because we can look
way out into the distant universe,
75
00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,480
we can look back towards
the beginning of time.
76
00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,440
Go ahead, Charlie.
77
00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:47,536
Okay,
we have a go for release,
78
00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:48,920
and we're gonna be a minute late.
79
00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,120
Okay, Charlie.
80
00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,840
COX. In the quest to find the origin
of the universe,
81
00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,440
we need a time machine.
82
00:07:58,200 --> 00:07:59,800
This is Discovery.
83
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,360
We concur, Charlie.
84
00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,280
A telescope so powerful,
85
00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,720
that can peer out
so far into the universe,
86
00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,520
that it can capture
the most ancient light...
87
00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,800
The telescope's released.
88
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,280
...and carry us back...
89
00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:31,200
towards the dawn of time.
90
00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:34,200
Okay, Charlie.
91
00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,880
The Hubble Space Telescope
92
00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,440
has taken us on
an odyssey through the universe,
93
00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:01,680
revealing its gods...
94
00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:09,960
and monsters.
95
00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,960
Our universe is a place of beauty...
96
00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,160
and terror.
97
00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,600
Hubble has shown us
visions of sublime creation...
98
00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,960
and images of awesome destruction,
99
00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,920
illuminating our journey
backwards in time...
100
00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,000
towards the dawn.
101
00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,400
The Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery,
102
00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,840
clouds of gas nurturing newborn stars
in the Milky Way.
103
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:12,880
An image brought to us by light
that left the nebula 1,300 years ago.
104
00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:18,840
The Pillars of Creation,
105
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,360
towering, delicate structures,
light years tall,
106
00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,400
7,000 years ago.
107
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:34,880
The Andromeda galaxy,
108
00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,720
a glittering island of a trillion suns,
109
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:43,720
2.5 million years ago.
110
00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:56,480
A cosmic rose,
galaxies colliding in a celestial dance,
111
00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,480
300 million years ago.
112
00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,560
But Hubble's voyage
has taken us even further out
113
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:31,880
into the uncharted ocean of space,
114
00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,800
ever deeper into the darkness,
115
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,840
glimpsing countless ancient
and faraway galaxies.
116
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,440
Wild, and primitive shoals of stars,
117
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,960
lighting the way
to their primordial past,
118
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:38,960
until, finally, Hubble approached
the farthest shore,
119
00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,280
a galaxy near the dawn of time.
120
00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,000
This is a galaxy called GN-z11,
121
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,320
and it is one of the most
distant galaxies we've ever seen.
122
00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,680
This is light from some
of the first stars in the universe.
123
00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,560
It began its journey only
400 million years after the Big Bang,
124
00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:22,600
and it's taken 13.4 billion years
to reach us.
125
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:27,040
When you think about that, this light
journeyed through the universe,
126
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:32,280
and after nine billion years
of its journey, the earth formed.
127
00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,280
And then, during the whole history
of our planet,
128
00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,280
it completed the last third of
its journey and entered our telescopes.
129
00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,280
So, this is an image
from the edge of time.
130
00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:06,400
GN-z11 was one
of the very first galaxies,
131
00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,720
formed at a time when the universe
itself was taking shape,
132
00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:15,840
shortly after the Big Bang.
133
00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,920
GN-z11 was a strange galaxy
by today's standards.
134
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,800
Twenty-five times
smaller than the Milky Way,
135
00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,400
but filled with enormous, violent stars.
136
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,960
Lurking alongside these volatile giants,
137
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,520
there were other things,
138
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,320
delicate objects struggling
in the maelstrom,
139
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,760
some of the first planets
in the universe.
140
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,720
These were strange, primordial worlds,
141
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,760
and over the horizon
of one of them, a sun rose,
142
00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,480
marking a new chapter
in the history of the universe,
143
00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,920
the beginnings of a relationship
between stars and planets...
144
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,240
that would, billions of years later,
145
00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,360
on a faraway world,
146
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,440
lead to the origin of life.
147
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,480
Now, we don't know when or where
the first dawn broke in the universe.
148
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,440
But what we do know is that
the first dawn was not the first moment.
149
00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,200
The stars and planets
had to come from somewhere.
150
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:23,440
So, the first dawn was
preceded by long, dark night.
151
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,480
Astronomers call this era
the cosmic dark ages.
152
00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,800
If we continue to journey back in time,
153
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,840
we'd see shadows
fall across the universe.
154
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,160
The galaxies would disappear.
155
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,880
The first primitive stars
would be extinguished...
156
00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:04,680
one by one...
157
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:19,520
and darkness truly would
be upon the face of the deep.
158
00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:27,360
Here in the impenetrable gloom
of the cosmic dark ages,
159
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,840
our quest to understand
the origins of the universe...
160
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,000
would seem to end.
161
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,320
So, how can we peer
into the cosmic dark ages
162
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,400
to explore the origin of the universe?
163
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,720
Well, perhaps counter-intuitively,
164
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,560
the light from the stars
can still guide us
165
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,480
because that starlight has been
travelling across the universe
166
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,840
for millions or even billions
of years to reach us,
167
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:11,760
and information about the way
the universe has changed and evolved
168
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,480
becomes imprinted in that starlight.
169
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,920
The stars have illuminated
our voyage through time.
170
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,840
But their light can't guide us
directly across the dark ages.
171
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,200
Instead, their light can be used
to build maps of the universe
172
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:53,720
in space and time...
173
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,560
that allow us to navigate...
174
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:03,920
towards the moment of creation.
175
00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,680
And the most valuable light of all
176
00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:43,640
comes from very particular stars in
the spectacular swansong of their lives.
177
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,360
Stars exist
in a permanent state of conflict
178
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,560
because the force of gravity
is relentless.
179
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:11,360
Left to its own devices, it will crush
anything and everything without limit.
180
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,520
But fortunately,
other forces come into play.
181
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,000
As a star collapses, its core heats up
182
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,960
and turns into
a giant nuclear fusion reactor.
183
00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,720
Hydrogen is converted into helium
that releases energy
184
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,080
which creates a pressure
which holds the star up.
185
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,200
But stars like our sun
burn hundreds of millions
186
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,720
of tons of hydrogen
into helium every second.
187
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,320
And although they are big,
they're not infinite in size.
188
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,880
Stars, just like human beings,
have a lifetime.
189
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,280
They are subject
to the relentless march of time.
190
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:51,200
And for stars like our sun,
the collapse continues
191
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,880
until it produces a new
and exotic type of star
192
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,400
known as a white dwarf.
193
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,440
White dwarfs are strange beasts,
194
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,800
the fading remains of stars,
195
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,920
super dense, planetary-sized cores,
196
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,440
usually composed entirely
of carbon and oxygen.
197
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,440
Stars that were once a million times
the size of our planet,
198
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,080
crushed to the size of the earth,
199
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,440
subjecting the carbon
to extreme pressures,
200
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:52,440
and making white dwarfs,
in effect stellar diamonds.
201
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,960
These diamond stars
are critically balanced,
202
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,280
able to resist the relentless
inwards pull of gravity.
203
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:05,800
But only just.
204
00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,320
And that can make them
ticking time bombs.
205
00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:28,480
In 2018 Hubble was in orbit.
206
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:36,960
The telescope focused
on a galaxy far, far away,
207
00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,280
hunting for a distant white dwarf
208
00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:58,840
that we knew was coming to the end
of its extraordinary life.
209
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,280
For millions of years,
the white dwarf had remained hidden,
210
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,280
locked in orbit around
a much biggest star,
211
00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:36,600
a red giant.
212
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,000
As they circled each other,
213
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,920
the white dwarf's gravity drew in
gas and plasma from the red giant.
214
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,320
The mass of the white dwarf increased...
215
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,600
until it approached a critical limit...
216
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:21,760
known as the Chandrasekhar mass...
217
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:28,240
and surpassed it...
218
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:34,000
triggering a colossal
thermonuclear reaction.
219
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,360
The white dwarf detonated...
220
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,560
in a gigantic explosion
called a supernova
221
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,480
that millions of light years away,
222
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,120
was detected by Hubble.
223
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,120
That white dwarf star,
224
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,280
or to be more precise, the supernova
that it became, has a name.
225
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,800
It's called SN 2018gv.
226
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:33,040
And even though it is
70 million light years away,
227
00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:36,680
it is so bright
that we could make a movie on it.
228
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,400
I mean, imagine now, this is a star
the size of a planet
229
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,360
ending its life with a flash of light
230
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,680
that's as bright as five billion suns.
231
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,960
Now, although supernova like these
only shine for a few days,
232
00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,440
they cast a profound light
out across the universe.
233
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,480
We've given a name to
the sorts of supernova Hubble saw.
234
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,200
They're called Type 1a supernovae
235
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,960
and they're common enough to allow us
to map the evolution of the universe.
236
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,200
Type 1a supernovae
really are nature's gift to us
237
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,240
because they all explode
in the same way.
238
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,800
That means that they all shine
with the same brightness.
239
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,200
And that means that if we see one
that's dimmer, it must be farther away.
240
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:43,680
And that allows us to measure
241
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,400
the distance to the galaxy
that contains the supernova.
242
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,640
And because they shine so bright,
243
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,520
we can see them
tens of billions of light years away.
244
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,880
That means that we can measure
the distance to galaxies
245
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,680
all the way out towards the edge
of the observable universe.
246
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,200
But there's other information
encoded in the light.
247
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,680
When we look at the light
from distant supernova explosions,
248
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,880
we see something very interesting,
and very surprising,
249
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,320
because the light
from every single supernova
250
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:48,080
that's not in our neighbourhood
is redder that it should be.
251
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,080
The further away the supernova,
the redder the light.
252
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:52,480
It's called a redshift.
253
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,240
Now, light has a wavelength,
254
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,040
and the longer the wavelength,
the redder the light.
255
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:00,680
So, the explanation is that,
256
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,000
during the time the light has been
travelling from the supernova to us,
257
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:09,960
space itself has been stretching,
and that stretched the light.
258
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,360
And that means that
the universe is expanding.
259
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,760
In our quest to find the origin
of the universe, this is a vital clue.
260
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,760
Because if the universe
is expanding today,
261
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,200
then, tomorrow,
everything will be farther apart.
262
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,080
And it follows that, yesterday,
everything was closer together.
263
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:46,600
So, if we want to understand
how it all began,
264
00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,160
we have to wind back time
265
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,320
through billions of yesterdays.
266
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,440
We have to go back to a time
before the earth and the sun,
267
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,680
to a time before the galaxies,
268
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,440
and all the while,
the universe is shrinking,
269
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:39,280
getting ever smaller,
denser, and hotter,
270
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:45,160
until we arrive at the most famous
moment in the history of the universe.
271
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,600
Our universe is a place
of infinite variety.
272
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,600
There are galaxies of exquisite beauty,
273
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,520
stars of stupendous power,
274
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:40,000
and planets...
countless brave new worlds.
275
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,520
Galaxies, stars, and planets
276
00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,840
are the things that make
our universe remarkable.
277
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,560
They are the things that make it
more than a barren expanse.
278
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:26,440
How did a universe of light and life
279
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,440
emerge from the cataclysm
of the Big Bang?
280
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,600
Unfortunately, we don't know.
281
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,720
We don't even know
if the universe had a beginning.
282
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,480
But we do know a great deal
about how the universe evolved
283
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,000
from a very different state
a long time in the past.
284
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,880
We know that 13.8 billion years ago,
285
00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:55,080
this space that I'm standing in now
and the space you're standing in now
286
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,520
and all the space out to the edge
of the observable universe
287
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:03,440
containing two trillion galaxies
was very hot and very dense,
288
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,680
and has been expanding ever since.
289
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:10,920
Now, that implies that way back,
everything was closer together,
290
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,040
everything was contained
in a very small speck.
291
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,600
But how small was that speck?
292
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:18,760
How did it come to be?
293
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:23,320
Well, we used to think
that the universe emerged in that state,
294
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,040
very hot and very dense
at the beginning of time,
295
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,840
and we used to call that the Big Bang.
296
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:34,320
But now, we strongly suspect
that the universe existed before that.
297
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:39,880
And in that sense, it is possible
to speak of a time before the Big Bang.
298
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,840
So, what was the universe like
before the Big Bang?
299
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:02,560
The first thing to say
is that it was very strange.
300
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:11,440
There was no matter.
301
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,960
All that existed was spacetime
302
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,960
and energy, an ocean of energy,
303
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:23,320
almost still, but gently rippling.
304
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:35,280
Before the Big Bang,
305
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,840
the universe was a cold,
alien, featureless place.
306
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:48,200
Picture it as a near still ocean
of energy filling the void.
307
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,320
Although it contained no structures,
308
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:56,560
that energy did have an effect
on space. It caused it to stretch.
309
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,000
Not the gentle expansion we see today,
310
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,280
but unimaginably violent expansion.
311
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:08,200
That expansion is known as inflation.
312
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:17,480
Think of a speck,
a tiny, insignificant patch of space,
313
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,880
insignificant, except that
many billions of years later,
314
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:33,440
this speck would have grown to
become our entire observable universe.
315
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:41,240
The speck expanded at a phenomenal rate,
316
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:43,800
an exponential expansion...
317
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,840
that lasted...
318
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:55,480
Just a few billion, billion, billion,
billionths of a second.
319
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:01,800
Now, the speck continued to expand
320
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,160
until it was about
the size of this cave.
321
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:07,760
And then, inflation
drew rapidly to a close,
322
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,080
and all the energy in that ocean
that was driving the expansion
323
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,920
was dumped into space
and formed the ingredients
324
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,040
of everything
in our observable universe.
325
00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:21,960
I mean, imagine that.
A space about this size
326
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:26,280
filled with enough energy
to form two trillion galaxies.
327
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,960
That's what we call the Big Bang.
328
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,280
So the Big Bang was not,
329
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,880
as we commonly imagine,
some kind of explosion.
330
00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:52,520
It was actually
a transformation of energy into matter.
331
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:03,880
And the fossilised remains
of these momentous events,
332
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:08,480
the memory of the rippling ocean
of energy that drove inflation
333
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,680
became imprinted into our universe.
334
00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:17,560
In fact, these fossilised ripples
shaped our universe,
335
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:23,680
influencing where each galaxy
and star emerged,
336
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,880
each planet and moon.
337
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:33,480
But how do we know all this?
338
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,840
How do we know
that there was a Big Bang?
339
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,320
How do we know there were
340
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,040
ripples in an ocean of energy
before the Big Bang?
341
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:55,760
The answer is...
342
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:00,120
...that we've seen them.
343
00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,720
Planck scanned the entire cosmos
344
00:38:58,040 --> 00:38:59,600
looking for light.
345
00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:14,120
Not light from galaxies or stars,
346
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,680
but light from the beginning of time.
347
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,960
This is a photograph
of the distant past.
348
00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:53,360
It's the most ancient light
in the universe.
349
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:58,400
This is light that's travelled for
almost 13.8 billion years to reach us.
350
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,120
It's a photograph of the entire sky,
351
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:05,480
a celestial sphere, if you like,
every direction that we can look,
352
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,320
and it's been laid flat
so we can see it all.
353
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,320
It's called the cosmic microwave
background radiation,
354
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:14,680
and it's an almost featureless glow.
355
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:18,160
There were no stars
and no galaxies in this universe.
356
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:20,560
Now, you might ask the question,
357
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:23,400
"Well, if there were
no stars and there were no galaxies,
358
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:25,440
"then, where's the light coming from?"
359
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,360
The answer is, the light
is coming from the universe itself.
360
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,680
Because this is only a few hundred
thousand years after the Big Bang,
361
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,040
so, the universe was hot.
362
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:39,680
So, what you're seeing here
is the afterglow of the Big Bang.
363
00:40:55,640 --> 00:41:00,480
The most revealing thing
about this picture is the detail,
364
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:09,880
the variation.
365
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:23,360
This pattern is one of
366
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:26,920
the most important discoveries
in all of human history
367
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,120
because it represents
one of the necessary steps
368
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,520
in the story of how we came to be here.
369
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:46,880
See, that still ocean of energy
that drove the rapid expansion
370
00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:51,840
of space during inflation
could not be entirely still.
371
00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,240
There had to be ripples in the ocean.
372
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:58,440
It's a consequence of the laws
of nature, as we understand them.
373
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,600
And those ripples in the ocean
were imprinted into our universe
374
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,760
through the Big Bang
that emerged as those areas
375
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,080
of slightly different density
in the young universe.
376
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,720
And then, as the universe
continued to expand and cool,
377
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,480
the regions that were
slightly denser collapsed
378
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,760
to form the first stars and galaxies.
379
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,920
So, without those ripples,
we would not exist.
380
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:40,640
But there's one more extraordinary thing
about these ripples.
381
00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:44,640
And that's the fact
that we predicted them
382
00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:47,440
before we knew they existed.
383
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:53,880
And then, we ventured into space
to test our theory.
384
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:59,600
Planck's observation of the afterglow
of the Big Bang is strong evidence
385
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:02,640
for our outlandish creation saga,
386
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:10,280
the story of the speck,
the ripples, and inflation.
387
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:19,000
These ripples, then,
are the seeds of our creation,
388
00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:21,920
and we dared to guess that they exist
389
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,880
from our vantage point here,
on a small planet
390
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,240
13.8 billion years
after the moment of creation.
391
00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:35,280
And then, because we're scientists,
we decided to launch a spacecraft
392
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:39,960
out into space, and capture
the oldest light in the universe.
393
00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:43,240
And we saw that our guess was correct.
394
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,920
We dared to imagine
a time before the dawn,
395
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:51,960
and we proved that
our creation story is not a myth.
396
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:05,160
So, here is the creation story
as told by science.
397
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,760
In the beginning,
there was an ocean of energy
398
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:16,560
that drove a rapid expansion
of space known as inflation.
399
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:20,040
There were ripples in the ocean.
400
00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:29,960
As inflation ended, the ocean of energy
was converted into matter,
401
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:33,320
then the Big Bang.
402
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,880
And the pattern of the ripples
was imprinted into our universe...
403
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,240
as regions of slightly different density
404
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:53,440
in the hydrogen and helium gas
that formed shortly after the Big Bang.
405
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:16,920
The denser regions of gas collapsed...
406
00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:22,840
...to form the first stars...
407
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:37,920
and the first galaxies.
408
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,200
And nine billion years later,
409
00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:50,840
a new star formed in the Milky Way...
410
00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:54,720
the sun.
411
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,600
The star was joined by eight planets...
412
00:46:07,720 --> 00:46:10,520
including Earth.
413
00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:21,960
And nearly 13.8 billion years
after it all began,
414
00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:24,720
we emerged...
415
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:29,160
blinking into the light.
416
00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:01,680
"To see the earth as it truly is,
417
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:06,400
"small and blue and beautiful
in that eternal silence where it floats,
418
00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:09,800
"is to see ourselves
as riders on the earth together,
419
00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:14,440
"brothers on that bright loveliness
in the eternal cold,
420
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:19,240
"brothers who know now
they are truly brothers.”
421
00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:26,520
We all have moments of wonder.
422
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:29,680
We all dream.
423
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:35,280
Our thoughts float free,
soaring across the earth
424
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:38,960
and out into a canopy of stars.
425
00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:47,560
In our most reflective moments,
I think we all understand that
426
00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:51,800
small, though we are,
we are connected to the universe.
427
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:56,240
We are collections of simple atoms,
428
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:00,440
but atoms arranged remarkably,
429
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:08,800
with the urge to explore the universe,
and to comprehend it,
430
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:19,800
and celebrate our own place
in this great cosmic saga.
431
00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:30,200
And if we follow that saga back,
it takes us on a pilgrimage...
432
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:36,640
to a time before the dawn,
433
00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:47,440
and to strange ripples that existed
in a universe before our own.
434
00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:02,400
I think we all must wonder
about the meaning of it all.
435
00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:06,040
What does it mean to be human?
Why do we exist?
436
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:08,000
Why does anything exist at all?
437
00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,920
These do not sound
like scientific questions.
438
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:15,960
They sound like questions
for philosophy or theology, even.
439
00:49:16,600 --> 00:49:18,720
But I think
they are scientific questions
440
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:23,680
because they're questions about nature,
they're questions about the universe
441
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:27,560
and the way to understand the universe
is to observe it.
442
00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:31,560
And we've seen ripples in the most
ancient light in the universe,
443
00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:35,160
laid down by events
that happened before the Big Bang.
444
00:49:35,240 --> 00:49:40,720
We've seen billions of galaxies written
across the sky in a giant cosmic web.
445
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:44,320
And we've seen thousands of planets
orbiting around distant stars,
446
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:46,840
worlds beyond imagination.
447
00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:49,560
Now, the lesson to me is clear.
448
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:54,640
We won't answer the deepest questions by
being introverted, by looking inwards.
449
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:58,560
We will answer them by lifting
our gaze above the horizon
450
00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:02,480
and looking outwards
into the universe beyond the stars.
451
00:50:03,080 --> 00:50:07,600
We used to look to the sky
and see only questions.
452
00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:10,040
Now, we're beginning to see answers.
453
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:45,240
Hubble is a very special telescope.
454
00:50:45,320 --> 00:50:47,520
It's kind of like
the celebrity telescope
455
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:49,680
and for a really good reason.
456
00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:54,680
It was the first time that we were
able to launch such a powerful,
457
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:56,960
large optical telescope into space.
458
00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:03,480
The earth's atmosphere
kind of blurs out lots of our images.
459
00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:05,320
And so, by putting
the telescope in space,
460
00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:09,640
we get these precise,
crystal clear images of our universe.
461
00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:13,600
Three, two, one, and lift-off
462
00:51:13,680 --> 00:51:17,040
of space shuttle Discovery
with the Hubble Space Telescope,
463
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:19,600
our window on the universe.
464
00:51:19,720 --> 00:51:23,720
The feeling that you get
when the space shuttle takes off,
465
00:51:23,800 --> 00:51:28,040
there's just a sort of...
the sound and the vibrations,
466
00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:30,680
it's just incredibly awe-inspiring.
467
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:36,440
All rocket boosters
have done their job.
468
00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:38,960
Go ahead, Charlie.
469
00:51:39,720 --> 00:51:41,256
Okay,
we have a go for release,
470
00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:42,920
and we're gonna be a minute late.
471
00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:01,800
We were all sort of
sitting on the edge of our seats,
472
00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:03,840
waiting for the very first images
473
00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:06,960
where Hubble is showing us
what it can see in the universe,
474
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:12,360
and that turned into
an unexpectedly long wait.
475
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:16,680
Engineers have discovered
476
00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:19,400
that the giant telescope
has a warped mirror,
477
00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:22,600
which means the images
sent back to NASA are distorted.
478
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:29,320
We had this very, very
precisely engineered mirror,
479
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:33,920
but it had been very precisely
engineered to the wrong shape.
480
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:40,600
For the first three years in the life
of the Hubble, it wasn't producing
481
00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:43,640
the wonderful images
that everyone had expected.
482
00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:48,920
The solution
was the same solution
483
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:52,080
to the fact that as a kid,
I couldn't read the blackboard.
484
00:52:52,160 --> 00:52:55,800
The solution was basically
to fit the telescope
485
00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:59,800
with corrective optics,
or something analogous to spectacles.
486
00:52:59,880 --> 00:53:02,320
And we have a go
for main engine start.
487
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:07,400
Five, four, three, two, one,
488
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:11,840
and we have lift off,
lift off of the space shuttle Endeavour
489
00:53:11,920 --> 00:53:15,360
on an ambitious mission
to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
490
00:53:15,720 --> 00:53:18,001
It's kind of amazing
that we have to be able
491
00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:22,800
to position this optical equipment to
an accuracy of better than a millimetre,
492
00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:26,760
something that we'd have trouble doing
even on the ground, in your bare hands.
493
00:53:27,480 --> 00:53:30,440
Firm handshake
with Mr Hubble's telescope.
494
00:53:31,160 --> 00:53:33,160
We copy that...
495
00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:37,120
The Vice President and I
wanted to call you and congratulate you
496
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:39,680
on one of the most spectacular
space missions in our history.
497
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:48,200
And when Hubble opened
its eyes after they were corrected,
498
00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:52,520
the views that we were able to get
from that telescope changed forever
499
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:57,440
the way we understood and visualised
the universe that we live in.
500
00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:07,120
The pictures are remarkable.
The trouble with Hubble is over.
501
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:15,440
It's really hard
to remember what it was like
502
00:54:15,520 --> 00:54:17,480
before we had
the Hubble Space Telescope.
503
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:20,760
We've gotten so used to these
extraordinary photographs
504
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:23,840
of the near, of the far,
of the very, very far.
505
00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:30,960
I think, any time I look at
a Hubble image,
506
00:54:31,040 --> 00:54:32,840
my mind gets blown a little bit.
507
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:38,640
I was the kid that had, like, printouts
of Hubble images in their locker.
508
00:54:43,800 --> 00:54:48,480
Anybody, whether they have the heart
of an astronomer or soul of a poet,
509
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:51,240
they're going to find things
in the images from Hubble
510
00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:55,200
that just appeal to them
from the point of pure wonder.
511
00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:08,640
Hubble has
not only done the things
512
00:55:08,720 --> 00:55:12,040
that people expected and hoped it would,
513
00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:13,920
but it's actually done a lot of things
514
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:16,280
that nobody would have
dared to dream of.
515
00:55:19,560 --> 00:55:20,856
One of the biggest discoveries
516
00:55:20,880 --> 00:55:23,360
that came from using
the Hubble Space Telescope
517
00:55:23,440 --> 00:55:25,640
is that, not only is our universe
getting bigger,
518
00:55:25,720 --> 00:55:29,640
it's not just expanding and stretching,
it's actually getting bigger faster.
519
00:55:33,120 --> 00:55:37,560
We can well imagine that the universe
is going to continue to expand
520
00:55:37,640 --> 00:55:41,480
and get so big that, eventually,
the galaxies will just disappear.
521
00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:46,280
They'll be so far away from us and
moving so rapidly that we have no hope
522
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:49,840
of seeing any light from them,
and that's a real possibility
523
00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:51,920
for what could happen in the future.
524
00:55:55,240 --> 00:55:56,776
We still have these mysteries of
525
00:55:56,800 --> 00:56:01,400
what's really driving
this new phase of accelerated expansion,
526
00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:04,320
and we're building new tools
to try to refine those questions.
527
00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:23,000
The Hubble telescope
which was a marvel for its time
528
00:56:23,080 --> 00:56:26,200
is really far behind
what we would design today.
529
00:56:30,360 --> 00:56:34,400
It will be completely outclassed
by the next generation telescope,
530
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:38,760
the James Webb Space Telescope,
which will see even deeper than Hubble.
531
00:56:43,000 --> 00:56:47,240
And that will give us
unprecedented detailed views.
532
00:56:47,320 --> 00:56:51,240
We can use it to see through
some of the very dense,
533
00:56:51,320 --> 00:56:55,600
murky dust clouds and actually see
stars in the process of forming.
534
00:56:56,880 --> 00:57:01,280
We also can use it to look further
and further back in time.
535
00:57:03,640 --> 00:57:07,160
That's going to be a very, very exciting
story which is going to unfold,
536
00:57:07,240 --> 00:57:09,560
I think, within
the next three or four years.
537
00:57:21,160 --> 00:57:24,480
Hubble is still king
because it's still a big observatory
538
00:57:24,560 --> 00:57:27,560
in comparison
to what we've had in space before.
539
00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:31,800
Hubble is a unique instrument
for making discoveries that
540
00:57:31,880 --> 00:57:34,200
no other telescope
could possibly have made.
541
00:57:39,440 --> 00:57:42,040
I think, when you think
about an image of space,
542
00:57:42,120 --> 00:57:44,360
when you think about space,
you think of a Hubble image.
46021
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.