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Earth.
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00:00:07,290 --> 00:00:10,360
The cradle of humanity
throughout our existence.
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But it won't be forever.
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00:00:21,670 --> 00:00:23,970
All it would take would be
one giant meteorite
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to wipe us off
the face of the Earth.
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It's not just meteors.
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Our planet will change.
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Our planet could freeze over
or it could heat up.
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And our sun will eventually die.
10
00:00:46,530 --> 00:00:51,870
We are actually near the end
of habitability of Earth.
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00:00:51,870 --> 00:00:56,570
To survive in this universe,
we need an insurance policy...
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00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,850
to colonize other worlds.
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00:01:03,850 --> 00:01:06,280
Having multiple planets
which are colonized
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00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,620
is really in our interest
for our own survival.
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So can we find
a new home in the galaxy?
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Can we find Earth 2.0?
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Captions by vitac...
www.vitac.com
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captions paid for by
discovery communications
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For centuries, we only knew
of the handful of planets
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in our own solar system.
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Now astronomers are finding
thousands of new worlds
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around alien stars...
Exoplanets.
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We are discovering exoplanets
by the bucketful.
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There are as many planets
out there as there are stars,
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and there are hundreds of
billions of stars in the galaxy.
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00:02:16,750 --> 00:02:19,890
But out of billions
of exoplanets,
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are there any that could offer
new opportunities
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for humanity to thrive
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and provide sanctuary
in a dangerous universe?
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Is there an Earth 2.0?
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Is Earth 2.0 out there?
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That would be truly amazing.
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August 2016.
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Astronomers announce
that Earth 2.0
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could be closer
than anyone ever expected...
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a planet orbiting the sun's
nearest stellar neighbor,
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the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
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So it turns out that our nearest
star neighbor has an exoplanet.
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It's only about
4 light-years away,
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so that means that it's actually
potentially possible for us
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to get there and to explore it.
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Scientists named
the planet after the star,
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Proxima Centauri B,
or Proxima B for short...
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a world that appears to be
a lot like Earth.
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From the way it's tugging
on the star, Proxima Centauri,
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we know that it has
1.3 times the Earth's mass.
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It's roughly the same size
as the Earth.
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Of the exoplanets we know about,
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most are uninhabitable
gas giants, like Jupiter.
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00:04:04,890 --> 00:04:10,670
Proxima B is a rare find,
an Earth-sized planet,
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00:04:10,670 --> 00:04:15,740
but an Earth-sized planet
might not be Earthlike.
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A true second Earth must also be
the right distance
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from its star.
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The habitable zone,
or some people call it
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the Goldilocks region,
is a distance away from the star
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where you're not so close
where you're going to burn up
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and evaporate
all of your liquids,
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and you're not so far away
where you're frigid and cold.
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So it's that special region
where it's just, just right.
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Does Proxima B
lie in this region?
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Could it have liquid water?
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Proxima Centauri B orbits
its star once every 11.2 days,
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so compare that to the Earth,
which goes around the sun
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once every 365 days.
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That's because the planet
is much, much closer to the star
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than the Earth is to the sun.
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Earth orbits
93 million miles from the sun.
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Proxima B orbits
20 times closer,
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under 5 million miles
from its star.
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You might think
that Proxima B should be,
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you know, really a fried world,
a burnt-out husk, if you will.
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But Proxima B�s sun is
very different than ours.
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At just over 5,000 degrees
Fahrenheit,
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it's half as hot
and roughly 8 times smaller,
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an m-class red dwarf star.
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An m-dwarf that Proxima B
is around is much less bright,
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much less hot,
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so you can orbit
much closer to that star
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and be at the same temperature
that we are here on Earth.
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Proxima B�s
tight orbit around the red dwarf
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could make the planet habitable,
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but it would be
very different from Earth.
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The star dominates the sky,
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lighting any oceans
and mountains
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with an alien red glow.
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So Proxima B may be
the Earth 2.0
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that we've been looking for.
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But in 2017,
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the dim red dwarf star
erupts in a way
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that's unlike anything
we've seen before...
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blasting the planet
with radiation...
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A megaflare.
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They're like solar flares,
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00:07:04,070 --> 00:07:05,910
but they can be
much more powerful.
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00:07:05,910 --> 00:07:09,910
In fact, they can outshine
the star itself.
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Our sun releases
powerful solar flares
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when its magnetic field
becomes tangled.
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But the megaflare is
10 times stronger
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than our sun's strongest flares.
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On an M dwarf star,
that magnetic field
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can get a lot more tangled
than on our own sun.
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That means that when a flare
happens,
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it can release
a lot more energy.
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Scientists believe
that megaflares like this
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are planet killers.
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Radiation tears
the atmosphere from the planet,
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and these megaflares hit Proxima
B roughly once every year.
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Red dwarf stars
are incredibly temperamental.
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They are not good parents
to their planets,
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so if Proxima B did have
an atmosphere at one point,
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it would've been stripped away
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by one of these
violent outbursts.
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Leaving Proxima B
dangerously exposed to space.
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An atmosphere dampens
the temperature gradients
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between light and shadow,
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so in sunlight,
it is just burning hot,
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but right next door in a shadow,
it is freezing cold.
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Without an atmosphere,
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Proxima B would
be a barren wasteland,
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blasted by intense radiation
from its star...
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Completely uninhabitable.
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Proxima B, our perhaps best shot
at finding Earth 2.0 so far,
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00:09:03,790 --> 00:09:06,030
is actually
a dried out husk of a world
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that has lost its atmosphere,
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maybe lost any water
that it also harbored,
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simply by being that close
to its parent star.
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Proxima B may be
the nearest exoplanet,
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but it's not the only option.
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The future of humanity may lie
in an incredible star system
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just 40 light-years away.
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We've just found
a really exciting system
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where there's not just one
chance to have a new Earth,
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but seven.
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In an unforgiving galaxy,
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finding Earth 2.0 could be
the difference
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between extinction and survival.
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It's a pretty wild place
out there.
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Our planet is not going
to be here forever,
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and it would be wonderful
if we could find a place like it
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so that we could live.
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The future of humanity
lies on an alien exoplanet.
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The question is, where?
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2016.
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Astronomers scan the skies
with the new
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transiting planets and
planetesimals small telescope,
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or Trappist.
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They look for the flickering
of a star
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caused by the silhouette
of a planet.
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The planet can pass in front
of the disk of its star
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once per orbit,
causing a little mini eclipse,
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a little dimming temporarily
in the light of the star.
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Scientists spot the dimming
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of a nearby red dwarf star
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just 40 light-years from Earth,
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the first alien system
detected by the telescope,
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the incredible
Trappist-1 system.
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00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:28,900
The Trappist-1 discovery
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was a really great
bang for our buck in a sense...
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Because we found
seven exoplanets all at once.
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But are
any of these seven planets
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actually habitable?
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With the worlds
of the Trappist system,
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there's probably
a range of climates.
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The innermost ones
are probably very hot.
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You might even be looking
at lava worlds.
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Farther away,
they're probably worlds of ice.
167
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But the middle
planets... D, E, and F...
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Are all prime candidates.
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00:12:07,580 --> 00:12:10,080
It's exciting to think that
three of the planets
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orbiting Trappist-1
are in the "habitable zone,"
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are at the right distance
from that star
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to have liquid water
on their surface.
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And one planet stands out
as a new Earth,
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orbiting just 2.7 million miles
from the star...
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Trappist-1E.
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The composition of Trappist-1E
suggests that it could have
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a pretty significant iron core,
kind of like the Earth does.
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There's a potential there for
a very powerful magnetic field.
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Like Earth, Trappist-1E
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could host
a protective magnetic field,
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deflecting the harsh solar winds
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and powerful outbursts
that strip away atmospheres.
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00:12:59,830 --> 00:13:01,500
So magnetic field
is a good thing.
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It's a kind of a protection
from the evil forces of the star
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that you're orbiting around.
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And unlike Proxima Centauri,
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the Trappist-1 star
appears unusually quiet.
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00:13:15,510 --> 00:13:18,710
Trappist-1 is actually
a very old, much calmer star
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and doesn't undergo a lot
of these huge flares
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00:13:21,250 --> 00:13:23,080
like Proxima Centauri does.
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00:13:23,090 --> 00:13:25,850
And so it's a somewhat perhaps
better system to look
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for an Earthlike planet,
an Earth 2.0.
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00:13:33,100 --> 00:13:36,060
The data suggests
that Trappist-1E
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could have vast oceans,
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00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,670
a protective atmosphere,
and habitable temperatures.
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But living here would be nothing
like living on Earth.
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The thing to keep in
mind about the Trappist system
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is that it's very unlike
our own.
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00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,460
The planets are much closer in,
so because they're closer in,
200
00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:08,460
their orbits
are faster and smaller.
201
00:14:08,460 --> 00:14:12,770
On Trappist-1E, an entire year
202
00:14:12,770 --> 00:14:15,300
takes just 6 Earth days.
203
00:14:15,300 --> 00:14:17,040
Can you imagine you're just
basically tearing
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00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,670
your calendar days off day after
day after day really quickly?
205
00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,740
Your birthday would be today
and then tomorrow.
206
00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:24,180
Happy birthday, again!
207
00:14:24,180 --> 00:14:26,110
Wedding anniversaries,
you're constantly forgetting
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00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:30,580
your wedding anniversary,
and it would be hard.
209
00:14:30,590 --> 00:14:33,590
And on this strange and alien
world,
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00:14:33,590 --> 00:14:39,860
explorers would witness sights
unlike anything seen before.
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00:14:39,860 --> 00:14:43,160
In a lot of ways, it really is
sort of a science fiction sky,
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the kind of things
that are envisioned in movies.
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00:14:45,940 --> 00:14:48,800
You could look up and see
the other planets in your sky
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00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,740
much like how we can see
our own moon.
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00:14:51,740 --> 00:14:54,480
You could physically resolve
features on the surface
216
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:58,610
such as continents
with your own eyes.
217
00:14:58,610 --> 00:15:03,480
But could this planet
be too good to be true?
218
00:15:03,490 --> 00:15:07,720
So we could have a potentially
habitable planet
219
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that's really close to its star,
220
00:15:09,660 --> 00:15:12,430
but other issues arise
when you have a solar system
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that's that compressed,
222
00:15:14,100 --> 00:15:17,730
and one of those is
the potential for tidal locking.
223
00:15:20,900 --> 00:15:24,200
Orbiting just a few
million miles from the star,
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00:15:24,210 --> 00:15:30,810
Trappist-1E is likely tidally
locked with one side
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00:15:30,810 --> 00:15:34,680
facing the star forever.
226
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,250
So you could imagine a situation
where, gosh, it's constant day
227
00:15:38,250 --> 00:15:39,920
and it might just
produce something
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that's like a scorched Earth,
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00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,820
kind of like what we see
behind me,
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but on the other side,
it is constant night,
231
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and so in that case,
it might just be, like,
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00:15:48,260 --> 00:15:51,870
a frozen wasteland.
233
00:15:51,870 --> 00:15:56,870
And Trappist-1E's problems
get even more extreme.
234
00:15:56,870 --> 00:16:00,340
If you have a permanent day side
and a permanent night side,
235
00:16:00,340 --> 00:16:03,280
the night side of the planet
is going to get so cold
236
00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,780
that everything just freezes
out, including the atmosphere.
237
00:16:10,750 --> 00:16:13,520
The gases of Trappist-1E's
atmosphere
238
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:15,990
could freeze into solid ice
239
00:16:15,990 --> 00:16:19,890
on the frigid night
side of the planet,
240
00:16:19,900 --> 00:16:24,830
and the gases on the day side
burn away.
241
00:16:24,830 --> 00:16:31,070
The atmosphere thins
and eventually disappears,
242
00:16:31,070 --> 00:16:38,180
and Trappist-1E ends up
completely inhospitable.
243
00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:41,920
So even though we found maybe
a perfect planet around a star,
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00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,650
the type of star
and where it's orbiting
245
00:16:43,650 --> 00:16:45,490
could have
a really important effect
246
00:16:45,490 --> 00:16:48,120
as to whether or not
that planet might be habitable.
247
00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,460
Despite its apparent potential,
248
00:16:53,460 --> 00:16:58,570
our future is not
in the Trappist-1 system.
249
00:16:58,570 --> 00:17:03,640
The search for truly
Earthlike planets continues.
250
00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:08,140
In the Trappist-1 system,
we find a very Earthlike world,
251
00:17:08,140 --> 00:17:11,380
but the star its orbiting
is not very sunlike.
252
00:17:11,380 --> 00:17:14,350
So what we should
be looking for, perhaps,
253
00:17:14,350 --> 00:17:17,480
is a Earthlike planet
around a sunlike star.
254
00:17:19,590 --> 00:17:25,830
To find Earth 2.0,
we need a sun 2.0.
255
00:17:44,980 --> 00:17:47,380
The Milky Way...
256
00:17:47,380 --> 00:17:50,720
Home to hundreds of billions
of stars...
257
00:17:53,020 --> 00:17:57,090
ranging from dim,
explosive red dwarves...
258
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,060
to short-lived blazing giants.
259
00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:13,110
But in the middle are stars
like our sun.
260
00:18:13,110 --> 00:18:16,280
Strictly speaking,
if we really want Earth 2.0,
261
00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:20,510
we need to look for planets
around stars like our sun.
262
00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,550
Stars like our sun
263
00:18:22,550 --> 00:18:25,490
are calm and stable with
long lives...
264
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,190
and the habitable zone
lies far enough away
265
00:18:31,190 --> 00:18:35,200
that planets avoid
tidal locking.
266
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:38,800
We stand a much better chance
of colonizing a planet
267
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,870
around a sunlike star.
268
00:18:41,870 --> 00:18:46,170
We're hunting for planets
in the habitable zone of stars
269
00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:50,840
like our own sun,
and we have found worlds there.
270
00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:00,320
Worlds like Kepler-452B,
271
00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,420
an exoplanet
1,800 light-years away,
272
00:19:04,430 --> 00:19:08,460
orbiting the same type of star
as our sun.
273
00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:13,030
You really couldn't ask
for a more Earthlike orbit
274
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:14,370
around this star.
275
00:19:14,370 --> 00:19:18,110
The year is about 385 days.
We're 365 days.
276
00:19:18,110 --> 00:19:21,810
This really is very much
like the Earth.
277
00:19:21,810 --> 00:19:25,450
The planet orbits its star
at roughly the same distance
278
00:19:25,450 --> 00:19:28,980
as the Earth orbits the sun,
279
00:19:28,980 --> 00:19:31,790
and could be
very much like home.
280
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:38,630
Kepler-452B is in
the habitable zone of its star,
281
00:19:38,630 --> 00:19:40,760
so if there is
liquid water there,
282
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,500
there could be oceans and lakes
and rivers and streams
283
00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:48,240
and blue skies and cloudy days.
284
00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:54,710
Sounds nice, but Kepler-452B
285
00:19:54,710 --> 00:19:56,740
is a lot larger than Earth.
286
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:04,050
Kepler-452B is
a great Earth 2.0 candidate,
287
00:20:04,050 --> 00:20:09,220
but it's sort of like
Earth on steroids.
288
00:20:09,230 --> 00:20:14,130
This world is about 5 times
more massive than our own planet
289
00:20:14,130 --> 00:20:17,930
and about 60% wider.
290
00:20:17,930 --> 00:20:22,240
Scientists call
large worlds like Kepler-452B
291
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:23,640
super-Earths.
292
00:20:27,710 --> 00:20:29,180
These worlds are maybe
293
00:20:29,180 --> 00:20:31,610
1.5 or 2 times
the size of the Earth,
294
00:20:31,610 --> 00:20:35,520
with maybe as much
as 10 times the mass.
295
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,620
Could this
super-sized Earthlike planet
296
00:20:38,620 --> 00:20:40,990
be our second home?
297
00:20:40,990 --> 00:20:43,160
A planet like this seems to meet
298
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,230
a lot of our standards
for an Earth 2.0.
299
00:20:45,230 --> 00:20:47,830
It's around a star like our sun.
300
00:20:47,830 --> 00:20:50,930
It's smack-dab in the middle
of the habitable zone.
301
00:20:50,930 --> 00:20:53,430
The problem is there
are other factors at play.
302
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,100
One of those is simply
the mass of the planet.
303
00:21:02,650 --> 00:21:04,780
Kepler-452B's size
304
00:21:04,780 --> 00:21:09,050
has an extreme effect
on its gravity.
305
00:21:09,050 --> 00:21:12,990
Because of its incredible mass,
the gravity on the surface
306
00:21:12,990 --> 00:21:16,860
is about twice
what we feel here on the Earth.
307
00:21:18,930 --> 00:21:20,730
That extra gravity
308
00:21:20,730 --> 00:21:24,400
would make colonizing the planet
difficult.
309
00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:25,870
Just about any chore
you could imagine
310
00:21:25,870 --> 00:21:27,870
doing that you don't
like doing on the Earth,
311
00:21:27,870 --> 00:21:30,840
you're going to like it
even less on a planet like that.
312
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,340
When the garbage can weighs
twice as much as it does here
313
00:21:33,340 --> 00:21:35,880
on the Earth, that's not going
to be very much fun.
314
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,310
Maybe LeBron James and I
will be okay,
315
00:21:38,310 --> 00:21:42,050
but normal humans,
I'm not so sure.
316
00:21:43,450 --> 00:21:47,020
And we could be stuck
on the planet's surface.
317
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:51,260
If you landed on the surface
of one of these super-Earths,
318
00:21:51,260 --> 00:21:53,690
it'd be pretty easy
to get down onto the surface,
319
00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:57,260
but it would be very difficult
to get back up.
320
00:21:57,270 --> 00:21:59,400
It's already
incredibly difficult
321
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:00,700
for us to leave the Earth.
322
00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:03,640
Think of our giant engines
and rockets,
323
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,670
these incredible miracles
of engineering
324
00:22:05,670 --> 00:22:07,870
that we need to blast off.
325
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,080
You need twice that
to get off of Kepler-452B.
326
00:22:15,450 --> 00:22:19,990
And to make matters worse,
Kepler-452B's atmosphere
327
00:22:19,990 --> 00:22:24,090
is thought to be radically
different from Earth's.
328
00:22:24,090 --> 00:22:25,960
In some sense,
how big the planet is,
329
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:30,100
how massive it is will determine
what its atmosphere is like.
330
00:22:30,100 --> 00:22:32,270
If you have a lot of mass
and a lot of gravity,
331
00:22:32,270 --> 00:22:34,300
you can hold onto a lot of air.
332
00:22:34,300 --> 00:22:36,900
You can have
a much larger atmosphere,
333
00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:40,510
much thicker, much denser, and
higher pressure at the surface.
334
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:47,550
The thick atmosphere
could trap heat from the star.
335
00:22:47,550 --> 00:22:51,050
Surface temperatures become
ferociously hot,
336
00:22:51,050 --> 00:22:52,590
and crushing pressures
337
00:22:52,590 --> 00:22:57,090
make the surface
completely uninhabitable.
338
00:22:57,090 --> 00:22:59,860
So it's possible this planet has
a very thick atmosphere
339
00:22:59,860 --> 00:23:02,560
that's become more of
a runaway greenhouse effect.
340
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,130
The planet has gotten hotter
and hotter over time.
341
00:23:05,130 --> 00:23:07,130
Maybe instead of finding
an Earth 2.0,
342
00:23:07,140 --> 00:23:09,700
what we've found is a Venus 2.0.
343
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,210
Super-Earths may have
an appealing name,
344
00:23:18,210 --> 00:23:22,420
but their intense gravity would
make them difficult to live on,
345
00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:26,050
and we could not survive
in their thick atmospheres.
346
00:23:31,990 --> 00:23:34,960
So far, all the worlds
we've found have turned out
347
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,630
to be uninhabitable,
348
00:23:38,630 --> 00:23:44,440
but what if our new home
is not a planet?
349
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,210
Earth 2.0 may not be
an exoplanet at all.
350
00:23:48,210 --> 00:23:50,510
It might be an exomoon.
351
00:24:09,900 --> 00:24:12,600
We live in
a cosmic shooting range
352
00:24:14,670 --> 00:24:17,170
where planets die every day,
353
00:24:19,740 --> 00:24:26,010
but backup planets like our own
seem almost impossible to find.
354
00:24:26,010 --> 00:24:30,180
Have we been looking for
the wrong thing?
355
00:24:30,190 --> 00:24:32,020
I think there's
a pretty good chance
356
00:24:32,020 --> 00:24:35,560
that Earth 2.0 might not be
a planet per Se,
357
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,130
but actually a moon
of a giant planet.
358
00:24:39,130 --> 00:24:40,460
The exciting thing
about an exomoon
359
00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:42,960
is that they could
potentially be habitable.
360
00:24:42,970 --> 00:24:44,160
So is it possible
361
00:24:44,170 --> 00:24:46,100
that as we look
at different solar systems,
362
00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:50,340
the real analog for Earth 2.0
will turn out to be an exomoon?
363
00:24:56,750 --> 00:24:59,710
2017.
364
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,780
The Kepler telescope
scanned a sunlike star
365
00:25:02,780 --> 00:25:05,250
8,000 light-years away,
366
00:25:05,250 --> 00:25:07,990
and professor David kipping
and his team
367
00:25:07,990 --> 00:25:17,360
watched the transiting
exoplanet Kepler-1625B.
368
00:25:17,370 --> 00:25:22,240
Kepler-1625 was one of
the many thousands of planets
369
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,240
discovered by Kepler,
370
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,910
but what made it different
from our perspective
371
00:25:26,910 --> 00:25:29,510
as a moon hunter
was that this is a planet
372
00:25:29,510 --> 00:25:32,910
which was Jupiter-sized,
far away from its star,
373
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,080
and apparently
on a near-circular orbit,
374
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,020
so everything that we want
for finding exomoons.
375
00:25:43,890 --> 00:25:47,160
The exoplanet Kepler-1625B
376
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,700
is an uninhabitable gas giant,
like Jupiter.
377
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,040
But it is in the habitable zone,
378
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,910
and that means its moons
would be, too.
379
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,250
Unfortunately, these exomoons
are incredibly hard to see.
380
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,350
The way that Kepler
finds exoplanets out there
381
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,260
really does relate
to the size of the planet,
382
00:26:16,260 --> 00:26:17,860
and for moons, it's much,
much more difficult
383
00:26:17,860 --> 00:26:20,990
because it's smaller
so it's harder to detect.
384
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,000
The largest moon
in the solar system
385
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,760
is Ganymede around Jupiter.
386
00:26:24,770 --> 00:26:27,370
It's about 40%
the size of the Earth,
387
00:26:27,370 --> 00:26:31,270
and we really very rarely
detect planets that small.
388
00:26:31,270 --> 00:26:33,640
So, of course,
looking for exomoons
389
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,580
is going to be very,
very challenging.
390
00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,620
In 2018, the team recruited
391
00:26:43,620 --> 00:26:47,020
the powerful
Hubble space telescope
392
00:26:47,020 --> 00:26:50,960
and used the data to hunt
for the tiny silhouette
393
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,030
of any moons.
394
00:26:54,030 --> 00:26:56,160
If you have an exomoon
orbiting a planet,
395
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,160
sometimes it's going to
lead the planet
396
00:26:58,170 --> 00:26:59,730
when it transits the star,
397
00:26:59,740 --> 00:27:01,500
and sometimes it's going
to trail behind
398
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:03,040
as it transits the star,
399
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,870
and you see a little bump
in the transit dip itself
400
00:27:05,870 --> 00:27:07,570
at different places.
401
00:27:09,410 --> 00:27:12,980
And the team detected
the signal...
402
00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:18,490
Not one, but two objects
orbiting together,
403
00:27:18,490 --> 00:27:23,460
confirmation of the first
exomoon ever discovered.
404
00:27:33,070 --> 00:27:35,640
It was an amazing discovery.
405
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:37,940
I've been looking for exomoons
my entire career.
406
00:27:37,940 --> 00:27:40,510
For 10 years, we have been
in this quest to try
407
00:27:40,510 --> 00:27:42,910
and find these things.
408
00:27:42,910 --> 00:27:44,240
This discovery,
409
00:27:44,250 --> 00:27:47,910
this announcement
was absolutely remarkable.
410
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,950
Not only does it mean
that we might find
411
00:27:49,950 --> 00:27:52,020
Earth twins everywhere
in the Milky Way,
412
00:27:52,020 --> 00:27:53,890
but it gives us
something to strive for,
413
00:27:53,890 --> 00:27:55,490
for human exploration.
414
00:28:00,460 --> 00:28:03,260
On this alien exomoon,
415
00:28:03,270 --> 00:28:06,570
the skies would be nothing
like Earth's.
416
00:28:06,570 --> 00:28:07,870
Visually, I think it would be
417
00:28:07,870 --> 00:28:09,570
an absolutely stunning place
to be.
418
00:28:09,570 --> 00:28:12,110
You look up in the sky,
and you see this ringed planet
419
00:28:12,110 --> 00:28:14,340
looming huge in the sky.
420
00:28:17,810 --> 00:28:21,280
A world that could
be like Earth,
421
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,220
only orbiting another planet.
422
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,330
But don't pack your space suit
just yet.
423
00:28:34,330 --> 00:28:35,900
Even though the planet
and the moon
424
00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:37,630
are potentially
the right distance
425
00:28:37,630 --> 00:28:39,400
away from the star
that we might imagine
426
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,800
there being liquid water
on the surface,
427
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:45,140
both the moon and the planet
are likely gaseous objects
428
00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:47,640
with no solid surface
to speak of.
429
00:28:50,110 --> 00:28:53,050
Although the moon
probably isn't habitable,
430
00:28:53,050 --> 00:28:55,480
it is an important step
for finding worlds
431
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,250
like our own in the galaxy.
432
00:28:59,250 --> 00:29:02,120
If we find exomoons
around exoplanets,
433
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,520
that potentially
hugely increases
434
00:29:04,530 --> 00:29:07,660
the number of habitable worlds
that are out there.
435
00:29:07,660 --> 00:29:09,360
We just need more accurate
measurements,
436
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:10,730
and then all of a sudden,
437
00:29:10,730 --> 00:29:13,000
the universe is going to be
full of exomoons.
438
00:29:18,470 --> 00:29:20,310
But these worlds need to be more
439
00:29:20,310 --> 00:29:24,310
than just Earth look-alikes.
440
00:29:24,310 --> 00:29:25,710
Everyone gets very excited
441
00:29:25,710 --> 00:29:28,380
when we find Earthlike planets
around other stars,
442
00:29:28,380 --> 00:29:31,350
but "Earthlike" kind of
just means how big it is
443
00:29:31,350 --> 00:29:33,550
and whether it can support
liquid water
444
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,690
where it is in relation
to its star.
445
00:29:35,690 --> 00:29:39,690
All of that is great,
but it's just not enough.
446
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,200
A planet's composition
could be make-or-break
447
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,970
for our new home...
448
00:29:50,110 --> 00:29:53,440
the difference between
the perfect world
449
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,380
and a ticking time bomb.
450
00:30:15,630 --> 00:30:19,970
The hunt for Earth 2.0
is still on.
451
00:30:19,970 --> 00:30:23,700
We've examined intense,
red dwarf systems...
452
00:30:24,970 --> 00:30:31,510
massive super-Earths,
and alien exomoons
453
00:30:31,510 --> 00:30:36,280
but so far,
there's no place like home.
454
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,720
There are all these criteria
we have to tick off...
455
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,950
A sunlike star,
456
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,960
an orbit that puts it at
about the right temperature,
457
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,960
a solid surface, something
that could retain an atmosphere.
458
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,530
But a planet that
appears Earthlike on the outside
459
00:30:52,530 --> 00:30:55,600
may not be Earthlike
on the inside.
460
00:30:59,540 --> 00:31:01,640
One of the things that makes
our world so unique
461
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:02,910
is its plate tectonics,
462
00:31:02,910 --> 00:31:04,940
and that actually regulates
our climate.
463
00:31:08,020 --> 00:31:11,380
The Earth's climate
depends on cycles of materials,
464
00:31:11,390 --> 00:31:14,920
like carbon dioxide and water.
465
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,520
Molecules move between
the Earth's molten interior
466
00:31:18,530 --> 00:31:21,930
and the surface through
active plate tectonics
467
00:31:21,930 --> 00:31:23,700
and volcanic eruptions.
468
00:31:25,870 --> 00:31:28,640
These cycles help to regulate
the temperature
469
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,070
and composition
of the Earth's atmosphere.
470
00:31:34,580 --> 00:31:37,380
If we were to find another
Earthlike planet out there,
471
00:31:37,380 --> 00:31:40,210
and it had geologic activity,
that means that at least
472
00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:43,650
it has the means to sustain
the carbon cycle
473
00:31:43,650 --> 00:31:45,450
and all of these
natural phenomenon
474
00:31:45,450 --> 00:31:50,020
that makes this planet
habitable and sustainable.
475
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,600
How can we know what's
happening inside a planet?
476
00:31:59,940 --> 00:32:05,410
A clue can be found in
vast ranges across our world...
477
00:32:05,410 --> 00:32:07,110
Mountains.
478
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:17,120
These topographical
features are an indicator
479
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,190
that the planet is alive
and there is still processes
480
00:32:20,190 --> 00:32:22,090
happening underneath
its surface.
481
00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:28,460
Mountain ranges are created
482
00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:31,730
when a planet's
tectonic plates collide,
483
00:32:33,740 --> 00:32:37,140
and even though exoplanets
are light-years away,
484
00:32:37,140 --> 00:32:40,670
astronomers could work out
whether their surfaces
485
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,680
are smooth or covered in peaks.
486
00:32:47,180 --> 00:32:49,480
Those mountain ranges
are poking out,
487
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,890
and depending on which rotation
the planet is in,
488
00:32:52,890 --> 00:32:55,290
the planet will appear
very slightly bigger
489
00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:58,160
or very slightly smaller
depending on the silhouette
490
00:32:58,160 --> 00:32:59,660
which is being cast.
491
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,330
These tiny changes
in light could be the sign
492
00:33:07,340 --> 00:33:10,470
that an exoplanet
is healthy and active.
493
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:15,510
But we can only use this method
494
00:33:15,510 --> 00:33:19,180
when a planet
is in front of its star.
495
00:33:19,180 --> 00:33:22,920
What if astronomers
could use starlight itself
496
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:27,520
to determine
the geology of a planet?
497
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,990
We think that planets form
at roughly the same sort of time
498
00:33:30,990 --> 00:33:32,460
that stars form,
499
00:33:32,460 --> 00:33:36,130
and they all form from this same
giant cloud of material.
500
00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:41,330
And so if you measure
the composition of a star,
501
00:33:41,340 --> 00:33:44,170
then it seems reasonable
to take those values and assume
502
00:33:44,170 --> 00:33:47,110
they're somewhat similar
for the planets as well.
503
00:33:49,980 --> 00:33:53,010
Astronomers can
work out what chemical elements
504
00:33:53,010 --> 00:33:56,720
are present in the star,
by splitting its light
505
00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:02,090
into different wavelengths,
and any planets around that star
506
00:34:02,090 --> 00:34:05,860
will have a similar
chemical composition.
507
00:34:05,860 --> 00:34:08,830
Composition is actually
a really important part
508
00:34:08,830 --> 00:34:11,560
of whether or not it's actually
going to be habitable.
509
00:34:11,570 --> 00:34:14,930
The composition
really is its geology.
510
00:34:17,670 --> 00:34:20,140
Rocky exoplanets are all made
511
00:34:20,140 --> 00:34:23,280
from the same
basic ingredients...
512
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:28,350
Chemical elements like oxygen,
silicon, and aluminum.
513
00:34:28,350 --> 00:34:30,620
Change the balance of
ingredients,
514
00:34:30,620 --> 00:34:34,790
and you get
very different planets.
515
00:34:34,790 --> 00:34:36,190
If we have some idea
516
00:34:36,190 --> 00:34:38,720
of the composition of
a rocky planet,
517
00:34:38,730 --> 00:34:41,360
we can actually use
that to give us clues
518
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,700
as to whether a world has
or doesn't have plate tectonics.
519
00:34:49,370 --> 00:34:51,000
New research indicates
520
00:34:51,010 --> 00:34:54,010
that exoplanets with too much
silicon and sodium
521
00:34:54,010 --> 00:34:58,410
form different types of rock
than those on Earth,
522
00:34:58,410 --> 00:35:02,880
creating rigid planets
where plate tectonics stall
523
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:08,120
and carbon dioxide builds up
with devastating consequences.
524
00:35:10,390 --> 00:35:12,330
Without active geology,
we end up with
525
00:35:12,330 --> 00:35:14,960
maybe a venetian atmosphere.
526
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,430
That means there
a runaway greenhouse effect.
527
00:35:17,430 --> 00:35:19,170
It's gotten hotter and hotter.
528
00:35:19,170 --> 00:35:21,070
Gases are baked
out of the rocks.
529
00:35:21,070 --> 00:35:23,200
There's no way to actually
rein them back out,
530
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:24,970
not a good place for life
at all.
531
00:35:29,380 --> 00:35:33,480
At worse, the planet
becomes a pressure cooker,
532
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:36,350
waiting to explode.
533
00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:38,180
If we change the composition
of a planet,
534
00:35:38,190 --> 00:35:39,820
it affects its tectonic system.
535
00:35:39,820 --> 00:35:42,590
That entirely changes
how a planet loses heat,
536
00:35:42,590 --> 00:35:44,420
and the heat builds up
and builds up and builds up,
537
00:35:44,430 --> 00:35:46,960
and then maybe there's
a catastrophic overturn
538
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:48,230
of the crust.
539
00:35:58,570 --> 00:36:01,610
The solid crust of
the planet collapses.
540
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,880
Oceans of lava bubble up,
541
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:13,190
and a greenhouse atmosphere
boils the surface...
542
00:36:13,190 --> 00:36:17,120
A violent end
to a potential new home.
543
00:36:20,130 --> 00:36:21,790
Clearly, you need to know
544
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,060
about the composition
of those planets
545
00:36:23,060 --> 00:36:24,930
before you can start
making statements
546
00:36:24,930 --> 00:36:27,900
about how habitable
those worlds truly are.
547
00:36:30,810 --> 00:36:33,770
But there's something
else that a planet needs
548
00:36:33,780 --> 00:36:37,310
to be Earthlike,
an invisible shield
549
00:36:37,310 --> 00:36:42,110
that protects it
from the dangers of space,
550
00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:45,620
providing warmth
and life-giving water...
551
00:36:45,620 --> 00:36:47,150
An atmosphere.
552
00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:10,510
The hunt for Earth 2.0
has turned up plenty of planets,
553
00:37:10,510 --> 00:37:13,250
but for a planet to be
like Earth,
554
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:17,180
it has to check a lot of boxes.
555
00:37:17,190 --> 00:37:20,190
If you're really looking
for Earth 2.0,
556
00:37:20,190 --> 00:37:21,890
then you're gonna
have to find a planet
557
00:37:21,890 --> 00:37:24,660
that's the same mass
and size as Earth,
558
00:37:24,660 --> 00:37:26,790
orbiting a sunlike star
559
00:37:26,790 --> 00:37:30,930
at about the same distance
with a similar atmosphere
560
00:37:30,930 --> 00:37:35,100
and a lot of surface water
that's in liquid form.
561
00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:36,340
Good luck.
562
00:37:40,380 --> 00:37:42,310
And on the list of requirements,
563
00:37:42,310 --> 00:37:47,580
an exoplanet's atmosphere
is critical.
564
00:37:47,580 --> 00:37:50,480
It protects the planet
from huge temperature swings.
565
00:37:50,490 --> 00:37:53,250
It protects the planet
from small asteroid impacts.
566
00:37:53,250 --> 00:37:55,590
It protects the planet
from dangerous radiation
567
00:37:55,590 --> 00:37:57,290
from space and from the star.
568
00:37:57,290 --> 00:38:00,030
It is almost literally a shield
around the planet,
569
00:38:00,030 --> 00:38:03,760
protecting us from outer space.
570
00:38:03,770 --> 00:38:07,930
But to also has to be
the right kind of atmosphere.
571
00:38:11,940 --> 00:38:15,270
Get it wrong, and the planet
can have crushing,
572
00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:17,710
boiling conditions
on the surface.
573
00:38:20,210 --> 00:38:22,050
Look at our own solar system.
574
00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:23,880
The sun's habitable zone
includes
575
00:38:23,890 --> 00:38:26,920
three different planets,
Venus, Earth and Mars,
576
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,420
but Mars has a thin atmosphere
and is too cold.
577
00:38:29,420 --> 00:38:32,260
Venus has too thick
of an atmosphere and is too hot.
578
00:38:32,260 --> 00:38:35,460
We're the only planet
that happens to be just right.
579
00:38:40,970 --> 00:38:43,770
So far, astronomers
have mostly had to guess
580
00:38:43,770 --> 00:38:48,110
if these exoplanets
have atmospheres,
581
00:38:48,110 --> 00:38:52,780
but now we're looking
for them directly,
582
00:38:52,780 --> 00:38:55,010
searching for
Earthlike atmospheres
583
00:38:55,020 --> 00:38:57,420
around Earthlike planets.
584
00:38:59,650 --> 00:39:02,390
This is incredibly hard to do,
585
00:39:02,390 --> 00:39:05,690
so in order to look at
the details of these atmospheres
586
00:39:05,690 --> 00:39:07,790
in the glare of the star
587
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,930
requires
incredibly precise technology
588
00:39:11,930 --> 00:39:13,770
and precise measurements.
589
00:39:16,170 --> 00:39:19,140
Astronomers detect
atmospheres by watching
590
00:39:19,140 --> 00:39:22,040
a planet pass in front
of the star.
591
00:39:24,380 --> 00:39:28,280
A small fraction of light shines
around the edge of the planet
592
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,320
and through the atmosphere
593
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:35,290
where molecules like water,
hydrogen, and carbon dioxide
594
00:39:35,290 --> 00:39:41,230
absorb particular wavelengths
of light from the star.
595
00:39:41,230 --> 00:39:43,800
If we can see the light
of the star
596
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:46,230
shining through
around the planet,
597
00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:48,730
we can maybe deduce
some information about
598
00:39:48,740 --> 00:39:50,340
does it have an atmosphere?
599
00:39:50,340 --> 00:39:51,840
What are the properties
of that atmosphere?
600
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,010
How hot is it?
What's it made out of?
601
00:39:55,010 --> 00:39:56,940
That's how we'll be able
to determine
602
00:39:56,940 --> 00:39:59,810
if things in the atmosphere
might indicate
603
00:39:59,810 --> 00:40:02,420
that the surface
is hospitable to life.
604
00:40:04,820 --> 00:40:07,950
So far, we haven't
seen any exoplanets
605
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:11,190
with atmospheres
that we could live in,
606
00:40:11,190 --> 00:40:13,460
but that's about to change.
607
00:40:19,770 --> 00:40:21,730
Scientists around the world
608
00:40:21,740 --> 00:40:24,770
are working on the next
generation of telescopes
609
00:40:24,770 --> 00:40:29,180
to revolutionize
exoplanet astronomy.
610
00:40:29,180 --> 00:40:31,110
We've got some ideas,
and some telescopes
611
00:40:31,110 --> 00:40:34,110
that are gonna be built probably
in the next couple of decades
612
00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,380
will be big enough,
will be sophisticated enough
613
00:40:37,390 --> 00:40:39,750
to be able to see
this sort of thing.
614
00:40:41,420 --> 00:40:46,430
Missions like the James Webb
space telescope...
615
00:40:46,430 --> 00:40:49,600
Seven times more powerful
than Hubble,
616
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:53,600
it should allow us to see
the atmospheres of planets
617
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:55,700
across the galaxy
618
00:40:55,700 --> 00:41:01,870
and be a tool that
finally finds a second Earth.
619
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,440
The key things we'd be looking
for in these atmospheres
620
00:41:04,450 --> 00:41:07,780
are in the infrared part
of the electromagnetic spectrum,
621
00:41:07,780 --> 00:41:11,480
which is where Webb
is designed to work.
622
00:41:11,490 --> 00:41:13,150
The James Webb
space telescope is,
623
00:41:13,150 --> 00:41:17,560
I believe, going to be the next
really critical mission
624
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:22,960
to help us in our search for
potentially Earthlike planets.
625
00:41:26,730 --> 00:41:31,740
We're still searching
for that perfect Earth twin,
626
00:41:31,740 --> 00:41:38,480
and every day,
we get closed to finding it.
627
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:42,920
30 years ago,
we had zero exoplanets.
628
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,680
Today, we know of thousands.
629
00:41:45,690 --> 00:41:48,550
With the next generation
of instruments,
630
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,560
we're going to uncover
tens of thousands,
631
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:56,700
hundreds of thousands,
even millions of exoplanets.
632
00:41:56,700 --> 00:42:01,000
All with the ultimate
aim of leaving Earth,
633
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:06,170
a civilization
spread across the stars.
634
00:42:06,170 --> 00:42:08,210
One of the things
I love about being a human
635
00:42:08,210 --> 00:42:10,510
is the fact that I'm born
with this curiosity.
636
00:42:10,510 --> 00:42:14,250
This curiosity drives us
to explore, explore Earth,
637
00:42:14,250 --> 00:42:18,180
explore our solar system
and beyond into the galaxy.
638
00:42:18,190 --> 00:42:21,390
We'll be learning about
these planets for a long time.
639
00:42:21,390 --> 00:42:23,890
We have just started
this journey.
640
00:42:23,940 --> 00:42:28,490
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