All language subtitles for Cosmic Front 05of18 Extraterrestrial Life 720p

af Afrikaans
ak Akan
sq Albanian
am Amharic
ar Arabic
hy Armenian
az Azerbaijani
eu Basque
be Belarusian
bem Bemba
bn Bengali
bh Bihari
bs Bosnian
br Breton
bg Bulgarian
km Cambodian
ca Catalan
chr Cherokee
ny Chichewa
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)
co Corsican
hr Croatian
cs Czech
da Danish
nl Dutch
en English
eo Esperanto
et Estonian
ee Ewe
fo Faroese
tl Filipino
fi Finnish
fr French
fy Frisian
gaa Ga
gl Galician
ka Georgian
de German
el Greek
gn Guarani
gu Gujarati
ht Haitian Creole
ha Hausa
haw Hawaiian
iw Hebrew
hi Hindi
hu Hungarian
is Icelandic
ig Igbo
id Indonesian
ia Interlingua
ga Irish
it Italian
ja Japanese
jw Javanese
kn Kannada
kk Kazakh
rw Kinyarwanda
rn Kirundi
kg Kongo
ko Korean
kri Krio (Sierra Leone)
ku Kurdish
ckb Kurdish (Soranî)
ky Kyrgyz
lo Laothian
la Latin
lv Latvian
ln Lingala
lt Lithuanian
loz Lozi
lg Luganda
ach Luo
mk Macedonian
mg Malagasy
ms Malay
ml Malayalam
mt Maltese
mi Maori
mr Marathi
mfe Mauritian Creole
mo Moldavian
mn Mongolian
sr-ME Montenegrin
ne Nepali
pcm Nigerian Pidgin
nso Northern Sotho
no Norwegian
nn Norwegian (Nynorsk)
oc Occitan
or Oriya
om Oromo
ps Pashto
fa Persian
pl Polish
pt-BR Portuguese (Brazil)
pt-PT Portuguese (Portugal)
pa Punjabi
qu Quechua
ro Romanian
rm Romansh
nyn Runyakitara
ru Russian
gd Scots Gaelic
sr Serbian
sh Serbo-Croatian
st Sesotho
tn Setswana
crs Seychellois Creole
sn Shona
sd Sindhi
si Sinhalese
sk Slovak
sl Slovenian
so Somali
es Spanish
es-419 Spanish (Latin American)
su Sundanese
sw Swahili
sv Swedish
tg Tajik
ta Tamil
tt Tatar
te Telugu
th Thai
ti Tigrinya
to Tonga
lua Tshiluba
tum Tumbuka
tr Turkish Download
tk Turkmen
tw Twi
ug Uighur
uk Ukrainian
ur Urdu
uz Uzbek
vi Vietnamese
cy Welsh
wo Wolof
xh Xhosa
yi Yiddish
yo Yoruba
zu Zulu
Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:03,232 --> 00:00:05,399 Strangers from afar. 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,301 Where might these come from? 3 00:00:07,302 --> 00:00:08,960 These aliens. 4 00:00:13,702 --> 00:00:15,983 This sculpture studio makes models of aliens 5 00:00:15,984 --> 00:00:17,620 for the movies. 6 00:00:17,621 --> 00:00:19,218 The creatures crafted here have appeared 7 00:00:19,219 --> 00:00:21,324 in over 20 Hollywood films. 8 00:00:26,333 --> 00:00:28,508 But extraterrestrial life isn't something 9 00:00:28,509 --> 00:00:30,857 that just exists in the movies. 10 00:00:30,858 --> 00:00:33,610 I think it is, without doubt in my mind, 11 00:00:33,611 --> 00:00:35,881 that life has originated elsewhere. 12 00:00:42,799 --> 00:00:44,782 Whole rest of me is screaming 13 00:00:44,783 --> 00:00:48,424 that the universe is probably teeming with life. 14 00:00:50,122 --> 00:00:52,201 Surely life exists in environments 15 00:00:52,202 --> 00:00:54,320 completely different from Earth's. 16 00:00:57,013 --> 00:00:59,263 As space exploration proceeds, 17 00:00:59,264 --> 00:01:01,551 scientists are growing more confident 18 00:01:01,552 --> 00:01:03,936 as to how they envision alien life. 19 00:01:12,069 --> 00:01:14,329 But what makes these scientists so sure 20 00:01:14,330 --> 00:01:17,097 that life does in fact exist in outer space? 21 00:01:18,575 --> 00:01:21,823 The answer must be sought on the cosmic front. 22 00:02:27,998 --> 00:02:29,873 Is our existence in this universe 23 00:02:29,874 --> 00:02:32,253 an isolated phenomenon? 24 00:02:32,254 --> 00:02:34,904 Or is space, in fact, teeming with life? 25 00:02:40,489 --> 00:02:43,145 For answers, scientists are placing great hopes 26 00:02:43,146 --> 00:02:46,221 on one of the moons of a planet far, far away. 27 00:02:53,225 --> 00:02:55,539 More than a billion kilometers from Earth 28 00:02:55,540 --> 00:02:57,679 lies the planet Saturn. 29 00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:59,600 Hidden amidst its rings, 30 00:02:59,601 --> 00:03:02,635 is a moon with good prospects of harboring life. 31 00:03:10,736 --> 00:03:13,379 Here's a backlit view of Saturn. 32 00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:15,655 Beyond its familiar set of rings 33 00:03:15,656 --> 00:03:19,479 is an outer ring that is thinner and fainter. 34 00:03:21,181 --> 00:03:24,706 The E Ring, discovered in 1967. 35 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:31,302 The blueish-white E Ring includes 36 00:03:31,303 --> 00:03:34,562 one extremely significant body circling Saturn. 37 00:03:39,954 --> 00:03:44,063 Enceladus, one of Saturn's many moons. 38 00:03:44,064 --> 00:03:47,294 Diameter, 500 kilometers. 39 00:03:47,295 --> 00:03:50,307 Its bright white color comes from ice. 40 00:03:50,308 --> 00:03:52,963 Enceladus appears to be covered in it. 41 00:03:58,942 --> 00:04:00,691 This image of Enceladus was taken 42 00:04:00,692 --> 00:04:04,263 by the Voyager II spacecraft in the 1980s. 43 00:04:04,264 --> 00:04:07,869 Seeing it, many scientists were astonished. 44 00:04:07,870 --> 00:04:11,191 The moon's surface is remarkably smooth. 45 00:04:11,192 --> 00:04:13,793 The elimination of craters in some areas 46 00:04:13,794 --> 00:04:17,180 suggests massively transformative tectonic events. 47 00:04:23,308 --> 00:04:26,412 Could it be that whatever is happening on Enceladus 48 00:04:26,413 --> 00:04:28,656 has something to do with the E Ring? 49 00:04:32,811 --> 00:04:36,853 As we shall see, the very human desire to solve this riddle 50 00:04:36,854 --> 00:04:39,537 leads us to place great hopes on the existence 51 00:04:39,538 --> 00:04:41,421 of extraterrestrial life. 52 00:04:46,537 --> 00:04:49,276 And lift off of the Cassini spacecraft 53 00:04:49,277 --> 00:04:51,619 on a 1,000,000,000 mile trek to Saturn. 54 00:04:53,938 --> 00:04:57,580 The Cassini Saturn probe left Earth in 1997. 55 00:05:04,434 --> 00:05:07,548 Its primary mission, to examine the relationship 56 00:05:07,549 --> 00:05:10,070 between Enceladus and the E Ring. 57 00:05:15,366 --> 00:05:18,892 Cassini's voyage to Saturn took seven years. 58 00:05:18,893 --> 00:05:21,747 It reached the planet's vicinity in 2004. 59 00:05:24,462 --> 00:05:27,182 A quarter century after the Voyager mission, 60 00:05:27,183 --> 00:05:30,461 the mysteries of Enceladus are finally being addressed. 61 00:05:34,402 --> 00:05:36,855 In the western American state of Colorado 62 00:05:36,856 --> 00:05:39,915 is located the Cassini Imaging Labroratory. 63 00:05:44,045 --> 00:05:45,441 Here is where the imaging data 64 00:05:45,442 --> 00:05:48,315 collected by the Cassini probe are analyzed. 65 00:05:52,353 --> 00:05:55,388 The leader of the imaging team is Carolyn Porco. 66 00:05:59,713 --> 00:06:02,473 She says that starting with Cassini's very first image, 67 00:06:02,474 --> 00:06:04,543 as it approached Enceladus, 68 00:06:04,544 --> 00:06:06,661 she was filled with astonishment. 69 00:06:10,293 --> 00:06:11,599 This was it. 70 00:06:13,258 --> 00:06:16,344 Enceladus appears darkly in this backlit image. 71 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,143 Some might think the image anti-climactic, 72 00:06:23,144 --> 00:06:26,199 but Porco deliberately chose this backlit mode. 73 00:06:31,367 --> 00:06:32,689 Some suggestions were that there 74 00:06:32,690 --> 00:06:34,705 might actually be geysers, 75 00:06:34,706 --> 00:06:38,065 there might be little volcanic kind of geysers 76 00:06:38,066 --> 00:06:39,996 coming off the surface of Enceladus, 77 00:06:39,997 --> 00:06:44,369 spewing tiny ice particles into orbit around Saturn 78 00:06:44,370 --> 00:06:45,573 and forming the E Ring. 79 00:06:45,574 --> 00:06:50,037 We, in fact, had planned our sequences of images 80 00:06:50,038 --> 00:06:52,704 to include observations where we're looking 81 00:06:52,705 --> 00:06:54,857 in the direction of the sun, 82 00:06:54,858 --> 00:06:57,731 so that if there was a plume of very tiny particles 83 00:06:57,732 --> 00:06:59,293 we would be able to see it. 84 00:07:00,590 --> 00:07:02,648 Here's an example of back-lighting 85 00:07:02,649 --> 00:07:04,019 using a humidifier. 86 00:07:05,999 --> 00:07:09,054 We create a fine mist, normally invisible. 87 00:07:10,637 --> 00:07:13,595 But if we then shine a light on it from behind... 88 00:07:16,345 --> 00:07:18,422 the mist becomes clearly visible. 89 00:07:22,258 --> 00:07:25,921 This backlit effect was precisely what Porco had intended. 90 00:07:33,139 --> 00:07:36,422 Let's return to that first Cassini image. 91 00:07:36,423 --> 00:07:39,576 If we look closely at the south pole of Enceladus, 92 00:07:39,577 --> 00:07:42,516 we see what Porco had been hoping to see, 93 00:07:42,517 --> 00:07:44,889 a conspicuously bright portion. 94 00:07:48,255 --> 00:07:50,622 A month later, a backlit Enceladus 95 00:07:50,623 --> 00:07:53,061 was photographed once again. 96 00:07:53,062 --> 00:07:54,169 In the same location, 97 00:07:54,170 --> 00:07:57,508 one could clearly make out filaments of light, 98 00:07:57,509 --> 00:08:01,048 a plume being sent from Enceladus into space. 99 00:08:01,049 --> 00:08:02,562 Analysis of the images revealed 100 00:08:02,563 --> 00:08:06,345 that this plume extended more than 100 kilometers. 101 00:08:08,056 --> 00:08:10,615 What really, I think, made everybody 102 00:08:10,616 --> 00:08:12,876 just stand back in awe, 103 00:08:12,877 --> 00:08:16,498 was the magnitude of this phenomenon. 104 00:08:18,232 --> 00:08:22,855 July 14th, Cassini began a major phase of research. 105 00:08:26,402 --> 00:08:29,952 Reducing altitude to 168 kilometers, 106 00:08:29,953 --> 00:08:32,374 it made detailed observations of the terrain 107 00:08:32,375 --> 00:08:34,661 near the south pole of Enceladus. 108 00:08:39,340 --> 00:08:42,108 The mysterious moon then displayed features 109 00:08:42,109 --> 00:08:44,663 that even Porco had not anticipated. 110 00:08:49,308 --> 00:08:51,766 A number of vertical blue streaks. 111 00:08:54,503 --> 00:08:58,991 No craters at all, just this series of parallel fractures 112 00:08:58,992 --> 00:09:01,846 stretching for 130 kilometers. 113 00:09:04,422 --> 00:09:08,080 The anticipated volcanic topography was not present, 114 00:09:08,081 --> 00:09:10,416 but it was equally clear that the area 115 00:09:10,417 --> 00:09:14,157 had seen robust geological change. 116 00:09:14,158 --> 00:09:18,342 It looks totally different, unique. 117 00:09:18,343 --> 00:09:20,651 Not only did the imaging team 118 00:09:20,652 --> 00:09:25,340 get this incredible look at this region 119 00:09:25,341 --> 00:09:27,163 that no one had ever really seen before, 120 00:09:27,164 --> 00:09:29,361 which is the south pole of Enceladus, 121 00:09:29,362 --> 00:09:33,564 and not only did we find that it was geologically unique, 122 00:09:33,565 --> 00:09:36,347 it was characterized by this set of fractures, 123 00:09:36,348 --> 00:09:39,180 and was crater free, very bright. 124 00:09:45,244 --> 00:09:48,790 The team called the blue streaks Tiger Stripes. 125 00:09:53,008 --> 00:09:55,162 The tectonic activity across this area 126 00:09:55,163 --> 00:09:58,116 was indicated also by the surface temperatures. 127 00:09:58,117 --> 00:10:01,913 The average on Enceladus is minus 200 degrees Celsius. 128 00:10:04,979 --> 00:10:07,715 But the Tiger Stripe showed a dramatic increase, 129 00:10:07,716 --> 00:10:09,800 to minus 80 degrees Celsius. 130 00:10:12,410 --> 00:10:13,710 Some researchers estimate 131 00:10:13,711 --> 00:10:15,758 that the highest portions of that area 132 00:10:15,759 --> 00:10:17,865 rise to minus 20 degrees. 133 00:10:22,105 --> 00:10:25,488 Furthermore, the nature of the plume was revealed. 134 00:10:25,489 --> 00:10:27,762 Analysis of the data showed it to be comprised 135 00:10:27,763 --> 00:10:30,692 mainly of ice and water vapor. 136 00:10:35,807 --> 00:10:38,563 Conclusive images were also recorded. 137 00:10:38,564 --> 00:10:41,840 Clearly, what had looked like perhaps a single flare, 138 00:10:41,841 --> 00:10:43,855 actually incorporated more than a dozen 139 00:10:43,856 --> 00:10:46,336 individual jets or geysers. 140 00:10:49,094 --> 00:10:50,863 Moreover, the jets were issuing 141 00:10:50,864 --> 00:10:53,108 along the Tiger Stripe fractures. 142 00:11:00,816 --> 00:11:03,310 And the material they released into space 143 00:11:03,311 --> 00:11:06,068 has been forming one of Saturn's rings. 144 00:11:12,921 --> 00:11:16,802 The blueish-white E Ring is thus a band of ice chunks, 145 00:11:16,803 --> 00:11:21,038 formed by high-volume eruptions of ice from Enceladus. 146 00:11:21,039 --> 00:11:22,364 I keep calling it 147 00:11:22,365 --> 00:11:26,469 the Enceladus Interplanetary Geyser Park, you know? 148 00:11:26,470 --> 00:11:27,654 That would be a great place, 149 00:11:27,655 --> 00:11:30,351 that would be one of the sight-seeing, 150 00:11:30,352 --> 00:11:34,506 top-10 sight-seeing locales in the solar system. 151 00:11:36,325 --> 00:11:37,690 If we could actually land 152 00:11:37,691 --> 00:11:42,684 on the Tiger Stripes, we would be able to see their jets 153 00:11:42,685 --> 00:11:45,387 ejecting ice and vapor from the ice fissures 154 00:11:45,388 --> 00:11:49,382 at fearsome speed, some 100 meters per second. 155 00:11:54,209 --> 00:11:57,045 Rising as high as 100 kilometers, 156 00:11:57,046 --> 00:11:59,472 they would present a thrilling spectacle. 157 00:12:03,798 --> 00:12:05,888 And many scientists have begun to believe 158 00:12:05,889 --> 00:12:08,314 that Enceladus must harbor life. 159 00:12:12,469 --> 00:12:14,042 Why do they think so? 160 00:12:27,284 --> 00:12:31,332 The Austrian Alps have an elevation exceeding 3,000 meters. 161 00:12:32,905 --> 00:12:35,043 Near their summits lie glaciers. 162 00:12:39,454 --> 00:12:41,480 One scientist thinks that this area 163 00:12:41,481 --> 00:12:43,101 bears a striking resemblance 164 00:12:43,102 --> 00:12:45,571 to the Tiger Stripes of Enceladus. 165 00:12:51,006 --> 00:12:54,528 Richard Hoover is an astrobiologist with NASA. 166 00:12:56,861 --> 00:12:59,420 This is a world of extreme cold, 167 00:12:59,421 --> 00:13:03,202 minus 15 degrees Celsius, even in daytime. 168 00:13:06,674 --> 00:13:10,017 An ice cave provides entry to the inside of a glacier. 169 00:13:18,108 --> 00:13:21,223 Sunlight cannot reach into the ice cave. 170 00:13:21,224 --> 00:13:25,219 This is a world of darkness, like Enceladus, 171 00:13:25,220 --> 00:13:27,475 which exists so far from its sun. 172 00:13:35,982 --> 00:13:37,736 10 minutes into the ice. 173 00:13:45,069 --> 00:13:47,005 A huge space opens up. 174 00:13:53,133 --> 00:13:55,585 Ah, it's incredible. 175 00:13:55,586 --> 00:13:57,287 Fantastic. 176 00:13:57,293 --> 00:14:00,270 Ah, this is absolutely magnificent. 177 00:14:00,271 --> 00:14:03,098 This has been dubbed the Ice Palace. 178 00:14:08,064 --> 00:14:10,670 Huge columns of ice. 179 00:14:10,671 --> 00:14:14,025 Hoover posits that the Tiger Stripe area on Enceladus 180 00:14:14,026 --> 00:14:15,535 must look like this. 181 00:14:18,388 --> 00:14:21,619 The spectacular ice stalactites hanging down 182 00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:23,838 from the surface and from the walls. 183 00:14:23,839 --> 00:14:26,568 These kinds of formations may actually be occurring 184 00:14:26,569 --> 00:14:30,066 in the Tiger Stripes of Enceladus also, 185 00:14:30,067 --> 00:14:33,352 where the ice crystals are forming, 186 00:14:33,353 --> 00:14:35,512 and then, under the gravitational field, 187 00:14:35,513 --> 00:14:38,925 falling inward toward the center within the crevasses 188 00:14:38,926 --> 00:14:41,021 of these magnificent Tiger Stripes. 189 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,316 One sees no plants here, no animals, 190 00:14:50,317 --> 00:14:54,813 merely a world of extreme cold, a world of ice. 191 00:14:57,837 --> 00:14:59,479 It might appear that no life 192 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,491 could exist in such an environment. 193 00:15:09,858 --> 00:15:11,837 But Hoover thinks differently. 194 00:15:16,748 --> 00:15:19,900 He extracts an ice core and carefully bags it. 195 00:15:23,607 --> 00:15:25,782 The ice he brought back from the Ice Palace 196 00:15:25,783 --> 00:15:29,979 is melted in its hermetically sealed bag, and then analyzed. 197 00:15:32,759 --> 00:15:35,675 First step, microscopic examination. 198 00:15:37,473 --> 00:15:39,074 Nice motility. 199 00:15:40,384 --> 00:15:41,541 Wonderful. 200 00:15:43,513 --> 00:15:46,925 Blinking right here, this is a bacteria swimming. 201 00:15:46,926 --> 00:15:48,317 You see? Yeah. 202 00:15:50,702 --> 00:15:54,429 Microorganisms living in a world of ice. 203 00:15:56,312 --> 00:16:00,605 Here, too, nothing but ice it had seemed. 204 00:16:00,606 --> 00:16:02,100 Yet there was life. 205 00:16:12,730 --> 00:16:15,352 In his lab, Hoover preserves samples of ice 206 00:16:15,353 --> 00:16:17,570 collected from around the world, 207 00:16:17,571 --> 00:16:20,072 including the South Pole and Iceland. 208 00:16:27,608 --> 00:16:31,453 He has found microorganisms in all of these samples. 209 00:16:34,670 --> 00:16:37,538 This image conveys the fantastic capabilities 210 00:16:37,539 --> 00:16:39,866 of these microbes. 211 00:16:39,867 --> 00:16:42,846 The white images are microorganisms, 212 00:16:42,847 --> 00:16:45,108 the black background is the water. 213 00:16:46,261 --> 00:16:48,729 The membranes covering these creatures' cells 214 00:16:48,730 --> 00:16:51,995 is made of material that protects them from freezing. 215 00:16:51,996 --> 00:16:53,836 Rather than freezing themselves, 216 00:16:53,837 --> 00:16:55,953 they melt the surrounding ice. 217 00:17:00,460 --> 00:17:01,568 It has been confirmed 218 00:17:01,569 --> 00:17:04,563 that there are certain forms of life capable of existing 219 00:17:04,564 --> 00:17:07,608 in a minus 40 degree Celsius environment. 220 00:17:09,801 --> 00:17:12,648 I believe it is very possible that there could be life 221 00:17:12,649 --> 00:17:14,685 in the Tiger Stripes of Enceladus. 222 00:17:14,686 --> 00:17:17,651 They're much hotter than what anyone believed possible, 223 00:17:17,652 --> 00:17:20,145 and we now know that microorganisms 224 00:17:20,146 --> 00:17:23,261 live in glacial ice all over the planet Earth, 225 00:17:23,262 --> 00:17:25,127 therefore there could be microorganisms 226 00:17:25,128 --> 00:17:28,728 alive and thriving in the Tiger Stripes of Enceladus. 227 00:17:32,093 --> 00:17:34,801 Considering the sheer tenacity of life, 228 00:17:34,802 --> 00:17:37,669 it could well exist on Enceladus, too. 229 00:17:37,670 --> 00:17:40,391 Of that, Hoover is convinced. 230 00:17:46,381 --> 00:17:47,905 Carolyn Porco, leader 231 00:17:47,906 --> 00:17:50,555 of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory. 232 00:17:53,079 --> 00:17:55,926 Porco believes that truly potent conditions for life 233 00:17:55,927 --> 00:17:59,163 are present under the ice of the Tiger Stripes. 234 00:18:01,270 --> 00:18:03,893 She thinks there's a large body of water there 235 00:18:03,894 --> 00:18:05,403 in its liquid state. 236 00:18:09,153 --> 00:18:12,314 Water, it's the reason there's life on Earth. 237 00:18:19,168 --> 00:18:22,089 Across our globe, all sorts of lifeforms 238 00:18:22,090 --> 00:18:25,316 use water in all sorts of ways. 239 00:18:29,311 --> 00:18:31,646 Porco is convinced a huge amount of water 240 00:18:31,647 --> 00:18:33,764 lies under the Tiger Stripes. 241 00:18:40,180 --> 00:18:42,638 This was about 153. 242 00:18:44,026 --> 00:18:45,327 Her conviction originated 243 00:18:45,328 --> 00:18:47,961 during analysis of the Cassini images, 244 00:18:47,962 --> 00:18:51,752 when she noticed something distinctive about the jets. 245 00:18:51,753 --> 00:18:53,193 And that's why it's clear. 246 00:18:53,194 --> 00:18:54,942 It's clear here, you can see the extent of it, 247 00:18:54,943 --> 00:18:56,307 how big it is. 248 00:18:56,308 --> 00:18:58,276 What we're seeing in these images of the jets, 249 00:18:58,277 --> 00:19:00,494 those are tiny ice particles, 250 00:19:00,495 --> 00:19:05,422 and we see so much of the solids, 251 00:19:05,423 --> 00:19:06,691 compared to the vapor 252 00:19:06,692 --> 00:19:08,398 that is detected by the other instruments, 253 00:19:08,399 --> 00:19:10,733 that the most plausible way to get that 254 00:19:10,734 --> 00:19:14,438 is from saying that the material 255 00:19:14,439 --> 00:19:16,128 starts out as a liquid 256 00:19:16,129 --> 00:19:18,919 and the liquid droplets eventually freeze 257 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:20,919 and become the particles that we see. 258 00:19:22,951 --> 00:19:24,423 Measurements show the diameter 259 00:19:24,424 --> 00:19:28,041 of the particles to be less than 1/100th of a millimeter. 260 00:19:31,386 --> 00:19:32,931 If these geysers were shooting out 261 00:19:32,932 --> 00:19:35,556 only broken-up bits of surface ice, 262 00:19:35,557 --> 00:19:38,148 it is difficult to explain how so many particles 263 00:19:38,149 --> 00:19:40,220 could become so small. 264 00:19:40,221 --> 00:19:42,323 But if it was water that was gushing up, 265 00:19:42,324 --> 00:19:45,060 freezing after the spray had become droplets, 266 00:19:45,061 --> 00:19:48,927 then that would explain the large quantity of ice particles. 267 00:19:52,453 --> 00:19:55,417 But Saturn, around which Enceladus revolves, 268 00:19:55,418 --> 00:19:58,996 is one point four billion kilometers from the sun. 269 00:19:58,997 --> 00:20:01,758 That's 10 times farther away than Earth. 270 00:20:03,298 --> 00:20:05,467 That's why the surface temperature of Enceladus 271 00:20:05,468 --> 00:20:08,913 averages minus 200 degrees Celsius. 272 00:20:08,914 --> 00:20:12,027 Any water on it would freeze, becoming ice. 273 00:20:16,182 --> 00:20:17,994 On this moon of ice, 274 00:20:17,995 --> 00:20:21,616 how could a large body of water exist in a liquid state? 275 00:20:26,059 --> 00:20:29,534 NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, 276 00:20:29,535 --> 00:20:32,282 is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles. 277 00:20:35,338 --> 00:20:38,863 Inside is the control room for the Cassini space probe. 278 00:20:42,293 --> 00:20:44,830 Today they are again instructing the probe, 279 00:20:44,831 --> 00:20:47,501 1,000,000,000 kilometers away, near Saturn. 280 00:20:48,585 --> 00:20:50,450 Recently, Cassini has uncovered facts 281 00:20:50,451 --> 00:20:52,786 supporting the theory that liquid water 282 00:20:52,787 --> 00:20:54,797 is present on Enceladus. 283 00:20:57,758 --> 00:21:02,193 In October of 2008, Cassini drew very close to Enceladus 284 00:21:02,194 --> 00:21:04,290 on a low-altitude flyby. 285 00:21:07,496 --> 00:21:10,215 It was able to pass through the jets, 286 00:21:10,216 --> 00:21:13,313 and to analyze their constituent matter minutely. 287 00:21:17,138 --> 00:21:20,076 One thing detected in the jets was ammonia. 288 00:21:26,183 --> 00:21:28,357 If ammonia is dissolved in water, 289 00:21:28,358 --> 00:21:31,163 it permits the water to maintain its liquid state 290 00:21:31,164 --> 00:21:35,722 even in temperatures as low as minus 97 degrees Celsius. 291 00:21:35,723 --> 00:21:38,887 In other words, it functions like antifreeze. 292 00:21:41,965 --> 00:21:43,404 But there is another factor 293 00:21:43,405 --> 00:21:45,875 melting the ice on this frigid moon. 294 00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:55,324 The movements of another of Saturn's moons, Dione. 295 00:22:05,356 --> 00:22:08,171 Enceladus revolves around Saturn on an orbit 296 00:22:08,172 --> 00:22:11,011 in-between Saturn and Dione. 297 00:22:11,012 --> 00:22:14,918 Enceladus completes one orbit every 33 hours. 298 00:22:14,919 --> 00:22:17,697 It takes Dione exactly twice as long, 299 00:22:17,698 --> 00:22:20,754 66 hours, to complete its own circuit. 300 00:22:21,986 --> 00:22:26,858 As a result, once every 66 hours, 301 00:22:26,859 --> 00:22:31,163 Saturn, Enceladus, and Dione are all lined up. 302 00:22:31,164 --> 00:22:34,412 Subjected to the gravitational pulls of both these bodies, 303 00:22:34,413 --> 00:22:36,235 the spherical shape of Enceladus 304 00:22:36,236 --> 00:22:38,747 is distorted into an ellipsoid. 305 00:22:40,769 --> 00:22:42,901 Then, as the alignment breaks up, 306 00:22:42,902 --> 00:22:45,147 Enceladus reverts to a sphere. 307 00:22:51,947 --> 00:22:53,855 When this happens enough times, 308 00:22:53,856 --> 00:22:56,010 the interior of Enceladus experiences 309 00:22:56,011 --> 00:22:58,149 a build-up of frictional heat. 310 00:23:00,319 --> 00:23:02,769 That melts some of the ice in the crust. 311 00:23:02,770 --> 00:23:04,739 It turns into liquid water. 312 00:23:07,070 --> 00:23:09,000 The hypothesis is that then, 313 00:23:09,001 --> 00:23:10,994 as the surrounding ice fractures, 314 00:23:10,995 --> 00:23:13,443 the water gushes out in jets. 315 00:23:15,870 --> 00:23:19,282 May be a body of liquid under the surface of Enceladus, 316 00:23:19,283 --> 00:23:23,911 so the jets are an indication to us actually 317 00:23:23,912 --> 00:23:25,308 that we have on Enceladus 318 00:23:25,309 --> 00:23:27,875 a place where life might have gotten started. 319 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,630 An ocean under the ice of Enceladus, 320 00:23:34,631 --> 00:23:37,385 nurturing diverse forms of life. 321 00:23:37,386 --> 00:23:40,063 That's the vision of another scientist as well. 322 00:23:43,024 --> 00:23:47,178 Yasuhito Sekine is a scientist at the University of Tokyo. 323 00:23:50,299 --> 00:23:51,886 He believes that the warm environment 324 00:23:51,887 --> 00:23:55,646 of this ocean under the ice serves as a cradle of life. 325 00:24:14,095 --> 00:24:16,146 Such gravitational distortions 326 00:24:16,147 --> 00:24:18,125 have huge consequences. 327 00:24:20,115 --> 00:24:23,099 Sekine believes that not just the icy crust, 328 00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:26,065 but the underlying rock is affected as well, 329 00:24:26,066 --> 00:24:27,936 producing frictional heat. 330 00:24:34,332 --> 00:24:36,261 Actually, the kind of sea floor 331 00:24:36,262 --> 00:24:38,736 envisaged by Sekine for Enceladus 332 00:24:38,737 --> 00:24:41,494 has a close counterpart right here on Earth. 333 00:24:45,308 --> 00:24:48,842 Here, the seabed is 1,500 meters below the surface. 334 00:24:52,049 --> 00:24:54,083 Volcanic activity expels water 335 00:24:54,084 --> 00:24:56,480 heated to 300 degrees Celsius. 336 00:24:57,861 --> 00:25:00,266 These are called hydrothermal vents. 337 00:25:04,933 --> 00:25:06,499 Here in a world of darkness 338 00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:08,772 beyond the reach of the sun's rays, 339 00:25:08,773 --> 00:25:12,584 hydrothermal energy nourishes a variety of lifeforms. 340 00:25:15,097 --> 00:25:18,265 Sekine hypothesizes that Enceladus, too, 341 00:25:18,266 --> 00:25:20,461 has an environment like this. 342 00:25:20,462 --> 00:25:23,419 One that gives rise to a distinct ecosystem. 343 00:25:29,708 --> 00:25:33,931 In 2009, Cassini observation data were announced, 344 00:25:33,932 --> 00:25:37,435 data that apparently supported Sekine's hypothesis. 345 00:25:41,249 --> 00:25:43,455 An article in the science journal, Nature, 346 00:25:43,456 --> 00:25:46,735 detailed the elements composing the jets of Enceladus. 347 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,926 This graph compare the constituents of comets, 348 00:25:52,927 --> 00:25:55,625 which are thought to contain the ingredients of planets, 349 00:25:55,626 --> 00:25:58,318 with the constituents of the jets of Enceladus. 350 00:26:00,767 --> 00:26:03,048 The amounts of methane, ammonia, 351 00:26:03,049 --> 00:26:05,508 and other constituents are similar. 352 00:26:08,413 --> 00:26:10,706 The article also pointed to the possibility 353 00:26:10,707 --> 00:26:15,335 of a constituent unique to Enceladus, 354 00:26:15,336 --> 00:26:16,984 molecular nitrogen. 355 00:26:20,521 --> 00:26:23,773 Sekine believed that the presence of this molecular nitrogen 356 00:26:23,774 --> 00:26:26,477 proved the presence of hydrothermal vents. 357 00:26:48,536 --> 00:26:50,130 With help from the Japan Agency 358 00:26:50,131 --> 00:26:53,942 for Marine Earth Science and Technolgy, Sekine experiments 359 00:26:53,943 --> 00:26:57,468 to see how Enceladus might produce molecular nitrogen. 360 00:27:01,131 --> 00:27:04,165 He's already replicated the composition of the jets. 361 00:27:06,827 --> 00:27:10,490 Basically water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. 362 00:27:13,792 --> 00:27:15,273 Those ingredients are then mixed 363 00:27:15,274 --> 00:27:17,561 with a common mineral, Olivene, 364 00:27:17,562 --> 00:27:19,520 to see what the reaction will be. 365 00:27:26,929 --> 00:27:28,558 The ocean in Enceladus is thought 366 00:27:28,559 --> 00:27:30,703 to be several kilometers deep, 367 00:27:30,704 --> 00:27:32,928 creating tremendous water pressure. 368 00:27:36,272 --> 00:27:39,001 That high pressure environment is approximated here 369 00:27:39,002 --> 00:27:41,476 by using a special device to apply 370 00:27:41,477 --> 00:27:44,329 300 atmospheres of pressure to the mixture. 371 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,043 The temperature is 300 degrees Celsius, 372 00:27:51,044 --> 00:27:53,897 about the same as Earth's hydrothermal vents. 373 00:27:57,124 --> 00:27:59,539 Will molecular nitrogen be produced? 374 00:28:10,697 --> 00:28:13,337 It's been a week since the experiment started. 375 00:28:20,018 --> 00:28:21,650 What has happened to the material 376 00:28:21,651 --> 00:28:23,697 subjected to this high temperature, 377 00:28:23,698 --> 00:28:25,633 high pressure environment? 378 00:28:30,022 --> 00:28:32,567 Finally, the component analysis. 379 00:28:46,672 --> 00:28:48,422 Molecular nitrogen, 380 00:28:48,423 --> 00:28:50,784 the same component found by Cassini. 381 00:29:17,370 --> 00:29:19,299 Molecular nitrogen is generated 382 00:29:19,300 --> 00:29:22,110 by the decomposition of ammonia molecules. 383 00:29:23,301 --> 00:29:25,401 Ordinarily, ammonia is a substance 384 00:29:25,402 --> 00:29:28,148 that does not decompose at low temperatures. 385 00:29:29,422 --> 00:29:31,396 The presence of molecular nitrogen 386 00:29:31,397 --> 00:29:34,067 indicates a high temperature environment. 387 00:29:36,111 --> 00:29:38,531 The hidden high temperature, high pressure 388 00:29:38,532 --> 00:29:40,863 deep-sea world on Enceladus. 389 00:29:41,859 --> 00:29:45,338 Lifeforms that can survive in similarly harsh environments 390 00:29:45,339 --> 00:29:47,623 have been found here on Earth. 391 00:29:50,013 --> 00:29:52,231 They were discovered at hydrothermal vents 392 00:29:52,232 --> 00:29:53,900 in the Indian Ocean. 393 00:30:01,771 --> 00:30:03,358 They can survive in temperatures 394 00:30:03,359 --> 00:30:07,032 reaching as high as 122 degrees Celsius. 395 00:30:09,481 --> 00:30:11,710 Thermophilic methanogens are bacteria 396 00:30:11,711 --> 00:30:13,587 that thrive in high temperature, 397 00:30:13,588 --> 00:30:15,193 high pressure water. 398 00:30:33,254 --> 00:30:35,044 In fact, this experiment 399 00:30:35,045 --> 00:30:37,927 confirmed the production of molecular hydrogen, 400 00:30:37,928 --> 00:30:40,215 the energy source for methanogens. 401 00:30:43,238 --> 00:30:46,811 If organisms like methanogens exist on Enceladus, 402 00:30:46,812 --> 00:30:48,794 then hopes rise that this could lead 403 00:30:48,795 --> 00:30:51,243 to a world of diverse lifeforms. 404 00:31:15,141 --> 00:31:18,149 Enceladus is one point four billion kilometers 405 00:31:18,150 --> 00:31:19,337 from the sun. 406 00:31:21,338 --> 00:31:24,618 Under its icy surface is an ocean of water. 407 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:31,928 On that ocean's floor, hydrothermal vents 408 00:31:31,929 --> 00:31:33,886 similar to those on Earth. 409 00:31:35,822 --> 00:31:37,773 Fostering a rich ecosystem, 410 00:31:37,774 --> 00:31:40,958 based on lifeforms similar to methanogens. 411 00:31:42,552 --> 00:31:45,629 That's how Sekine pictures Enceladus. 412 00:31:51,907 --> 00:31:54,951 The clue was provided by the jets of Enceladus. 413 00:32:00,109 --> 00:32:02,198 And that faint outer ring of light 414 00:32:02,199 --> 00:32:04,417 in which Enceladus is situated 415 00:32:04,418 --> 00:32:06,422 reflects our shining hope 416 00:32:06,423 --> 00:32:09,362 that we are not alone in the universe. 417 00:32:31,262 --> 00:32:34,001 That was October, 2010. 418 00:32:34,002 --> 00:32:36,252 This stunning news of an Earth-like planet 419 00:32:36,253 --> 00:32:38,493 that might be able to sustain life 420 00:32:38,494 --> 00:32:40,770 reverberated around the world. 421 00:32:46,194 --> 00:32:48,998 A planet like our own planet Earth, 422 00:32:48,999 --> 00:32:51,115 one on which life could exist. 423 00:32:54,194 --> 00:32:57,563 The discovery was made from the volcanic island of Hawaii 424 00:32:57,564 --> 00:32:59,200 in the Pacific Ocean. 425 00:33:02,524 --> 00:33:05,167 Mauna Kea, an inactive volcano, 426 00:33:05,168 --> 00:33:08,350 has an elevation of 4,200 meters. 427 00:33:08,351 --> 00:33:11,264 On its summit are perched astronomical observatories 428 00:33:11,265 --> 00:33:13,931 operated by the United States, Japan, 429 00:33:13,932 --> 00:33:15,888 France, and other countries. 430 00:33:19,978 --> 00:33:21,615 The Keck Observatory. 431 00:33:25,323 --> 00:33:27,882 Scientists used one of the Keck's telescopes, 432 00:33:27,883 --> 00:33:29,738 whose 10 meter aperture classes it 433 00:33:29,739 --> 00:33:31,582 among the largest in the world, 434 00:33:31,583 --> 00:33:33,178 to make the discovery. 435 00:33:35,828 --> 00:33:37,396 Steven Vogt is a professor 436 00:33:37,397 --> 00:33:40,814 at the University of California's Santa Cruz campus. 437 00:33:41,931 --> 00:33:43,198 He's part of the team that found 438 00:33:43,199 --> 00:33:45,399 a planet that may support life. 439 00:33:48,136 --> 00:33:50,045 So this is the Keck One telescope. 440 00:33:50,046 --> 00:33:52,348 This is where I do my planet hunting. 441 00:33:52,349 --> 00:33:54,663 Glises 581g is a very special planet. 442 00:33:54,664 --> 00:33:56,898 It reminds us the most of our own Earth. 443 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,755 This very special planet that Vogt discovered, 444 00:34:01,756 --> 00:34:03,990 what sort of planetary body is it? 445 00:34:05,426 --> 00:34:08,969 The night sky is punctuated with points of light. 446 00:34:08,970 --> 00:34:12,581 Most are fixed stars outside our solar system, 447 00:34:12,582 --> 00:34:15,882 each shining with its own light, like our own sun. 448 00:34:18,674 --> 00:34:23,141 One of them is this reddish star, 20 light-years away. 449 00:34:23,142 --> 00:34:25,610 That means it takes 20 years at the speed of light 450 00:34:25,611 --> 00:34:27,566 for its image to reach Earth. 451 00:34:32,702 --> 00:34:35,852 It's only about 1/3 the size of our own sun. 452 00:34:40,007 --> 00:34:42,968 The planet that Vogt discovered orbits this star. 453 00:34:47,101 --> 00:34:50,437 Since 1998, Vogt has worked with Paul Butler 454 00:34:50,438 --> 00:34:52,827 of the Carnegie Institution for Science 455 00:34:52,828 --> 00:34:54,731 to observe this red star. 456 00:34:59,836 --> 00:35:03,398 The discovery of a life-supporting planet orbiting this star 457 00:35:03,399 --> 00:35:07,137 resulted from more than a decade of scientific observations. 458 00:35:13,371 --> 00:35:15,413 And then, there it was. 459 00:35:19,258 --> 00:35:23,513 A planet they designated Gliese 581g. 460 00:35:23,514 --> 00:35:25,765 Triple the mass of the Earth. 461 00:35:25,766 --> 00:35:27,791 In orbit around its central star 462 00:35:27,792 --> 00:35:30,729 at a distance of 22,000,000 kilometers. 463 00:35:32,646 --> 00:35:34,792 That distance is significant. 464 00:35:38,276 --> 00:35:41,535 To understand why, consider our own sun. 465 00:35:43,055 --> 00:35:46,987 And consider liquid water, the source of life. 466 00:35:46,988 --> 00:35:49,450 If a planet is too close to its parent star, 467 00:35:49,451 --> 00:35:52,105 any water on it will evaporate, 468 00:35:52,106 --> 00:35:55,108 but if it's too far away, the water will freeze. 469 00:35:57,983 --> 00:36:00,702 For water to remain on the surface of a planet, 470 00:36:00,703 --> 00:36:02,472 it needs to orbit its parent star 471 00:36:02,473 --> 00:36:05,732 at just the right distance, like planet Earth. 472 00:36:10,643 --> 00:36:13,991 The vicinity in which water can remain on a planet's surface 473 00:36:13,992 --> 00:36:15,971 is called the habitable zone. 474 00:36:19,273 --> 00:36:20,668 When Vogt tried to calculate 475 00:36:20,669 --> 00:36:22,568 whether or not the planet he discovered 476 00:36:22,569 --> 00:36:24,616 was inside a habitable zone, 477 00:36:24,617 --> 00:36:27,095 he determined that it was right in the middle of it. 478 00:36:28,275 --> 00:36:31,309 It was indeed a planet very much like Earth. 479 00:36:38,282 --> 00:36:41,257 So the feeling of finding the first 480 00:36:41,258 --> 00:36:45,334 known planet that could support liquid water 481 00:36:45,335 --> 00:36:47,692 is a great feeling and was very exciting. 482 00:36:47,693 --> 00:36:50,826 We'd been trying to do this for 15 years, 483 00:36:50,827 --> 00:36:52,970 so this is, for us, this is the end 484 00:36:52,971 --> 00:36:56,202 of a long journey in that respect. 485 00:36:56,203 --> 00:36:57,915 So it's a wonderful feeling. 486 00:36:59,190 --> 00:37:01,951 At long last, the discovery of a planet 487 00:37:01,952 --> 00:37:04,752 that might have liquid water on its surface. 488 00:37:06,069 --> 00:37:09,535 However, even with present observation technologies, 489 00:37:09,536 --> 00:37:11,541 the best we can do is to estimate 490 00:37:11,542 --> 00:37:13,861 the planet's mass and location. 491 00:37:16,618 --> 00:37:19,017 The presence of liquid water on the surface 492 00:37:19,018 --> 00:37:21,828 cannot be confirmed by direct observation. 493 00:37:27,348 --> 00:37:31,061 Is there really water on Gliese 581g? 494 00:37:31,062 --> 00:37:34,179 One researcher is trying to settle this question 495 00:37:34,180 --> 00:37:35,486 using theory. 496 00:37:43,818 --> 00:37:47,689 Professor Shigeru Ida of the Tokyo Institute of Technology 497 00:37:47,690 --> 00:37:51,352 is using computer simulations to study planet formation. 498 00:37:55,700 --> 00:37:57,446 To look into the question of whether or not 499 00:37:57,447 --> 00:38:00,657 water is present on Gliese 581g, 500 00:38:00,658 --> 00:38:03,495 Ida has studied what types of planets can be formed 501 00:38:03,496 --> 00:38:05,539 by a central red dwarf star. 502 00:38:12,806 --> 00:38:16,358 Planets originate from clouds of cosmic dust and gas 503 00:38:16,359 --> 00:38:18,267 that group around a central star 504 00:38:18,268 --> 00:38:20,108 at the time of its own birth. 505 00:38:27,069 --> 00:38:29,766 As these dusts and gases coalesce, 506 00:38:29,767 --> 00:38:33,408 they eventually form larger bodies, planets. 507 00:38:37,328 --> 00:38:39,909 Ida has run 3,000 permutations 508 00:38:39,910 --> 00:38:42,436 to see what sorts of planets might originate 509 00:38:42,437 --> 00:38:45,588 from varying amounts of the same dusts and gases. 510 00:38:48,123 --> 00:38:49,610 These are the results. 511 00:38:52,550 --> 00:38:54,868 Each dot represents a planet. 512 00:38:54,869 --> 00:38:57,839 The colors indicate what the different planets are made of. 513 00:39:02,645 --> 00:39:05,610 Green means that the main constituent is rock, 514 00:39:05,611 --> 00:39:07,043 as with planet Earth. 515 00:39:08,373 --> 00:39:10,570 Red means a planet such as Saturn, 516 00:39:10,571 --> 00:39:12,646 composed primarily of gases. 517 00:39:13,761 --> 00:39:15,848 And blue indicates that the planet is made up 518 00:39:15,849 --> 00:39:18,532 mostly of ice, like Neptune. 519 00:39:22,271 --> 00:39:25,799 Vogt's observations put the mass of Gliese 581g 520 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:27,795 at triple that of Earth's, 521 00:39:27,796 --> 00:39:31,799 and its distance from its star at 22,000,000 kilometers. 522 00:39:54,116 --> 00:39:56,984 In other words, Gliese 581g 523 00:39:56,985 --> 00:40:00,604 is not, like planet Earth, composed primarily of rock. 524 00:40:02,849 --> 00:40:06,086 Rather, it's an ice planet, like Neptune. 525 00:40:10,230 --> 00:40:12,300 And yet one can still have high hopes 526 00:40:12,301 --> 00:40:14,151 that life does exist there. 527 00:40:31,700 --> 00:40:34,133 Ida believes that Gliese 581g 528 00:40:34,134 --> 00:40:36,714 was born as an ice planet in a cold region 529 00:40:36,715 --> 00:40:38,553 far from its parent star. 530 00:40:43,337 --> 00:40:46,280 In the course of tens of thousands of revolutions, 531 00:40:46,281 --> 00:40:48,296 it gradually drew closer, 532 00:40:48,297 --> 00:40:50,702 winding up in the middle of the habitable zone. 533 00:40:54,633 --> 00:40:57,128 The result was that the surface ice melted, 534 00:40:57,129 --> 00:41:00,674 becoming liquid water, creating an ocean planet. 535 00:41:04,446 --> 00:41:06,716 The amount of water on such an ocean planet 536 00:41:06,717 --> 00:41:09,549 would be quite different from what it is on our own planet. 537 00:41:11,965 --> 00:41:13,761 Look at a cross-section of Earth. 538 00:41:16,414 --> 00:41:18,711 It's made almost entirely of rock. 539 00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:26,160 The oceans make up just 2/100 of a percent 540 00:41:26,161 --> 00:41:29,419 of the total mass, a very thin layer. 541 00:41:31,420 --> 00:41:33,836 Gliese 581g is different. 542 00:41:37,170 --> 00:41:39,065 It's primarily water. 543 00:41:41,105 --> 00:41:45,431 In fact, water makes up over 50% of the planet's mass. 544 00:41:50,247 --> 00:41:54,363 The first planet ever to be discovered in a habitable zone, 545 00:41:54,364 --> 00:41:56,406 Gliese 581g. 546 00:42:02,353 --> 00:42:04,667 With a high probability of maintaining 547 00:42:04,668 --> 00:42:06,944 vast amounts of liquid water. 548 00:42:11,963 --> 00:42:15,925 Oceans bathed in the sunset-like glow of its red star. 549 00:42:21,446 --> 00:42:24,383 What sorts of lifeforms might we find there? 550 00:42:30,629 --> 00:42:32,398 What does a biologist have to say 551 00:42:32,399 --> 00:42:35,705 about life on Gliese 581g, 552 00:42:35,706 --> 00:42:38,054 an exoplanet outside our solar system? 553 00:42:41,946 --> 00:42:43,657 Takeshi Naganuma. 554 00:42:45,380 --> 00:42:47,715 He studies lifeforms in extreme environments 555 00:42:47,716 --> 00:42:49,790 like volcanoes and deserts. 556 00:42:52,025 --> 00:42:53,560 Given the persistence of life 557 00:42:53,561 --> 00:42:56,717 in such extremely adverse circumstances on Earth, 558 00:42:56,718 --> 00:42:59,955 he thinks extraterrestrial life must also exist. 559 00:43:31,012 --> 00:43:32,585 One month after the announcement 560 00:43:32,586 --> 00:43:37,413 about Gliese 581g, Naganuma is paying a visit to Ida. 561 00:43:40,458 --> 00:43:42,206 Naganuma is hoping to learn more about 562 00:43:42,207 --> 00:43:45,758 the environment on Gliese 581g, 563 00:43:45,759 --> 00:43:47,326 so that he can consider the question 564 00:43:47,327 --> 00:43:49,710 of life on that planet more deeply. 565 00:43:55,938 --> 00:43:58,775 Ida's first step, to explain certain aspects 566 00:43:58,776 --> 00:44:01,510 of Gliese 581g's parent star. 567 00:44:04,482 --> 00:44:07,182 This brought up the question of the star's lifespan. 568 00:44:14,142 --> 00:44:16,157 Indeed, 10,000,000,000 years 569 00:44:16,158 --> 00:44:19,497 would be more than double the age of our own sun, 570 00:44:19,498 --> 00:44:22,467 which is only 4,600,000,000 years old. 571 00:44:24,371 --> 00:44:26,727 That would mean that Gliese 581g 572 00:44:26,728 --> 00:44:28,572 has had plenty of time to evolve 573 00:44:28,573 --> 00:44:30,530 complex forms of life. 574 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:37,804 Ida says that Gliese 581g has plenty of water, but no land. 575 00:44:42,493 --> 00:44:45,837 The only rock on this planet lies deep within. 576 00:44:48,146 --> 00:44:49,628 With the ocean reaching depths 577 00:44:49,629 --> 00:44:51,922 of several thousand kilometers, 578 00:44:51,923 --> 00:44:55,446 there is no way that that rock could form dry land. 579 00:44:56,956 --> 00:44:58,993 Learning that there is no land there 580 00:44:58,994 --> 00:45:02,023 has convinced Naganuma that an Earth-like civilization 581 00:45:02,024 --> 00:45:04,161 could not develop on this planet. 582 00:45:07,846 --> 00:45:11,275 But the ocean would still be teeming with life, he says. 583 00:45:15,185 --> 00:45:17,386 What form would that life take? 584 00:45:20,326 --> 00:45:24,122 Let's take a look at the world of Gliese 581g 585 00:45:24,123 --> 00:45:26,751 as envisaged by Takeshi Naganuma. 586 00:45:31,802 --> 00:45:35,862 A vast ocean, no boundaries in sight. 587 00:45:35,863 --> 00:45:38,005 Within it, life. 588 00:45:42,820 --> 00:45:44,505 What are these? 589 00:45:44,506 --> 00:45:46,985 Creatures of Gliese 581g. 590 00:45:50,532 --> 00:45:53,923 They float near the surface, living off the red light 591 00:45:53,924 --> 00:45:55,806 by means of photosynthesis. 592 00:45:57,807 --> 00:45:59,192 Their flat shape enables them 593 00:45:59,193 --> 00:46:01,640 to process as much light as possible. 594 00:46:04,206 --> 00:46:06,744 Life exists not only near the surface, 595 00:46:06,745 --> 00:46:09,065 but in the depths as well. 596 00:46:09,066 --> 00:46:11,508 These tube-like creatures are an example. 597 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:17,507 They move by propulsion, 598 00:46:17,508 --> 00:46:19,544 taking water in with their mouths 599 00:46:19,545 --> 00:46:21,865 and expelling it from their rear ends. 600 00:46:25,337 --> 00:46:28,173 At the same time, they filter plankton, 601 00:46:28,174 --> 00:46:30,259 from which they derive nourishment. 602 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:36,205 Their flexible bodies can adjust 603 00:46:36,206 --> 00:46:38,658 to variations in water pressure, 604 00:46:38,659 --> 00:46:41,196 enabling them to range from the deep sea 605 00:46:41,197 --> 00:46:42,919 to shallower waters. 606 00:46:48,472 --> 00:46:50,262 And there would be an unexpected place 607 00:46:50,263 --> 00:46:52,263 where life could develop as well. 608 00:47:00,215 --> 00:47:03,424 Surrounding a planet that is triple the mass of the Earth, 609 00:47:03,425 --> 00:47:06,145 the atmosphere of Gliese 581g 610 00:47:06,146 --> 00:47:09,755 is estimated to be 100 times denser than Earth's. 611 00:47:15,094 --> 00:47:17,910 Naganuma points out that such a thick atmosphere 612 00:47:17,911 --> 00:47:21,002 would, in sense, approximate a liquid, 613 00:47:21,003 --> 00:47:23,114 constituting a medium through which creatures 614 00:47:23,115 --> 00:47:25,240 could easily float. 615 00:47:25,241 --> 00:47:28,069 So airborne creatures might emerge as well. 616 00:47:32,311 --> 00:47:36,212 Naganuma calls this particular extraterrestrial lifeform 617 00:47:36,213 --> 00:47:37,435 Ballchutes. 618 00:47:42,283 --> 00:47:44,505 Three eyes and a large brain. 619 00:47:58,601 --> 00:48:00,733 What kind of life would they lead, 620 00:48:00,734 --> 00:48:02,627 these sky-borne aliens? 621 00:48:13,939 --> 00:48:17,340 This is the Gliese 581g sky 622 00:48:17,341 --> 00:48:19,613 and the lifeforms that dwell in it, 623 00:48:19,614 --> 00:48:22,081 as conceptualized by Naganuma. 624 00:48:23,677 --> 00:48:27,089 These ballchutes, short for balloon parachutes, 625 00:48:27,090 --> 00:48:31,005 produce methane and other light gases internally. 626 00:48:31,006 --> 00:48:32,688 By regulating the amount, 627 00:48:32,689 --> 00:48:34,031 they glide through the sky 628 00:48:34,032 --> 00:48:36,533 like hot air balloons above planet Earth. 629 00:48:38,032 --> 00:48:41,647 Or, by expanding their bodies into the shape of an umbrella 630 00:48:41,648 --> 00:48:46,471 and then a parasol, they end their buoyancy 631 00:48:46,472 --> 00:48:49,466 and descend slowly, like parachutes. 632 00:48:53,196 --> 00:48:55,679 They negotiate the skies at will, 633 00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,831 using their large brains and skillful bodies. 634 00:49:01,226 --> 00:49:03,273 But eyesight development helps evolve 635 00:49:03,274 --> 00:49:05,572 a totally different creature as well. 636 00:49:09,353 --> 00:49:13,049 One that puts its superior eyesight to savage use. 637 00:49:25,054 --> 00:49:29,432 That's right, these new glider creatures are carnivores. 638 00:49:33,427 --> 00:49:36,711 When they spot prey, they go into a power dive 639 00:49:36,712 --> 00:49:39,405 and spear their victim with their sharp jaws. 640 00:49:48,157 --> 00:49:50,182 Then they use their long tongues 641 00:49:50,183 --> 00:49:52,769 to suck out the brains of the ballchutes. 642 00:50:05,361 --> 00:50:09,968 A plausible view of life and death on Gliese 581g, 643 00:50:09,969 --> 00:50:12,496 whose long-lived sun has given it time 644 00:50:12,497 --> 00:50:14,975 to evolve diverse lifeforms. 645 00:50:24,828 --> 00:50:26,873 Naganuma has concluded that life there 646 00:50:26,874 --> 00:50:29,570 would be dominated by big-brained creatures 647 00:50:29,571 --> 00:50:32,957 that one might as well call aliens. 648 00:51:00,558 --> 00:51:03,506 The universe is teeming with life. 649 00:51:03,507 --> 00:51:05,224 That's a premise that scientists 650 00:51:05,225 --> 00:51:07,724 are busy turning into a conviction. 651 00:51:09,654 --> 00:51:13,937 Steven Vogt, a co-discoverer of Gliese 581g, 652 00:51:13,938 --> 00:51:17,815 is himself setting forth on a new cosmic front. 653 00:51:19,165 --> 00:51:22,882 So this is the part of the Automated Planet Finder. 654 00:51:25,618 --> 00:51:27,014 Vogt has developed a device 655 00:51:27,015 --> 00:51:31,211 to search for planets like Gliese 581g automatically. 656 00:51:33,851 --> 00:51:36,080 You enter in the location of the fixed star 657 00:51:36,081 --> 00:51:38,705 near which you want to search for planets, 658 00:51:38,706 --> 00:51:41,983 and then it conducts the survey for you automatically. 659 00:51:46,032 --> 00:51:47,076 It's being installed 660 00:51:47,077 --> 00:51:50,346 at the University of California's Lick Observatory. 661 00:51:52,699 --> 00:51:56,420 The fixed star around which Gliese 581g revolves 662 00:51:56,421 --> 00:51:58,474 is a red dwarf star. 663 00:51:58,475 --> 00:52:01,964 Such stars make up nearly 80% of the Milky Way. 664 00:52:07,442 --> 00:52:10,523 So Vogt is confident there must be many more planets 665 00:52:10,524 --> 00:52:14,497 like Gliese 581g that are capable of sustaining life. 666 00:52:20,988 --> 00:52:23,386 So my expectations for the APF 667 00:52:23,387 --> 00:52:27,290 are that we will find many Earth-like or Earth-size planets 668 00:52:27,291 --> 00:52:29,977 capable of supporting life as we know it. 669 00:52:29,978 --> 00:52:32,431 There's probably tens of billions 670 00:52:32,432 --> 00:52:34,564 of such planets in our galaxy. 671 00:52:34,565 --> 00:52:38,201 And so we hope to find the nearest ones with this facility. 672 00:52:38,202 --> 00:52:40,356 I know we'll find them. 673 00:52:40,357 --> 00:52:41,642 I'm certain of it. 674 00:52:43,380 --> 00:52:46,441 The universe is teeming with life. 675 00:52:46,442 --> 00:52:50,030 Someday that will be proved by scientific observation. 676 00:52:52,991 --> 00:52:56,634 Vogt's passion will not permit him to abandon that quest. 677 00:53:02,654 --> 00:53:04,765 The scientists on the cosmic front lines 678 00:53:04,766 --> 00:53:07,570 of space exploration have detected places 679 00:53:07,571 --> 00:53:11,048 both within our solar system and far beyond it 680 00:53:11,049 --> 00:53:12,824 where life can exist. 681 00:53:23,581 --> 00:53:28,569 In space, worlds unfold beyond our wildest imaginings. 682 00:53:28,570 --> 00:53:31,501 They are merely waiting for us to discover them. 683 00:53:36,917 --> 00:53:39,210 Humankind has only just begun 684 00:53:39,211 --> 00:53:42,435 to challenge the cosmic front. 53531

Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.