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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:03,537 --> 00:00:07,439 Narrator: Interstellar space is the space between the stars. 2 00:00:10,477 --> 00:00:14,679 Interstellar space is vast, largely unknown, 3 00:00:14,681 --> 00:00:18,149 and largely unmapped. 4 00:00:18,151 --> 00:00:23,488 Narrator: Now astronomers are probing this great abyss 5 00:00:23,490 --> 00:00:26,424 and discovering something remarkable. 6 00:00:30,296 --> 00:00:32,364 Interstellar space is busy. 7 00:00:32,366 --> 00:00:34,832 It's filled with activity. 8 00:00:34,834 --> 00:00:39,304 There are rogue planets that are not attached to a star. 9 00:00:39,306 --> 00:00:43,174 There are cosmic rays, there are interstellar gas clouds. 10 00:00:43,176 --> 00:00:44,842 Thaller: We've even got high-velocity stars. 11 00:00:44,844 --> 00:00:47,245 All of that is careening around out there. 12 00:00:47,247 --> 00:00:50,848 Narrator: The greatest secrets in our universe... 13 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:52,917 Interstellar space is where we came from. 14 00:00:52,919 --> 00:00:55,654 Narrator: ...Could lie between the stars. 15 00:00:55,656 --> 00:00:58,723 -- Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com 16 00:00:58,725 --> 00:01:01,526 captions paid for by discovery communications 17 00:01:01,528 --> 00:01:08,600 �� 18 00:01:08,602 --> 00:01:15,674 �� 19 00:01:15,676 --> 00:01:17,543 we live in a small solar system 20 00:01:17,545 --> 00:01:20,446 in the suburbs of the milky way galaxy -- 21 00:01:23,816 --> 00:01:31,155 8 planets and more than 180 moons all orbiting the sun. 22 00:01:31,157 --> 00:01:35,293 In our solar system, the sun is the sheriff of the town. 23 00:01:35,295 --> 00:01:39,897 We do whatever the sun wants us to do. 24 00:01:39,899 --> 00:01:43,034 Narrator: The sun's influence stretches more than one light-year 25 00:01:43,036 --> 00:01:46,671 in every direction 26 00:01:46,673 --> 00:01:50,241 and defines the boundary of our solar system. 27 00:01:50,243 --> 00:01:53,778 Someplace out there is a place where the sun's influence ends 28 00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:55,915 and the other stars' begins. 29 00:01:55,917 --> 00:01:58,449 That's the entrance to interstellar space. 30 00:01:58,451 --> 00:02:04,322 �� 31 00:02:04,324 --> 00:02:06,457 narrator: Interstellar space is the region 32 00:02:06,459 --> 00:02:09,294 between star systems in our galaxy. 33 00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:16,668 Until now, we've known little about it. 34 00:02:16,670 --> 00:02:18,269 For so long, we've thought the space 35 00:02:18,271 --> 00:02:20,605 in between the stars as entirely empty, 36 00:02:20,607 --> 00:02:23,409 but this turns out not to be true at all. 37 00:02:23,411 --> 00:02:25,344 Durda: There's a lot going on out there, 38 00:02:25,346 --> 00:02:28,747 and it's the forefront of astronomy. 39 00:02:28,749 --> 00:02:31,883 Narrator: One of the biggest clues about interstellar space 40 00:02:31,885 --> 00:02:34,619 came right to our doorstep. 41 00:02:34,621 --> 00:02:41,226 �� 42 00:02:41,228 --> 00:02:44,228 October 2017. 43 00:02:44,230 --> 00:02:49,367 The pan-starrs1 telescope spots something unusual. 44 00:02:49,369 --> 00:02:51,703 Pan-starrs is an observatory in Hawaii, 45 00:02:51,705 --> 00:02:54,372 and it's scanning large sections of the sky, 46 00:02:54,374 --> 00:02:56,441 looking for things that change. 47 00:02:59,713 --> 00:03:02,447 All of a sudden, there was this tiny, little visitor 48 00:03:02,449 --> 00:03:04,649 just screaming through the solar system. 49 00:03:04,651 --> 00:03:07,919 It was going about 200,000 miles an hour. 50 00:03:07,921 --> 00:03:10,188 Wadhwa: It was a much faster object 51 00:03:10,190 --> 00:03:13,391 than what might be expected for a solar-system object. 52 00:03:13,393 --> 00:03:15,727 And also its trajectory was such 53 00:03:15,729 --> 00:03:19,663 that it seemed like its orbit was not bound to the sun. 54 00:03:19,665 --> 00:03:24,837 It was totally unlike any other path, any other trajectory, 55 00:03:24,839 --> 00:03:29,674 any other orbit in our solar system. 56 00:03:29,676 --> 00:03:33,378 Narrator: Astronomers reached an extraordinary conclusion. 57 00:03:35,815 --> 00:03:37,549 It became very clear that, yeah, 58 00:03:37,551 --> 00:03:39,884 this was not some solar-system object 59 00:03:39,886 --> 00:03:41,419 falling from a long way away. 60 00:03:41,421 --> 00:03:44,889 This was something that came from another star, 61 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:48,492 and I think everybody was pretty amazed by that. 62 00:03:48,494 --> 00:03:53,364 �� 63 00:03:53,366 --> 00:03:56,167 narrator: Our first known interstellar visitor 64 00:03:56,169 --> 00:03:59,970 on a fly-by through our solar system. 65 00:03:59,972 --> 00:04:04,109 It was the very first object that we had ever discovered 66 00:04:04,111 --> 00:04:07,045 that had originated outside the solar system. 67 00:04:07,047 --> 00:04:10,648 Everything else we've seen -- every comet, every asteroid -- 68 00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:13,918 originated within our solar system. 69 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,988 Wadhwa: A big, mega solid object 70 00:04:16,990 --> 00:04:18,789 entering in our own solar system, 71 00:04:18,791 --> 00:04:22,927 that's something that, you know, I can only dream of 72 00:04:22,929 --> 00:04:25,396 but had never thought it would actually be a reality. 73 00:04:25,398 --> 00:04:29,400 �� 74 00:04:29,402 --> 00:04:32,269 narrator: Scientists named the object 'oumuamua, 75 00:04:32,271 --> 00:04:36,741 Hawaiian for "a messenger from afar arriving first." 76 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:40,945 This thing came from interstellar space 77 00:04:40,947 --> 00:04:42,280 into our solar system, 78 00:04:42,282 --> 00:04:45,150 and the main question is, what could it be? 79 00:04:45,152 --> 00:04:50,288 �� 80 00:04:50,290 --> 00:04:54,759 narrator: The object's shape was mystifying. 81 00:04:54,761 --> 00:04:56,694 It's almost sort of shaped like a cigar. 82 00:04:56,696 --> 00:05:00,099 It's 10 times longer than it is wide. 83 00:05:00,101 --> 00:05:01,232 Walsh: And this is extraordinary. 84 00:05:01,234 --> 00:05:02,834 There's no object in our solar system 85 00:05:02,836 --> 00:05:06,138 that we've ever measured that is this elongated. 86 00:05:09,175 --> 00:05:12,310 Narrator: 'Oumuamua looked so unnatural, 87 00:05:12,312 --> 00:05:16,914 it sparked scientists' imaginations. 88 00:05:16,916 --> 00:05:18,584 One of the things to remember about scientists 89 00:05:18,586 --> 00:05:19,984 is that we're still human beings. 90 00:05:19,986 --> 00:05:21,386 We have read science fiction. 91 00:05:21,388 --> 00:05:23,688 We have imaginations. 92 00:05:25,458 --> 00:05:26,858 Plait: I have to admit, when I first heard about it, 93 00:05:26,860 --> 00:05:29,060 my first thought is that it was rama from 94 00:05:29,062 --> 00:05:31,396 an Arthur c. Clarke story, "rendezvous with rama." 95 00:05:31,398 --> 00:05:34,065 This is a very elongated spaceship 96 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:36,167 that came from another star. 97 00:05:38,138 --> 00:05:40,271 Loeb: It reminded me of some designs 98 00:05:40,273 --> 00:05:43,474 we had for interstellar space crafts 99 00:05:43,476 --> 00:05:46,076 that have to be much longer than they are wide 100 00:05:46,078 --> 00:05:52,484 in order to minimize friction with the interstellar gas. 101 00:05:52,486 --> 00:05:57,021 Narrator: Could 'oumuamua be an alien interstellar spacecraft? 102 00:05:57,023 --> 00:06:01,826 �� 103 00:06:01,828 --> 00:06:05,029 astronomers, including professor avi loeb, 104 00:06:05,031 --> 00:06:07,698 took the idea seriously. 105 00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:10,568 Loeb: We decided to follow this object 106 00:06:10,570 --> 00:06:12,570 using the best telescopes in the world 107 00:06:12,572 --> 00:06:16,007 and observe whether there is any radio transmission from it. 108 00:06:18,311 --> 00:06:23,047 Narrator: Astronomers hunted for signs of alien communication. 109 00:06:26,652 --> 00:06:28,786 But after eight hours of listening 110 00:06:28,788 --> 00:06:34,058 across multiple frequencies, nothing. 111 00:06:34,060 --> 00:06:37,194 Sadly, no emissions were detected. 112 00:06:37,196 --> 00:06:39,397 It's almost certainly a natural object. 113 00:06:39,399 --> 00:06:41,599 I would bet all of my money on that. 114 00:06:41,601 --> 00:06:42,800 I was disappointed. 115 00:06:42,802 --> 00:06:44,535 I would've been much more excited 116 00:06:44,537 --> 00:06:48,306 if we had found evidence for an alien civilization. 117 00:06:51,678 --> 00:06:54,679 Narrator: No little green men this time. 118 00:06:54,681 --> 00:06:58,149 'Oumuamua is a natural object. 119 00:06:58,151 --> 00:07:01,419 But what exactly is it? 120 00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:05,622 At first, observers thought it might be a comet. 121 00:07:05,624 --> 00:07:08,092 Something that's mostly ice with a little bit of rock. 122 00:07:08,094 --> 00:07:09,293 Those are the sorts of bodies 123 00:07:09,295 --> 00:07:11,095 that exist really far out from the star 124 00:07:11,097 --> 00:07:15,232 and are the easiest things to eject. 125 00:07:15,234 --> 00:07:17,902 Narrator: But a comet passing this close to the sun 126 00:07:17,904 --> 00:07:20,038 would warm up, 127 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:26,176 turning the ice into a gas, forming a vapor trail. 128 00:07:26,178 --> 00:07:31,382 On 'oumuamua, astronomers saw no sign of this happening. 129 00:07:31,384 --> 00:07:33,584 There was no fuzziness around it 130 00:07:33,586 --> 00:07:34,853 that you would expect from a comet 131 00:07:34,855 --> 00:07:37,989 as the ice was turned into a gas. 132 00:07:37,991 --> 00:07:39,256 Wadhwa: It was really mysterious, 133 00:07:39,258 --> 00:07:41,259 and so everybody who was observing it 134 00:07:41,261 --> 00:07:43,861 thought it was an asteroid. 135 00:07:46,666 --> 00:07:51,103 Narrator: As team's track 'oumuamua across the sky, 136 00:07:51,105 --> 00:07:54,872 there was an unexpected twist. 137 00:07:54,874 --> 00:07:57,475 As 'oumuamua passed through our solar system, 138 00:07:57,477 --> 00:08:00,278 basically, it was falling in toward the sun, 139 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,947 speeding up immensely as it passed the sun, 140 00:08:02,949 --> 00:08:05,016 before exiting the solar system 141 00:08:05,018 --> 00:08:07,151 in almost the opposite direction. 142 00:08:07,153 --> 00:08:08,352 Plait: But then something weird happened. 143 00:08:08,354 --> 00:08:09,821 As it was moving away from the sun, 144 00:08:09,823 --> 00:08:12,289 it was slowing down as you'd expect, 145 00:08:12,291 --> 00:08:16,361 but it wasn't slowing down fast enough. 146 00:08:16,363 --> 00:08:19,631 Narrator: 'Oumuamua gets a boost through our solar system, 147 00:08:19,633 --> 00:08:22,567 but how? 148 00:08:22,569 --> 00:08:26,037 So we think the reason is that it's outgassing. 149 00:08:26,039 --> 00:08:28,706 Plait: In other words, it was emitting a little bit of gas, 150 00:08:28,708 --> 00:08:30,107 and that was acting as a little bit 151 00:08:30,109 --> 00:08:32,243 of a rocket-motor push on it. 152 00:08:32,245 --> 00:08:34,846 Walsh: It's kind of like a little jet engine on the surface -- 153 00:08:34,848 --> 00:08:38,317 just gives it a little thrust over time. 154 00:08:38,319 --> 00:08:41,585 Narrator: This tiny nudge reveals 'oumuamua's 155 00:08:41,587 --> 00:08:43,421 true identity. 156 00:08:45,191 --> 00:08:48,126 So, in that case, it is looking more like a comet. 157 00:08:48,128 --> 00:08:51,929 It's just that that emission wasn't enough to see. 158 00:08:51,931 --> 00:08:56,468 �� 159 00:08:56,470 --> 00:08:59,937 narrator: Powered by outgassing, this interstellar nomad 160 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:02,339 might travel from star to star, 161 00:09:02,341 --> 00:09:04,274 but figuring out where in the galaxy 162 00:09:04,276 --> 00:09:09,080 it came from just got more difficult. 163 00:09:09,082 --> 00:09:11,949 Now that we know 'oumuamua has outgassed, 164 00:09:11,951 --> 00:09:15,019 which changes its velocity and changes its trajectory, 165 00:09:15,021 --> 00:09:18,556 it makes it much harder to do that. 166 00:09:18,558 --> 00:09:21,892 Narrator: 'Oumuamua may now be safely racing away, 167 00:09:21,894 --> 00:09:24,829 but the solar system faces bombardment 168 00:09:24,831 --> 00:09:30,301 from another interstellar source firing at earth 169 00:09:30,303 --> 00:09:32,703 at close to the speed of light. 170 00:09:32,705 --> 00:09:37,543 Cosmic rays are the bullets of the universe, 171 00:09:37,545 --> 00:09:40,912 and they are flooding interstellar space. 172 00:09:55,328 --> 00:10:01,465 �� 173 00:10:01,467 --> 00:10:04,601 narrator: 'Oumuamua's surface tells the story of its journey 174 00:10:04,603 --> 00:10:08,339 through interstellar space. 175 00:10:08,341 --> 00:10:10,874 Radebaugh: The interesting thing about 'oumuamua is its color. 176 00:10:10,876 --> 00:10:12,744 It's actually red. 177 00:10:12,746 --> 00:10:15,080 I'm standing on a surface that's a nice analogue 178 00:10:15,082 --> 00:10:17,215 for the surface of 'oumuamua. 179 00:10:17,217 --> 00:10:19,016 As you look around, you see a really dark, 180 00:10:19,018 --> 00:10:21,886 kind of shiny coating to all of the rocks, 181 00:10:21,888 --> 00:10:23,421 and it extends up the valley 182 00:10:23,423 --> 00:10:25,556 and even onto the mountains behind me. 183 00:10:28,894 --> 00:10:31,695 Narrator: Scientists think 'oumuamua's red sheen 184 00:10:31,697 --> 00:10:33,497 comes from tholins, 185 00:10:33,499 --> 00:10:38,836 organic molecules that are the building blocks of life. 186 00:10:38,838 --> 00:10:43,040 How cool is it that something came out from some other origin, 187 00:10:43,042 --> 00:10:44,775 passed through our neighborhood, 188 00:10:44,777 --> 00:10:46,910 and it possessed some sort of organics? 189 00:10:46,912 --> 00:10:49,881 That could be a possible gold mine for us. 190 00:10:52,385 --> 00:10:54,051 Narrator: In our own solar system, 191 00:10:54,053 --> 00:10:57,455 distant objects like comets and asteroids 192 00:10:57,457 --> 00:11:01,125 also carry tholins. 193 00:11:01,127 --> 00:11:03,394 This happens because their surfaces are bombarded 194 00:11:03,396 --> 00:11:06,396 by cosmic rays and that changes the nature 195 00:11:06,398 --> 00:11:08,866 of the chemicals on the surface. 196 00:11:08,868 --> 00:11:11,335 So we think the same thing has happened to 'oumuamua. 197 00:11:11,337 --> 00:11:13,004 It's been out there in interstellar space 198 00:11:13,006 --> 00:11:16,107 and been bombarded by cosmic rays over the eons. 199 00:11:20,012 --> 00:11:23,614 Narrator: Galactic cosmic rays are high-energy particles 200 00:11:23,616 --> 00:11:25,349 that tear through the universe. 201 00:11:25,351 --> 00:11:30,154 �� 202 00:11:30,156 --> 00:11:36,828 interstellar space is filled to the brim with these cosmic rays. 203 00:11:36,830 --> 00:11:39,163 Things like protons and electrons or perhaps 204 00:11:39,165 --> 00:11:41,232 some heavier, the more exotic particles 205 00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:44,636 that are literally whizzing through the universe. 206 00:11:44,638 --> 00:11:46,837 Some cosmic rays can travel as fast 207 00:11:46,839 --> 00:11:48,772 as 99% the speed of light -- 208 00:11:48,774 --> 00:11:52,176 incredibly fast, energetic things. 209 00:11:52,178 --> 00:11:55,112 Narrator: It takes a lot of energy 210 00:11:55,114 --> 00:12:00,117 to accelerate anything close to the speed of light. 211 00:12:00,119 --> 00:12:03,921 Cosmic rays come from many energetic and powerful 212 00:12:03,923 --> 00:12:08,525 and violent sources in our universe. 213 00:12:08,527 --> 00:12:15,166 Everything that's big and blasting generates cosmic rays. 214 00:12:15,168 --> 00:12:19,870 Narrator: One of the most powerful cosmic-ray generators 215 00:12:19,872 --> 00:12:23,408 is the death of a giant star, a supernova. 216 00:12:23,410 --> 00:12:29,347 �� 217 00:12:29,349 --> 00:12:32,950 a supernova is a really energetic explosion. 218 00:12:32,952 --> 00:12:35,587 It's so energetic that it can create all kinds 219 00:12:35,589 --> 00:12:38,689 of interesting things. 220 00:12:38,691 --> 00:12:42,760 Narrator: When a star runs out of fuel, it collapses. 221 00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:45,496 The mass of the star crashes inwards, 222 00:12:45,498 --> 00:12:48,165 triggering a huge explosion. 223 00:12:48,167 --> 00:12:53,705 �� 224 00:12:53,707 --> 00:12:57,174 the shock wave slams into surrounding gas, 225 00:12:57,176 --> 00:13:00,644 amplifying magnetic fields. 226 00:13:00,646 --> 00:13:02,580 Plait: If you get a particle caught in there, 227 00:13:02,582 --> 00:13:05,116 trapped in the magnetic fields of this gas, 228 00:13:05,118 --> 00:13:08,986 it can bounce back and forth, be accelerated very rapidly. 229 00:13:08,988 --> 00:13:11,188 It goes ding, ding, ding-ding-ding-ding. 230 00:13:11,190 --> 00:13:13,190 Like that. 231 00:13:13,192 --> 00:13:15,859 Narrator: Eventually, the particle moves so fast 232 00:13:15,861 --> 00:13:19,430 that the magnetic field can no longer hold it. 233 00:13:21,534 --> 00:13:24,569 And, pyew, it gets shot out at very near the speed of light. 234 00:13:28,141 --> 00:13:35,012 Narrator: Cosmic rays have mass, and they wreak havoc. 235 00:13:35,014 --> 00:13:39,884 Cosmic rays are the bullets of the universe, 236 00:13:39,886 --> 00:13:42,753 and they are flooding interstellar space. 237 00:13:42,755 --> 00:13:45,022 But, thankfully, we're protected. 238 00:13:45,024 --> 00:13:49,893 �� 239 00:13:49,895 --> 00:13:53,163 narrator: Cosmic rays from interstellar space battle 240 00:13:53,165 --> 00:13:57,301 with another superpower -- 241 00:13:57,303 --> 00:14:01,306 our own bodyguard in the solar system -- the sun. 242 00:14:03,242 --> 00:14:05,509 Thaller: We think of the sun as the source of energy 243 00:14:05,511 --> 00:14:07,978 and warmth for earth, the giver of life, 244 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:09,380 but it's also protecting us in ways 245 00:14:09,382 --> 00:14:11,115 you might not be aware of. 246 00:14:13,586 --> 00:14:16,720 Narrator: The sun emits a stream of charged particles 247 00:14:16,722 --> 00:14:20,391 called the solar wind. 248 00:14:20,393 --> 00:14:23,327 The particles hurtle out past the planets 249 00:14:23,329 --> 00:14:25,596 at more than a million miles an hour. 250 00:14:29,001 --> 00:14:32,937 But they do eventually run out of power. 251 00:14:32,939 --> 00:14:36,273 There's this region where the solar wind grinds to a stop. 252 00:14:36,275 --> 00:14:39,076 It's plowing into this material between the stars 253 00:14:39,078 --> 00:14:41,545 and eventually slows and stops. 254 00:14:45,284 --> 00:14:49,487 Narrator: The solar wind carries the sun's magnetic field with it, 255 00:14:49,489 --> 00:14:53,824 forming a bubble around our solar system. 256 00:14:53,826 --> 00:14:56,560 We call that the heliosphere, "helio" for the sun 257 00:14:56,562 --> 00:14:59,296 and "sphere" for this giant magnetic field. 258 00:14:59,298 --> 00:15:01,098 Plait: It acts, basically, like a shield, 259 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:03,634 protecting us from these galactic cosmic rays. 260 00:15:03,636 --> 00:15:05,436 If that weren't there, 261 00:15:05,438 --> 00:15:09,306 the radiation levels hitting the earth would actually increase. 262 00:15:09,308 --> 00:15:11,775 Thaller: So, in a real way, the sun is protecting us 263 00:15:11,777 --> 00:15:14,845 from the dangerous environment of interstellar space. 264 00:15:16,849 --> 00:15:18,516 Narrator: The heliosphere protects us 265 00:15:18,518 --> 00:15:21,051 from the majority of cosmic rays, 266 00:15:21,053 --> 00:15:25,990 but some still make it into the solar system. 267 00:15:25,992 --> 00:15:31,862 Fortunately for us, earth also has its own defense mechanisms. 268 00:15:31,864 --> 00:15:35,466 We have our magnetic field that can redirect 269 00:15:35,468 --> 00:15:39,737 the lowest energy cosmic rays, and we have our nice, 270 00:15:39,739 --> 00:15:42,940 thick security blanket of an atmosphere, 271 00:15:42,942 --> 00:15:46,877 which absorbs most of the high-energy cosmic rays 272 00:15:46,879 --> 00:15:50,882 before they even get a chance to reach us here on the surface. 273 00:15:50,884 --> 00:15:56,754 �� 274 00:15:56,756 --> 00:15:59,690 narrator: Cosmic rays from interstellar space 275 00:15:59,692 --> 00:16:03,160 can alter DNA and cause diseases. 276 00:16:03,162 --> 00:16:07,631 But without them, we might not be here at all. 277 00:16:07,633 --> 00:16:09,433 Even that tiny fraction of cosmic rays 278 00:16:09,435 --> 00:16:10,634 that makes it through our atmosphere 279 00:16:10,636 --> 00:16:12,102 to the surface of the earth 280 00:16:12,104 --> 00:16:16,807 can have a profound influence on the evolution of life. 281 00:16:16,809 --> 00:16:18,976 Narrator: Cosmic rays can damage the DNA 282 00:16:18,978 --> 00:16:21,912 that carries the information of life. 283 00:16:23,516 --> 00:16:25,649 When those molecules are broken apart, 284 00:16:25,651 --> 00:16:28,852 the atom is altered by collisions with cosmic rays. 285 00:16:28,854 --> 00:16:30,720 The information carried is changed. 286 00:16:30,722 --> 00:16:32,055 That's a mutation. 287 00:16:32,057 --> 00:16:34,592 That's what drives natural selection. 288 00:16:34,594 --> 00:16:37,861 So life and we ourselves are deeply connected 289 00:16:37,863 --> 00:16:41,732 to interstellar space around us. 290 00:16:44,803 --> 00:16:49,740 Narrator: But interstellar space is also home to much larger objects, 291 00:16:49,742 --> 00:16:54,445 objects that could wipe out life all together. 292 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:15,766 �� 293 00:17:15,768 --> 00:17:19,103 narrator: Our solar system races around the center of the milky way 294 00:17:19,105 --> 00:17:23,440 at 143 miles per second. 295 00:17:23,442 --> 00:17:25,642 At its center, the sun, 296 00:17:25,644 --> 00:17:31,047 just 1 of around 200 billion stars in our galaxy. 297 00:17:31,049 --> 00:17:32,983 We're not living in an isolated bubble 298 00:17:32,985 --> 00:17:34,585 all on our own here in the galaxy. 299 00:17:34,587 --> 00:17:38,355 We're living in a swarm, a neighborhood of other stars. 300 00:17:41,527 --> 00:17:43,527 Narrator: And the movement of all these stars 301 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:46,564 can have far-reaching effects on our solar system. 302 00:17:50,003 --> 00:17:57,808 Beyond the planets and our heliosphere... 303 00:17:57,810 --> 00:18:01,278 Lies the oort cloud 304 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,883 right on the border of true interstellar space. 305 00:18:05,885 --> 00:18:09,486 The oort cloud is the remnants of the formation 306 00:18:09,488 --> 00:18:13,356 of the solar system -- small, icy, dirty bodies, 307 00:18:13,358 --> 00:18:15,359 aka comets. 308 00:18:19,298 --> 00:18:21,565 Narrator: The comets in the oort cloud 309 00:18:21,567 --> 00:18:26,303 are so far out they're only weakly bound to the sun. 310 00:18:26,305 --> 00:18:29,707 They spend most their lives perfectly happy, 311 00:18:29,709 --> 00:18:33,510 orbiting the sun lazily in their frigid depths, 312 00:18:33,512 --> 00:18:36,547 but every once in a while, they can be perturbed. 313 00:18:39,652 --> 00:18:42,986 Narrator: Our sun is moving through interstellar space, 314 00:18:42,988 --> 00:18:46,390 and so are other stars. 315 00:18:46,392 --> 00:18:48,325 As our sun orbits the galaxy 316 00:18:48,327 --> 00:18:51,128 and encounters other stellar neighbors, 317 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:52,929 inevitably, there is going to be one 318 00:18:52,931 --> 00:18:57,534 that's going to pass through or near our oort cloud. 319 00:18:57,536 --> 00:18:59,536 Narrator: The gravity of a nearby star 320 00:18:59,538 --> 00:19:05,942 could disrupt the oort cloud... 321 00:19:05,944 --> 00:19:08,379 Sending showers of comets 322 00:19:08,381 --> 00:19:10,447 barreling through the solar system. 323 00:19:14,420 --> 00:19:17,621 Some of them could strike earth. 324 00:19:17,623 --> 00:19:23,260 �� 325 00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:31,635 �� 326 00:19:31,637 --> 00:19:33,771 thaller: Comets falling down into the inner solar system 327 00:19:33,773 --> 00:19:35,506 is something that we really want to pay attention to, 328 00:19:35,508 --> 00:19:38,108 that could actually be dangerous to life here on earth. 329 00:19:38,110 --> 00:19:40,778 So one of the things we do is look out into the galaxy 330 00:19:40,780 --> 00:19:43,047 and see if any stars are gonna be coming nearby 331 00:19:43,049 --> 00:19:45,083 anytime in the near future. 332 00:19:48,053 --> 00:19:51,055 Narrator: With a new space observatory called Gaia, 333 00:19:51,057 --> 00:19:54,925 astronomers keep watch over millions of neighboring stars 334 00:19:54,927 --> 00:19:58,462 in our galaxy, 335 00:19:58,464 --> 00:20:02,799 tracking their movements through interstellar space. 336 00:20:02,801 --> 00:20:05,003 So what's the next star that's gonna pass the earth? 337 00:20:05,005 --> 00:20:06,803 And it turns out we may know. 338 00:20:06,805 --> 00:20:08,071 There's an orange dwarf. 339 00:20:08,073 --> 00:20:10,341 It's called gliese 710. 340 00:20:12,278 --> 00:20:15,345 Narrator: In 2018, new data shows 341 00:20:15,347 --> 00:20:19,149 gliese 710 is on a collision course 342 00:20:19,151 --> 00:20:21,552 with our oort cloud. 343 00:20:21,554 --> 00:20:23,219 It's gonna kick up a lot of dirt, 344 00:20:23,221 --> 00:20:24,688 kick up a lot of dust, 345 00:20:24,690 --> 00:20:28,091 and it might be bad news for the inner solar system. 346 00:20:28,093 --> 00:20:30,827 We might get a lot of unwanted visitors. 347 00:20:30,829 --> 00:20:36,300 �� 348 00:20:36,302 --> 00:20:39,235 narrator: Luckily for us, gliese 710 won't arrive 349 00:20:39,237 --> 00:20:42,306 for another 1.3 million years. 350 00:20:44,844 --> 00:20:48,912 But there are other rogue stars out there. 351 00:20:48,914 --> 00:20:50,647 All the stars that you can see in our sky 352 00:20:50,649 --> 00:20:52,916 plait: Are in the disc of the milky way galaxy, 353 00:20:52,918 --> 00:20:55,251 and they tend to be moving in the same direction 354 00:20:55,253 --> 00:20:57,688 at about 100 miles per second around the center. 355 00:21:00,459 --> 00:21:05,795 Narrator: Gaia discovers stars that follow different rules. 356 00:21:05,797 --> 00:21:07,597 They don't seem to be moving around 357 00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:09,065 with the motion of the galaxy. 358 00:21:09,067 --> 00:21:11,735 Instead, they're actually flying through space. 359 00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:15,138 Plait: And they are screaming. 360 00:21:15,140 --> 00:21:16,607 These are cannonballs. 361 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:18,809 They're moving, three, four, five times faster 362 00:21:18,811 --> 00:21:20,677 than the other stars in the galaxy, 363 00:21:20,679 --> 00:21:24,014 and they tend to moving away from the center. 364 00:21:26,151 --> 00:21:30,621 Narrator: These cosmic cannonballs are known as hypervelocity stars. 365 00:21:34,094 --> 00:21:37,627 What could cause them to move so quickly? 366 00:21:37,629 --> 00:21:41,498 Some of these stars originated from binary star systems 367 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:44,301 in which one of the components went supernova, 368 00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:47,504 removing that gravitational tie to the other star, 369 00:21:47,506 --> 00:21:48,839 allowing that star to escape 370 00:21:48,841 --> 00:21:51,576 and basically be ejected through the galaxy 371 00:21:51,578 --> 00:21:54,979 on its own very, you know, high-speed trajectory. 372 00:21:57,916 --> 00:22:03,454 Narrator: Some hypervelocity stars have a darker past. 373 00:22:03,456 --> 00:22:06,390 They're flung from a black hole. 374 00:22:06,392 --> 00:22:11,394 There are trillions of black holes in the universe. 375 00:22:11,396 --> 00:22:14,197 Narrator: There are giant black holes at the centers 376 00:22:14,199 --> 00:22:17,734 of nearly all large galaxies, including our own. 377 00:22:20,005 --> 00:22:25,208 And these monsters inflict chaos on paired stars. 378 00:22:25,210 --> 00:22:27,343 Again, you have a binary system of stars, 379 00:22:27,345 --> 00:22:28,979 and they are orbiting the back hole 380 00:22:28,981 --> 00:22:30,747 in the center of our galaxy. 381 00:22:30,749 --> 00:22:32,148 When they get too close, 382 00:22:32,150 --> 00:22:33,884 one of the stars falls into the black hole, 383 00:22:33,886 --> 00:22:36,954 and the other one is ejected away at high speed. 384 00:22:39,692 --> 00:22:42,292 Narrator: These hypervelocity stars Blaze through 385 00:22:42,294 --> 00:22:45,495 interstellar space. 386 00:22:45,497 --> 00:22:51,435 Their stellar winds can bring beauty out of chaos. 387 00:22:51,437 --> 00:22:52,835 A lot of these hypervelocity stars 388 00:22:52,837 --> 00:22:54,971 that we see are very massive stars, 389 00:22:54,973 --> 00:22:58,841 much larger and hotter and more luminous than the sun. 390 00:22:58,843 --> 00:23:00,977 Well, as they're plowing through the material 391 00:23:00,979 --> 00:23:03,580 in between the stars their wind is expanding 392 00:23:03,582 --> 00:23:06,516 and slamming into the gas and the dust. 393 00:23:06,518 --> 00:23:08,652 And so what you see when you look at them 394 00:23:08,654 --> 00:23:14,591 is this beautiful arc, like the bow wave off of a ship. 395 00:23:14,593 --> 00:23:17,794 And we have images of these, and they're gorgeous. 396 00:23:17,796 --> 00:23:21,431 These are beautiful, beautiful patterns. 397 00:23:24,269 --> 00:23:26,870 Narrator: Hypervelocity stars paint the canvas 398 00:23:26,872 --> 00:23:29,239 of the universe. 399 00:23:31,877 --> 00:23:34,011 It looks serene, 400 00:23:34,013 --> 00:23:39,949 but interstellar space can be anything but tranquil. 401 00:23:39,951 --> 00:23:44,755 �� 402 00:23:44,757 --> 00:23:46,957 it's no man's land. It's the wild west. 403 00:23:46,959 --> 00:23:48,291 There are no rules. 404 00:23:48,293 --> 00:23:51,160 You can do whatever you want. 405 00:23:51,162 --> 00:23:56,433 Narrator: In the badlands of the galaxy, outlaws reign supreme. 406 00:23:56,435 --> 00:24:00,404 �� 407 00:24:11,316 --> 00:24:15,452 �� 408 00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:17,854 narrator: Tens of light-years from the sun, 409 00:24:17,856 --> 00:24:23,126 mysterious objects lurk in the darkness. 410 00:24:23,128 --> 00:24:25,595 We've only seen a fraction of the stuff that's out there, 411 00:24:25,597 --> 00:24:28,632 you know, so this is really the next great frontier. 412 00:24:30,736 --> 00:24:34,270 Narrator: In 2016, scientists spot a tiny source 413 00:24:34,272 --> 00:24:38,475 of infrared light 95 light-years from earth. 414 00:24:38,477 --> 00:24:44,013 �� 415 00:24:44,015 --> 00:24:48,118 it's too dim to be a star and not orbiting a star either. 416 00:24:50,822 --> 00:24:54,758 It can only be a rogue planet. 417 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,827 When we think of a planet, we think of an object 418 00:24:56,829 --> 00:24:58,361 that's orbiting a star. 419 00:24:58,363 --> 00:25:01,264 In fact, that's the very definition of a planet today. 420 00:25:01,266 --> 00:25:03,900 Well, what if it doesn't orbit anything? 421 00:25:03,902 --> 00:25:06,303 We call those rogue planets. 422 00:25:06,305 --> 00:25:12,843 �� 423 00:25:12,845 --> 00:25:14,311 narrator: The following year, 424 00:25:14,313 --> 00:25:18,448 astronomers take more detailed images. 425 00:25:18,450 --> 00:25:23,786 They find it's not just one world but two. 426 00:25:23,788 --> 00:25:25,254 Plait: And that's incredible, right? 427 00:25:25,256 --> 00:25:27,190 There's this object out in the middle of space. 428 00:25:27,192 --> 00:25:28,591 They're not orbiting stars. 429 00:25:28,593 --> 00:25:31,128 These are rogue planets orbiting each other. 430 00:25:33,665 --> 00:25:37,333 Narrator: Planets with 4 times the mass of Jupiter 431 00:25:37,335 --> 00:25:39,536 over 300 million miles apart, 432 00:25:39,538 --> 00:25:43,473 more than 3 times the distance between the earth and the sun, 433 00:25:43,475 --> 00:25:47,944 they circle each other once a century. 434 00:25:47,946 --> 00:25:49,812 Think about not just one rogue planet 435 00:25:49,814 --> 00:25:51,548 but a binary rogue planet, 436 00:25:51,550 --> 00:25:55,419 two planets circling around each other. 437 00:25:55,421 --> 00:25:58,154 They may still be gas giants, like Jupiter, 438 00:25:58,156 --> 00:26:00,023 and if that's the case, they don't have a surface. 439 00:26:00,025 --> 00:26:01,358 But if they're really old, 440 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:03,493 they could actually have had enough time to cool 441 00:26:03,495 --> 00:26:05,429 and maybe they do have a surface. 442 00:26:05,431 --> 00:26:08,131 We don't really know, but they would be very dark. 443 00:26:08,133 --> 00:26:11,001 There's no star nearby to light them up. 444 00:26:14,172 --> 00:26:17,307 Narrator: Rogue planets drift in eternal darkness 445 00:26:17,309 --> 00:26:23,046 through the frigid expanses of interstellar space, 446 00:26:23,048 --> 00:26:28,251 untouched by light for millions of years. 447 00:26:28,253 --> 00:26:30,388 Let's say you found yourself standing on the surface 448 00:26:30,390 --> 00:26:31,654 of one of these rogue planets. 449 00:26:31,656 --> 00:26:33,656 I mean, it would be such a bizarre sight. 450 00:26:33,658 --> 00:26:35,525 There wouldn't be a sun. 451 00:26:35,527 --> 00:26:40,263 You know, it would just be the night sky all around you. 452 00:26:40,265 --> 00:26:42,066 Durda: Think about the darkest, 453 00:26:42,068 --> 00:26:44,868 moonless night you can possibly imagine here on the earth. 454 00:26:44,870 --> 00:26:46,736 That's the light level that you have out there 455 00:26:46,738 --> 00:26:48,772 in interstellar space. 456 00:26:51,076 --> 00:26:54,410 Narrator: Physicists now believe there could be billions 457 00:26:54,412 --> 00:27:01,485 of rogue planets in our galaxy, one for every four stars. 458 00:27:01,487 --> 00:27:05,088 The question is, why do these rogue planets exist at all? 459 00:27:05,090 --> 00:27:06,690 Did they form freely, 460 00:27:06,692 --> 00:27:10,493 or were they somehow cast out of their solar system? 461 00:27:10,495 --> 00:27:12,629 The answer is probably both. 462 00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:18,368 �� 463 00:27:18,370 --> 00:27:21,370 narrator: Some rogue planets formed from lumps of gas 464 00:27:21,372 --> 00:27:25,242 that never quite became stars. 465 00:27:25,244 --> 00:27:27,310 Others formed like planets 466 00:27:27,312 --> 00:27:32,382 around a star in solar systems like our own. 467 00:27:32,384 --> 00:27:37,320 When solar systems are formed, they're violent places. 468 00:27:37,322 --> 00:27:39,789 Sometimes planets just crash into each other 469 00:27:39,791 --> 00:27:42,191 and become a single object. 470 00:27:42,193 --> 00:27:44,193 But sometimes there are near misses, 471 00:27:44,195 --> 00:27:49,466 and they'll scatter away from each other and be ejected. 472 00:27:49,468 --> 00:27:54,137 So these rogue planets spend almost their entire lives 473 00:27:54,139 --> 00:27:56,072 completely alone. 474 00:27:56,074 --> 00:28:01,411 �� 475 00:28:01,413 --> 00:28:03,413 narrator: Without a star to keep them warm, 476 00:28:03,415 --> 00:28:08,551 rogue planets seem to be an unlikely place for life. 477 00:28:08,553 --> 00:28:10,820 A rogue planet on its own out in space, 478 00:28:10,822 --> 00:28:12,622 probably not gonna be habitable. 479 00:28:12,624 --> 00:28:13,823 It's cold out there, right? 480 00:28:13,825 --> 00:28:15,424 So if it's the size of the earth, 481 00:28:15,426 --> 00:28:18,895 it's probably a frozen ball. 482 00:28:18,897 --> 00:28:22,766 Narrator: But in 2018, astronomers announced that life 483 00:28:22,768 --> 00:28:26,536 could be possible on a moon around a rogue planet. 484 00:28:29,374 --> 00:28:32,175 There are icy moons orbiting Jupiter and saturn 485 00:28:32,177 --> 00:28:35,044 that are heated by the gravity of the planets they orbit. 486 00:28:35,046 --> 00:28:38,915 It has nothing to do with the sun. 487 00:28:38,917 --> 00:28:42,051 Narrator: As these moons are warped by the planet's gravity, 488 00:28:42,053 --> 00:28:45,722 friction generates heat that keeps the water liquid. 489 00:28:48,994 --> 00:28:51,194 So it's entirely possible that if a rogue planet 490 00:28:51,196 --> 00:28:54,664 was able to keep its moons and these moons are icy, 491 00:28:54,666 --> 00:28:57,000 they could have liquid oceans under their surface. 492 00:28:57,002 --> 00:28:58,401 They don't need a star. 493 00:28:58,403 --> 00:29:00,804 They've got their planet keeping them warm. 494 00:29:00,806 --> 00:29:06,609 �� 495 00:29:06,611 --> 00:29:09,746 narrator: Interstellar space is far from empty. 496 00:29:09,748 --> 00:29:13,950 It's loaded with disconnected bodies that don't have a home. 497 00:29:16,154 --> 00:29:17,486 You can think of interstellar space 498 00:29:17,488 --> 00:29:19,755 as almost sort of a cosmic pinball machine. 499 00:29:19,757 --> 00:29:21,223 You've got high-velocity stars. 500 00:29:21,225 --> 00:29:22,825 You've got rogue planets. 501 00:29:22,827 --> 00:29:25,095 You've even moons that have been thrown out from around planets. 502 00:29:25,097 --> 00:29:28,765 All of that is careening around out there. 503 00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:32,101 Interstellar space is more active and alive 504 00:29:32,103 --> 00:29:34,238 than we ever imagined. 505 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,842 As it turns out, it even has clouds that sing. 506 00:29:38,844 --> 00:29:44,314 �� 507 00:29:55,261 --> 00:30:01,464 �� 508 00:30:01,466 --> 00:30:03,399 narrator: Hundreds of light-years away, 509 00:30:03,401 --> 00:30:05,001 vast amounts of gas 510 00:30:05,003 --> 00:30:10,140 and dust drift through interstellar space. 511 00:30:10,142 --> 00:30:12,141 Think about all that space between the stars, 512 00:30:12,143 --> 00:30:13,609 full of gas, dust -- 513 00:30:13,611 --> 00:30:16,380 full of the stories about how stars and planets formed. 514 00:30:16,382 --> 00:30:19,015 We've been missing a lot. 515 00:30:19,017 --> 00:30:20,950 Narrator: Scientists call the gas and dust 516 00:30:20,952 --> 00:30:24,120 between the stars the interstellar medium. 517 00:30:27,292 --> 00:30:31,094 It's the most common stuff out there in the galaxy. 518 00:30:31,096 --> 00:30:34,698 It's hydrogen atoms, a few helium atoms here and there. 519 00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:39,102 �� 520 00:30:39,104 --> 00:30:41,571 narrator: The interstellar medium isn't distributed 521 00:30:41,573 --> 00:30:44,642 evenly throughout the galaxy. 522 00:30:44,644 --> 00:30:46,309 It's patchy. It's clumpy. 523 00:30:46,311 --> 00:30:47,977 And there's some regions that have more stuff, 524 00:30:47,979 --> 00:30:51,514 and some regions that have less. 525 00:30:51,516 --> 00:30:55,485 Narrator: The regions with more stuff are called interstellar clouds. 526 00:30:59,057 --> 00:31:00,657 An interstellar cloud is really just 527 00:31:00,659 --> 00:31:03,193 a slightly denser concentration of gas 528 00:31:03,195 --> 00:31:07,063 and possibly dust that we see scattered across our galaxy. 529 00:31:09,735 --> 00:31:12,669 Narrator: Interstellar clouds can stretch vast distances 530 00:31:12,671 --> 00:31:16,206 across the cosmos -- 531 00:31:16,208 --> 00:31:21,477 some reaching a million times the mass of the sun. 532 00:31:21,479 --> 00:31:22,879 You know, it boggles my mind 533 00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:24,747 when I look at these interstellar clouds 534 00:31:24,749 --> 00:31:27,016 and realize that they're light-years in size. 535 00:31:27,018 --> 00:31:31,821 �� 536 00:31:31,823 --> 00:31:34,624 narrator: Interstellar clouds are more than just clumps 537 00:31:34,626 --> 00:31:37,493 of gas and dust. 538 00:31:37,495 --> 00:31:40,296 They're alive. 539 00:31:40,298 --> 00:31:44,367 Scharf: We know that these are places where stars form, 540 00:31:44,369 --> 00:31:46,369 and they're also places that are, themselves, 541 00:31:46,371 --> 00:31:48,771 formed by dying stars. 542 00:31:48,773 --> 00:31:56,112 �� 543 00:31:56,114 --> 00:32:00,983 narrator: Stars form when an interstellar cloud collapses. 544 00:32:00,985 --> 00:32:04,387 Gravity pulls matter together, igniting the core. 545 00:32:04,389 --> 00:32:09,459 �� 546 00:32:09,461 --> 00:32:11,327 but astronomers don't have a full 547 00:32:11,329 --> 00:32:13,196 understanding of the process. 548 00:32:15,300 --> 00:32:16,866 Understanding the shape and structure of a cloud 549 00:32:16,868 --> 00:32:19,668 like this is important to understanding 550 00:32:19,670 --> 00:32:21,938 the process of star formation. 551 00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:24,006 Some shapes and structures just aren't big enough, 552 00:32:24,008 --> 00:32:27,210 in some dimensions, to allow a cloud to collapse. 553 00:32:27,212 --> 00:32:29,879 Everything we can learn about this sort of thing 554 00:32:29,881 --> 00:32:31,681 really depends on its shape. 555 00:32:31,683 --> 00:32:34,651 So knowing that shape is the key to understanding it. 556 00:32:38,423 --> 00:32:40,757 Narrator: But there's a problem. 557 00:32:40,759 --> 00:32:42,558 When we look out into the universe, 558 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,962 we're seeing everything projected onto the sky. 559 00:32:45,964 --> 00:32:50,232 So we may look at the structure like an interstellar cloud 560 00:32:50,234 --> 00:32:54,170 and have very little information about its depth. 561 00:32:54,172 --> 00:32:56,572 That's one of the big challenges for astronomers, 562 00:32:56,574 --> 00:32:59,775 is to decode the full three-dimensional shape 563 00:32:59,777 --> 00:33:01,878 of these clouds. 564 00:33:04,515 --> 00:33:07,583 Narrator: In 2018, scientists get a breakthrough 565 00:33:07,585 --> 00:33:12,856 in their efforts to understand star formation. 566 00:33:12,858 --> 00:33:15,858 Around 490 light-years from earth 567 00:33:15,860 --> 00:33:21,397 lies an interstellar cloud known as musca. 568 00:33:21,399 --> 00:33:24,133 It looks like a thin snake. 569 00:33:24,135 --> 00:33:25,935 Durda: Optically, this dark doodle, 570 00:33:25,937 --> 00:33:27,537 if you will, looks like a dark cloud. 571 00:33:27,539 --> 00:33:28,972 It looks rather two-dimensional, 572 00:33:28,974 --> 00:33:32,977 silhouetted against the background stars on the sky. 573 00:33:32,979 --> 00:33:38,948 Narrator: Astronomers examine musca in infrared, 574 00:33:38,950 --> 00:33:43,353 and discover it's singing. 575 00:33:43,355 --> 00:33:46,489 It vibrates, and it sets up waves 576 00:33:46,491 --> 00:33:48,424 that move through this cloud, back and forth. 577 00:33:48,426 --> 00:33:51,628 And these are called magnetohydrodynamic waves, 578 00:33:51,630 --> 00:33:53,363 which sounds awesome. 579 00:33:56,167 --> 00:33:59,369 Narrator: The team converted the waves into musical notes, 580 00:33:59,371 --> 00:34:03,172 producing musca's song. 581 00:34:03,174 --> 00:34:09,445 �� 582 00:34:09,447 --> 00:34:15,852 �� 583 00:34:15,854 --> 00:34:17,854 it turns out that, if you study this, 584 00:34:17,856 --> 00:34:19,389 you can actually determine 585 00:34:19,391 --> 00:34:21,457 the three-dimensional shape of this cloud 586 00:34:21,459 --> 00:34:23,526 by the way the waves move through it. 587 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,000 It's a little bit like listening to the frequency of sound 588 00:34:31,002 --> 00:34:33,736 coming from some instrument that you don't see, 589 00:34:33,738 --> 00:34:35,537 and trying to reconstruct what kind of an instrument 590 00:34:35,539 --> 00:34:36,873 that must be. 591 00:34:36,875 --> 00:34:43,746 �� 592 00:34:43,748 --> 00:34:45,415 narrator: A low notes tells you you're listening 593 00:34:45,417 --> 00:34:51,087 to something large, like a cello, 594 00:34:51,089 --> 00:34:54,089 while a high note represents something smaller, 595 00:34:54,091 --> 00:34:57,093 like a violin. 596 00:34:57,095 --> 00:34:59,229 And just as different instruments 597 00:34:59,231 --> 00:35:02,966 make very different sounds, 598 00:35:02,968 --> 00:35:08,170 clouds with different structures will vibrate in different ways. 599 00:35:08,172 --> 00:35:12,374 They'll "sing" different songs. 600 00:35:12,376 --> 00:35:13,576 Durda: The sounds, if you will, 601 00:35:13,578 --> 00:35:15,511 the frequencies coming from that cloud, 602 00:35:15,513 --> 00:35:19,582 are a clue ultimately to its shape and structure. 603 00:35:19,584 --> 00:35:20,983 Plait: And with this musca cloud, 604 00:35:20,985 --> 00:35:22,785 even though it just looks like a line in the sky, 605 00:35:22,787 --> 00:35:25,721 astronomers were able to determine its 3-d shape. 606 00:35:25,723 --> 00:35:27,323 And it's not just a filament. 607 00:35:27,325 --> 00:35:29,125 It's actually a disc. 608 00:35:29,127 --> 00:35:31,327 It's like we're seeing a disc edge-on. 609 00:35:31,329 --> 00:35:35,599 �� 610 00:35:35,601 --> 00:35:40,536 narrator: Musca is more of a pancake than a snake. 611 00:35:40,538 --> 00:35:45,340 We've just been looking at the pancake from the side. 612 00:35:45,342 --> 00:35:46,810 Plait: That's amazing. 613 00:35:46,812 --> 00:35:49,211 It's like putting on 3-d glasses for the first time 614 00:35:49,213 --> 00:35:52,081 and finally seeing depth in the universe. 615 00:35:52,083 --> 00:35:56,285 �� 616 00:35:56,287 --> 00:35:57,887 narrator: The same technique can be used 617 00:35:57,889 --> 00:36:01,957 to study other interstellar clouds. 618 00:36:01,959 --> 00:36:04,227 Durda: It brings with it a whole new wealth of knowledge 619 00:36:04,229 --> 00:36:07,697 on the structure and processes that are going on there. 620 00:36:07,699 --> 00:36:13,636 �� 621 00:36:13,638 --> 00:36:19,709 �� 622 00:36:19,711 --> 00:36:22,245 narrator: We're discovering that the interstellar space 623 00:36:22,247 --> 00:36:26,716 in our galaxy is full of stuff, 624 00:36:26,718 --> 00:36:30,386 but something doesn't quite add up. 625 00:36:30,388 --> 00:36:33,789 It turns out that if we take all of the matter 626 00:36:33,791 --> 00:36:35,858 we see around the universe today 627 00:36:35,860 --> 00:36:38,527 and add it up, it doesn't equal the total amount 628 00:36:38,529 --> 00:36:40,130 that we know must be there. 629 00:36:43,802 --> 00:36:47,470 Narrator: 1/3 of the matter in the universe is missing. 630 00:36:47,472 --> 00:36:50,673 So where is it? 631 00:36:50,675 --> 00:36:55,478 To find it, we have to look beyond interstellar space 632 00:36:55,480 --> 00:37:00,749 into the dark, mysterious reaches of intergalactic space. 633 00:37:00,751 --> 00:37:05,888 �� 634 00:37:16,634 --> 00:37:21,504 �� 635 00:37:21,506 --> 00:37:24,640 narrator: The milky way is one of trillions of galaxies 636 00:37:24,642 --> 00:37:28,712 in the observable universe. 637 00:37:28,714 --> 00:37:30,779 The milky way galaxy is a disc. 638 00:37:30,781 --> 00:37:33,316 It's about 100,000 light-years across. 639 00:37:33,318 --> 00:37:38,254 It's filled with stars, lots of planets, and gas and dust. 640 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:40,523 Narrator: But where does our galaxy end 641 00:37:40,525 --> 00:37:44,059 and the other galaxies begin? 642 00:37:44,061 --> 00:37:45,962 A structure like our galaxy 643 00:37:45,964 --> 00:37:49,065 doesn't really have a hard edge to it. 644 00:37:49,067 --> 00:37:52,068 It actually becomes less and less dense, 645 00:37:52,070 --> 00:37:54,537 and it gradually Peters out as you move 646 00:37:54,539 --> 00:37:57,573 into true intergalactic space. 647 00:38:01,279 --> 00:38:05,681 Narrator: Between the galaxies are huge gaps -- 648 00:38:05,683 --> 00:38:09,418 intergalactic space. 649 00:38:09,420 --> 00:38:14,089 But, like interstellar space, this region isn't empty. 650 00:38:14,091 --> 00:38:19,161 �� 651 00:38:19,163 --> 00:38:25,835 new research reveals, it holds the answer to a major mystery. 652 00:38:25,837 --> 00:38:29,638 We know how much normal matter was made in the big bang. 653 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:31,107 And we can look around us today 654 00:38:31,109 --> 00:38:33,508 and count up all the normal matter we see, 655 00:38:33,510 --> 00:38:36,546 and the problem is, they don't equal up. 656 00:38:38,516 --> 00:38:40,516 Narrator: There's something wrong with the galaxies 657 00:38:40,518 --> 00:38:46,322 in our universe -- they're not massive enough. 658 00:38:46,324 --> 00:38:51,660 About 1/3 of the normal matter in the universe is missing. 659 00:38:51,662 --> 00:38:56,866 There is more normal matter that is not bound inside of galaxies. 660 00:38:56,868 --> 00:38:59,402 So where is it? 661 00:39:01,672 --> 00:39:04,474 One idea for where this missing normal matter could be, 662 00:39:04,476 --> 00:39:08,011 is that it's actually floating outside of our galaxy 663 00:39:08,013 --> 00:39:10,446 in a hot gas. 664 00:39:13,751 --> 00:39:15,885 Narrator: Scientists suspected this hot gas 665 00:39:15,887 --> 00:39:22,225 might exist in long strands between the galaxies, 666 00:39:22,227 --> 00:39:24,360 but the gas is so thin and diffuse, 667 00:39:24,362 --> 00:39:28,898 it has been hard to detect... 668 00:39:28,900 --> 00:39:30,499 Until now. 669 00:39:30,501 --> 00:39:35,704 �� 670 00:39:35,706 --> 00:39:39,909 in 2018, astronomers study a bright distant quasar 671 00:39:39,911 --> 00:39:45,581 called 1es 1553. 672 00:39:45,583 --> 00:39:49,418 A quasar is when a black hole feeds. 673 00:39:51,989 --> 00:39:53,389 It gives off light, 674 00:39:53,391 --> 00:39:56,426 and we can see it all the way across the universe. 675 00:39:59,063 --> 00:40:02,465 Narrator: The quasar's light takes over 4 billion years 676 00:40:02,467 --> 00:40:05,334 to reach us, 677 00:40:05,336 --> 00:40:09,605 but observers notice something unusual. 678 00:40:09,607 --> 00:40:11,808 Something is absorbing the light 679 00:40:11,810 --> 00:40:14,076 as it passes through the universe. 680 00:40:16,146 --> 00:40:19,281 The culprit? 681 00:40:19,283 --> 00:40:21,483 Ghostly strands of gas 682 00:40:21,485 --> 00:40:27,423 suspended in the spaces between galaxies. 683 00:40:27,425 --> 00:40:31,560 These results suggest that a good fraction 684 00:40:31,562 --> 00:40:34,496 of the normal matter in our universe 685 00:40:34,498 --> 00:40:37,232 is not enclosed inside of galaxies. 686 00:40:37,234 --> 00:40:39,301 They don't live in the city limits. 687 00:40:39,303 --> 00:40:41,103 Instead, they live in long, 688 00:40:41,105 --> 00:40:45,308 thin streams that connect the galaxies together. 689 00:40:45,310 --> 00:40:50,045 �� 690 00:40:50,047 --> 00:40:53,516 narrator: Heated by shock waves to millions of degrees, 691 00:40:53,518 --> 00:40:56,051 these strands of gas could extend 692 00:40:56,053 --> 00:41:00,723 throughout the universe... 693 00:41:00,725 --> 00:41:02,191 And account for the matter 694 00:41:02,193 --> 00:41:05,194 that's been missing all this time. 695 00:41:05,196 --> 00:41:09,732 �� 696 00:41:09,734 --> 00:41:13,202 this opens up a very interesting question -- 697 00:41:13,204 --> 00:41:14,871 has this matter always been there 698 00:41:14,873 --> 00:41:19,008 and just failed to accumulate onto the galaxies, 699 00:41:19,010 --> 00:41:23,546 or was it started in galaxies and gets blown out? 700 00:41:23,548 --> 00:41:25,748 We honestly don't know. 701 00:41:25,750 --> 00:41:30,953 �� 702 00:41:30,955 --> 00:41:34,757 narrator: Interstellar space, 703 00:41:34,759 --> 00:41:37,426 and now intergalactic space, 704 00:41:37,428 --> 00:41:39,629 are more alive than we thought. 705 00:41:42,266 --> 00:41:46,234 From rogue planets 706 00:41:46,236 --> 00:41:49,839 to singing clouds of gas, 707 00:41:49,841 --> 00:41:54,176 interstellar space is stranger than fiction. 708 00:41:54,178 --> 00:41:58,180 And we've only just begun to tell its story. 709 00:42:00,517 --> 00:42:01,784 Just because there's so much we don't 710 00:42:01,786 --> 00:42:03,385 understand about interstellar space, 711 00:42:03,387 --> 00:42:05,988 it makes it that much more critical to explore 712 00:42:05,990 --> 00:42:07,989 and try to figure it out. 713 00:42:07,991 --> 00:42:09,991 Durda: There's more to find out about interstellar space 714 00:42:09,993 --> 00:42:11,393 than what we know, 715 00:42:11,395 --> 00:42:13,061 and that's the beauty of exploration 716 00:42:13,063 --> 00:42:15,064 and the beauty of knowledge, is it's ever-expanding, 717 00:42:15,066 --> 00:42:18,067 and that frontier is always there. 718 00:42:18,069 --> 00:42:19,468 Plait: Who knows what else is out there? 719 00:42:19,470 --> 00:42:21,804 What else could be lurking out in the dark, 720 00:42:21,806 --> 00:42:23,473 between the stars? 721 00:42:23,475 --> 00:42:27,477 �� 56902

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