1 00:00:02,167 --> 00:00:05,100 Narrator: WE LIVE IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE. 2 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:12,033 PLANETARY WINDS RAGE AT SIX TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND. 3 00:00:12,033 --> 00:00:15,533 LIGHTNING STORMS STRETCH FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES. 4 00:00:15,533 --> 00:00:20,000 DUST STORMS ENGULF ENTIRE WORLDS. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:21,733 WE CAN HAVE PLANETARY STORMS 6 00:00:21,733 --> 00:00:25,167 THE LIKE OF WHICH WE NEVER SEE HERE ON THE PLANET EARTH. 7 00:00:25,167 --> 00:00:27,600 Narrator: THE LARGEST STORMS 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,100 CAN BE ON THE SCALE OF ENTIRE GALAXIES. 9 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:34,200 SOMETIMES THOSE MASSIVE STARS CAN LITERALLY EXPLODE. 10 00:00:35,167 --> 00:00:38,200 Narrator: THE UNIVERSE IS A CHAOTIC PLACE. 11 00:00:40,367 --> 00:00:42,700 EARTH HAS STORMS. 12 00:00:42,700 --> 00:00:45,567 OTHER WORLDS HAVE MEGASTORMS, 13 00:00:45,567 --> 00:00:48,600 STORMS ALMOST TOO VAST TO IMAGINE. 14 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:54,367 YET FROM THE VIOLENCE EMERGES A RAY OF HOPE. 15 00:00:54,367 --> 00:00:57,500 WE KIND OF OWE OUR EXISTENCE TO THESE SORTS OF EVENTS, 16 00:00:57,500 --> 00:00:59,233 THESE SORT OF GALACTIC STORMS. 17 00:00:59,233 --> 00:01:04,767 Narrator: COULD MEGASTORMS BE NECESSARY FOR LIFE ITSELF? 18 00:01:04,767 --> 00:01:07,267 -- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com 19 00:01:07,267 --> 00:01:09,767 CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS 20 00:01:21,967 --> 00:01:26,100 ON SOME PLANETS, STORMS ARE IMPOSSIBLE. 21 00:01:26,100 --> 00:01:30,533 SUPERHEATED MERCURY IS TOO SMALL AND TOO CLOSE TO OUR SUN 22 00:01:30,533 --> 00:01:33,133 TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT ATMOSPHERE. 23 00:01:35,133 --> 00:01:39,367 AND NO ATMOSPHERE MEANS NO STORMS. 24 00:01:39,367 --> 00:01:43,467 BUT MOVE OUT AWAY FROM THE SUN, 25 00:01:43,467 --> 00:01:48,067 AND WE FIND WORLDS WITH TURBULENT, CHAOTIC ATMOSPHERES. 26 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,500 THEY CAN SPAWN SOME OF THE MOST AWE-INSPIRING MEGASTORMS 27 00:01:56,500 --> 00:01:58,933 IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 28 00:02:03,167 --> 00:02:05,200 THIS IS VENUS, 29 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,800 A PLANET COMPLETELY SHROUDED WITH CLOUDS. 30 00:02:12,767 --> 00:02:15,900 WINDS RIP AROUND THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE 31 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:20,533 AT OVER 300 MILES PER HOUR. 32 00:02:20,533 --> 00:02:23,267 ABOUT 35 MILES ABOVE THE SURFACE, 33 00:02:23,267 --> 00:02:27,200 THE WINDS ARE WHIPPING AROUND IN A FEROCIOUS PATTERN 34 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,933 THAT BASICALLY CARRIES THE CLOUD FEATURES 35 00:02:29,933 --> 00:02:32,667 AROUND THE ENTIRE PLANET EVERY FOUR DAYS. 36 00:02:35,267 --> 00:02:38,300 Narrator: VENUS IS CLOSER TO THE SUN THAN EARTH, 37 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:44,933 AND IT'S HEAT FROM THE SUN THAT DRIVES THE WIND. 38 00:02:44,933 --> 00:02:47,367 Dr. Thaller: THE CIRCULATION PATTERN OF VENUS' CLOUDS 39 00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:48,633 IS ACTUALLY QUITE SIMPLE. 40 00:02:48,633 --> 00:02:51,233 THERE'S A WARM SIDE OF VENUS AND A COLD SIDE. 41 00:02:51,233 --> 00:02:54,300 AND AS AIR WARMS UP AND RISES ON THE DAY SIDE OF VENUS, 42 00:02:54,300 --> 00:02:55,933 IT SPREADS AROUND TO THE NIGHT SIDE. 43 00:02:55,933 --> 00:02:57,500 SO, THERE'S THIS CONTINUOUS CURRENT 44 00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,100 THAT'S ACTUALLY QUITE A LOT SIMPLER 45 00:02:59,100 --> 00:03:01,067 THAN THE ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION ON EARTH. 46 00:03:01,067 --> 00:03:05,667 Narrator: VENUS' WINDS CIRCULATE FASTER 47 00:03:05,667 --> 00:03:09,333 THAN THE FASTEST HURRICANE ON EARTH. 48 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:12,100 BUT THEY LOOK VERY SIMILAR. 49 00:03:15,067 --> 00:03:18,933 THE VENUS EXPRESS PROBE CAPTURED THESE REMARKABLE IMAGES 50 00:03:18,933 --> 00:03:20,833 OF THE PLANET'S SOUTH POLE. 51 00:03:24,633 --> 00:03:27,067 Kaku: ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF VENUS 52 00:03:27,067 --> 00:03:28,867 WHICH ACTUALLY HAD JAWS DROPPING 53 00:03:28,867 --> 00:03:31,500 IN THE HALLS OF MANY ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENTS 54 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:33,767 IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE HURRICANES 55 00:03:33,767 --> 00:03:35,200 AT THE POLES OF VENUS, 56 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,500 ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, THAT HAVE TWO EYES. 57 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:41,067 NOT ONE EYE, BUT TWO EYES. 58 00:03:41,067 --> 00:03:43,067 NOW, WE'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE 59 00:03:43,067 --> 00:03:44,533 ON SUCH A PLANETARY SCALE. 60 00:03:48,367 --> 00:03:50,800 Narrator: VENUS' DOUBLE-EYED VORTEX 61 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,367 IS 1,800 MILES WIDE. 62 00:03:53,367 --> 00:03:56,967 TWO HURRICANES WHIRL AROUND EACH OTHER. 63 00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:03,500 Dr. Grinspoon: IF YOU COULD DESCEND INTO THE VORTEX OF VENUS, 64 00:04:03,500 --> 00:04:05,067 SOMETHING I WOULD LOVE TO DO, 65 00:04:05,067 --> 00:04:06,867 AT LEAST WITH A REMOTE MACHINE... 66 00:04:10,167 --> 00:04:12,300 ...I THINK YOU WOULD SEE 67 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:15,767 SOME KIND OF A FANTASTIC WALL OF CLOUD 68 00:04:15,767 --> 00:04:17,600 AND THIS SORT OF TWISTING FORM 69 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,200 SPINNING AROUND YOU AT FEROCIOUS SPEEDS. 70 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,233 IT WOULD BE QUITE A SIGHT. 71 00:04:29,767 --> 00:04:31,600 Narrator: IT'S A MYSTERY 72 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,867 HOW DEEP THIS RAGING, SPINNING VORTEX GOES, 73 00:04:34,867 --> 00:04:37,100 BUT MAYBE THIS MEGASTORM EYE 74 00:04:37,100 --> 00:04:39,933 DESCENDS TO THE PLANET'S SURFACE. 75 00:04:39,933 --> 00:04:45,833 DOWN HERE, PERMANENT TWILIGHT BATHES A VOLCANIC LANDSCAPE, 76 00:04:45,833 --> 00:04:48,767 AND THE ATMOSPHERE'S COLOSSAL WEIGHT 77 00:04:48,767 --> 00:04:52,133 CREATES IMMENSE PRESSURE. 78 00:04:52,133 --> 00:04:54,433 THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE ON VENUS 79 00:04:54,433 --> 00:04:56,933 IS ABOUT 100 TIMES THAT OF THE EARTH. 80 00:04:56,933 --> 00:04:58,633 THINK OF TAKING A CAR, 81 00:04:58,633 --> 00:05:01,833 SQUEEZING IT DOWN TO ABOUT A SQUARE INCH, 82 00:05:01,833 --> 00:05:05,467 AND PUTTING IT ON EVERY SQUARE INCH OF YOUR SKIN. 83 00:05:05,467 --> 00:05:08,567 YOU'D BE FLATTENED WITHIN A FRACTION OF A SECOND 84 00:05:08,567 --> 00:05:10,400 BECAUSE OF ALL THAT PRESSURE. 85 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,200 Narrator: VENUS' DENSE ATMOSPHERE 86 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,333 CREATES ONE OF THE STRANGEST MEGASTORMS IMAGINABLE -- 87 00:05:17,333 --> 00:05:20,500 FOUR MILES PER HOUR WINDS 88 00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:24,533 WITH THE FORCE OF A HURRICANE. 89 00:05:24,533 --> 00:05:27,867 THE WINDS ON THE SURFACE OF VENUS ARE ACTUALLY VERY SLOW 90 00:05:27,867 --> 00:05:30,567 BECAUSE VENUS HAS A VERY SLOW ROTATION RATE. 91 00:05:30,567 --> 00:05:33,067 IT TAKES VENUS ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS 92 00:05:33,067 --> 00:05:36,100 TO TURN ONCE AROUND WITH RESPECT TO THE SUN. 93 00:05:36,100 --> 00:05:39,500 Narrator: THE CRUSHING ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE 94 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:42,600 RAMS GAS MOLECULES TOGETHER SO TIGHTLY 95 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,933 THAT THEY FEEL MORE LIKE A LIQUID. 96 00:05:45,933 --> 00:05:52,633 A GENTLE 4-MILE-AN-HOUR BREEZE PACKS A BRUTAL PUNCH. 97 00:05:52,633 --> 00:05:56,967 IT'S LIKE A HURRICANE IN SLOW MOTION. 98 00:05:56,967 --> 00:05:58,533 Kaku: WINDS ON VENUS 99 00:05:58,533 --> 00:06:02,067 ARE TOTALLY UNLIKE ANYTHING WE SEE ON THE PLANET EARTH. 100 00:06:02,067 --> 00:06:04,200 YOU WOULD ALMOST FEEL, LIKE, A MOLASSES EFFECT. 101 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:05,433 IT'D BE QUITE DIFFICULT 102 00:06:05,433 --> 00:06:07,967 TO SIMPLY WALK AND RUN RIGHT THROUGH THE WIND. 103 00:06:17,067 --> 00:06:20,067 Narrator: VENUS' SURFACE IS SO HOSTILE 104 00:06:20,067 --> 00:06:22,300 THAT LIFE IS IMPOSSIBLE HERE. 105 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:24,900 [ THUNDER CRASHES ] 106 00:06:28,067 --> 00:06:31,067 BUT THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE'S FASTER WINDS 107 00:06:31,067 --> 00:06:34,933 HOLD AN EXTRAORDINARY POSSIBILITY. 108 00:06:34,933 --> 00:06:36,767 Dr. Grinspoon: I HARBOR THIS -- 109 00:06:36,767 --> 00:06:39,467 I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD CALL IT A HYPOTHESIS 110 00:06:39,467 --> 00:06:40,933 OR A SCIENTIFIC FANTASY. 111 00:06:40,933 --> 00:06:42,600 BUT I DO THINK IT'S PLAUSIBLE 112 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,233 THAT THERE COULD BE SOME KIND OF LIFE LIVING 113 00:06:45,233 --> 00:06:46,567 IN THE CLOUDS OF VENUS. 114 00:06:46,567 --> 00:06:48,933 THERE ARE CERTAINLY ENERGY SOURCES. 115 00:06:48,933 --> 00:06:50,100 THERE'S SUNLIGHT. 116 00:06:50,100 --> 00:06:51,667 AND THERE ARE CERTAINLY NUTRIENTS. 117 00:06:51,667 --> 00:06:52,667 THERE'S CARBON, THERE'S HYDROGEN, 118 00:06:52,667 --> 00:06:54,067 THERE'S OXYGEN -- 119 00:06:54,067 --> 00:06:56,167 ALL THE STUFF WE THINK OF THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LIFE 120 00:06:56,167 --> 00:06:57,400 EXISTS IN THE CLOUDS OF VENUS. 121 00:06:59,700 --> 00:07:03,867 Narrator: EARTH'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE IS FULL OF LIFE -- 122 00:07:03,867 --> 00:07:09,067 MICROSCOPIC BACTERIA DRIFTING ON THE WIND. 123 00:07:09,067 --> 00:07:13,400 COULD VENUS BE THE SAME? 124 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:17,433 PERHAPS ONE DAY WE'LL SEND A PROBE TO FIND OUT. 125 00:07:22,867 --> 00:07:27,933 LEAVE VENUS BEHIND, AND THE NEXT PLANET IS EARTH. 126 00:07:32,433 --> 00:07:35,967 HERE, TOO, THE WEATHER GETS EXTREME. 127 00:07:35,967 --> 00:07:39,733 WE ARE BOMBARDED BY TORNADOES... 128 00:07:39,733 --> 00:07:42,200 HURRICANES... 129 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,167 AND THESE -- DUST STORMS. 130 00:07:46,167 --> 00:07:51,667 ON EARTH, THEY'RE LOCALIZED. 131 00:07:51,667 --> 00:07:54,967 BUT ON THE NEXT PLANET OUT... 132 00:07:54,967 --> 00:07:57,333 THEY ENGULF AN ENTIRE WORLD. 133 00:08:10,067 --> 00:08:12,533 Narrator: OVER 100 YEARS AGO, 134 00:08:12,533 --> 00:08:17,433 ASTRONOMERS THOUGHT THEY HAD FOUND LIFE ON MARS. 135 00:08:17,433 --> 00:08:22,433 A DARK WAVE SPREAD FROM THE POLE TOWARDS THE EQUATOR. 136 00:08:22,433 --> 00:08:25,733 THEY THOUGHT IT WAS SPRINGTIME VEGETATION 137 00:08:25,733 --> 00:08:27,867 SPREADING ACROSS THE PLANET. 138 00:08:30,433 --> 00:08:34,767 THEY WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE SEASON. 139 00:08:34,767 --> 00:08:38,100 MARS TILTS AT ROUGHLY 23 DEGREES, 140 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:39,300 LIKE THE EARTH, 141 00:08:39,300 --> 00:08:41,300 SO YOU WOULD HAVE SUMMER, FALL, WINTER, SPRING, 142 00:08:41,300 --> 00:08:42,333 LIKE THE SEASONS. 143 00:08:42,333 --> 00:08:47,367 Narrator: SEASONS BRING WEATHER. 144 00:08:47,367 --> 00:08:49,433 THE SHADOW ASTRONOMERS SAW 145 00:08:49,433 --> 00:08:56,300 WAS ACTUALLY DARK ROCK UNCOVERED BY A VIOLENT DUST STORM. 146 00:08:56,300 --> 00:09:01,067 IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE PLANET TILTS. 147 00:09:05,567 --> 00:09:10,633 THE EARTH TAKES ONE YEAR TO ORBIT THE SUN. 148 00:09:10,633 --> 00:09:11,767 IN JANUARY, 149 00:09:11,767 --> 00:09:14,967 THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE LEANS AWAY FROM THE SUN, 150 00:09:14,967 --> 00:09:18,300 AND WE GET OUR WINTER. 151 00:09:18,300 --> 00:09:23,900 IN JUNE, IT LEANS INWARDS, OUR SUMMER. 152 00:09:29,433 --> 00:09:32,267 MARS HAS GIGANTIC PLANETARY DUST STORMS 153 00:09:32,267 --> 00:09:36,300 THE LIKE OF WHICH WE'VE NEVER SEEN HERE ON THE PLANET EARTH. 154 00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:41,167 Narrator: MARS HAS AROUND THE SAME TILT AS EARTH, 155 00:09:41,167 --> 00:09:44,133 AND SPRINGTIME MEANS STORMS. 156 00:09:44,133 --> 00:09:47,067 THE MARTIAN SURFACE VANISHES 157 00:09:47,067 --> 00:09:52,633 UNDER A CLOUD OF RAGING DUST PARTICLES. 158 00:09:52,633 --> 00:09:56,267 ON EARTH, WE GET DUST STORMS, TOO. 159 00:09:56,267 --> 00:10:00,300 THEY CAN BE DEVASTATING, SWALLOWING ENTIRE CITIES. 160 00:10:11,467 --> 00:10:15,433 JULY 5, 2011, ARIZONA. 161 00:10:15,433 --> 00:10:20,533 AN UNSTOPPABLE 5,000-FOOT-HIGH WALL OF DUST 162 00:10:20,533 --> 00:10:24,100 SMASHES INTO PHOENIX. 163 00:10:24,100 --> 00:10:26,467 DAY TURNS TO NIGHT. 164 00:10:26,467 --> 00:10:30,800 THOUSANDS OF TONS OF DUST SETTLE OVER THE CITY. 165 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,567 BUT THE DISASTER STAYS IN ONE PLACE. 166 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:51,500 MARS' DUST STORMS CAN ENGULF THE ENTIRE PLANET. 167 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:56,833 ON MARS, WHEN DUST GETS KICKED UP ONCE, IT LANDS, 168 00:10:56,833 --> 00:10:58,700 IT CAN GET KICKED UP AGAIN AND AGAIN. 169 00:10:58,700 --> 00:11:00,200 THE DUST IS REUSABLE. 170 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:01,633 ON THE EARTH, 171 00:11:01,633 --> 00:11:03,767 WHEN THE DUST GETS KICKED UP AND THEN FINALLY SETTLES OUT, 172 00:11:03,767 --> 00:11:05,733 IT'S PROBABLY GONNA SETTLE OUT INTO THE OCEAN, 173 00:11:05,733 --> 00:11:06,800 WHERE IT'S GONE FOR GOOD. 174 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:08,233 THERE'S NOWHERE ON MARS 175 00:11:08,233 --> 00:11:11,500 WHERE THERE ISN'T READY DUST AND SAND TO ADD TO THAT STORM. 176 00:11:11,500 --> 00:11:13,567 SO, THESE STORM SYSTEMS CAN KICK UP 177 00:11:13,567 --> 00:11:15,600 AND LAST WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS. 178 00:11:20,433 --> 00:11:23,133 Narrator: MARS' INCREDIBLY DRY ATMOSPHERE 179 00:11:23,133 --> 00:11:27,967 CONTRIBUTES TO THE STORMS' SIZE AND POWER. 180 00:11:27,967 --> 00:11:29,767 Showman: IN THE CASE OF THE EARTH, 181 00:11:29,767 --> 00:11:31,933 DUST THAT GETS UP INTO THE ATMOSPHERE 182 00:11:31,933 --> 00:11:33,933 IS RAPIDLY WASHED OUT BY THE RAIN 183 00:11:33,933 --> 00:11:35,300 AND GETS INTO THE OCEAN. 184 00:11:35,300 --> 00:11:36,567 IN THE CASE OF MARS, 185 00:11:36,567 --> 00:11:39,267 THERE'S NO COMPARABLE RAIN TO WASH THE DUST OUT. 186 00:11:39,267 --> 00:11:41,567 SO, ONCE THE DUST GETS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, 187 00:11:41,567 --> 00:11:42,600 IT JUST SITS THERE 188 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,433 UNTIL THE PARTICLES BY THEMSELVES 189 00:11:44,433 --> 00:11:45,967 ARE ABLE TO SLOWLY SETTLE OUT. 190 00:11:45,967 --> 00:11:48,233 Narrator: A LACK OF RAIN 191 00:11:48,233 --> 00:11:53,167 ALLOWS MARS' DUST STORMS TO COVER THE PLANET. 192 00:11:53,167 --> 00:11:55,433 BUT DUST STORMS ON MARS 193 00:11:55,433 --> 00:12:00,333 CAN BE EQUALLY SPECTACULAR ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE. 194 00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:05,933 NASA ROVERS CAPTURED THESE EXTRAORDINARY IMAGES -- 195 00:12:05,933 --> 00:12:11,667 DUST DEVILS SUCKING UP FINE, DRY, IRON-OXIDE DUST. 196 00:12:14,133 --> 00:12:19,700 THE BIGGEST DUST DEVILS CAN REACH SIX MILES INTO THE SKY. 197 00:12:19,700 --> 00:12:23,767 THEY PUMP FINE PARTICLES HIGH INTO MARS' ATMOSPHERE, 198 00:12:23,767 --> 00:12:25,367 CREATING A HAZE OF DUST 199 00:12:25,367 --> 00:12:31,300 THAT MAY HELP CONTROL THE PLANET'S DRY CLIMATE... 200 00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:36,100 AND LEAD TO A PLANET-WIDE MEGASTORM. 201 00:12:36,100 --> 00:12:41,067 EVEN ON MARS, DUST STORMS THIS BIG ARE RARE. 202 00:12:41,067 --> 00:12:43,633 ASTRONOMERS HAVE DETECTED JUST 10 203 00:12:43,633 --> 00:12:47,233 IN THE LAST 100 YEARS. 204 00:12:47,233 --> 00:12:51,267 WHAT THE ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS MISTOOK FOR LIFE 205 00:12:51,267 --> 00:12:52,733 WAS A MEGASTORM. 206 00:13:01,067 --> 00:13:03,400 BUT EVEN A PLANET-COVERING DUST STORM 207 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:04,933 IS DWARFED BY THE WEATHER 208 00:13:04,933 --> 00:13:08,067 ON THE NEXT PLANET OUT FROM OUR SUN. 209 00:13:11,067 --> 00:13:15,433 THIS IS THE GIANT OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM -- 210 00:13:15,433 --> 00:13:17,500 JUPITER. 211 00:13:30,467 --> 00:13:33,967 Narrator: JUPITER IS GIGANTIC. 212 00:13:33,967 --> 00:13:36,700 IT'S 2½ TIMES MORE MASSIVE 213 00:13:36,700 --> 00:13:41,667 THAN ALL THE OTHER PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM ADDED TOGETHER. 214 00:13:41,667 --> 00:13:46,867 IT'S ALSO HOME TO GIGANTIC MEGASTORMS. 215 00:13:46,867 --> 00:13:49,433 JUPITER'S HIGH-SPEED ROTATION 216 00:13:49,433 --> 00:13:53,500 DRIVES VAST BANDS OF COUNTER-ROTATING CLOUDS. 217 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:57,800 COLOSSAL STORMS BUILD ALONG THE BOUNDARIES. 218 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:03,500 AND THIS IS THE BIGGEST OF THEM ALL, 219 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:07,800 THE OLDEST STORM IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 220 00:14:10,267 --> 00:14:16,300 15,000 MILES ACROSS AND OVER 300 YEARS OLD, 221 00:14:16,300 --> 00:14:19,400 THE GREAT RED SPOT. 222 00:14:21,900 --> 00:14:24,567 AROUND THE EDGES, 223 00:14:24,567 --> 00:14:29,533 TURBULENT WINDS RAGE AT OVER 300 MILES PER HOUR. 224 00:14:33,367 --> 00:14:35,433 THE GREAT RED SPOT IS A GIANT VORTEX, 225 00:14:35,433 --> 00:14:37,700 MEANING THAT, IN THE CASE OF THE RED SPOT, 226 00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:39,233 IT HAS A HIGH-PRESSURE CENTER 227 00:14:39,233 --> 00:14:41,667 WITH WINDS THAT SWIRL AROUND THE OUTER EDGE. 228 00:14:41,667 --> 00:14:43,300 SO, IN THAT SENSE, 229 00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:47,533 THE GREAT RED SPOT IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE A HURRICANE. 230 00:14:47,533 --> 00:14:50,467 Narrator: A HURRICANE WITH A DIFFERENCE. 231 00:14:50,467 --> 00:14:52,467 ON EARTH, 232 00:14:52,467 --> 00:14:57,367 HURRICANES FEED OFF HEAT FROM THE OCEAN. 233 00:14:57,367 --> 00:15:00,967 WHEN THEY HIT LAND, THEY START TO DIE. 234 00:15:02,767 --> 00:15:06,267 SO, ON AVERAGE, THEY LAST ONLY ABOUT A WEEK. 235 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,700 JUPITER DOES NOT HAVE LAND. 236 00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:12,933 JUPITER IS A COMPLETELY GASEOUS PLANET, 237 00:15:12,933 --> 00:15:14,933 AND THE FRICTION THERE IS VERY WEAK. 238 00:15:14,933 --> 00:15:17,133 AND SO A VORTEX, LIKE THE GREAT RED SPOT, 239 00:15:17,133 --> 00:15:18,300 CAN LAST INDEFINITELY. 240 00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:19,933 THERE'S NOTHING TO SLOW IT DOWN. 241 00:15:19,933 --> 00:15:22,133 Narrator: TO KEEP GOING, 242 00:15:22,133 --> 00:15:25,933 ALL THE RED SPOT NEEDS IS A POWER SOURCE. 243 00:15:30,333 --> 00:15:36,233 ON EARTH, ULTIMATELY, THAT'S HEAT FROM THE SUN. 244 00:15:36,233 --> 00:15:41,067 BUT JUPITER'S FIVE TIMES FARTHER FROM THE SUN THAN US. 245 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:48,067 HEAT FROM THE SUN IS NOT ENOUGH TO DRIVE THE RED SPOT. 246 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:56,267 INSTEAD, JUPITER HAS AN INTERNAL POWER SOURCE -- 247 00:15:56,267 --> 00:15:59,100 ITS OWN IMMENSE GRAVITY. 248 00:16:05,667 --> 00:16:09,300 IN 1995, NASA LAUNCHED A PROBE 249 00:16:09,300 --> 00:16:14,433 STRAIGHT TOWARD THE GIANT PLANET'S HEART. 250 00:16:14,433 --> 00:16:18,267 IT PLUNGED INTO JUPITER'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE 251 00:16:18,267 --> 00:16:22,700 AT OVER 106,000 MILES PER HOUR. 252 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:24,667 AS IT FELL, 253 00:16:24,667 --> 00:16:29,667 THE PLANET'S CRUSHING GRAVITY RATCHETED UP THE PRESSURE... 254 00:16:29,667 --> 00:16:33,900 10, 15, 20 TIMES WHAT WE FEEL ON EARTH. 255 00:16:35,733 --> 00:16:40,467 WINDS GUSTED TO OVER 400 MILES PER HOUR. 256 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:49,100 THE PROBE GAVE OUT JUST 100 MILES IN, 257 00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:51,533 CRUSHED BY PRESSURE 258 00:16:51,533 --> 00:16:55,200 AND FRIED BY THE INCREDIBLE HEAT THE PRESSURE GENERATED. 259 00:16:59,067 --> 00:17:01,300 HAD THE PROBE MADE IT DEEPER, 260 00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:04,733 IT WOULD HAVE REACHED A VAST, SILVERY OCEAN. 261 00:17:08,433 --> 00:17:12,300 INTENSE PRESSURES HERE TURN HYDROGEN GAS 262 00:17:12,300 --> 00:17:15,433 INTO A CHURNING, METALLIC LIQUID, 263 00:17:15,433 --> 00:17:20,500 SUPERHEATED TO OVER 40,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. 264 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:28,067 JUPITER'S INTERIOR PUMPS OUT ABOUT TWICE AS MUCH ENERGY 265 00:17:28,067 --> 00:17:31,867 AS THE SURFACE GETS FROM THE SUN. 266 00:17:36,833 --> 00:17:39,333 THIS IS JUPITER'S POWER SOURCE, 267 00:17:39,333 --> 00:17:43,733 THE HEAT THAT DRIVES ITS MASSIVE MEGASTORMS. 268 00:17:46,133 --> 00:17:48,467 Dr. Thaller: ALL OF THE CONVECTION, ALL OF THE HEAT 269 00:17:48,467 --> 00:17:52,133 COMES FROM THE HOT, DENSE INTERIOR OF THE PLANET ITSELF. 270 00:17:52,133 --> 00:17:54,067 SO, THE BANDS OF CLOUDS THAT YOU SEE 271 00:17:54,067 --> 00:17:57,067 THAT ARE EVEN COUNTER-ROTATING, GOING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, 272 00:17:57,067 --> 00:17:58,500 THOSE ARE ALL DRIVEN 273 00:17:58,500 --> 00:18:01,233 BY THE INTERNAL HEAT OF JUPITER ITSELF. 274 00:18:04,333 --> 00:18:05,900 Narrator: JUPITER'S INTERNAL HEAT 275 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:09,567 DRIVES ITS VIOLENT MEGASTORMS. 276 00:18:09,567 --> 00:18:16,233 BUT THE GIANT PLANET MAY HOLD CLUES TO AN EVEN DEEPER MYSTERY. 277 00:18:16,233 --> 00:18:20,067 COULD LIFE EXIST ON OTHER WORLDS? 278 00:18:23,900 --> 00:18:28,200 NASA'S CASSINI PROBE STUDIED JUPITER 279 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,200 AS IT FLEW PAST EN ROUTE TO SATURN. 280 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:36,067 IT MADE AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY -- 281 00:18:36,067 --> 00:18:40,967 STRANGE WHITE CLOUDS JUST NORTH OF THE GREAT RED SPOT. 282 00:18:43,833 --> 00:18:47,933 CLOUDS JUST LIKE THE CLOUDS ON EARTH -- 283 00:18:47,933 --> 00:18:51,167 DROPLETS OF LIQUID WATER. 284 00:18:51,167 --> 00:18:55,600 COULD JUPITER HAVE THE INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE? 285 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:57,500 THE QUESTION OF LIFE ON THE GIANT PLANETS 286 00:18:57,500 --> 00:18:58,667 IS AN INTERESTING ONE. 287 00:18:58,667 --> 00:19:00,567 YOU HAVE MANY OF THE INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE. 288 00:19:00,567 --> 00:19:02,067 YOU HAVE SUNLIGHT COMING IN. 289 00:19:02,067 --> 00:19:03,133 THERE'S LIQUID WATER, 290 00:19:03,133 --> 00:19:05,233 AT LEAST IN THE FORM OF CLOUD DROPLETS. 291 00:19:05,233 --> 00:19:08,067 ON THE OTHER HAND, IF LIFE CAN EASILY EXIST IN CLOUDS, 292 00:19:08,067 --> 00:19:09,800 YOU MIGHT EXPECT THAT BACTERIA AND ALGAE 293 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:11,400 WOULD POPULATE THE CLOUDS ON EARTH 294 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:12,700 AND THE CLOUDS WOULD BE GREEN. 295 00:19:12,700 --> 00:19:14,333 WE DON'T SEE THAT ON THE EARTH. 296 00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:16,100 WE DO SEE MICROBES AT MANY ALTITUDES 297 00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:17,800 THROUGHOUT THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, 298 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,233 BUT THEY SEEM TO LARGELY BE BLOWN OFF OF THE SURFACE. 299 00:19:22,433 --> 00:19:24,500 Narrator: IT'S LIKELY THAT LIFE ON EARTH 300 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:27,867 BEGAN ON A SOLID SURFACE. 301 00:19:27,867 --> 00:19:33,500 BUT COULD LIFE EVOLVE WITHOUT ONE? 302 00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:35,767 THERE'S NO SURFACE ON JUPITER, 303 00:19:35,767 --> 00:19:38,067 AND SO THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT 304 00:19:38,067 --> 00:19:41,233 FOR ORGANISMS TO HAVE A CONSTANT SOURCE OF WATER. 305 00:19:41,233 --> 00:19:42,633 SO, IF YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF 306 00:19:42,633 --> 00:19:45,100 BEING A LITTLE BACTERIUM INSIDE A CLOUD DROPLET, 307 00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:46,500 YOU'RE GONNA BE IN DEEP TROUBLE 308 00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:48,600 WHEN THAT CLOUD DROPLET EVAPORATES. 309 00:19:51,633 --> 00:19:55,700 Narrator: WHETHER LIFE EXISTS IN JUPITER'S CLOUDS OR NOT, 310 00:19:55,700 --> 00:19:59,367 GAS GIANTS LIKE JUPITER AND ITS NEIGHBOR SATURN 311 00:19:59,367 --> 00:20:02,700 HAVE ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS -- 312 00:20:02,700 --> 00:20:08,567 WATER, HEAT, AND ONE OTHER VITAL ELEMENT, 313 00:20:08,567 --> 00:20:09,800 A SPARK... 314 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,367 [ THUNDER CRASHES ] 315 00:20:11,367 --> 00:20:15,567 ...LIGHTNING ON AN UNIMAGINABLE SCALE. 316 00:20:33,433 --> 00:20:37,567 Narrator: THESE HAUNTING IMAGES ARE FROM NASA'S CASSINI PROBE. 317 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:41,100 ITS MISSION -- 318 00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:43,267 TO EXPLORE ONE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM'S 319 00:20:43,267 --> 00:20:47,667 MOST AWE-INSPIRING PLANETS... 320 00:20:47,667 --> 00:20:49,933 SATURN. 321 00:20:49,933 --> 00:20:55,333 THE PROBE REVEALS SATURN'S RINGS... 322 00:20:55,333 --> 00:20:56,667 MOONS... 323 00:20:56,667 --> 00:21:01,600 AND THE PLANET ITSELF IN NEAR-PERFECT DETAIL. 324 00:21:07,067 --> 00:21:11,167 CHAOTIC BANDS OF CLOUD RACE AROUND SATURN 325 00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:13,867 AT MORE THAN 1,000 MILES PER HOUR. 326 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:25,600 FINDING STORMS HERE WAS NO SURPRISE. 327 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,500 IT'S A PLANET OF STORMS. 328 00:21:31,867 --> 00:21:34,967 BUT THIS WAS ASTONISHING. 329 00:21:34,967 --> 00:21:37,400 A BOLT OF LIGHTNING -- 330 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,900 A GIGANTIC THUNDERSTORM ON AN ALIEN WORLD. 331 00:21:41,900 --> 00:21:44,567 [ THUNDER RUMBLING ] 332 00:21:47,967 --> 00:21:49,167 LIGHTNING CREATES 333 00:21:49,167 --> 00:21:53,067 SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR WEATHER ON EARTH. 334 00:21:53,067 --> 00:21:54,800 [ THUNDER CRASHES ] 335 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,567 ELECTRICAL TENSION BUILDS BETWEEN THE TOP AND BOTTOM 336 00:21:59,567 --> 00:22:03,467 OF A VAST 55,000-FEET-HIGH STORM CLOUD, 337 00:22:03,467 --> 00:22:08,900 A MAELSTROM OF WATER VAPOR, RAIN, AND ICE. 338 00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:19,500 TINY ICE CRYSTALS DRIVE UP PAST HAILSTONES FALLING DOWN. 339 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:24,600 AS THEY RUB PAST EACH OTHER, IT BUILDS UP A CHARGE. 340 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,867 WHEN THE STRAIN GETS TOO GREAT, YOU GET AN ELECTRIC SPARK. 341 00:22:28,867 --> 00:22:33,367 [ THUNDER RUMBLING ] 342 00:22:33,367 --> 00:22:35,233 [ THUNDER CRASHES ] 343 00:22:38,567 --> 00:22:43,833 ON EARTH, THE AVERAGE LIGHTNING STORM STRETCHES 15 MILES. 344 00:22:43,833 --> 00:22:48,333 ON SATURN, THEY CAN REACH AROUND THE WHOLE PLANET. 345 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,767 THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF LIGHTNING STORMS ON JUPITER AND SATURN 346 00:22:53,767 --> 00:22:55,267 WHERE THE ANVIL CLOUD -- 347 00:22:55,267 --> 00:22:57,700 IN OTHER WORDS, THE BIG CLOUD AT THE TOP OF THE STORM -- 348 00:22:57,700 --> 00:23:01,567 STARTS SMALL AND GROWS TO BE 20,000 KILOMETERS LONG. 349 00:23:01,567 --> 00:23:03,200 THAT'S THE SIZE OF THE EARTH. 350 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,567 ON SATURN, WE REGISTERED ONE LIGHTNING STORM 351 00:23:06,567 --> 00:23:08,700 THAT WAS 10,000 TIMES GREATER 352 00:23:08,700 --> 00:23:11,200 THAN ANY LIGHTNING STORM FOUND ON THE PLANET EARTH. 353 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,767 [ THUNDER RUMBLING ] 354 00:23:13,767 --> 00:23:17,067 Narrator: LIGHTNING IS HOTTER THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN. 355 00:23:19,867 --> 00:23:23,067 THE ATMOSPHERE LITERALLY EXPLODES... 356 00:23:23,067 --> 00:23:24,333 [ THUNDER CRASHES ] 357 00:23:24,333 --> 00:23:27,233 ...THE SOUND WE CALL "THUNDER." 358 00:23:32,267 --> 00:23:36,533 ON EARTH, IT'S THE SOUND OF NEW LIFE. 359 00:23:36,533 --> 00:23:39,333 [ THUNDER RUMBLING ] 360 00:23:42,633 --> 00:23:45,367 LIGHTNING SEEMS SCARY AND DESTRUCTIVE, 361 00:23:45,367 --> 00:23:47,900 BUT ACTUALLY IT'S VERY PRODUCTIVE FOR LIFE ON EARTH. 362 00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:49,067 AND THE REASON WHY IS 363 00:23:49,067 --> 00:23:51,700 BECAUSE OF ITS INFLUENCE ON ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY. 364 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,433 Narrator: EVERY BOLT LITERALLY BURNS THE AIR. 365 00:23:58,433 --> 00:24:00,767 Dr. Grinspoon: WHEN YOU HAVE A LIGHTNING DISCHARGE, 366 00:24:00,767 --> 00:24:02,867 YOU GET THIS VERY HIGH-TEMPERATURE, 367 00:24:02,867 --> 00:24:04,333 VERY ENERGETIC PLASMA, 368 00:24:04,333 --> 00:24:07,333 AND THAT BREAKS UP THE NITROGEN MOLECULES IN THE ATMOSPHERE, 369 00:24:07,333 --> 00:24:09,167 FREES UP THOSE NITROGEN ATOMS 370 00:24:09,167 --> 00:24:11,767 TO ENTER INTO OTHER KINDS OF MOLECULES. 371 00:24:11,767 --> 00:24:15,667 AND THOSE NITRATES FORMED BY LIGHTNING 372 00:24:15,667 --> 00:24:17,933 ALLOW NITROGEN TO GO INTO THE SOIL 373 00:24:17,933 --> 00:24:20,067 AS, BASICALLY, FERTILIZER, 374 00:24:20,067 --> 00:24:22,533 ENTER INTO PLANTS, ENTER INTO THE LIFE CYCLE. 375 00:24:22,533 --> 00:24:25,067 SO, IT'S THE LIGHTNING THAT FREES UP NITROGEN ATOMS 376 00:24:25,067 --> 00:24:26,633 IN THE SERVICE OF LIFE ON EARTH. 377 00:24:29,233 --> 00:24:31,300 Narrator: EARTH EXPERIENCES 378 00:24:31,300 --> 00:24:34,333 8 MILLION LIGHTNING BOLTS EVERY DAY... 379 00:24:34,333 --> 00:24:36,267 [ THUNDER RUMBLING ] 380 00:24:36,267 --> 00:24:40,433 ...HELPING LIFE EVOLVE AND COLONIZE THE PLANET. 381 00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:54,067 BUT FOR SATURN, LIGHTNING ALONE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH. 382 00:24:54,067 --> 00:24:58,200 THERE'S NOWHERE FOR ALIEN LIFE TO LIVE. 383 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,267 [ THUNDER RUMBLES ] 384 00:25:00,267 --> 00:25:04,567 ONE PLACE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM MAY SOLVE THAT PROBLEM -- 385 00:25:04,567 --> 00:25:08,133 SATURN'S MOON TITAN. 386 00:25:08,133 --> 00:25:09,733 IT HAS AN ATMOSPHERE. 387 00:25:09,733 --> 00:25:12,367 IT HAS LAKES OF LIQUID METHANE... 388 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,900 ....AND ITS OWN BIZARRE BRAND OF MEGASTORM. 389 00:25:19,900 --> 00:25:21,400 [ LIQUID SPLASHES ] 390 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,200 Narrator: SATURN IS ALMOST 900 MILLION MILES 391 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:38,767 FROM THE SUN. 392 00:25:38,767 --> 00:25:44,533 THIS FAR OUT, ORBITING THE SUN TAKES TIME. 393 00:25:44,533 --> 00:25:49,867 SATURN'S YEAR IS NEARLY 30 EARTH YEARS LONG. 394 00:25:55,067 --> 00:25:59,567 RIGHT NOW, IT'S SPRING, AND THINGS ARE HEATING UP. 395 00:26:02,867 --> 00:26:05,600 NOW WE'RE MOVING INTO THE SUMMER CYCLE OF SATURN, 396 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,967 SO THE ATMOSPHERE IS SLIGHTLY HEATING UP. 397 00:26:07,967 --> 00:26:10,133 EVEN AS DISTANT AS SATURN IS FROM THE SUN, 398 00:26:10,133 --> 00:26:11,633 WE'VE GOT A LITTLE MORE ENERGY 399 00:26:11,633 --> 00:26:13,867 AND WE'RE SEEING THE MOST SPECTACULAR STORMS 400 00:26:13,867 --> 00:26:15,367 WE'VE EVER OBSERVED ON SATURN. 401 00:26:17,633 --> 00:26:20,633 Narrator: AFTER YEARS OF FROZEN SILENCE, 402 00:26:20,633 --> 00:26:23,567 SATURN IS COMING ALIVE. 403 00:26:23,567 --> 00:26:26,867 SCIENTISTS HAVE WAITED NEARLY 15 YEARS 404 00:26:26,867 --> 00:26:30,933 FOR THE SUN TO LIGHT UP ITS NORTH POLE, 405 00:26:30,933 --> 00:26:33,833 TO REVEAL EXTRAORDINARY DETAILS 406 00:26:33,833 --> 00:26:36,633 ABOUT ONE OF THE STRANGEST MEGASTORMS 407 00:26:36,633 --> 00:26:41,233 IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.... 408 00:26:41,233 --> 00:26:46,167 SATURN'S UNIQUE HEXAGON STORM. 409 00:26:48,633 --> 00:26:52,633 Kaku: A HEXAGONAL PATTERN, HOW CAN THAT BE? 410 00:26:52,633 --> 00:26:54,800 IN MOTHER NATURE, WE HAVE JAGGED OBJECTS. 411 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,267 WE DON'T HAVE GEOMETRIC FIGURES ARRANGED PRECISELY, 412 00:26:58,267 --> 00:27:01,200 ESPECIALLY ON A GIGANTIC PLANETARY SCALE. 413 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,067 HOWEVER, THERE'S SOME THEORIES. 414 00:27:03,067 --> 00:27:05,533 IF I TAKE A BUCKET OF WATER OR A BATHTUB 415 00:27:05,533 --> 00:27:07,067 AND SIMPLY VIBRATE IT, 416 00:27:07,067 --> 00:27:09,067 I GET WAVES, WAVES THAT TRAVEL. 417 00:27:09,067 --> 00:27:11,400 BUT THERE'S ANOTHER KIND OF WAVE. 418 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:12,667 YOU HAVE TRAVELING WAVES, 419 00:27:12,667 --> 00:27:14,500 BUT THEN YOU HAVE STATIONARY WAVES. 420 00:27:14,500 --> 00:27:17,767 INSIDE A BUCKET OF WATER, YOU CAN GET RESONANCES. 421 00:27:17,767 --> 00:27:19,433 WATER PULSATES LIKE THIS. 422 00:27:19,433 --> 00:27:23,500 AND YOU CAN ALSO GET THEM TO PULSATE IN A CIRCLE LIKE THIS 423 00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:25,467 TO CREATE REGULAR PATTERNS. 424 00:27:25,467 --> 00:27:27,500 THESE ARE CALLED STATIONARY WAVES, 425 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:28,767 AND WE THINK 426 00:27:28,767 --> 00:27:31,067 THAT THIS MYSTERIOUS HEXAGONAL PATTERN ON SATURN 427 00:27:31,067 --> 00:27:34,367 IS A HEXAGONAL STANDING WAVE. 428 00:27:38,467 --> 00:27:41,767 Narrator: THE MEGASTORM AT SATURN'S NORTH POLE 429 00:27:41,767 --> 00:27:44,800 IS A WIND THAT TRAVELS AT HURRICANE SPEED, 430 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,400 CORNERING SHARPLY SIX TIMES 431 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:51,900 AS IT RACES 'ROUND THE PLANET. 432 00:27:51,900 --> 00:27:55,100 THE CENTRAL CLEARING IS SO BIG, 433 00:27:55,100 --> 00:27:58,700 YOU COULD FIT FOUR EARTHS INSIDE. 434 00:27:58,700 --> 00:28:02,867 WHAT LIES BENEATH ITS SURFACE IS A MYSTERY. 435 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,233 AS SATURN WARMS FROM SPRING TO SUMMER, 436 00:28:10,233 --> 00:28:13,067 ANOTHER WORLD COMES ALIVE, TOO. 437 00:28:13,067 --> 00:28:19,800 ONE OF SATURN'S MOONS, TITAN, IS WARMING UP. 438 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,867 AND WITH THE WARMTH COME THE STORMS. 439 00:28:25,467 --> 00:28:28,067 Krauss: ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING MOONS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM 440 00:28:28,067 --> 00:28:29,167 IS TITAN. 441 00:28:29,167 --> 00:28:31,467 IT'S STRAIGHT OUT OF SCIENCE FICTION. 442 00:28:31,467 --> 00:28:36,067 IT'S AN OBJECT WITH YELLOW SKIES AND METHANE CLOUDS 443 00:28:36,067 --> 00:28:38,067 THAT IS TRULY REMARKABLE. 444 00:28:38,067 --> 00:28:41,467 Narrator: NASA'S CASSINI PROBE 445 00:28:41,467 --> 00:28:46,100 REVEALS TITAN IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL... 446 00:28:46,100 --> 00:28:49,667 A THICK, DENSE ATMOSPHERE, 447 00:28:49,667 --> 00:28:51,867 VAST MOUNTAIN RANGES, 448 00:28:51,867 --> 00:28:55,667 LAKES OF LIQUID METHANE. 449 00:28:55,667 --> 00:28:58,900 AND THIS -- 450 00:28:58,900 --> 00:29:03,433 AN ARROW-SHAPED BAND OF WHITE METHANE CLOUDS 451 00:29:03,433 --> 00:29:05,633 MOVING OVER ITS SURFACE. 452 00:29:08,833 --> 00:29:13,067 WHEN THE CLOUDS DRIFTED OVER A DUSTY, OPEN PLAIN, 453 00:29:13,067 --> 00:29:15,233 SEEN HERE AS A DARK PATCH, 454 00:29:15,233 --> 00:29:21,167 THE DARK PATCH OF GROUND BENEATH THE CLOUDS GREW LARGER. 455 00:29:21,167 --> 00:29:24,600 SCIENTISTS BELIEVE 456 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:29,067 LIQUID METHANE DRENCHED THE SURFACE. 457 00:29:29,067 --> 00:29:33,367 A SPRING RAINSTORM, TITAN STYLE. 458 00:29:36,667 --> 00:29:38,400 RAIN ON TITAN, IF IT EXISTS, 459 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,700 WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM RAIN ON THE PLANET EARTH. 460 00:29:41,700 --> 00:29:45,433 FIRST OF ALL, THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD IS VERY WEAK, 461 00:29:45,433 --> 00:29:47,500 SO YOU WOULD ACTUALLY SEE RAINDROPS FALLING 462 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:49,267 VERY SLOWLY AT YOU. 463 00:29:49,267 --> 00:29:52,633 ALSO, THE SIZE OF THESE DROPLETS COULD BE MUCH LARGER. 464 00:29:52,633 --> 00:29:55,467 BUT DON'T GET CAUGHT IN A RAINSTORM ON TITAN. 465 00:29:55,467 --> 00:29:57,433 THOSE DROPLETS ARE AWFULLY COLD. 466 00:29:57,433 --> 00:30:01,600 Narrator: TITAN'S METHANE MONSOON 467 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,867 SWEEPS ACROSS THE MOON. 468 00:30:04,867 --> 00:30:10,433 WEAK GRAVITY CREATES ULTRA-COLD, HAZELNUT-SIZED RAINDROPS. 469 00:30:10,433 --> 00:30:14,633 AN ALIEN WORLD WITH TRULY ALIEN WEATHER. 470 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:21,067 THESE SLOW DROPS HAVE CARVED VALLEYS AND LAKES 471 00:30:21,067 --> 00:30:24,000 MUCH LIKE OURS ON EARTH, 472 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,633 A SLOW-MOTION MEGASTORM. 473 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:34,967 BUT FLY EVEN FARTHER OUT THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 474 00:30:34,967 --> 00:30:38,433 AND YOU FIND STORMS THAT ARE ALTOGETHER FASTER. 475 00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:44,633 THIS IS SUPER-CHILLED NEPTUNE. 476 00:30:44,633 --> 00:30:50,900 THE TEMPERATURE NEVER GETS ABOVE 300 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 477 00:30:50,900 --> 00:30:54,900 NEPTUNE IS ONE OF THESE GIANT PLANETS. 478 00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:57,733 IT'S MUCH LARGER THAN THE EARTH AND HAS A VERY THICK ATMOSPHERE. 479 00:30:57,733 --> 00:31:00,300 IT'S ABOUT 2 BILLION MILES OUT FROM THE SUN. 480 00:31:00,300 --> 00:31:01,867 SO, YOU REALLY MIGHT EXPECT, 481 00:31:01,867 --> 00:31:03,833 SINCE IT'S THAT FAR FROM THE SUN, 482 00:31:03,833 --> 00:31:06,133 IT WOULD BE VERY COLD AND NOT HAVE VERY MUCH WEATHER. 483 00:31:06,133 --> 00:31:08,467 BUT IN FACT, NEPTUNE IS VERY DYNAMIC. 484 00:31:08,467 --> 00:31:10,767 IT'S GOT TREMENDOUS WEATHER PATTERNS. 485 00:31:10,767 --> 00:31:14,600 Narrator: DESPITE ITS INCREDIBLE DISTANCE FROM EARTH, 486 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:16,433 ASTRONOMERS CAN GET CLOSE 487 00:31:16,433 --> 00:31:20,467 TO NEPTUNE'S TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE... 488 00:31:20,467 --> 00:31:24,633 WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THIS. 489 00:31:24,633 --> 00:31:27,767 THE KECK OBSERVATORY, 490 00:31:27,767 --> 00:31:33,967 14,000 FEET UP ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA IN HAWAII. 491 00:31:33,967 --> 00:31:38,067 IT SITS ABOVE EARTH'S CLOUDS AND POLLUTION. 492 00:31:40,633 --> 00:31:44,067 THE TELESCOPES ARE SO POWERFUL 493 00:31:44,067 --> 00:31:47,800 THEY COULD SEE A CANDLE ON THE MOON. 494 00:31:52,300 --> 00:31:57,067 NEPTUNE AT FIRST APPEARS FEATURELESS. 495 00:31:57,067 --> 00:32:02,667 BUT A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS WHITE, HIGH-ALTITUDE CLOUDS 496 00:32:02,667 --> 00:32:05,633 IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE. 497 00:32:05,633 --> 00:32:11,167 IT'S A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO TRACK WIND SPEED. 498 00:32:11,167 --> 00:32:13,400 MEASURING THE TIME AND DISTANCE 499 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,500 THE CLOUDS TAKE BETWEEN TWO POINTS 500 00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:18,300 ALLOWS SCIENTISTS TO CLOCK THEIR SPEED. 501 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,933 THE KECK TELESCOPE SWINGS TOWARDS NEPTUNE. 502 00:32:25,933 --> 00:32:29,567 A SERIES OF SHOTS TRACK THE WHITE CLOUDS 503 00:32:29,567 --> 00:32:33,067 AS THEY MOVE AROUND THE PLANET. 504 00:32:33,067 --> 00:32:36,067 SO, HERE WE CAN TAKE SEVERAL PHOTOGRAPHS 505 00:32:36,067 --> 00:32:40,133 THAT SHOW THE POSITIONS OF CLOUDS APPARENTLY CHANGING. 506 00:32:40,133 --> 00:32:42,667 YOU CAN MEASURE THE POSITION AT ONE MOMENT TO BE THERE 507 00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:44,533 AND AT ANOTHER TIME A FEW HOURS LATER 508 00:32:44,533 --> 00:32:45,833 TO BE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE. 509 00:32:45,833 --> 00:32:48,067 NOW, MOST OF THAT CHANGE IN POSITION 510 00:32:48,067 --> 00:32:50,867 IS DUE TO THE ROTATION OF THE PLANET AS A WHOLE. 511 00:32:50,867 --> 00:32:53,333 HOWEVER, IF YOU KNOW THE ROTATION RATE 512 00:32:53,333 --> 00:32:54,767 AND SUBTRACT THAT OUT, 513 00:32:54,767 --> 00:32:57,300 THAT GIVES YOU THE MOTION OF THE CLOUDS 514 00:32:57,300 --> 00:32:58,533 RELATIVE TO THE PLANET. 515 00:32:58,533 --> 00:33:00,167 THAT TELLS YOU THE WIND SPEED. 516 00:33:00,167 --> 00:33:04,067 Narrator: THE RESULTS ARE SHOCKING. 517 00:33:04,067 --> 00:33:06,100 Filippenko: WE'RE SEEING WIND SPEEDS ON NEPTUNE 518 00:33:06,100 --> 00:33:09,133 OF MANY HUNDREDS OF MILES PER HOUR 519 00:33:09,133 --> 00:33:12,600 UP TO 1,200 OR EVEN 1,260 MILES PER HOUR 520 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,100 FOR THE VERY FASTEST CLOUDS. 521 00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:17,367 THAT'S REALLY PHENOMENAL. 522 00:33:17,367 --> 00:33:23,067 Narrator: NEPTUNE HAS THE FASTEST WINDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 523 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:27,267 SO, WHAT'S DRIVING THIS? 524 00:33:27,267 --> 00:33:30,967 YOU NEED ENERGY TO MAKE WEATHER. WHERE'S THAT ENERGY COMING FROM? 525 00:33:30,967 --> 00:33:33,333 AND IT TURNS OUT IT'S COMING FROM NEPTUNE ITSELF. 526 00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:35,267 IT DOES RECEIVE SUNLIGHT, 527 00:33:35,267 --> 00:33:39,067 BUT NEPTUNE ACTUALLY RADIATES AWAY MORE ENERGY -- 528 00:33:39,067 --> 00:33:41,100 A LOT MORE ENERGY THAN IT GETS FROM THE SUN, 529 00:33:41,100 --> 00:33:43,600 WHICH MEANS THE INTERIOR IS VERY HOT. 530 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,833 PROBABLY IT MEANS THERE'S RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IN THERE, 531 00:33:46,833 --> 00:33:48,133 THERE'S LEFTOVER HEAT 532 00:33:48,133 --> 00:33:50,933 FROM WHEN NEPTUNE FORMED 4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO 533 00:33:50,933 --> 00:33:52,900 THAT'S VERY SLOWLY LEAKING OUT. 534 00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:55,533 AND IT'S THAT THAT'S HEATING UP THE AIR 535 00:33:55,533 --> 00:33:57,300 AND DRIVING ALL OF THIS CIRCULATION 536 00:33:57,300 --> 00:33:59,533 AND ALL OF THIS CRAZY WEATHER THAT NEPTUNE HAS. 537 00:33:59,533 --> 00:34:05,100 Narrator: NEPTUNE'S STORMS HIT HARD. 538 00:34:08,567 --> 00:34:11,800 BUT THE SEARCH FOR TRULY EXTREME WEATHER 539 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:15,200 TAKES US OUT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ALTOGETHER 540 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:19,633 INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORY. 541 00:34:19,633 --> 00:34:22,233 OUT HERE, THERE ARE STORMS 542 00:34:22,233 --> 00:34:27,400 THAT MAKE EVEN NEPTUNE'S WINDS LOOK LIKE A BREEZE. 543 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,733 KATRINA WAS JUST A SNEEZE 544 00:34:30,733 --> 00:34:33,833 COMPARED TO THE WINDS WE HAVE ON OSIRIS. 545 00:34:33,833 --> 00:34:37,067 Narrator: THE SEARCH FOR MEGASTORMS 546 00:34:37,067 --> 00:34:40,100 LEADS TO ALIEN WORLDS 547 00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:43,067 WHOSE VIOLENCE DEFIES IMAGINATION. 548 00:34:58,233 --> 00:35:03,767 Narrator: SPACE IS FULL OF STARS AND PLANETS 549 00:35:03,767 --> 00:35:08,100 WHERE VIOLENCE AND CHAOS REIGN. 550 00:35:16,533 --> 00:35:20,433 ASTRONOMERS SCOUR THE SKIES FOR NEW WORLDS. 551 00:35:20,433 --> 00:35:23,200 AND THE KING OF THE PLANET HUNTERS 552 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,700 IS PROFESSOR GEOFF MARCY. 553 00:35:26,700 --> 00:35:28,167 HE SCANS THE NIGHT SKY 554 00:35:28,167 --> 00:35:32,667 SEEKING NEW WORLDS AROUND DISTANT STARS. 555 00:35:36,167 --> 00:35:41,367 MARCY'S TEAM HAS INSTRUMENTS SO SENSITIVE 556 00:35:41,367 --> 00:35:43,267 THEY CAN EVEN PREDICT THE WEATHER 557 00:35:43,267 --> 00:35:44,600 ON THESE DISTANT PLANETS. 558 00:35:49,167 --> 00:35:52,067 THIS IS OSIRIS, 559 00:35:52,067 --> 00:35:56,700 150 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH, 560 00:35:56,700 --> 00:36:03,633 A PLANET FROM HELL WITH MATCHING WEATHER. 561 00:36:03,633 --> 00:36:08,067 EARTH IS 93 MILLION MILES FROM THE SUN. 562 00:36:08,067 --> 00:36:12,700 IT ORBITS THE SUN IN ONE YEAR. 563 00:36:12,700 --> 00:36:17,933 BUT OSIRIS IS JUST 4 MILLION MILES FROM ITS STAR. 564 00:36:17,933 --> 00:36:23,133 ITS YEAR RACES BY IN JUST 3½ DAYS. 565 00:36:23,133 --> 00:36:27,733 WHEN OSIRIS PASSES BETWEEN US AND ITS STAR, 566 00:36:27,733 --> 00:36:31,433 STARLIGHT BRIEFLY SHINES THROUGH ITS ATMOSPHERE, 567 00:36:31,433 --> 00:36:36,867 GIVING US A GLIMPSE OF CONDITIONS ON THE ALIEN WORLD. 568 00:36:36,867 --> 00:36:42,333 AND THEY WAITED UNTIL THE PLANET WAS IN FRONT OF THE STAR. 569 00:36:42,333 --> 00:36:45,233 AT THAT MOMENT, SOME OF THE STARLIGHT 570 00:36:45,233 --> 00:36:48,833 PASSED THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE PLANET. 571 00:36:48,833 --> 00:36:52,100 THEY WERE ABLE TO DO ESSENTIALLY A CHEMICAL ASSAY, 572 00:36:52,100 --> 00:36:53,667 A CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT 573 00:36:53,667 --> 00:36:57,533 OF THE COMPOSITION OF THIS ATMOSPHERE. 574 00:37:00,167 --> 00:37:05,700 Narrator: OSIRIS GETS BLASTED BY THE INTENSE HEAT OF ITS STAR. 575 00:37:05,700 --> 00:37:09,767 TEMPERATURES TOP 2,000 DEGREES. 576 00:37:12,533 --> 00:37:14,967 Marcy: NOW, WHAT THAT MEANS IS 577 00:37:14,967 --> 00:37:19,400 THAT THE ENVIRONMENT ON THAT PLANET IS, 578 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,767 WELL, HIDEOUS FOR LIFE AS WE KNOW IT. 579 00:37:21,767 --> 00:37:26,800 BUT EVEN MORE, THE INTENSE HEAT CAUSES THE GASES TO EXPAND, 580 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:32,067 AND THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO GO BUT THE BACKSIDE OF THE PLANET. 581 00:37:32,067 --> 00:37:35,367 Narrator: OSIRIS IS TIDALLY LOCKED. 582 00:37:35,367 --> 00:37:39,767 THE SAME SIDE OF THE PLANET ALWAYS FACES THE STAR. 583 00:37:39,767 --> 00:37:43,467 THE OTHER LOOKS OUT INTO SPACE. 584 00:37:43,467 --> 00:37:46,233 THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE IS IMMENSE. 585 00:37:50,333 --> 00:37:53,200 SUPERHEATED ATMOSPHERE ROARS 586 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,567 FROM THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THE PLANET TO THE DARK 587 00:37:55,567 --> 00:38:00,600 AT NEARLY SIX TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND. 588 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:02,300 Marcy: IN FACT, THE WINDS 589 00:38:02,300 --> 00:38:06,467 WILL BE SOMETHING LIKE 2,000 OR 3,000 MILES PER HOUR, 590 00:38:06,467 --> 00:38:09,433 ENORMOUS SPEEDS OF THESE WINDS -- 591 00:38:09,433 --> 00:38:12,700 10 TIMES, 20 TIMES FASTER WIND SPEEDS 592 00:38:12,700 --> 00:38:15,233 THAN THE STRONGEST HURRICANES. 593 00:38:15,233 --> 00:38:17,533 KATRINA WAS JUST A SNEEZE 594 00:38:17,533 --> 00:38:21,267 COMPARED TO THE WINDS WE HAVE ON OSIRIS. 595 00:38:23,700 --> 00:38:27,433 Narrator: OSIRIS IS A BRUTAL WORLD, 596 00:38:27,433 --> 00:38:29,300 TOO HOT AND TOO VIOLENT 597 00:38:29,300 --> 00:38:32,067 FOR ANY KIND OF LIFE WE COULD IMAGINE. 598 00:38:39,667 --> 00:38:43,500 BUT THERE ARE EVEN LARGER MEGASTORMS, 599 00:38:43,500 --> 00:38:47,400 STORMS ON THE SCALE OF WHOLE GALAXIES. 600 00:38:59,067 --> 00:39:04,233 AND THESE FAST STORMS MAY BE THE REASON ANY OF US ARE HERE. 601 00:39:08,567 --> 00:39:12,500 THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE CAPTURED THIS STUNNING IMAGE 602 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:16,733 OF THE GALAXY NGC 3079. 603 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:23,233 AT ITS CENTER, A SUPER WIND -- 604 00:39:23,233 --> 00:39:27,567 A STORM ON A TRULY COSMIC SCALE. 605 00:39:30,467 --> 00:39:35,600 IT WAS TRIGGERED BY AN EXPLOSION FROM A FORMING STAR. 606 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:40,933 THIS RAGING GALACTIC STORM IS ABOUT 3,000 LIGHT-YEARS WIDE. 607 00:39:40,933 --> 00:39:44,933 IT HAS ALREADY RAGED FOR AROUND ONE MILLION YEARS. 608 00:39:44,933 --> 00:39:50,067 FILAMENTS OF 20 MILLION-DEGREE GAS 609 00:39:50,067 --> 00:39:52,700 TOWER ABOVE THE SPIRAL GALAXY. 610 00:39:55,067 --> 00:39:58,200 THIS COSMIC MEGASTORM 611 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:02,500 WREAKS HAVOC WITHIN ITS HOST GALAXY. 612 00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:04,500 WE SEE BUBBLES AND JETS 613 00:40:04,500 --> 00:40:07,467 AND FORMATIONS OF GAS FALLING INTO THE GALAXY, 614 00:40:07,467 --> 00:40:11,533 COLLIDING WITH GALACTIC DUST. 615 00:40:11,533 --> 00:40:15,000 Narrator: THE GAS FROM THE GALACTIC MEGASTORM 616 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,967 SMASHES INTO GAS AND DUST AT THE HEART OF THE GALAXY 617 00:40:18,967 --> 00:40:23,467 AND COMPRESSES IT INTO A SWIRLING MASS OF MATTER. 618 00:40:27,733 --> 00:40:30,833 GRAVITY TAKES OVER. 619 00:40:30,833 --> 00:40:33,267 THE COMPRESSED CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST 620 00:40:33,267 --> 00:40:35,667 GET TIGHTER AND TIGHTER. 621 00:40:35,667 --> 00:40:39,233 THE CENTER GETS HOTTER AND HOTTER. 622 00:40:39,233 --> 00:40:41,067 FINALLY, IT IGNITES. 623 00:40:42,900 --> 00:40:47,267 POWERFUL WINDS FROM THE NEW STAR BLAST INTO SPACE. 624 00:40:47,267 --> 00:40:51,633 THE WHOLE CYCLE BEGINS OVER AGAIN, 625 00:40:51,633 --> 00:40:55,167 AND A NEW GALACTIC MEGASTORM IS BORN. 626 00:40:55,167 --> 00:40:59,267 AROUND THE FLEDGLING STARS, 627 00:40:59,267 --> 00:41:03,733 DUST AND ROCK COME TOGETHER, 628 00:41:03,733 --> 00:41:05,900 THE BIRTH OF NEW WORLDS 629 00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:10,433 WITH ROCKY SURFACES WHERE LIFE COULD BEGIN. 630 00:41:10,433 --> 00:41:12,833 Kaku: AND PERHAPS THE FORMATION OF LIFE ITSELF 631 00:41:12,833 --> 00:41:14,267 MAY BE DETERMINED 632 00:41:14,267 --> 00:41:18,367 BY HOW THESE GASES SWIRL AND CREATE SUPER-GALACTIC STORMS. 633 00:41:18,367 --> 00:41:21,100 AND IF YOU HAVE GALACTIC WINDS CHURNING AWAY, 634 00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:23,267 THEN THAT WOULD HELP TO DISTRIBUTE 635 00:41:23,267 --> 00:41:27,200 THE ELEMENTS NECESSARY FOR LIFE THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY. 636 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:30,067 SO, GALACTIC STORMS MAY, IN SOME SENSE, 637 00:41:30,067 --> 00:41:33,100 BE ONE CLUE TO THE FORMATION OF LIFE ITSELF. 638 00:41:35,733 --> 00:41:40,667 Narrator: GALACTIC MEGASTORMS RAGE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS. 639 00:41:42,633 --> 00:41:44,067 BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO, 640 00:41:44,067 --> 00:41:46,567 THEY MAY HAVE CREATED NEW HOMES FOR LIFE 641 00:41:46,567 --> 00:41:49,400 IN OUR MILKY WAY GALAXY. 642 00:41:51,333 --> 00:41:56,600 ON EVERY SCALE, STORMS ARE NOT JUST A FORCE OF DESTRUCTION. 643 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:00,067 THEY ARE LINKED TO CREATION ITSELF. 644 00:42:00,067 --> 00:42:01,967 THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS 645 00:42:01,967 --> 00:42:05,433 IS ALSO THE SEARCH FOR STORMS. 646 00:42:05,433 --> 00:42:07,333 WHEN YOU DISRUPT THE STATUS QUO, 647 00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:09,600 YOU OPEN ALL KINDS OF POSSIBILITIES 648 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:12,300 FOR THINGS TO REASSEMBLE IN DIFFERENT WAYS. 649 00:42:12,300 --> 00:42:16,100 SO, CHAOS OR DISRUPTION IS ACTUALLY AN IMPORTANT FACTOR 650 00:42:16,100 --> 00:42:19,467 IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS LIKE LIFE. 651 00:42:19,467 --> 00:42:23,767 A PLANET THAT MIGHT HAVE CHANGES OF SEASONS, 652 00:42:23,767 --> 00:42:26,267 VULCANISM, INTENSE STORMS, 653 00:42:26,267 --> 00:42:27,767 SOME ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS 654 00:42:27,767 --> 00:42:30,433 THAT YOU MIGHT THINK COULD BE DAMAGING TO LIFE, 655 00:42:30,433 --> 00:42:33,600 IN THE LONG RUN MAKES LIFE STRONGER. 656 00:42:37,767 --> 00:42:39,900 Narrator: EARTH HAS STORMS. 657 00:42:39,900 --> 00:42:43,333 OTHER WORLDS HAVE MEGASTORMS. 658 00:42:43,333 --> 00:42:46,200 WHETHER IT'S LIGHTNING ON SATURN, 659 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,700 THE TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE OF JUPITER, 660 00:42:49,700 --> 00:42:54,100 OR BLISTERING TEMPERATURES ON OSIRIS, 661 00:42:54,100 --> 00:42:59,100 VAST, VIOLENT, AND DEADLY MEGASTORMS 662 00:42:59,100 --> 00:43:03,300 COULD ALSO BE THE CATALYST FOR LIFE.