1 00:00:01,733 --> 00:00:04,633 Narrator: OUR UNIVERSE IS VIOLENT. 2 00:00:04,633 --> 00:00:09,100 THE COSMOS IS FULL OF PLANETS FROM HELL. 3 00:00:09,100 --> 00:00:12,100 WHAT WE HAVE IS A COLLECTION OF MONSTERS. 4 00:00:13,267 --> 00:00:17,800 Narrator: SUPERHOT WORLDS ROASTING AT THOUSANDS OF DEGREES... 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,667 FROZEN PLANETS TOO COLD FOR LIFE... 6 00:00:21,667 --> 00:00:27,233 DESOLATE WORLDS SEARED BY DEADLY RADIATION... 7 00:00:27,233 --> 00:00:31,567 EVEN PLANETS WHERE ROCK RAINS FROM THE SKY. 8 00:00:31,567 --> 00:00:34,300 WE HAVE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THESE THINGS WE'VE FOUND. 9 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:36,000 AND THEY'RE CRAZY. 10 00:00:37,700 --> 00:00:41,467 Narrator: WE SEARCH THE HEAVENS FOR WORLDS LIKE OUR OWN 11 00:00:41,467 --> 00:00:46,467 AND FIND PLANETS WHERE LIFE COULD NOT POSSIBLY SURVIVE. 12 00:00:46,467 --> 00:00:49,733 HOW CAN THE UNIVERSE BE SO WEIRD? 13 00:00:49,733 --> 00:00:52,933 Narrator: IS THE EARTH A ONE-OFF -- 14 00:00:52,933 --> 00:00:56,633 THE ONLY HABITABLE PLANET IN THE UNIVERSE? 15 00:00:59,533 --> 00:01:02,633 OR ARE THERE WORLDS LIKE OURS OUT THERE 16 00:01:02,633 --> 00:01:04,700 JUST WAITING FOR US TO FIND? 17 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:07,700 -- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com 18 00:01:07,700 --> 00:01:10,700 CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS 19 00:01:23,533 --> 00:01:26,167 LOOK OUT AT THE COSMOS... 20 00:01:29,233 --> 00:01:31,667 ...BILLIONS OF GALAXIES... 21 00:01:36,733 --> 00:01:39,733 ...TRILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS OF STARS. 22 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:46,133 AND ONE PROFOUND QUESTION -- 23 00:01:46,133 --> 00:01:49,433 IS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE? 24 00:01:51,133 --> 00:01:53,467 WE WANT TO FIND ANOTHER EARTH. 25 00:01:53,467 --> 00:01:56,900 IS THERE A PALE BLUE DOT ORBITING SOME STAR 26 00:01:56,900 --> 00:01:58,833 OUT THERE IN THE GALAXY? 27 00:02:03,167 --> 00:02:06,867 Narrator: THE SEARCH IS ON FOR WORLDS THAT COULD HARBOR LIFE. 28 00:02:06,867 --> 00:02:09,800 Dr. Thaller: WE'RE SEARCHING FOR OUR OWN VISION OF OURSELVES 29 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:10,933 OUT THERE IN SPACE. 30 00:02:10,933 --> 00:02:12,667 WE'RE SEARCHING FOR OUR HEAVEN. 31 00:02:16,633 --> 00:02:19,800 Narrator: WE'VE ALREADY DISCOVERED MORE THAN 700 PLANETS 32 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,900 BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 33 00:02:26,533 --> 00:02:30,067 AND YET THESE EXOPLANETS LOOK NOTHING LIKE OUR OWN. 34 00:02:34,533 --> 00:02:37,067 BOY, WERE WE WRONG. 35 00:02:37,067 --> 00:02:41,467 ALL THESE SOLAR SYSTEMS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUTER SPACE, 36 00:02:41,467 --> 00:02:45,900 WE FIND THAT THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AT ALL. 37 00:02:45,900 --> 00:02:48,967 WE ARE THE ODDBALL. WE'RE THE FREAKS. 38 00:02:53,100 --> 00:02:55,633 Narrator: THESE ARE NIGHTMARE WORLDS. 39 00:03:04,867 --> 00:03:07,500 AND THE COSMOS IS FULL OF THEM. 40 00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:11,367 WE'RE FINDING ALL DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF HELL, 41 00:03:11,367 --> 00:03:14,333 ALL THESE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PLANETS CAN GO WRONG. 42 00:03:14,333 --> 00:03:16,567 SO, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW -- 43 00:03:16,567 --> 00:03:18,800 SEARCHING FOR HEAVEN, FINDING HELL. 44 00:03:26,667 --> 00:03:31,200 Narrator: THESE ARE WORLDS WHERE LIFE COULDN'T POSSIBLY SURVIVE. 45 00:03:36,367 --> 00:03:38,933 COULD WE REALLY BE ALONE, 46 00:03:38,933 --> 00:03:43,233 A COSMIC FLUKE IN A UNIVERSE HOSTILE TO LIFE? 47 00:03:43,233 --> 00:03:45,733 WE MAY SOON HAVE THE ANSWER. 48 00:03:45,733 --> 00:03:50,967 NOW WE HAVE DISCOVERED HUNDREDS OF EXOPLANETS IN OUTER SPACE 49 00:03:50,967 --> 00:03:54,467 AT THE RATE OF OVER ONE EXOPLANET A WEEK. 50 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:56,633 IN A FEW YEARS, THAT WILL PROBABLY BE THOUSANDS. 51 00:03:56,633 --> 00:03:57,967 AND IN THE END, 52 00:03:57,967 --> 00:04:01,067 THERE COULD BE MILLIONS OR EVEN BILLIONS OF THESE THINGS 53 00:04:01,067 --> 00:04:02,733 WAITING FOR US TO DISCOVER THEM. 54 00:04:02,733 --> 00:04:07,733 Narrator: HOW COULD ALL OF THEM BE PLANETS FROM HELL? 55 00:04:07,733 --> 00:04:11,200 THE QUEST FOR ANSWERS STARTS HERE, 56 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,067 63 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH. 57 00:04:18,100 --> 00:04:21,067 WE'VE DISCOVERED A PLANET. 58 00:04:21,067 --> 00:04:24,300 IT'S EVEN LARGER THAN JUPITER. 59 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,467 AND IT HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. 60 00:04:36,133 --> 00:04:38,900 ITS ORBIT IS INCREDIBLY TIGHT. 61 00:04:38,900 --> 00:04:43,633 IT'S CLOSER TO ITS STAR THAN MERCURY IS TO OUR SUN... 62 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,900 ...AND 30-TIMES CLOSER IN THAN THE EARTH. 63 00:04:52,867 --> 00:04:56,067 THE RESULT IS A SUPERHEATED HELL. 64 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:04,433 BUT THERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHY NOTHING COULD SURVIVE HERE... 65 00:05:13,367 --> 00:05:16,167 ...AND THAT'S THE FEROCIOUS WIND. 66 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:24,100 THE SURFACE IS BATTERED BY A NEVER-ENDING STORM. 67 00:05:32,467 --> 00:05:35,800 WE CAN'T SEE THESE WINDS WITH OUR TELESCOPES... 68 00:05:40,833 --> 00:05:43,967 ...BUT WE KNOW THE SUPERSTORM EXISTS... 69 00:05:47,767 --> 00:05:49,767 ...BECAUSE OF THIS... 70 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:55,567 ...NASA'S SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE. 71 00:05:55,567 --> 00:05:59,567 SPITZER CAN SEE THINGS THAT WE CAN'T. 72 00:05:59,567 --> 00:06:02,567 IT DOESN'T USE VISIBLE LIGHT. 73 00:06:05,933 --> 00:06:08,167 INSTEAD, IT SEES IN INFRARED. 74 00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:11,067 IT'S A PART OF THE LIGHT SPECTRUM 75 00:06:11,067 --> 00:06:13,433 WE DON'T SEE WITH OUR EYES. 76 00:06:13,433 --> 00:06:16,067 INFRARED IS HEAT. 77 00:06:18,967 --> 00:06:21,667 Dr. Hurt: ONE ADVANTAGE OF STUDYING THE UNIVERSE IN INFRARED 78 00:06:21,667 --> 00:06:23,700 IS IT GIVES US THIS OPPORTUNITY 79 00:06:23,700 --> 00:06:27,400 TO SEE THE LIGHT COMING FROM PLANETS AROUND OTHER STARS. 80 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,667 WHEN YOU TRY TO LOOK AT THE LIGHT OF A PLANET 81 00:06:29,667 --> 00:06:31,067 NEXT TO THE LIGHT OF A STAR, 82 00:06:31,067 --> 00:06:33,500 THE STAR IS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TIMES BRIGHTER 83 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:34,833 THAN THAT PLANET, 84 00:06:34,833 --> 00:06:37,500 WHICH RENDERS THE PLANET VERY, VERY FAINT. 85 00:06:37,500 --> 00:06:40,933 BUT IF WE PUSH INTO THE INFRARED PART OF THE SPECTRUM, 86 00:06:40,933 --> 00:06:44,600 THE INTERNAL HEAT OF THE PLANET, JUST AS MY INTERNAL HEAT, 87 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,933 CAUSES THE PLANET TO GLOW. 88 00:06:46,933 --> 00:06:49,067 NOW, IT'S OBSERVABLE AND MEASURABLE. 89 00:06:52,633 --> 00:06:55,667 Narrator: SPITZER GIVES US SOMETHING COMPLETELY NEW -- 90 00:06:55,667 --> 00:07:00,667 THE VERY FIRST WEATHER MAP OF A PLANET BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 91 00:07:02,933 --> 00:07:07,067 THIS SIMPLE IMAGE IS A TECHNOLOGICAL TRIUMPH. 92 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:13,167 THE COLORS REPRESENT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES. 93 00:07:13,167 --> 00:07:18,733 BUT THE MAP ALSO PROVES THE PLANET HAS HELLISH WINDS. 94 00:07:22,567 --> 00:07:26,867 THAT'S BECAUSE THE HOT SPOT ISN'T WHERE IT SHOULD BE. 95 00:07:28,867 --> 00:07:32,500 ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET PERMANENTLY FACES THE STAR, 96 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:36,500 SO ITS CENTER SHOULD BE THE HOTTEST POINT ON THE PLANET. 97 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:39,733 IT ISN'T. 98 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:45,933 SOMETHING PUSHES THE PLANET'S HOT SPOT TO THE SIDE, 99 00:07:45,933 --> 00:07:49,733 AND THAT TAKES INCREDIBLE FORCE. 100 00:07:57,933 --> 00:08:01,967 ONLY A NONSTOP, 6,000-MILE-AN-HOUR HURRICANE 101 00:08:01,967 --> 00:08:04,233 COULD BE THIS POWERFUL... 102 00:08:04,233 --> 00:08:06,500 [ WIND RUSHING ] 103 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:15,700 ...20-TIMES STRONGER THAN THE STRONGEST WINDS ON EARTH, 104 00:08:15,700 --> 00:08:18,233 EIGHT TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND. 105 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,833 A SMALL SHIFT ON A WEATHER MAP... 106 00:08:27,267 --> 00:08:32,833 ...EVIDENCE OF SUPERSONIC WINDS RAGING ON AN ALIEN PLANET. 107 00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:40,867 TRULY A PLANET FROM HELL. 108 00:08:48,733 --> 00:08:52,433 WE'RE FINDING NEW PLANETS AT A STAGGERING RATE -- 109 00:08:52,433 --> 00:08:54,367 AN AVERAGE OF ONE A WEEK. 110 00:08:57,833 --> 00:09:01,567 EACH ONE COULD BE AN EARTHLIKE HEAVEN. 111 00:09:03,233 --> 00:09:08,600 BUT THE MORE WE EXPLORE THEM, THE MORE HELLISH WORLDS WE FIND. 112 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,933 AND SOME ARE SO NIGHTMARISHLY HOT 113 00:09:11,933 --> 00:09:15,600 THAT THEY'RE MORE THAN UNINHABITABLE. 114 00:09:17,767 --> 00:09:20,233 THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST. 115 00:09:32,433 --> 00:09:34,833 Narrator: THIS JUPITER-SIZED, GAS PLANET 116 00:09:34,833 --> 00:09:38,633 IS 256 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH. 117 00:09:38,633 --> 00:09:42,933 IN INFRARED, IT SHINES LIKE A STAR, 118 00:09:42,933 --> 00:09:46,267 THOUSANDS OF TIMES BRIGHTER THAN VENUS, 119 00:09:46,267 --> 00:09:49,367 THE HOTTEST PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 120 00:09:54,900 --> 00:09:59,433 IT'S A BLISTERING 3,700 DEGREES. 121 00:10:03,267 --> 00:10:07,367 IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR A PLANET TO GET THIS HOT. 122 00:10:15,533 --> 00:10:18,100 ITS HELLISH TEMPERATURE PROVIDES A CLUE 123 00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:19,900 TO ITS APPEARANCE. 124 00:10:28,167 --> 00:10:30,433 ONLY AN ABSOLUTELY BLACK OBJECT 125 00:10:30,433 --> 00:10:33,467 COULD ABSORB ENOUGH LIGHT FROM ITS STAR 126 00:10:33,467 --> 00:10:36,800 TO REACH SUCH SCORCHING TEMPERATURES. 127 00:10:39,533 --> 00:10:42,667 Dr. Thaller: IF YOU WERE COMING UP ON THE NIGHTSIDE AWAY FROM THE STAR, 128 00:10:42,667 --> 00:10:45,000 YOU WOULD JUST SEE THIS BLACKNESS IN FRONT OF YOU -- 129 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,367 VERY LITTLE RADIATION, VERY LITTLE LIGHT. 130 00:10:47,367 --> 00:10:49,133 IT WOULD ALMOST JUST LOOK LIKE 131 00:10:49,133 --> 00:10:51,233 THE STARS WERE AVOIDING A PART OF THE SKY. 132 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:00,533 Narrator: JUST AS BLACK PAVEMENT ABSORBS SUNLIGHT 133 00:11:00,533 --> 00:11:02,900 AND HEATS UP ON A SUNNY DAY, 134 00:11:02,900 --> 00:11:06,400 THE BLACK PLANET ROASTS BESIDE ITS STAR. 135 00:11:09,567 --> 00:11:13,333 WE DON'T UNDERSTAND ITS ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY. 136 00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:17,167 THERE'S NOTHING ON EARTH THAT CAN ABSORB SO MUCH LIGHT. 137 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:27,700 THE PLANET'S ONLY COLOR COMES FROM A SCORCHING HOT SPOT. 138 00:11:27,700 --> 00:11:31,167 Dr. Thaller: AS YOU FLEW AROUND TO THE DAYSIDE, 139 00:11:31,167 --> 00:11:33,867 THINGS WOULD BEGIN TO GLOW RED-HOT. 140 00:11:33,867 --> 00:11:38,367 THERE'D BE A HUGE, SWIRLING STORM ALL RED AND GLOWING. 141 00:11:38,367 --> 00:11:40,200 WHAT A HELLISH WORLD. 142 00:11:45,167 --> 00:11:46,900 Narrator: DEEP INSIDE, 143 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:50,800 CLOUDS OF TITANIUM OXIDE SWIRL AROUND A SOLID HEART 144 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,500 100-TIMES HEAVIER THAN EARTH. 145 00:11:55,267 --> 00:11:59,167 DARKNESS VISIBLE -- ANOTHER WORLD FROM HELL. 146 00:12:04,067 --> 00:12:06,133 BUT SOME PLANETS ARE EVEN BIGGER, 147 00:12:06,133 --> 00:12:09,200 SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLES. 148 00:12:13,233 --> 00:12:14,333 HERE'S A MYSTERY. 149 00:12:14,333 --> 00:12:16,067 EVERY ASTRONOMY TEXTBOOK SAYS 150 00:12:16,067 --> 00:12:18,667 THAT GIGANTIC, JUPITER-SIZED PLANETS 151 00:12:18,667 --> 00:12:22,200 FORM WAY OUT IN OUTER SPACE WHERE IT'S REALLY COLD. 152 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,533 SO, WHY IS A JUPITER-SIZED PLANET -- 153 00:12:24,533 --> 00:12:27,267 WHAT'S IT DOING INSIDE THE ORBIT OF MERCURY? 154 00:12:32,533 --> 00:12:35,067 Narrator: JUPITER-TYPE PLANETS CAN ONLY FORM 155 00:12:35,067 --> 00:12:40,800 FAR FORM THEIR PARENT STARS, OUT IN THE COLD OF SPACE. 156 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:53,233 A GAS GIANT ORBITING THIS CLOSE MEANS THESE MONSTERS CAN MOVE. 157 00:12:56,133 --> 00:13:01,800 THIS IS WASP-12b, A SCORCHING VISION OF HELL. 158 00:13:04,967 --> 00:13:07,200 IT'S SO CLOSE TO ITS STAR 159 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,833 THAT ITS ORBIT LASTS JUST ONE EARTH DAY. 160 00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:12,500 Dr. Hurt: THIS WORLD IS SO HOT. 161 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:14,867 IT'S OVER 4,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. 162 00:13:14,867 --> 00:13:16,367 THIS IS JUST CRAZY HOT. 163 00:13:17,900 --> 00:13:22,733 Narrator: WASP-12b IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST PLANETS IN OUR GALAXY. 164 00:13:24,867 --> 00:13:27,767 Kaku: WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. 165 00:13:27,767 --> 00:13:30,900 THIS CERTAINLY IS ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT ENVIRONMENTS 166 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:32,867 IN THE UNIVERSE. 167 00:13:37,833 --> 00:13:43,167 Narrator: WASP-12b IS ONLY 2 MILLION MILES FROM ITS STAR. 168 00:13:43,167 --> 00:13:46,967 SEARING HEAT PUFFS UP ITS ATMOSPHERE, 169 00:13:46,967 --> 00:13:50,600 GIVING IT THE DENSITY OF STYROFOAM. 170 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,833 IN A BIG ENOUGH BATH TUB, IT WOULD FLOAT. 171 00:13:54,833 --> 00:13:58,100 Dr. Hurt: WE ACTUALLY THINK IT'S SO CLOSE TO ITS STAR 172 00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:01,100 THAT THE GRAVITY -- THE TIDAL EFFECT OF GRAVITY 173 00:14:01,100 --> 00:14:02,933 WARPS IT INTO ALMOST AN EGG SHAPE. 174 00:14:02,933 --> 00:14:05,567 IT'S NOT EVEN ROUND. IT'S OBLONG. 175 00:14:09,267 --> 00:14:13,167 Narrator: THOUSANDS OF MILES BENEATH THE PUFFED-UP ATMOSPHERE 176 00:14:13,167 --> 00:14:15,433 LIES A SOLID CORE. 177 00:14:17,067 --> 00:14:22,267 IT'S RICH IN CARBON, AND THE PRESSURES ARE EXTREME. 178 00:14:22,267 --> 00:14:26,633 THERE COULD BE MOUNTAINS OF DIAMOND AND GRAPHITE 179 00:14:26,633 --> 00:14:29,667 AND SEAS OF LIQUID TAR. 180 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,367 BUT WASP-12b WON'T LAST LONG. 181 00:14:42,367 --> 00:14:45,267 IT ORBITS SO CLOSELY 182 00:14:45,267 --> 00:14:48,967 THAT ITS STAR IS LITERALLY TEARING IT APART, 183 00:14:48,967 --> 00:14:54,700 RIPPING AWAY NEARLY 190 QUADRILLION TONS OF GAS A YEAR. 184 00:14:58,933 --> 00:15:04,367 10 MILLION YEARS FROM NOW, WASP-12b WILL VANISH. 185 00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:20,567 THE QUESTION IS HOW DID IT GET SO CLOSE IN THE FIRST PLACE? 186 00:15:27,467 --> 00:15:30,833 THIS IS THE BIRTH OF A SOLAR SYSTEM. 187 00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:35,467 IN THE CENTER, A NEW STAR. 188 00:15:39,267 --> 00:15:44,067 AROUND IT SWIRLS A DISC OF MICROSCOPIC DUST GRAINS. 189 00:15:47,567 --> 00:15:50,333 THESE ARE PLANETS IN THE MAKING. 190 00:15:50,333 --> 00:15:52,367 Dr. Kenyon: DUST GRAINS COLLIDE, 191 00:15:52,367 --> 00:15:55,067 AND EVERY TIME THEY COLLIDE, THEY MERGE. 192 00:15:55,067 --> 00:15:56,700 AND SO THEY GET BIGGER AND BIGGER. 193 00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:59,433 AND SO, THEY SORT OF GROW LIKE THE DUST BUNNIES UNDER YOUR BED, 194 00:15:59,433 --> 00:16:02,300 AND YOU HAVE 100,000 YEARS OR 1 MILLION YEARS 195 00:16:02,300 --> 00:16:04,100 TO MAKE A VERY BIG DUST BUNNY. 196 00:16:04,100 --> 00:16:06,467 AND THEY GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER. 197 00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:16,533 Narrator: TRILLIONS OF MILES FROM THE STAR, 198 00:16:16,533 --> 00:16:19,433 IT'S COLD ENOUGH FOR ICE TO FORM. 199 00:16:22,633 --> 00:16:25,400 ICE PICKS UP DUST AND GAS. 200 00:16:31,733 --> 00:16:34,900 THESE GASEOUS CLUMPS GROW BIGGER AND BIGGER 201 00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:37,333 OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS. 202 00:16:37,333 --> 00:16:42,667 EVENTUALLY, THEY BECOME GAS GIANTS. 203 00:16:45,333 --> 00:16:47,267 IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, 204 00:16:47,267 --> 00:16:52,067 THE GAS GIANTS, JUPITER, SATURN, NEPTUNE, AND URANUS, 205 00:16:52,067 --> 00:16:54,167 ALL FORMED THIS WAY 206 00:16:54,167 --> 00:16:58,400 IN THE DISTANT ORBITS WE STILL SEE TODAY. 207 00:17:02,233 --> 00:17:07,767 SO, HOW DID WASP-12b END UP SO SEARINGLY CLOSE TO ITS STAR? 208 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,300 THE ANSWER -- GRAVITY. 209 00:17:14,067 --> 00:17:19,867 THIS PLANET IS HUGE -- 40% MORE MASSIVE THAN JUPITER. 210 00:17:24,500 --> 00:17:28,900 ITS IMMENSE GRAVITY DISTURBS THE DUST DISC IT FORMED FROM, 211 00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:31,133 CREATING TURBULENCE. 212 00:17:36,933 --> 00:17:41,133 Dr. Kenyon: AND SO, THE PLANET CREATES WAVES IN THE DISC -- 213 00:17:41,133 --> 00:17:42,600 YOU KNOW, SORT OF DENSITY WAVES. 214 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,167 AND YOU CAN SORT OF THINK OF THEM AS LIKE WAVES ON AN OCEAN. 215 00:17:45,167 --> 00:17:50,133 Narrator: THE GAS GIANT BECOMES A GALACTIC SURFER. 216 00:17:50,133 --> 00:17:54,200 OVER HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS, 217 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:59,567 THE PLANET RIDES THE WAVES INWARD TOWARD THE STAR. 218 00:18:02,300 --> 00:18:05,133 AS THE PLANET GETS CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE STAR, 219 00:18:05,133 --> 00:18:08,533 IT STARTS TO FEEL THE RADIATION FROM THE STAR MORE AND MORE, 220 00:18:08,533 --> 00:18:09,933 AND SO IT HEATS UP. 221 00:18:09,933 --> 00:18:12,967 Narrator: SURFING MILLIONS OF MILES 222 00:18:12,967 --> 00:18:16,800 FROM THE COLD, OUTER REACHES OF THE STAR SYSTEM 223 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:22,367 INTO THE TIGHT, SCORCHING ORBIT WE SEE TODAY... 224 00:18:24,233 --> 00:18:29,333 ...AN ICE-COLD WORLD BECOMES A PLANET FROM HELL. 225 00:18:31,267 --> 00:18:33,300 Dr. Plait: NOBODY HAD ANY REAL CLUE 226 00:18:33,300 --> 00:18:36,667 THAT YOU COULD FORM A PLANET A BILLION MILES OUT FROM A STAR -- 227 00:18:36,667 --> 00:18:38,367 IT SOMEHOW MOVED IN. 228 00:18:38,367 --> 00:18:39,967 THAT IS INCREDIBLE. 229 00:18:39,967 --> 00:18:42,100 BUT THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY EXPLANATION 230 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:44,700 OF HOW THESE PLANETS GOT SO CLOSE TO THEIR STARS 231 00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:46,067 IN THE FIRST PLACE. 232 00:18:50,067 --> 00:18:55,933 Narrator: WASP-12b IS BIZARRE, BUT IT ISN'T ALONE. 233 00:19:02,067 --> 00:19:07,333 WE'VE FOUND MANY OF THESE SUPERHOT, SUPER CLOSE GIANTS. 234 00:19:07,333 --> 00:19:11,767 WE CALL THEM HOT JUPITERS... 235 00:19:16,167 --> 00:19:19,367 ...BATTERED BY SUPERSONIC WINDS, 236 00:19:19,367 --> 00:19:22,933 BLACKER THAN NIGHT, 237 00:19:22,933 --> 00:19:25,600 HOTTER THAN HELL. 238 00:19:28,967 --> 00:19:33,800 BUT THESE HOT JUPITERS ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON -- 239 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,700 THERE'S NO LIFE HERE. 240 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:42,633 SO, THESE PLANETS ARE JUST ABOUT AS DIFFERENT FROM THE EARTH 241 00:19:42,633 --> 00:19:44,500 AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE. 242 00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:47,367 IN FACT, WE'VE NOW FOUND OVER 100 OF THESE THINGS, 243 00:19:47,367 --> 00:19:49,500 RENDERING THEM SO COMMON 244 00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:53,400 THAT THE QUESTION REALLY EMERGES -- 245 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,700 WHICH ONES ARE THE WEIRDOS? THEM OR US? 246 00:19:57,867 --> 00:20:01,633 Narrator: THIS PLANETARY ROLLER COASTER HAS CONSEQUENCES. 247 00:20:01,633 --> 00:20:06,433 AS THEY SPIRAL INWARD, HOT JUPITERS CAUSE CHAOS. 248 00:20:06,433 --> 00:20:10,767 THEY CREATE A WHOLE NEW CLASS OF PLANETS FROM HELL -- 249 00:20:10,767 --> 00:20:14,200 ORPHAN WORLDS FLUNG AWAY FROM THEIR STAR 250 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:19,733 INTO THE EMPTINESS OF INTERSTELLAR SPACE. 251 00:20:31,667 --> 00:20:35,233 Narrator: PLANETS ORBIT STARS. 252 00:20:35,233 --> 00:20:40,633 BETWEEN THE STARS IS A VAST SEA OF DARKNESS. 253 00:20:40,633 --> 00:20:44,400 Dr. Plait: WE'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF SPACE AS BEING EMPTY. 254 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,733 THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED ITS DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC. 255 00:20:46,733 --> 00:20:48,067 THAT'S WHY WE CALL IT "SPACE." 256 00:20:48,067 --> 00:20:50,867 Narrator: BUT WHEN PLANET HUNTERS 257 00:20:50,867 --> 00:20:55,367 SWITCHED FROM GAZING AT STARS TO STARING DEEP INTO SPACE... 258 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,400 ...THEY MADE AN AMAZING DISCOVERY. 259 00:21:04,633 --> 00:21:08,200 OUT OF THE DARKNESS, BETWEEN THE STARS, 260 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,867 PLANETS BEGAN TO APPEAR. 261 00:21:10,867 --> 00:21:14,533 FIRST, ONE DARK GAS GIANT... 262 00:21:18,967 --> 00:21:21,633 ...THEN SEVERAL MORE. 263 00:21:27,833 --> 00:21:32,200 EVENTUALLY, 10 DARK, STARLESS PLANETS EMERGED 264 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,767 FROM THE SHADOWS OF SPACE. 265 00:21:39,267 --> 00:21:41,167 I OFTEN WONDER WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE 266 00:21:41,167 --> 00:21:43,800 TO BE ON ONE OF THESE ROGUE PLANETS IN BETWEEN STARS. 267 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,633 THE NIGHT SKY WOULD BE PERFECTLY BLACK. 268 00:21:47,633 --> 00:21:49,733 IT WOULD BE FESTOONED WITH STARS. 269 00:21:49,733 --> 00:21:52,067 IT WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL. 270 00:21:52,067 --> 00:21:55,433 BUT IF YOU WERE AT ONE OF THESE PLANETS, 271 00:21:55,433 --> 00:21:58,567 YOU WOULD BE IN A WORLD OF PERPETUAL NIGHT. 272 00:21:58,567 --> 00:22:00,400 THERE WOULD BE NO SUNRISE OR SUNSET. 273 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,167 THERE WOULD BE NO WARMTH OF THE SUN. 274 00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:08,300 Narrator: THESE PLANETS FORMED AROUND A STAR. 275 00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:12,400 BUT NOW THEY ROAM THE DARKNESS OF INTERSTELLAR SPACE. 276 00:22:14,367 --> 00:22:17,267 THEIR JOURNEY HERE WAS VIOLENT -- 277 00:22:17,267 --> 00:22:20,333 EACH ONE FORCED FROM ITS HOME ORBIT 278 00:22:20,333 --> 00:22:23,967 BY THE GRAVITY OF A HOT JUPITER. 279 00:22:30,233 --> 00:22:34,300 A JUPITER-SIZED PLANET IS AN 800-POUND GORILLA. 280 00:22:34,300 --> 00:22:37,867 WHERE DOES IT SIT? ANYWHERE IT WANTS TO. 281 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,167 Narrator: HOT JUPITERS ARE KILLERS. 282 00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:51,067 AS THEY SURF IN TOWARD THEIR STAR, 283 00:22:51,067 --> 00:22:54,967 THEIR IMMENSE GRAVITY DISRUPTS THE SYSTEM... 284 00:22:58,967 --> 00:23:02,367 ...HURLING PLANETS FROM THEIR ORBITAL PATHS. 285 00:23:04,067 --> 00:23:07,700 Kaku: IT FLINGS INTO OUTER SPACE ANY SMALL PLANET. 286 00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:10,333 SO, ANY PLANET UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH 287 00:23:10,333 --> 00:23:13,333 TO BE ORBITING CLOSE TO THE MOTHER STAR 288 00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:17,433 WOULD BE FLUNG INTO OUTER SPACE WITH A PASSING JUPITER. 289 00:23:24,833 --> 00:23:28,133 Narrator: THESE PLANETS WILL NEVER AGAIN FEEL THE HEAT 290 00:23:28,133 --> 00:23:31,067 OR SEE THE LIGHT OF A STAR. 291 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:38,100 ALL THE ROGUE PLANETS WE'VE FOUND SO FAR ARE GAS GIANTS. 292 00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:42,067 BUT PERHAPS THERE ARE SMALLER, ROCKY WORLDS, TOO... 293 00:23:48,933 --> 00:23:52,533 ...WORLDS THAT WERE ONCE LIKE EARTH. 294 00:23:52,533 --> 00:23:56,433 Dr. Thaller: THE LARGE, JUPITER-LIKE PLANETS ARE JUST EASIER TO SEE. 295 00:23:56,433 --> 00:23:58,200 BUT THERE'S NO REASON TO ASSUME 296 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,667 THERE ALSO AREN'T SMALLER ORPHAN PLANETS. 297 00:24:00,667 --> 00:24:03,300 MAYBE AS A JUPITER PLANET MOVES IN TOWARD THE STAR 298 00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:05,367 AND PLAYS PING-PONG WITH THE PLANETS, 299 00:24:05,367 --> 00:24:08,233 EVEN SOMETHING LIKE EARTH COULD HAVE GOTTEN KICKED OUT. 300 00:24:08,233 --> 00:24:10,867 THEN YOU WOULD HAVE THIS COLD, FROZEN LITTLE WORLD 301 00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:15,067 JUST STREAKING BETWEEN THE STARS, DARK AND LONELY. 302 00:24:15,067 --> 00:24:18,300 Narrator: THESE PLANETS ARE VICTIMS 303 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:21,700 OF A VIOLENT, GRAVITATIONAL BATTLE -- 304 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:25,800 FROZEN, ORPHANED EARTH TWINS. 305 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,767 Dr. Plait: THERE MAY BE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS -- WITH A "B" -- 306 00:24:30,767 --> 00:24:33,133 OF THESE PLANETS ROAMING THE GALAXY. 307 00:24:33,133 --> 00:24:35,967 NOW, THERE ARE ONLY A COUPLE HUNDRED BILLION STARS 308 00:24:35,967 --> 00:24:37,267 IN THE GALAXY, 309 00:24:37,267 --> 00:24:38,400 SO THAT MEANS 310 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,133 THESE ROGUE PLANETS MAY ACTUALLY OUTNUMBER STARS. 311 00:24:45,533 --> 00:24:47,233 Narrator: RIGHT NOW, 312 00:24:47,233 --> 00:24:51,633 WE FIND AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST ONE NEW EXOPLANET A WEEK. 313 00:24:51,633 --> 00:24:53,900 AS OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES, 314 00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:58,400 WE'LL SEE SMALLER AND SMALLER PLANETS ORBITING STARS -- 315 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:02,400 WORLDS WITH A SOLID SURFACE LIKE OUR OWN. 316 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,433 BUT THE FIRST ROCKY PLANETS WE'VE FOUND 317 00:25:05,433 --> 00:25:07,867 ARE NOTHING LIKE EARTH. 318 00:25:07,867 --> 00:25:12,233 THESE PLANETS HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK. 319 00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:31,667 Narrator: WE HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF ALIEN WORLDS. 320 00:25:31,667 --> 00:25:34,067 AND NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME, 321 00:25:34,067 --> 00:25:38,900 WE'RE FINDING SMALL PLANETS MADE OF ROCK JUST LIKE EARTH. 322 00:25:46,333 --> 00:25:50,933 PLANETS THIS SIZE ARE POTENTIAL HOMES FOR LIFE. 323 00:25:54,667 --> 00:25:59,433 BUT INSTEAD, WE FIND MORE PLANETS FROM HELL -- 324 00:25:59,433 --> 00:26:05,433 WEIRD, NIGHTMARISH, AND UNINHABITABLE. 325 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,500 THIS IS COROT-7b... 326 00:26:25,967 --> 00:26:29,833 ...A WORLD OF VIOLENT EXTREMES... 327 00:26:32,367 --> 00:26:35,067 ...TWO HELLS IN ONE. 328 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,500 IT'S SO CLOSE IN 329 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:44,767 THAT ITS STAR LOOMS 360-TIMES LARGER IN THE SKY THAN OUR SUN. 330 00:26:48,267 --> 00:26:53,767 ON COROT-7b, THE FIRST HELL IS UNIMAGINABLY HOT. 331 00:26:56,267 --> 00:27:02,300 THE SURFACE IS A FURNACE ROASTING AT 4,700 DEGREES. 332 00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:08,700 LAVA BOILS, TURNING THE ATMOSPHERE INTO VAPORIZED ROCK. 333 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:16,367 WHEN A COOLER FRONT MOVES IN, SMALL PEBBLES CONDENSE, 334 00:27:16,367 --> 00:27:19,567 AND ROCKS RAIN FROM THE SKY. 335 00:27:19,567 --> 00:27:23,233 IF THAT'S NOT A CLASSIC VISION OF HELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. 336 00:27:23,233 --> 00:27:28,433 Narrator: BUT THAT'S ONLY HALF THE STORY. 337 00:27:31,100 --> 00:27:33,467 THE HOT SIDE OF THE PLANET IS LOCKED, 338 00:27:33,467 --> 00:27:37,100 PERMANENTLY FACING THE STAR. 339 00:27:39,833 --> 00:27:43,433 BEYOND IS THE TWILIGHT ZONE. 340 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:51,267 IT'S TEMPERATE HERE -- 341 00:27:51,267 --> 00:27:55,200 COOL ENOUGH TO TURN THE LAVA OCEANS INTO SOLID ROCK. 342 00:27:59,900 --> 00:28:03,433 BUT THIS PLEASANT ZONE IS NARROW. 343 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:09,767 TRAVEL FURTHER, AND YOU DESCEND INTO A SECOND HELL. 344 00:28:14,067 --> 00:28:16,433 THIS IS THE DARK SIDE... 345 00:28:19,833 --> 00:28:24,733 ...THE HALF OF THE PLANET THAT NEVER SEES THE SUN -- 346 00:28:24,733 --> 00:28:31,467 ETERNAL DARKNESS AND SAVAGE COLD. 347 00:28:31,467 --> 00:28:37,067 THE TEMPERATURE IS HUNDREDS OF DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 348 00:28:39,633 --> 00:28:41,833 SO, ONE SIDE IS HOT. ANOTHER SIDE IS COLD. 349 00:28:41,833 --> 00:28:44,600 YOU EITHER HAVE, YOU KNOW, FIRE OR ICE IN THE EXTREME -- 350 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,133 THE COLDEST PLACES IN THE UNIVERSE 351 00:28:46,133 --> 00:28:47,833 AND THE HOTTEST PLACES IN THE UNIVERSE. 352 00:28:47,833 --> 00:28:50,067 YOU COULDN'T THINK OF A WORSE PLACE TO END UP. 353 00:28:54,900 --> 00:28:59,100 Narrator: THE PLANET WAS NOT ALWAYS THIS WAY. 354 00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:02,833 TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1.5 BILLION YEARS. 355 00:29:05,667 --> 00:29:08,533 COROT-7b IS FORMING. 356 00:29:10,867 --> 00:29:13,067 BUT IT ISN'T ROCKY. 357 00:29:13,067 --> 00:29:21,200 IT'S A GAS GIANT 100-TIMES BIGGER THAN EARTH. 358 00:29:24,167 --> 00:29:27,567 IT MIGRATES IN TOWARD ITS STAR. 359 00:29:29,233 --> 00:29:30,933 AS IT CLOSES IN, 360 00:29:30,933 --> 00:29:34,967 THE STAR BLOWTORCHES GAS FROM THE PLANET. 361 00:29:37,733 --> 00:29:41,933 ITS GASEOUS SHELL BLASTS OFF INTO SPACE 362 00:29:41,933 --> 00:29:44,733 TO REVEAL A ROCKY CORE. 363 00:29:48,900 --> 00:29:54,767 COROT-7b IS THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF A HOT JUPITER. 364 00:29:54,767 --> 00:30:00,167 ITS PARENT STAR HAS REDUCED THIS ONCE MASSIVE GAS GIANT 365 00:30:00,167 --> 00:30:02,567 TO A ROCKY CINDER. 366 00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:14,233 IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE PLANETS MORE EXTREME THAN COROT-7b... 367 00:30:16,700 --> 00:30:19,800 ...YET THEY DO EXIST -- 368 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:26,400 ROCKY WORLDS MACHINE-GUNNED BY DEADLY COSMIC RAYS. 369 00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:46,400 Narrator: THIS IS A PULSAR 7,000 TRILLION MILES AWAY FROM EARTH. 370 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,067 IT'S A KIND OF COSMIC LIGHTHOUSE. 371 00:30:57,300 --> 00:31:01,667 THIS UNBELIEVABLY TINY WORLD, JUST 10 MILES ACROSS, 372 00:31:01,667 --> 00:31:05,767 FIRES AN INTENSE BEAM OF RADIATION THROUGH SPACE 373 00:31:05,767 --> 00:31:09,400 AS REGULARLY AS AN ATOMIC CLOCK. 374 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:13,233 A SINGLE CUBIC CENTIMETER -- THE SIZE OF A KEYBOARD KEY -- 375 00:31:13,233 --> 00:31:16,767 ACTUALLY HAS ABOUT AS MUCH MASS AS MOUNT EVEREST. 376 00:31:16,767 --> 00:31:19,500 SMASH A MOUNT EVEREST INTO A CUBIC CENTIMETER. 377 00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:22,567 THE WHOLE STAR, WHICH IS ONLY ABOUT 10 MILES ACROSS, 378 00:31:22,567 --> 00:31:23,700 IS LIKE THAT. 379 00:31:25,467 --> 00:31:28,233 Narrator: IT'S ONE OF THE MOST HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS 380 00:31:28,233 --> 00:31:30,067 IN THE UNIVERSE. 381 00:31:30,067 --> 00:31:36,367 ANYTHING NEARBY GETS HAMMERED BY INTENSE GRAVITY AND MAGNETISM. 382 00:31:36,367 --> 00:31:41,067 NO ONE EXPECTED TO FIND A PLANET HERE. 383 00:31:41,067 --> 00:31:44,867 BUT THIS PULSAR HAS THREE. 384 00:31:47,767 --> 00:31:51,633 SMALL, ROCKY, NEAR-EARTH-SIZED, 385 00:31:51,633 --> 00:31:56,433 THEY WERE THE FIRST EXOPLANETS EVER DISCOVERED 386 00:31:56,433 --> 00:32:00,633 AND THE LAST PLACE YOU WOULD EVER FIND LIFE. 387 00:32:00,633 --> 00:32:04,233 Dr. Plait: IT'S GOT A TREMENDOUS MAGNETIC FIELD. 388 00:32:04,233 --> 00:32:05,700 IT'S BLASTING OUT X-RAYS. 389 00:32:05,700 --> 00:32:08,467 SO, THESE POOR PLANETS ARE JUST GETTING COOKED BY RADIATION. 390 00:32:08,467 --> 00:32:10,633 THE WORD EARTHLIKE I DON'T THINK COULD BE APPLIED 391 00:32:10,633 --> 00:32:12,533 TO THESE GUYS AT ALL. 392 00:32:16,833 --> 00:32:21,367 Narrator: THE X-RAY BEAM STRAFES THE PLANETS OVER AND OVER, 393 00:32:21,367 --> 00:32:23,133 FIRING RADIATION 394 00:32:23,133 --> 00:32:28,100 A MILLION TIMES MORE DEADLY THAN MEDICAL X-RAYS... 395 00:32:31,067 --> 00:32:34,667 ...SLOWLY STRIPPING THEIR SURFACES AWAY. 396 00:32:36,367 --> 00:32:39,333 THESE ARE STERILE WORLDS. 397 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,767 EVERYBODY ADMITS THERE'S NO CHANCE FOR LIFE, 398 00:32:43,767 --> 00:32:47,900 AT LEAST AS WE KNOW IT, ON THE PLANETS THAT ORBIT THE PULSAR. 399 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:54,833 Narrator: RADIATION COOKS PULSAR PLANETS TO DEATH. 400 00:33:00,667 --> 00:33:03,900 THE OPPOSITE HELL IS NO BETTER -- 401 00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:07,067 FROZEN WORLDS TOO COLD FOR LIFE. 402 00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:12,167 IN THE CONSTELLATION SCORPIUS, 403 00:33:12,167 --> 00:33:16,600 20,000 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY IS A RED DWARF STAR. 404 00:33:20,533 --> 00:33:25,067 RED DWARFS ARE TINY AND RELATIVELY COOL. 405 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,700 AND THIS PLANET IS TOO FAR AWAY 406 00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:40,700 TO FEEL WHAT LITTLE HEAT THERE IS. 407 00:33:40,700 --> 00:33:47,767 IT'S SO DISTANT, ITS ORBIT LASTS 10 EARTH YEARS. 408 00:33:47,767 --> 00:33:53,067 IT'S THE COLDEST PLANET WE HAVE FOUND IN THE UNIVERSE. 409 00:33:58,067 --> 00:34:03,500 ITS SURFACE IS A FRIGID 370 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 410 00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:08,733 THIS IS A WORLD MADE ENTIRELY OF ICE. 411 00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:15,600 METHANE, AMMONIA, AND NITROGEN ARE GASSES ON EARTH. 412 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,767 HERE, THEY FORM A FROZEN, TOXIC FROST. 413 00:34:23,067 --> 00:34:28,400 GLACIERS AND CANYONS AND CLIFFS OF ICE ARE THE ONLY TERRAIN. 414 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:34,400 HERE, HELL REALLY HAS FROZEN OVER. 415 00:34:43,233 --> 00:34:49,067 OUR SEARCH FOR EARTH'S ELUSIVE TWIN REACHES ANOTHER DEAD-END. 416 00:34:49,067 --> 00:34:52,767 PERHAPS WE ARE TRULY ALONE. 417 00:34:58,233 --> 00:35:03,067 OR WILL OUR FIRST TANTALIZING GLIMPSES OF AN ALIEN WORLD, 418 00:35:03,067 --> 00:35:07,067 POTENTIALLY PERFECT FOR LIFE, CHANGE EVERYTHING? 419 00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:22,400 Narrator: EARTH, THE ONLY HABITABLE WORLD 420 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,733 IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 421 00:35:27,300 --> 00:35:30,067 BUT IN A GALAXY OF HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF STARS, 422 00:35:30,067 --> 00:35:33,700 CAN WE REALLY BE ALONE? 423 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:43,300 IT'S A QUESTION THAT PLANET HUNTERS ARE TRYING TO ANSWER. 424 00:35:45,133 --> 00:35:47,867 THE WHOLE PURPOSE, IN MY OPINION, 425 00:35:47,867 --> 00:35:50,133 OF THE DISCOVERY OF EXOPLANETS 426 00:35:50,133 --> 00:35:54,267 IS TO ESTABLISH OUR TRUE PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. 427 00:35:54,267 --> 00:35:55,567 WHO ARE WE? 428 00:35:55,567 --> 00:35:58,867 WHERE DO WE BELONG IN THE COSMIC SCHEME OF THINGS? 429 00:35:58,867 --> 00:36:02,667 ARE THERE OTHER PLANETS THAT CAN HAVE LIFE JUST LIKE OURS? 430 00:36:05,133 --> 00:36:09,700 Narrator: THAT'S WHERE NASA'S KEPLER SPACE TELESCOPE COMES IN. 431 00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:14,967 KEPLER LETS US CALCULATE HOW FAR A PLANET IS FROM ITS STAR. 432 00:36:14,967 --> 00:36:20,433 THAT'S CRITICAL IN FIGURING OUT WHETHER IT COULD SUSTAIN LIFE. 433 00:36:20,433 --> 00:36:22,800 LIFE ON EARTH IS ONLY POSSIBLE 434 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,833 BECAUSE WE'RE THE PERFECT DISTANCE FROM THE SUN -- 435 00:36:26,833 --> 00:36:30,267 NOT TOO HOT AND NOT TOO COLD... 436 00:36:32,933 --> 00:36:36,900 ...JUST RIGHT FOR LIQUID WATER -- 437 00:36:36,900 --> 00:36:43,533 OCEANS, RIVERS, LAKES, RAIN, AND LIFE. 438 00:36:45,333 --> 00:36:48,967 Kaku: YOU KNOW, JOURNALISTS SAY, "FOLLOW THE MONEY." 439 00:36:48,967 --> 00:36:51,600 ASTRONOMERS SAY, "FOLLOW THE WATER," 440 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,333 BECAUSE WATER IS THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT 441 00:36:54,333 --> 00:36:56,600 THAT DISSOLVES MOST CHEMICALS, 442 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,767 AND THAT'S WHERE DNA GOT OFF THE GROUND. 443 00:36:59,767 --> 00:37:03,267 AND WHERE THERE'S LIQUID WATER, THERE COULD BE LIFE. 444 00:37:05,167 --> 00:37:07,167 Dr. Batalha: WE'RE LOOKING FOR PLANETS 445 00:37:07,167 --> 00:37:09,400 THAT ARE NOT TOO CLOSE TO THEIR PARENT STAR 446 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:11,100 WHERE ALL THE WATER WOULD BOIL AWAY 447 00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:13,133 AND NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM THEIR PARENT STAR 448 00:37:13,133 --> 00:37:15,667 WHERE ALL THE WATER WOULD BE TIED UP IN A FROZEN FORM. 449 00:37:15,667 --> 00:37:17,633 WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT "GOLDILOCKS ZONE" 450 00:37:17,633 --> 00:37:19,467 WHERE THE TEMPERATURES ARE JUST RIGHT 451 00:37:19,467 --> 00:37:22,267 FOR LIQUID WATER TO POOL ON THE SURFACE. 452 00:37:25,533 --> 00:37:28,767 Narrator: ONCE KEPLER HAS IDENTIFIED A NEW PLANET, 453 00:37:28,767 --> 00:37:32,267 ASTRONOMERS CHECK WHETHER IT LIES IN THE HABITABLE ZONE 454 00:37:32,267 --> 00:37:34,733 OF ITS PARENT STAR. 455 00:37:34,733 --> 00:37:41,200 SO FAR, KEPLER HASN'T FOUND A SINGLE CONFIRMED EARTH TWIN. 456 00:37:45,133 --> 00:37:50,633 BUT IT HAS IDENTIFIED MORE THAN 2,000 PLANETARY POSSIBILITIES. 457 00:37:52,167 --> 00:37:55,567 AND IT'S THIS SHEER ABUNDANCE OF PLANETS 458 00:37:55,567 --> 00:37:57,767 THAT GIVES SCIENTISTS HOPE. 459 00:37:57,767 --> 00:37:59,567 Dr. Plait: THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER 460 00:37:59,567 --> 00:38:01,133 IS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE FINDING 461 00:38:01,133 --> 00:38:02,867 ALL OF THESE TERRIBLE PLANETS 462 00:38:02,867 --> 00:38:04,700 THAT ARE JUST COMPLETELY UNLIVABLE 463 00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:06,967 IS THAT WE'RE FINDING LOTS OF THEM. 464 00:38:06,967 --> 00:38:10,100 WE'RE FINDING HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF THESE PLANETS. 465 00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:13,900 AND WHAT THAT'S TELLING US IS THAT PLANETS ARE EASY TO MAKE. 466 00:38:13,900 --> 00:38:16,533 AND THAT MEANS THAT EVEN RARE THINGS 467 00:38:16,533 --> 00:38:19,433 ARE PROBABLY OUT THERE IN LARGE NUMBERS. 468 00:38:19,433 --> 00:38:23,567 EVEN IF THE EARTH IS A RARE, PRECIOUS JEWEL IN OUR GALAXY, 469 00:38:23,567 --> 00:38:27,233 THERE MAY BE DOZENS OR HUNDREDS OF THEM OUT THERE. 470 00:38:32,267 --> 00:38:34,100 Narrator: KEPLER HAS OPENED OUR EYES 471 00:38:34,100 --> 00:38:37,067 TO A UNIVERSE FULL OF PLANETS. 472 00:38:37,067 --> 00:38:40,267 WE CAN NOW GUESS AT HOW MANY THERE MIGHT BE 473 00:38:40,267 --> 00:38:41,833 IN OUR OWN GALAXY... 474 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,267 ...50 BILLION. 475 00:38:49,100 --> 00:38:53,300 50 BILLION WORLDS JUST WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED. 476 00:38:55,300 --> 00:39:01,833 AND WE THINK 1% COULD BE IN THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE OF THEIR STAR. 477 00:39:05,967 --> 00:39:08,100 THAT'S 500 MILLION PLANETS, 478 00:39:08,100 --> 00:39:11,300 EACH WITH A CHANCE OF HARBORING LIFE... 479 00:39:13,567 --> 00:39:17,067 ...RIGHT HERE ON OUR OWN DOORSTEP. 480 00:39:24,267 --> 00:39:26,733 WE HAVEN'T FOUND ONE YET. 481 00:39:26,733 --> 00:39:29,200 BUT WE'RE GETTING CLOSER. 482 00:39:33,267 --> 00:39:35,500 THIS IS GLIESE 581, 483 00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:40,367 A RED DWARF STAR 20 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH. 484 00:39:40,367 --> 00:39:43,233 Dr. Thaller: GLIESE 581 IS A TINY, LITTLE STAR. 485 00:39:43,233 --> 00:39:46,833 IF THE SUN WERE THE BRIGHTNESS OF ABOUT A 100-WATT LIGHT BULB, 486 00:39:46,833 --> 00:39:49,433 THEN GLIESE 581 WOULD BE LIKE A LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHT -- 487 00:39:49,433 --> 00:39:52,067 A TINY, LITTLE FAIRY LIGHT -- VERY, VERY SMALL. 488 00:39:52,067 --> 00:39:53,667 THIS SHIFTS THE LIFE ZONE IN 489 00:39:53,667 --> 00:39:56,167 BECAUSE NOW IF YOU WANT TO BE WARM ENOUGH, 490 00:39:56,167 --> 00:39:58,867 YOU NEED TO SNUGGLE UP RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAR. 491 00:40:06,633 --> 00:40:09,667 Narrator: THE STAR HAS FOUR PLANETS. 492 00:40:09,667 --> 00:40:14,967 THREE ARE TOO CLOSE AND HOT FOR LIQUID WATER, 493 00:40:14,967 --> 00:40:18,600 BUT THE FOURTH IS DIFFERENT. 494 00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:25,133 IT'S A ROCKY WORLD TWICE THE SIZE OF EARTH. 495 00:40:25,133 --> 00:40:28,900 AND IT'S RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE. 496 00:40:36,533 --> 00:40:37,867 IN THEORY, 497 00:40:37,867 --> 00:40:41,800 IF THE PLANET HAS A THICK, CARBON-DIOXIDE ATMOSPHERE, 498 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,467 IT COULD TRAP ENOUGH HEAT 499 00:40:43,467 --> 00:40:45,900 TO HAVE CLOUDS... 500 00:40:45,900 --> 00:40:47,533 RAIN... 501 00:40:47,533 --> 00:40:49,400 AND OCEANS. 502 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:53,967 IT WOULD BE A STRANGE PLACE TO LIVE -- 503 00:40:53,967 --> 00:41:00,333 TWICE EARTH'S GRAVITY, BATHED IN PERMANENT RED TWILIGHT. 504 00:41:06,367 --> 00:41:11,133 BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS WEIRD WORLD IS THE CLOSEST WE HAVE 505 00:41:11,133 --> 00:41:13,200 TO A PLANET LIKE OURS. 506 00:41:15,100 --> 00:41:18,900 IT'S A PROMISING START. 507 00:41:18,900 --> 00:41:21,200 WHEN WE ACTUALLY KNOW FOR A FACT 508 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:25,100 THAT UP THERE AROUND THAT STAR IS A PLANET LIKE EARTH, 509 00:41:25,100 --> 00:41:27,333 THAT'S GOING TO JUST FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE 510 00:41:27,333 --> 00:41:28,700 HOW PEOPLE LOOK AT THE SKY 511 00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:31,400 AND HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE THEIR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. 512 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:33,433 SO, THAT'S GONNA BE A PROFOUND MOMENT 513 00:41:33,433 --> 00:41:36,167 NOT JUST FOR ME, BUT, I THINK, FOR HUMANITY IN GENERAL. 514 00:41:40,567 --> 00:41:42,833 Dr. Plait: OUR GOAL IS TO FIND ANOTHER EARTH, 515 00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:43,867 BUT ALONG THAT PATH, 516 00:41:43,867 --> 00:41:45,667 WE'RE GONNA FIND MORE THINGS 517 00:41:45,667 --> 00:41:48,467 THAN WE COULD HAVE EVER POSSIBLY IMAGINED. 518 00:41:48,467 --> 00:41:51,100 AND THAT'S THE PART I LOVE ABOUT THIS THE MOST. 519 00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:54,467 WE DON'T KNOW WHAT CRAZINESS IS GONNA BE AROUND THE NEXT CORNER 520 00:41:54,467 --> 00:41:56,333 WHEN WE'RE LOOKING FOR MORE PLANETS. 521 00:41:56,333 --> 00:41:57,400 I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE. 522 00:42:04,433 --> 00:42:06,300 Narrator: TWO DECADES AGO, 523 00:42:06,300 --> 00:42:11,567 THE ONLY PLANETS WE KNEW WERE RIGHT HERE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 524 00:42:13,067 --> 00:42:15,333 NOW, THERE ARE HUNDREDS, 525 00:42:15,333 --> 00:42:18,800 ALL VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR HOME. 526 00:42:22,933 --> 00:42:27,067 THE UNIVERSE IS FILLED WITH HELLISH WORLDS -- 527 00:42:27,067 --> 00:42:30,400 SUPERHOT... 528 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,700 ULTRACOLD... 529 00:42:35,667 --> 00:42:38,967 ...VIOLENT... 530 00:42:38,967 --> 00:42:42,333 AND BIZARRE. 531 00:42:46,333 --> 00:42:51,367 BUT THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO UNIMAGINABLY VAST. 532 00:42:51,367 --> 00:42:54,067 WITH SO MANY STARS, 533 00:42:54,067 --> 00:42:57,900 THERE ARE PROBABLY COUNTLESS EARTHLIKE HEAVENS. 534 00:42:57,900 --> 00:43:01,733 ALL WE HAVE TO DO NOW IS FIND THEM.