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NARRATOR:
For thousands of years,

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humankind has attempted
to make contact

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with beings from beyond Earth.

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GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
Even our ancestors

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tried to send messages
to the sky,

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and we're still doing it today.

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NARRATOR:
Now, in the 21st century,

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the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence is ramping up

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like never before.

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TRAVIS TAYLOR:
We might find life
on another planet

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in the next few years.

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We might even find
civilizations.

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We're that close.

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NARRATOR:
And powerful new technologies

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are allowing us
to explore trillions of stars

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all across the universe.

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ROD PYLE:
We've never had this many eyes,

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this many lenses,
this many radio dishes

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looking for things
at the same time.

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NICK POPE:
It's now only a matter of time

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before science finds
other earths,

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and where there
are other earths,

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there'll be other life
and other civilizations.

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NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

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in the universe.

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Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

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It demands
we question everything

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we have ever been taught.

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The evidence is all around us.

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The future is
right before our eyes.

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We are not alone.

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We have never been alone.

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French Guiana, South America.

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December 25, 2021.

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At the Guiana Space Center,

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NASA launches
the James Webb Space Telescope,

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which is 100 times more powerful

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than any telescope
that's come before.

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It represents an ambitious,

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ten-billion-dollar effort
by NASA

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to see into the deepest parts
of the universe.

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To many,
this highly sophisticated device

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will finally enable scientists
to answer an age-old question:

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Are we alone in the universe?

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The James Webb Telescope
is our latest

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and greatest space telescope,

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uh, which has
two basic missions.

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One is to understand
how stars and galaxies began,

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and its other mission
is to understand

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whether there's life out there.

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WILLIAM HENRY:
The James Webb Telescope
has the ability

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to detect chemical signatures
on planets

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that suggest
that life is, in fact,

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present in those worlds.

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TSOUKALOS:
We can now look into space

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with more clarity

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than in all
of our previous human history.

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And with the new
James Webb Telescope,

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scientists are looking for
extraterrestrial intelligence,

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not just extraterrestrial,
you know, biology.

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The fact
that we are investigating is

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something very exciting
because the search

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for extraterrestrial
intelligence

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is the ultimate quest

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of humanity to find out,

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how did it all begin?

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NARRATOR:
With the launch of
the James Webb Space Telescope,

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astronomers are now able
to examine thousands of planets

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outside our own solar system,

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often referred to as exoplanets.

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And they are discovering
more and more

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that are located within
the so-called Goldilocks zone.

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There's something called
the Goldilocks zone

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where everything is just right.

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You're just right from the Sun
in terms of distance,

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in terms of heat,
in terms of ecology.

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And that's where to find life.

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TAYLOR:
Now we're discovering

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many tens of planets
that seem to be

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in the Goldilocks zone,

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where it-it can have water

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and an atmosphere
that's warm enough for life.

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MICHIO KAKU:
We now realize
there could be hundreds,

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thousands of twins
of the Earth in outer space.

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This is big news 'cause it
may mean that life could be

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much more readily abundant
in our galaxy

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than we previously thought.

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DAVID CHILDRESS:
These new discoveries

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by the Webb Telescope
are pretty amazing.

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They're finding these exoplanets
that can hold life.

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And now the search
for extraterrestrials is on,

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like, steroids.

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We've got NASA involved in it.

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We've got Chinese

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and Japanese scientists
who are looking at this.

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We have a wide array
of international players

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who are searching
for extraterrestrials.

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NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

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our willingness to devote

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so much time,
energy and resources

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towards the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence

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is firmly rooted
in the distant past.

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Since the very beginning
of human civilization,

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we have been looking for signs

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of extraterrestrial
intelligence.

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You go back to the most
ancient civilizations--

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the Sumerians, the Babylonians,
the Egyptians, the Mayans--

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they all track the stars,
they track the planets.

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They built incredible monuments
like the pyramids

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that were in alignment
with various star systems.

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TSOUKALOS:
You have multiple
ancient megalithic structures

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that are in the form
of constellations,

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mainly Sirius,
Orion and Pleiades.

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Why those three?

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Well, we are suggesting

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that that is where
the extraterrestrials

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who taught us
a long time ago came from.

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NARRATOR:
Could it be
that our earliest ancestors

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had encounters
with otherworldly beings?

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And did they align

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their most important structures
with the stars

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because they hoped
this would be noticed

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by the extraterrestrials
who had visited Earth?

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Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

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that support
for this notion can be found

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by examining the theories

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of a prominent 19th-century
German scientist

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named Carl Friedrich Gauss.

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In 1820, Carl Friedrich Gauss
was on the cutting edge

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of our science and technology.

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He's a mathematician
and a physicist.

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But he has one question:

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Can we communicate
with extraterrestrials?

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He thought
it was entirely possible.

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Gauss proposed
an incredible idea.

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He said we need to go out
into the Siberian tundra

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and create a giant Pythagorean
triangle that would be so big,

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it could be seen from the Moon

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and an extraterrestrial
civilization would see it

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and know that we were
mathematically advanced

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and make contact with us.

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NARRATOR:
While most scientists

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regarded Gauss's idea
as fanciful,

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ancient astronaut theorists
suggest there is evidence

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that our ancestors
used this exact method

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to try to communicate
with otherworldly beings.

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In the 1930s,

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more than a century
after Gauss proposed his theory,

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pilots flying over southern Peru
reported seeing enormous shapes

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carved into the earth--

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the Nazca Lines.

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TSOUKALOS:
The Nazca Lines are the animals,

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the hummingbird, the monkey,

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all these different things
from the animal kingdom.

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And straight lines,

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some of which go up to 15 miles.

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The Nazca Lines
clearly were created by humans

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to signal somebody up there,
not on the ground.

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Why? Well, according to
the ancient astronaut theory,

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the local population was visited
by extraterrestrials,

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but at some point, they left.

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And so the local population
wanted them to come back.

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And that is why the Nazca Lines
were created on a bigger scale.

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The Nazca Lines
are a giant signal

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to someone up in the sky.

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NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that ancient people

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created the Nazca Lines

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to attract the attention
of intelligent beings,

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like Gauss proposed in 1820?

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Today, scientists believe

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that we will soon have
the technology

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to see surface features
on distant planets ourselves,

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and the James Webb Telescope
is already allowing astronomers

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to observe the universe
in greater detail

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than ever before.

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Our current technology
isn't such that we can

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truly image Earth-sized planets
around other stars.

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But we can look at what elements

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and what chemical compounds are
in that planet's atmosphere.

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CHRISSY NEWTON:
The James Webb Telescope

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has found
multiple different exoplanets

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that have markers of life,
that have markers of carbon.

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We see that some of these
exoplanets have water in them,

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and water is a major marker
for life.

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So it's exciting to see what the
James Webb Telescope is doing

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and what else it will find.

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NARRATOR:
Could it be that in searching

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for extraterrestrial
intelligence,

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we are carrying on the work
of our earliest ancestors,

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as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest?

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And might new technology

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like the James Webb
Space Telescope

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help us to finally succeed
in achieving this goal?

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Many experts believe it will

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and suggest there is evidence

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that Earth has already
received communication

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from an alien race.

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NARRATOR:
Colorado Springs.

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July 1899.

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Famed scientist
and inventor Nikola Tesla

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is conducting radio experiments
at his laboratory

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when he receives an unusual
repeating transmission

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from an unknown source.

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Nikola Tesla believed that

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extraterrestrial communication
was possible.

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And this signal
was exactly the type of signal

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he would've expected
to have seen

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from an extraterrestrial
civilization

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00:10:30,167 --> 00:10:31,583
if they were trying
to make contact.

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And Tesla himself believed

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he had received radio signals
from Mars.

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NARRATOR:
More than 5,000 miles away,

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Italian radio pioneer
Guglielmo Marconi

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observed similar seemingly
extraterrestrial transmissions.

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00:10:47,625 --> 00:10:49,667
Marconi was the first to really

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broadcast radio
across long distances.

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And he, of course,
was also listening.

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And he also thought
that he might have heard

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some radio signals
from-from the planet Mars.

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HENRY:
Nikola Tesla and Marconi
were on the cutting edge

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of this new frontier
of discovery,

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00:11:06,208 --> 00:11:08,083
believing in their hearts,
in their minds

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00:11:08,208 --> 00:11:10,542
that radio waves
would lead to our connection

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00:11:10,708 --> 00:11:12,917
with an extraterrestrial
civilization.

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NARRATOR: Is it possible that
the mysterious transmissions

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00:11:17,208 --> 00:11:21,000
detected by both Nikola Tesla
and Guglielmo Marconi

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00:11:21,167 --> 00:11:24,083
came from an extraterrestrial
intelligence?

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00:11:24,208 --> 00:11:28,000
While the answer
will likely never be known,

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00:11:28,125 --> 00:11:31,708
the observations
of these early radio pioneers

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had a major impact on humanity's
search for alien life.

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00:11:36,333 --> 00:11:37,875
Marconi and Tesla

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kind of got the ball rolling
when it comes to

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trying to find the aliens by
eavesdropping on radio signals.

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00:11:44,792 --> 00:11:47,792
And it turns out
radio waves would be a great way

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to communicate
over very long distances

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00:11:50,542 --> 00:11:52,250
from one star system to another.

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They're better even
than ordinary light,

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because there are dusty,
dark clouds in the universe

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00:11:57,917 --> 00:11:59,500
and they can...
they can block the light.

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So the point about radio waves

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00:12:01,375 --> 00:12:04,333
is that they would go
right through the dust and gas

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00:12:04,542 --> 00:12:07,125
that hangs between the stars.

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00:12:08,167 --> 00:12:11,833
NARRATOR:
Tesla and Marconi may not
have found definitive evidence

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00:12:11,958 --> 00:12:13,875
of alien intelligence,

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00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,708
but they were foundational in
establishing the primary means

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00:12:17,875 --> 00:12:19,667
by which scientists search

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00:12:19,833 --> 00:12:23,000
for extraterrestrial
civilizations today.

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00:12:23,208 --> 00:12:25,750
This effort is led
by the SETI Institute,

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00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:29,458
established in 1984.

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00:12:29,542 --> 00:12:32,833
SETI is the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

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00:12:33,875 --> 00:12:36,667
And a lot of it has been done
by the SETI Institute

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00:12:36,833 --> 00:12:38,208
based in California.

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00:12:38,375 --> 00:12:43,000
It is primarily the use
of radio telescopes

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00:12:43,167 --> 00:12:46,958
to listen for a signal
from another civilization.

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SETH SHOSTAK:
The SETI Institute,

256
00:12:49,042 --> 00:12:53,000
its flagship program
is to use big antennas,

257
00:12:53,208 --> 00:12:56,083
point them in the direction
of other nearby star systems

258
00:12:56,250 --> 00:12:58,375
and, you know,
tune over the radio dial to see

259
00:12:58,542 --> 00:13:01,500
if there's any transmission
coming from those planets.

260
00:13:02,542 --> 00:13:06,000
POPE:
The thinking is that we have
been a detectable civilization

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00:13:06,167 --> 00:13:09,375
for years through our television
and radio broadcasts,

262
00:13:09,542 --> 00:13:13,833
and almost any conceivable
advanced civilization

263
00:13:14,042 --> 00:13:16,500
will be using that technology

264
00:13:16,667 --> 00:13:18,417
or will have used it
in the past--

265
00:13:18,583 --> 00:13:20,792
maybe they've gone on
to more advanced things now--

266
00:13:20,958 --> 00:13:22,750
but that will be detectable.

267
00:13:22,917 --> 00:13:26,625
And people look
for a beacon, maybe,

268
00:13:26,833 --> 00:13:29,417
to just draw our attention
to the fact

269
00:13:29,583 --> 00:13:30,958
that there's life out there.

270
00:13:31,083 --> 00:13:32,875
But also a message.

271
00:13:33,042 --> 00:13:36,500
Maybe there's scientific
and technical knowledge encoded

272
00:13:36,708 --> 00:13:38,875
in a signal being sent to us.

273
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,167
Well, if we don't listen,
we'll never get it.

274
00:13:41,375 --> 00:13:44,708
NEWTON:
The work of the SETI Institute
is so important

275
00:13:44,875 --> 00:13:46,667
for the fact
that they are a pioneer.

276
00:13:46,833 --> 00:13:50,625
They're a pioneer
in the world of academia,

277
00:13:50,708 --> 00:13:52,167
in the world of science

278
00:13:52,333 --> 00:13:54,792
and have pushed the boundaries,
I would say,

279
00:13:54,958 --> 00:13:58,083
in the understanding
and the acceptance

280
00:13:58,208 --> 00:14:00,417
of looking into
extraterrestrials.

281
00:14:00,583 --> 00:14:04,333
NARRATOR:
But not all scientists
were content to merely listen

282
00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:06,625
for alien communication.

283
00:14:06,833 --> 00:14:08,917
A decade
before the establishment

284
00:14:09,042 --> 00:14:10,833
of the SETI Institute,

285
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,042
one of its founders,
famed astronomer Carl Sagan,

286
00:14:14,208 --> 00:14:18,500
was part of an effort to send
a message out into the cosmos.

287
00:14:19,667 --> 00:14:21,500
♪ ♪

288
00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:26,417
Arecibo Observatory,
Puerto Rico.

289
00:14:26,583 --> 00:14:30,292
November 16, 1974.

290
00:14:30,458 --> 00:14:33,000
Scientists, dignitaries

291
00:14:33,208 --> 00:14:35,833
and other public officials
gather to watch

292
00:14:35,958 --> 00:14:37,625
as astronomers send out

293
00:14:37,792 --> 00:14:40,500
the first official
radio communication

294
00:14:40,583 --> 00:14:43,250
directed to extraterrestrials

295
00:14:43,375 --> 00:14:48,417
using the largest, most powerful
telescope in the world.

296
00:14:48,583 --> 00:14:51,417
SHOSTAK:
The message was just
a series of, you know,

297
00:14:51,583 --> 00:14:53,125
dots and dashes, if you will.

298
00:14:53,292 --> 00:14:55,792
But you could order them
into a-a matrix

299
00:14:55,917 --> 00:14:57,667
and actually get a picture

300
00:14:57,833 --> 00:15:01,458
as a way of sending a greeting
card, if you will, from Earth.

301
00:15:02,542 --> 00:15:06,458
NARRATOR:
Designed by renowned scientists
like Carl Sagan and Frank Drake,

302
00:15:06,625 --> 00:15:11,000
the Arecibo message contains
binary-encoded information,

303
00:15:11,208 --> 00:15:13,667
including the numbers
one through ten,

304
00:15:13,875 --> 00:15:16,167
an image of human DNA,

305
00:15:16,375 --> 00:15:17,583
a human figure

306
00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:19,792
and a graphic
of the solar system,

307
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,667
highlighting
the position of Earth.

308
00:15:23,708 --> 00:15:26,250
POPE:
This was a calling card
from planet Earth.

309
00:15:26,375 --> 00:15:30,125
It was really reaching out
across the galaxy

310
00:15:30,292 --> 00:15:32,458
and saying, "We're here."

311
00:15:33,375 --> 00:15:35,417
Now, some scientists
condemned it.

312
00:15:35,625 --> 00:15:38,833
And, in fact, SETI
has been very controversial

313
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,875
when it moves into active--
what's called METI--

314
00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:44,708
"messaging to
extraterrestrial intelligence."

315
00:15:44,875 --> 00:15:48,500
Some people have said it's like
a suicide note to the universe,

316
00:15:48,625 --> 00:15:51,292
because if there's a super
predator species out there,

317
00:15:51,417 --> 00:15:53,333
you were saying,
"Come and get us."

318
00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:56,833
Now, SETI scientists say,
"Well, it's too late.

319
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,500
"We've been a detectable
civilization for decades

320
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:02,667
because of our radio
and television broadcasts."

321
00:16:02,875 --> 00:16:04,625
But it's still controversial.

322
00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:08,458
NARRATOR:
In August 2001,

323
00:16:08,625 --> 00:16:12,375
almost three decades after
the Arecibo message was sent,

324
00:16:12,542 --> 00:16:14,708
there was
an extraordinary development.

325
00:16:15,917 --> 00:16:18,000
Workers at
the Chilbolton Observatory

326
00:16:18,167 --> 00:16:19,750
in Hampshire, England,

327
00:16:19,917 --> 00:16:23,333
discovered a mysterious
crop circle in a nearby field

328
00:16:23,542 --> 00:16:27,708
that was an almost exact replica
of the Arecibo message.

329
00:16:27,833 --> 00:16:31,167
It's actually called sometimes
the Arecibo reply,

330
00:16:31,375 --> 00:16:34,167
because it-it's
essentially very similar

331
00:16:34,375 --> 00:16:37,667
to the Arecibo message
but with some subtle changes.

332
00:16:37,833 --> 00:16:42,292
For example, the DNA
swaps out carbon for silicon.

333
00:16:42,417 --> 00:16:45,417
And also, there's
a-a representation of a figure,

334
00:16:45,542 --> 00:16:46,750
but it's not a human.

335
00:16:46,958 --> 00:16:48,667
Looks like an alien.

336
00:16:49,833 --> 00:16:52,458
Instantly, the astronomers
proclaimed this a hoax.

337
00:16:52,625 --> 00:16:55,167
And as people started
to investigate this,

338
00:16:55,375 --> 00:16:57,083
they realized
that maybe it was possible

339
00:16:57,208 --> 00:16:59,000
that it came
from extraterrestrials.

340
00:16:59,167 --> 00:17:02,625
One reason why was
that the message was so perfect.

341
00:17:02,792 --> 00:17:06,208
How likely is it
that some crop circle hoaxer

342
00:17:06,417 --> 00:17:09,333
could have duplicated
that message in a crop circle?

343
00:17:09,542 --> 00:17:12,208
Crop circles are
a very important potential way

344
00:17:12,417 --> 00:17:14,667
that an extraterrestrial
intelligence could use

345
00:17:14,875 --> 00:17:16,000
to communicate with us.

346
00:17:16,208 --> 00:17:17,625
They're very public,

347
00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:20,542
and they have caught
the curiosity of humanity.

348
00:17:21,875 --> 00:17:26,000
NARRATOR:
Was the so-called Arecibo reply
a message sent to Earth

349
00:17:26,167 --> 00:17:29,167
by an extraterrestrial
civilization?

350
00:17:29,333 --> 00:17:32,833
While its origin
continues to be debated,

351
00:17:33,042 --> 00:17:34,875
some scientists suggest

352
00:17:35,042 --> 00:17:36,083
that the best evidence
of intelligent life

353
00:17:36,250 --> 00:17:37,167
that the best evidence
of intelligent life

354
00:17:37,417 --> 00:17:41,542
can be found by simply
looking deep into space

355
00:17:41,750 --> 00:17:43,875
for what aliens may have built

356
00:17:44,042 --> 00:17:46,208
in the stars.

357
00:17:55,667 --> 00:17:58,625
NARRATOR:
At the Murchison
Radio-astronomy Observatory,

358
00:17:58,792 --> 00:18:02,500
one of the world's most powerful
telescopes detects a signal

359
00:18:02,708 --> 00:18:04,833
that catches
the attention of scientists

360
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,458
from multiple institutions.

361
00:18:07,625 --> 00:18:10,333
They discover
interstellar radio waves

362
00:18:10,542 --> 00:18:14,000
that are reaching Earth
every 22 minutes.

363
00:18:14,208 --> 00:18:16,458
Even stranger,

364
00:18:16,625 --> 00:18:19,333
the signals have been sent,
like clockwork,

365
00:18:19,458 --> 00:18:21,958
for more than 30 years.

366
00:18:22,042 --> 00:18:25,417
HENRY:
Astronomers in Australia
made an amazing discovery--

367
00:18:25,542 --> 00:18:29,000
a timed pulse,
a radio wave pulse

368
00:18:29,167 --> 00:18:31,250
that went completely undetected.

369
00:18:31,458 --> 00:18:33,500
This was a milestone,
a benchmark

370
00:18:33,708 --> 00:18:36,125
in our search for
extraterrestrial intelligence.

371
00:18:37,708 --> 00:18:40,250
SHOSTAK:
The thought is, it turns on
and off every 20 minutes--

372
00:18:40,417 --> 00:18:43,500
a little too regular
to be due to nature.

373
00:18:43,667 --> 00:18:45,042
And, uh, you know,

374
00:18:45,250 --> 00:18:46,625
when you find
something unexpected,

375
00:18:46,750 --> 00:18:48,667
of course you're excited.

376
00:18:48,833 --> 00:18:51,917
PYLE:
Now, normally when you see
a repeating signal like that,

377
00:18:52,083 --> 00:18:54,125
you think of either a pulsar,

378
00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:56,792
which is a rotating star
that's sending out a radio burst

379
00:18:56,958 --> 00:18:58,500
on a regular schedule,

380
00:18:58,667 --> 00:19:00,000
or a magnetar,

381
00:19:00,167 --> 00:19:02,792
which is a similar kind of star
that is...

382
00:19:02,958 --> 00:19:06,250
has a very intense
magnetic field that's rotating.

383
00:19:06,417 --> 00:19:09,708
And so you get spikes of a
signal from that magnetic field.

384
00:19:09,875 --> 00:19:13,500
The problem is, this signal
doesn't match either of those.

385
00:19:15,458 --> 00:19:17,167
TAYLOR:
We don't know
what this signal is,

386
00:19:17,375 --> 00:19:19,958
but we do know
that it seems interesting

387
00:19:20,125 --> 00:19:22,292
and possibly artificial,

388
00:19:22,417 --> 00:19:25,375
which means
it was broadcast by someone.

389
00:19:25,542 --> 00:19:27,333
We may find that there's a, uh,

390
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:28,958
natural phenomena
that explains it.

391
00:19:29,125 --> 00:19:30,250
We may not.

392
00:19:31,958 --> 00:19:34,542
POPE:
Some people have speculated

393
00:19:34,708 --> 00:19:37,208
that this could mean
that extraterrestrials

394
00:19:37,375 --> 00:19:39,167
have been signaling to us

395
00:19:39,333 --> 00:19:41,500
for a very long time.

396
00:19:41,625 --> 00:19:44,500
Now, there's still a lot
that we don't know about this,

397
00:19:44,708 --> 00:19:48,000
but there's something
very odd about it.

398
00:19:49,167 --> 00:19:52,458
CHILDRESS:
This is the kind of thing
that we've been searching for

399
00:19:52,667 --> 00:19:54,000
for decades.

400
00:19:54,167 --> 00:19:56,458
It's tremendously important,
this discovery.

401
00:19:57,458 --> 00:19:59,125
NARRATOR:
Is it possible

402
00:19:59,250 --> 00:20:03,083
that the strange radio pulses
detected in 2023

403
00:20:03,250 --> 00:20:06,917
are signals being sent out
by alien life-forms?

404
00:20:07,042 --> 00:20:09,125
Perhaps further clues
can be found

405
00:20:09,292 --> 00:20:11,792
by examining another discovery

406
00:20:11,958 --> 00:20:13,375
that some scientists believe

407
00:20:13,542 --> 00:20:17,875
is evidence of an
extraterrestrial civilization.

408
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:28,667
Astronomer Tabetha Boyajian
publishes a paper

409
00:20:28,875 --> 00:20:32,792
in the Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society

410
00:20:32,875 --> 00:20:36,708
that captures the attention
of the scientific world.

411
00:20:37,917 --> 00:20:42,500
Using data gathered by
NASA's Kepler space telescope,

412
00:20:42,667 --> 00:20:47,458
Boyajian documented strange
behavior in a distant star.

413
00:20:47,625 --> 00:20:50,708
GIBOR BASRI:
The Kepler telescope
was searching for exoplanets

414
00:20:50,875 --> 00:20:53,500
by waiting for them to cross
in front of their star

415
00:20:53,625 --> 00:20:55,375
and block a little bit of light.

416
00:20:56,375 --> 00:20:58,000
Well, she found a star

417
00:20:58,167 --> 00:21:00,542
where the amount of light
that was blocked kept changing.

418
00:21:00,708 --> 00:21:03,500
It was much more light
than a planet could block.

419
00:21:03,667 --> 00:21:06,000
So Tabby's Star
was-was kind of a...

420
00:21:06,167 --> 00:21:07,917
a surprising discovery
at the time.

421
00:21:08,958 --> 00:21:13,667
KAKU:
Tabby's Star suddenly diminished
in terms of its intensity,

422
00:21:13,833 --> 00:21:17,167
uh, by quite a bit,
and then flared up again

423
00:21:17,333 --> 00:21:19,667
and has been doing this
for years.

424
00:21:19,833 --> 00:21:21,083
What could cause that?

425
00:21:21,292 --> 00:21:23,458
What is big enough

426
00:21:23,625 --> 00:21:26,208
to diminish starlight
by that much?

427
00:21:26,375 --> 00:21:27,833
It must be huge.

428
00:21:28,917 --> 00:21:32,167
NARRATOR:
The bizarre dimming
led some astronomers to consider

429
00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:34,250
a profound possibility:

430
00:21:34,417 --> 00:21:36,083
that the dimming was caused

431
00:21:36,250 --> 00:21:38,167
by an extraterrestrial
megastructure

432
00:21:38,333 --> 00:21:40,417
known as a Dyson sphere.

433
00:21:40,583 --> 00:21:43,375
This hypothetical technology

434
00:21:43,542 --> 00:21:47,167
was first proposed by Princeton
physicist Freeman Dyson

435
00:21:47,333 --> 00:21:50,292
in a 1960
Science Magazine article.

436
00:21:50,417 --> 00:21:52,917
TAYLOR:
One of the Manhattan Project
scientists,

437
00:21:53,042 --> 00:21:56,833
Freeman Dyson, had the idea that
a really advanced civilization

438
00:21:56,958 --> 00:22:00,292
could build a sphere
around their star

439
00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:03,833
at about an Earth orbit distance
from that star.

440
00:22:05,250 --> 00:22:07,875
And it could capture
all of the energy

441
00:22:08,042 --> 00:22:12,042
from that star
on the surface of this sphere.

442
00:22:12,250 --> 00:22:14,500
SHOSTAK:
This idea
that advanced societies

443
00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:16,500
will build stuff
that they put into orbit

444
00:22:16,667 --> 00:22:19,333
around the star, their sun,

445
00:22:19,458 --> 00:22:21,458
you know,
that makes perfect sense.

446
00:22:21,583 --> 00:22:23,250
There's a lot of reasons
why you might want to do that.

447
00:22:23,417 --> 00:22:26,542
Maybe just collecting
solar energy. I mean, who knows?

448
00:22:26,750 --> 00:22:28,500
But if they built
anything like that,

449
00:22:28,708 --> 00:22:31,708
then we would see a star
that gets dimmer,

450
00:22:31,875 --> 00:22:33,833
then it gets brighter,
it gets dimmer.

451
00:22:35,042 --> 00:22:38,417
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
Tabetha Boyajian discovered

452
00:22:38,583 --> 00:22:41,542
an enormous alien spacecraft?

453
00:22:42,583 --> 00:22:47,000
One so big it could block out
the light of a star?

454
00:22:47,167 --> 00:22:48,792
It's an idea that seems ripped

455
00:22:48,958 --> 00:22:51,250
from the pages
of science fiction.

456
00:22:51,417 --> 00:22:53,750
But not only do NASA scientists

457
00:22:53,917 --> 00:22:56,333
believe such structures
could exist,

458
00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:59,500
they are actively
searching for them.

459
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:02,708
The effort that I lead at SETI

460
00:23:02,917 --> 00:23:07,583
is a search for what we call
alien megastructures.

461
00:23:07,792 --> 00:23:11,292
These are large
panel-like objects

462
00:23:11,417 --> 00:23:15,417
that may have been put in orbit
around other stars

463
00:23:15,583 --> 00:23:19,042
by civilizations,
um, well beyond Earth.

464
00:23:19,208 --> 00:23:21,833
It would immediately
indicate to us

465
00:23:21,958 --> 00:23:24,625
that there are beings
out there in the universe

466
00:23:24,750 --> 00:23:27,833
that are more advanced than us.

467
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,250
Alien megastructures
should not be that hard to find.

468
00:23:31,375 --> 00:23:35,000
I mean, if they're out there,
there are various telltale signs

469
00:23:35,208 --> 00:23:37,917
that a big enough telescope,
especially a space telescope,

470
00:23:38,125 --> 00:23:39,667
should be able to spot

471
00:23:39,875 --> 00:23:41,958
if we have an idea
what we're looking for.

472
00:23:42,167 --> 00:23:43,458
The problem is going through

473
00:23:43,542 --> 00:23:47,208
hundreds and thousands
of hours of data.

474
00:23:47,375 --> 00:23:50,208
So, Ann Marie Cody
started a project

475
00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:53,417
specifically targeting
alien megastructures

476
00:23:53,583 --> 00:23:56,667
with artificial
intelligence, A.I.

477
00:23:57,875 --> 00:24:01,333
TSOUKALOS:
The fact that Dr. Cody
is getting funding

478
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:05,083
to investigate this
is unheard of.

479
00:24:06,042 --> 00:24:08,542
And the fact that
it is happening means

480
00:24:08,708 --> 00:24:11,917
that a paradigm shift
has happened.

481
00:24:13,042 --> 00:24:16,542
CODY:
We need to know
who is out there possibly

482
00:24:16,708 --> 00:24:19,375
so that we can learn more
about ourselves

483
00:24:19,542 --> 00:24:23,292
and what sort of course
humanity is going to take.

484
00:24:23,417 --> 00:24:25,583
Right now, we are dealing with

485
00:24:25,750 --> 00:24:29,208
unprecedented problems on Earth.

486
00:24:30,417 --> 00:24:33,042
If we found beings
out there that were

487
00:24:33,208 --> 00:24:35,250
more intelligent than us,

488
00:24:35,375 --> 00:24:38,167
they may offer
useful information

489
00:24:38,333 --> 00:24:40,875
if we were ever
to learn from them.

490
00:24:42,292 --> 00:24:44,500
NARRATOR:
Might strange radio pulses

491
00:24:44,708 --> 00:24:46,792
and the mysterious
dimming of stars

492
00:24:46,875 --> 00:24:50,750
be evidence that we are not
alone in the universe?

493
00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:52,667
According to some scientists,

494
00:24:52,875 --> 00:24:53,083
the best evidence
of alien technology

495
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:55,000
the best evidence
of alien technology

496
00:24:55,167 --> 00:24:58,000
can be found closer to home,

497
00:24:58,167 --> 00:25:01,875
right here on Earth.

498
00:25:06,875 --> 00:25:09,208
NARRATOR:
Ever since
the first radio telescope

499
00:25:09,375 --> 00:25:12,667
was invented in the 1930s,

500
00:25:12,875 --> 00:25:15,417
astronomers have listened
to the heavens

501
00:25:15,583 --> 00:25:19,167
for signals from
extraterrestrial beings.

502
00:25:20,292 --> 00:25:22,583
But in 2021,

503
00:25:22,792 --> 00:25:26,417
Harvard professor Avi Loeb
breaks with tradition

504
00:25:26,625 --> 00:25:28,667
and sets out to find alien life

505
00:25:28,833 --> 00:25:31,833
not by scanning for radio waves

506
00:25:31,917 --> 00:25:34,792
but by looking
for physical evidence.

507
00:25:34,917 --> 00:25:39,042
He calls it the Galileo Project.

508
00:25:39,250 --> 00:25:42,333
KAKU:
Professor Loeb says,
why not monitor

509
00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:45,375
meteors and things
in outer space?

510
00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:49,333
Perhaps one of them is remnants
of an advanced civilization.

511
00:25:50,375 --> 00:25:53,667
For example, if an advanced
civilization is like us,

512
00:25:53,875 --> 00:25:55,583
they would leave
Coke bottles everywhere,

513
00:25:55,750 --> 00:25:57,167
and why not search for them?

514
00:25:59,042 --> 00:26:03,375
The previous paradigm was:
sit, wait, open your telescope,

515
00:26:03,542 --> 00:26:06,042
open your computer
and cross your fingers.

516
00:26:07,083 --> 00:26:09,667
That's the way science
is usually done in astronomy.

517
00:26:09,833 --> 00:26:12,625
Now he's saying,
"Why not reach out?"

518
00:26:13,708 --> 00:26:15,708
LOEB:
All we need to do
is search around

519
00:26:15,875 --> 00:26:17,667
and we might find objects

520
00:26:17,792 --> 00:26:20,833
that were sent by civilizations.

521
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,583
Those civilizations,
they could have launched probes

522
00:26:24,708 --> 00:26:27,167
to interstellar space
that would have populated

523
00:26:27,375 --> 00:26:29,917
the entire
Milky Way galaxy by now,

524
00:26:30,125 --> 00:26:33,708
and the only question is:
Do we live in such a reality?

525
00:26:36,042 --> 00:26:37,625
NARRATOR:
According to Dr. Loeb,

526
00:26:37,833 --> 00:26:40,708
if alien civilizations
do exist...

527
00:26:42,208 --> 00:26:44,667
...their spacecraft
might appear to us

528
00:26:44,833 --> 00:26:48,250
as something as simple
as a meteor.

529
00:26:49,875 --> 00:26:52,500
POPE:
The Galileo Project
involves the idea that

530
00:26:52,708 --> 00:26:56,708
alien probes may have visited
our solar system

531
00:26:56,875 --> 00:26:58,833
and possibly crashed on

532
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,125
the Earth's surface
or the oceans in the past.

533
00:27:06,167 --> 00:27:09,625
NARRATOR:
If extraterrestrial craft
have landed on Earth,

534
00:27:09,750 --> 00:27:13,292
is it possible that the
Galileo Project could find them?

535
00:27:15,042 --> 00:27:17,625
While the idea
of a Harvard scientist

536
00:27:17,792 --> 00:27:19,708
searching for a crashed UFO

537
00:27:19,875 --> 00:27:23,375
struck many in the scientific
community as laughable,

538
00:27:23,542 --> 00:27:27,792
in 2023,
Dr. Loeb shocked the world

539
00:27:27,958 --> 00:27:30,292
when he announced he found one.

540
00:27:32,500 --> 00:27:35,417
June 2023.

541
00:27:35,625 --> 00:27:38,083
100 miles north
of Papua New Guinea.

542
00:27:38,292 --> 00:27:42,875
Dr. Loeb and members
of the Galileo Project

543
00:27:43,042 --> 00:27:46,125
are combing the Pacific Ocean
in search of a meteor

544
00:27:46,292 --> 00:27:49,417
that exploded over the region
ten years earlier.

545
00:27:49,583 --> 00:27:51,833
LOEB:
I came across a meteor catalogue

546
00:27:52,042 --> 00:27:53,833
that the government compiled

547
00:27:54,042 --> 00:27:55,875
using its missile
warning system.

548
00:27:56,042 --> 00:27:58,000
The meteor, uh, burned up

549
00:27:58,208 --> 00:28:02,500
about 100 miles off the coast
of Papua New Guinea,

550
00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:05,417
and it released
a few percent of the energy

551
00:28:05,583 --> 00:28:08,917
of the Hiroshima bomb
when it exploded.

552
00:28:09,958 --> 00:28:12,667
The government released data
of the explosion,

553
00:28:12,792 --> 00:28:15,042
and from that,
we inferred that the object

554
00:28:15,208 --> 00:28:18,500
has material strength
that is very unusual.

555
00:28:18,708 --> 00:28:22,250
It's made of some alloy
that is much tougher

556
00:28:22,458 --> 00:28:24,958
than iron meteorites,

557
00:28:25,167 --> 00:28:26,750
and that raises the possibility

558
00:28:26,917 --> 00:28:29,250
that it may have been
a spacecraft.

559
00:28:29,417 --> 00:28:33,833
NARRATOR:
For two weeks, Dr. Loeb
and a team of scientists

560
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,667
drag a large magnetic sled
along the ocean floor.

561
00:28:37,833 --> 00:28:42,708
And then they make what could be
an extraordinary find.

562
00:28:44,792 --> 00:28:47,208
PYLE:
Loeb did find a number of beads,

563
00:28:47,375 --> 00:28:49,708
little spherules,
not much bigger than a BB,

564
00:28:49,875 --> 00:28:51,833
that they were able
to dredge up.

565
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,750
Upon first glance,
they look kind of exotic.

566
00:28:54,917 --> 00:28:56,500
They have little swirls in them.

567
00:28:56,708 --> 00:28:57,917
They're almost perfectly round.

568
00:29:01,333 --> 00:29:04,500
HENRY:
The spheres
are sub-millimeter size.

569
00:29:04,667 --> 00:29:06,833
When they get back to the lab
and they put these spheres

570
00:29:07,042 --> 00:29:08,667
underneath a microscope,

571
00:29:08,833 --> 00:29:12,750
they describe them
as beautiful metallic marbles.

572
00:29:13,708 --> 00:29:15,500
This suggests,
in a preliminary way,

573
00:29:15,708 --> 00:29:18,542
that we're dealing with perhaps
an extraterrestrial technology,

574
00:29:18,708 --> 00:29:20,958
something that was not
made by nature.

575
00:29:22,208 --> 00:29:23,875
PYLE:
Just finding little metal beads

576
00:29:24,042 --> 00:29:25,125
isn't proof that
they're ball bearings

577
00:29:25,292 --> 00:29:27,042
for an alien spaceship
or something,

578
00:29:27,208 --> 00:29:29,292
but they could be,
and that's the exciting part.

579
00:29:29,458 --> 00:29:33,167
You can't prove it yet, but
you can't disprove it, either.

580
00:29:34,208 --> 00:29:37,083
NARRATOR:
Initial testing showed
that some of the spherules

581
00:29:37,250 --> 00:29:40,875
had an unusually high
concentration of beryllium,

582
00:29:41,042 --> 00:29:44,375
lanthanum and uranium
in a composition

583
00:29:44,542 --> 00:29:48,125
that is unlike anything found
in our solar system.

584
00:29:49,583 --> 00:29:51,000
CAROLINE WHITEHILL:
That composition

585
00:29:51,208 --> 00:29:53,000
does not exist in any known

586
00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:55,375
mineral or rock that we know of,

587
00:29:55,542 --> 00:29:57,833
which would imply something
about the conditions

588
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,167
under which it was formed--
the temperatures, the pressures.

589
00:30:00,333 --> 00:30:03,583
And when you combine that
with the spheroidal shape,

590
00:30:03,750 --> 00:30:06,750
it does speak to his hypothesis

591
00:30:06,958 --> 00:30:09,792
that they were manufactured
extraterrestrially.

592
00:30:10,833 --> 00:30:13,750
NARRATOR:
Could the strange spherules
found on the ocean floor

593
00:30:13,917 --> 00:30:16,333
really be of alien origin?

594
00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:20,042
While more tests are underway,

595
00:30:20,208 --> 00:30:24,125
Dr. Loeb continues to recruit
experts to the Galileo Project

596
00:30:24,333 --> 00:30:27,833
like renowned UFO researcher
Jacques Vallée,

597
00:30:27,958 --> 00:30:31,333
retired intelligence officer
Christopher Mellon

598
00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:34,792
and former British Ministry
of Defence UFO investigator

599
00:30:34,958 --> 00:30:36,708
Nick Pope.

600
00:30:36,875 --> 00:30:38,458
POPE:
Now, I'm not a scientist,

601
00:30:38,583 --> 00:30:42,083
but I'm one of a number
of people who are involved

602
00:30:42,250 --> 00:30:44,333
and actually part of
Galileo Project

603
00:30:44,542 --> 00:30:46,083
as a research affiliate.

604
00:30:46,208 --> 00:30:50,000
So, people like myself,
with government backgrounds,

605
00:30:50,208 --> 00:30:52,875
who can perhaps help
the science team with this,

606
00:30:53,042 --> 00:30:56,875
we've come on board,
and-and it's fascinating work.

607
00:30:57,042 --> 00:31:00,625
And think about this--
Harvard alien hunter?

608
00:31:00,792 --> 00:31:04,208
This represents an enormous
step forward in humanity's quest

609
00:31:04,417 --> 00:31:06,333
for extraterrestrial
intelligence because

610
00:31:06,542 --> 00:31:10,708
we're-we're seeing signs and
signposts of academic acceptance

611
00:31:10,833 --> 00:31:14,625
of the reality
that we are not alone.

612
00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:16,833
Just the fact
that Harvard University

613
00:31:16,958 --> 00:31:19,000
has the Galileo Project,

614
00:31:19,208 --> 00:31:21,833
this shows that we're
in a brand-new era

615
00:31:22,042 --> 00:31:24,167
where prestigious universities

616
00:31:24,333 --> 00:31:26,833
and scientists
associated with them

617
00:31:27,042 --> 00:31:29,333
are trying to find
extraterrestrial life.

618
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:33,875
NARRATOR:
Will the Galileo Project
find irrefutable proof

619
00:31:34,042 --> 00:31:36,750
that we are not alone
in the universe?

620
00:31:36,917 --> 00:31:38,958
Only time will tell.

621
00:31:39,083 --> 00:31:42,125
But while researchers
like Avi Loeb

622
00:31:42,250 --> 00:31:44,208
are making great strides
in the search

623
00:31:44,375 --> 00:31:46,667
for extraterrestrial
intelligence,

624
00:31:46,833 --> 00:31:50,042
some believe even more
exciting evidence

625
00:31:50,208 --> 00:31:50,500
is being discovered
by NASA scientists,

626
00:31:51,375 --> 00:31:54,250
is being discovered
by NASA scientists,

627
00:31:54,417 --> 00:31:56,792
who recently found
strong indications

628
00:31:56,958 --> 00:32:01,250
of a planet
inhabited by alien beings.

629
00:32:11,083 --> 00:32:13,000
NARRATOR:
A team of astrobiologists

630
00:32:13,167 --> 00:32:15,250
at Washington State University

631
00:32:15,417 --> 00:32:20,500
complete an analysis
of more than 4,500 exoplanets.

632
00:32:20,625 --> 00:32:22,833
After combing through the data,

633
00:32:22,958 --> 00:32:25,542
they are surprised to find
24 planets

634
00:32:25,708 --> 00:32:29,333
that fit the classification
of "superhabitable."

635
00:32:30,542 --> 00:32:33,833
TAYLOR:
Very recently,
we have discovered many planets

636
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,958
that might be better for life
than Earth is.

637
00:32:37,125 --> 00:32:38,917
Earth is still in an ice age
right now.

638
00:32:39,083 --> 00:32:41,500
We have polar caps
on both sides of the planet.

639
00:32:41,667 --> 00:32:44,292
So, these planets might be
even more habitable

640
00:32:44,458 --> 00:32:48,083
or-or better for life to
spring up on than here on Earth.

641
00:32:49,208 --> 00:32:51,667
PYLE:
For the most part,
they're larger than Earth.

642
00:32:51,792 --> 00:32:53,000
They tend to be older.

643
00:32:53,167 --> 00:32:55,500
The longer you give life
to evolve,

644
00:32:55,667 --> 00:32:59,417
the more likely you're gonna
see advanced life-forms there.

645
00:32:59,583 --> 00:33:03,500
NARRATOR:
The first exoplanets
were discovered in the 1990s,

646
00:33:03,667 --> 00:33:07,000
and since then,
scientists have been astounded

647
00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:09,792
by the number of
potentially habitable planets

648
00:33:09,958 --> 00:33:12,708
they have found
throughout the universe.

649
00:33:12,875 --> 00:33:14,875
Before 1995,
we didn't know whether

650
00:33:15,042 --> 00:33:17,000
there were other
planets out there.

651
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,708
Today, we know
that the majority of stars

652
00:33:20,875 --> 00:33:22,708
have planets orbiting them.

653
00:33:22,833 --> 00:33:24,167
And, you know,
one in ten of those

654
00:33:24,375 --> 00:33:26,250
have a planet that's at
the right distance

655
00:33:26,375 --> 00:33:28,292
from that star
so that the temperatures,

656
00:33:28,417 --> 00:33:30,000
you know,
are agreeable for life.

657
00:33:30,167 --> 00:33:31,750
And there might be
liquid water on the surface

658
00:33:31,958 --> 00:33:33,208
and that sort of thing.

659
00:33:33,375 --> 00:33:34,833
So what we're finding
is that the Earth

660
00:33:35,042 --> 00:33:37,208
may not be unique,
that there are other planets

661
00:33:37,333 --> 00:33:40,083
that also have things
like atmospheres and oceans.

662
00:33:40,250 --> 00:33:42,625
And if you're looking for E.T.,
well, it's good to find

663
00:33:42,792 --> 00:33:46,083
that there are other locales
that might at least have life.

664
00:33:47,042 --> 00:33:48,500
NARRATOR:
It's only recently,

665
00:33:48,667 --> 00:33:50,833
with the launch
of the James Webb Telescope,

666
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,833
that scientists have been able

667
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,917
to study nearby planets
for signs of life.

668
00:33:56,042 --> 00:33:59,042
The James Webb Telescope
is now powerful enough

669
00:33:59,208 --> 00:34:01,083
to pick out
some of those planets

670
00:34:01,250 --> 00:34:04,042
and actually measure
their atmospheric composition.

671
00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:06,083
And then we'll-we'll be
a step closer

672
00:34:06,250 --> 00:34:08,917
to-to actually knowing
whether there's life out there.

673
00:34:09,125 --> 00:34:11,792
HENRY:
The James Webb Telescope
has the ability

674
00:34:11,958 --> 00:34:14,083
to peer into the infrared level,

675
00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:16,167
where it can detect
heat signatures

676
00:34:16,333 --> 00:34:19,000
and also chemicals
on exoplanets that

677
00:34:19,208 --> 00:34:21,625
previously have gone undetected.

678
00:34:21,750 --> 00:34:23,333
Early results are astonishing.

679
00:34:23,542 --> 00:34:25,958
It's already made
major discoveries

680
00:34:26,125 --> 00:34:29,000
on two planets that are
suggestive that life

681
00:34:29,125 --> 00:34:31,958
might actually be present
on these planets.

682
00:34:33,042 --> 00:34:35,500
PYLE:
The Webb allows you
to see things that tell you

683
00:34:35,708 --> 00:34:37,500
whether or not
there might be life there.

684
00:34:37,667 --> 00:34:40,500
And more excitingly,
might tell you

685
00:34:40,667 --> 00:34:42,833
that there's been
technology there.

686
00:34:44,125 --> 00:34:47,125
When you start seeing
radioactive isotopes,

687
00:34:47,333 --> 00:34:49,750
now you've got a better idea
that there might be technology.

688
00:34:49,917 --> 00:34:51,750
It's probably high technology,

689
00:34:51,917 --> 00:34:53,500
and that's what
we're looking for.

690
00:34:55,458 --> 00:34:58,500
NARRATOR:
In September 2023,

691
00:34:58,625 --> 00:35:01,583
scientists found
what many consider to be

692
00:35:01,792 --> 00:35:06,958
the best evidence yet that life
is not unique to planet Earth.

693
00:35:07,125 --> 00:35:08,917
In the atmosphere of a planet

694
00:35:09,042 --> 00:35:14,542
124 light-years from Earth
called K2-18 b,

695
00:35:14,708 --> 00:35:17,542
the James Webb Telescope
detected the presence

696
00:35:17,708 --> 00:35:21,500
of a molecule
called dimethyl sulfide.

697
00:35:21,667 --> 00:35:23,833
TAYLOR:
Dimethyl sulfide
is created through

698
00:35:24,042 --> 00:35:26,958
organic processes only,
as far as we know.

699
00:35:27,083 --> 00:35:30,750
Meaning some living creature,

700
00:35:30,917 --> 00:35:34,792
during its life cycle, secretes
or excretes this material.

701
00:35:36,083 --> 00:35:38,333
KAKU: The very fact that
that chemical is there

702
00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:41,083
indicates there's
a high probability

703
00:35:41,250 --> 00:35:44,083
that a life-form
was responsible for creating it.

704
00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:47,042
In other words,
this could be the first sign

705
00:35:47,167 --> 00:35:49,625
of life in outer space.

706
00:35:49,792 --> 00:35:53,292
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that NASA
has finally discovered

707
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:55,750
life on an alien planet?

708
00:35:55,917 --> 00:35:57,833
While scientists
need more evidence

709
00:35:58,042 --> 00:36:02,000
before they can be certain,
the presence of dimethyl sulfide

710
00:36:02,208 --> 00:36:05,083
suggests this is
a strong possibility.

711
00:36:05,292 --> 00:36:08,500
If proven true,
the next question is:

712
00:36:08,625 --> 00:36:11,292
Are these life-forms
intelligent?

713
00:36:11,417 --> 00:36:15,625
Could it be
that planet K2-18 b is home

714
00:36:15,792 --> 00:36:19,000
to an extraterrestrial
civilization?

715
00:36:20,042 --> 00:36:24,333
TSOUKALOS:
The fact that they've discovered
DMS on a planet out there,

716
00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:28,333
and if this can be corroborated,
well, there you go.

717
00:36:29,458 --> 00:36:33,417
And now the next step will be,
we now know E.T. exists.

718
00:36:33,625 --> 00:36:36,875
Number two will be,
not only are we not alone,

719
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:38,042
but they've been here.

720
00:36:38,208 --> 00:36:40,625
TAYLOR:
We are right on the edge

721
00:36:40,792 --> 00:36:44,542
with our modern-day technology
that we might find

722
00:36:44,708 --> 00:36:47,500
life on another planet
in the next few years.

723
00:36:47,667 --> 00:36:50,333
We might even find
civilizations that have

724
00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:52,500
sprung up on these planets
in the next few years.

725
00:36:52,667 --> 00:36:55,333
We're that close.
Our technology is there.

726
00:36:56,833 --> 00:36:59,333
NARRATOR:
Could advances
in human technology,

727
00:36:59,458 --> 00:37:01,667
like the James Webb
Space Telescope,

728
00:37:01,875 --> 00:37:05,125
be the key
to finally discovering life

729
00:37:05,292 --> 00:37:09,208
and maybe even intelligent life
beyond Earth?

730
00:37:10,208 --> 00:37:12,833
Some scientists predict
our search will end

731
00:37:13,042 --> 00:37:17,500
with direct contact from
advanced alien civilizations

732
00:37:17,708 --> 00:37:20,000
not at some distant point
in the future

733
00:37:20,208 --> 00:37:22,625
but any day now.

734
00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:32,750
NARRATOR:
Astronomers at
the University of Toronto

735
00:37:32,917 --> 00:37:35,917
announce that they are using
artificial intelligence

736
00:37:36,125 --> 00:37:39,292
to search for evidence
of extraterrestrial technology

737
00:37:39,375 --> 00:37:42,500
from 820 nearby stars...

738
00:37:43,708 --> 00:37:47,625
...and have detected
some highly intriguing signals.

739
00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:49,542
HENRY:
Astronomers have used
a machine-learning algorithm

740
00:37:49,750 --> 00:37:53,375
to sift through
480 hours of tapes,

741
00:37:53,542 --> 00:37:56,625
and they found eight signals

742
00:37:56,792 --> 00:37:59,500
that they believe potentially
could be a techno signature.

743
00:37:59,708 --> 00:38:03,458
A signal suggesting an advanced
extraterrestrial civilization

744
00:38:03,625 --> 00:38:05,625
might even be inhabiting
these planets.

745
00:38:07,042 --> 00:38:09,542
NARRATOR: While more research
needs to be conducted

746
00:38:09,708 --> 00:38:12,083
to determine
exactly what is producing

747
00:38:12,292 --> 00:38:14,167
these mysterious signals,

748
00:38:14,375 --> 00:38:16,583
many experts believe
the use of A.I.

749
00:38:16,750 --> 00:38:19,208
will astronomically accelerate

750
00:38:19,375 --> 00:38:22,417
the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence.

751
00:38:23,583 --> 00:38:25,500
CODY:
Artificial intelligence
is playing

752
00:38:25,667 --> 00:38:27,833
an increasingly important role

753
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,958
in the search for
extraterrestrial technology

754
00:38:31,083 --> 00:38:32,375
and intelligence,

755
00:38:32,542 --> 00:38:36,042
simply because there is
so much data

756
00:38:36,167 --> 00:38:39,000
coming through astronomers'
telescopes nowadays

757
00:38:39,125 --> 00:38:42,458
that we need help with our
needle-in-the-haystack searches

758
00:38:42,625 --> 00:38:45,958
to find the most
unusually behaving

759
00:38:46,125 --> 00:38:50,500
stars and signals
embedded in that starlight.

760
00:38:51,917 --> 00:38:54,375
BASRI:
What A.I. is
particularly good at

761
00:38:54,542 --> 00:38:58,333
is it's really good at
recognizing patterns,

762
00:38:58,458 --> 00:39:00,833
and patterns are really
what we're looking for in SETI.

763
00:39:01,042 --> 00:39:03,375
So, we want to find
patterns that we don't think

764
00:39:03,542 --> 00:39:05,208
nature would produce.

765
00:39:05,375 --> 00:39:07,333
Feeding all the radio signals
that we...

766
00:39:07,542 --> 00:39:09,500
that we receive from the stars

767
00:39:09,667 --> 00:39:13,542
into the right A.I. system
would help enormously

768
00:39:13,708 --> 00:39:17,333
in identifying patterns
that humans might not find.

769
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:19,333
NARRATOR:
While scientists are excited

770
00:39:19,542 --> 00:39:22,333
by the prospect
of humankind's first encounter

771
00:39:22,542 --> 00:39:24,333
with an advanced
alien civilization

772
00:39:24,542 --> 00:39:27,000
in the near future,

773
00:39:27,167 --> 00:39:30,375
ancient astronaut theorists
view this possibility

774
00:39:30,542 --> 00:39:32,375
through a different lens.

775
00:39:32,542 --> 00:39:37,750
To them, such an event
would not be first contact

776
00:39:37,917 --> 00:39:39,792
but a reunion.

777
00:39:39,917 --> 00:39:42,333
TSOUKALOS:
Does official contact mean

778
00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:46,333
a signal that has been
received through SETI?

779
00:39:46,542 --> 00:39:49,333
Or will it be, you know,

780
00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:51,083
a validation of
the ancient astronaut theory?

781
00:39:51,208 --> 00:39:53,792
That, you know, hey, not only
are we not alone in the universe

782
00:39:53,917 --> 00:39:57,167
but they've visited in the past
and they've been here.

783
00:39:57,375 --> 00:39:58,875
In my opinion,

784
00:39:59,042 --> 00:40:01,500
the E.T.'s are here,
they're observing us,

785
00:40:01,708 --> 00:40:04,250
and SETI is one way

786
00:40:04,417 --> 00:40:06,792
with which to prepare
the masses.

787
00:40:08,917 --> 00:40:12,500
POPE:
It may be at the moment
that civilizations

788
00:40:12,667 --> 00:40:16,208
are aware of us, visiting us,
but don't make open contact.

789
00:40:17,250 --> 00:40:21,375
But all that secrecy will end
the day we find out about them,

790
00:40:21,542 --> 00:40:23,750
because the cat
will be out of the bag

791
00:40:23,917 --> 00:40:27,625
and we'll have
open first contact.

792
00:40:27,792 --> 00:40:32,125
Up close and personal
interaction between

793
00:40:32,250 --> 00:40:34,417
extraterrestrials and humanity.

794
00:40:35,417 --> 00:40:37,167
And that will tell us
something interesting

795
00:40:37,375 --> 00:40:39,958
about the extraterrestrials,
but it may also tell us

796
00:40:40,125 --> 00:40:42,625
something rather interesting
about ourselves.

797
00:40:42,792 --> 00:40:44,833
MAN:
Look at it fly!

798
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,208
TAYLOR:
It's very likely that we're
right at the edge

799
00:40:48,375 --> 00:40:50,417
of the next era for humanity

800
00:40:50,625 --> 00:40:53,667
when we realize we're not alone
in the universe.

801
00:40:53,833 --> 00:40:55,958
Extraterrestrials
make contact with us,

802
00:40:56,125 --> 00:40:59,625
that's gonna change humanity
more than you can imagine.

803
00:41:00,708 --> 00:41:02,500
HENRY:
We need protocols in place.

804
00:41:02,667 --> 00:41:05,167
We need to begin to prepare

805
00:41:05,292 --> 00:41:08,292
human civilization
for this reality

806
00:41:08,458 --> 00:41:11,125
and the transformation
that will result

807
00:41:11,292 --> 00:41:12,833
once contact is established.

808
00:41:13,042 --> 00:41:15,625
CHILDRESS:
I think planet Earth
will be ready for it

809
00:41:15,833 --> 00:41:18,167
and we will hopefully rejoice

810
00:41:18,375 --> 00:41:23,417
in the fact that we are in
contact with extraterrestrials

811
00:41:23,583 --> 00:41:26,667
and that we are not alone
in the universe.

812
00:41:28,042 --> 00:41:30,917
NARRATOR:
Now that the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence

813
00:41:31,042 --> 00:41:33,667
has been taken up
by top scientists

814
00:41:33,833 --> 00:41:36,333
and academics
all over the world,

815
00:41:36,542 --> 00:41:39,583
are we on the verge
of making contact

816
00:41:39,708 --> 00:41:41,667
with an alien race?

817
00:41:42,667 --> 00:41:45,667
Could powerful new technologies
detect life

818
00:41:45,833 --> 00:41:49,500
and even civilizations
on other planets?

819
00:41:49,625 --> 00:41:53,167
Or might we even uncover
an otherworldly presence

820
00:41:53,333 --> 00:41:55,917
right here on Earth?

821
00:41:56,125 --> 00:41:58,167
Perhaps one day soon,

822
00:41:58,375 --> 00:42:01,333
we will learn the truth
that we have been seeking

823
00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:04,250
since the beginning
of humankind.

824
00:42:04,417 --> 00:42:06,708
We are not alone.

825
00:42:06,875 --> 00:42:09,292
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