>> HELLO AND WELCOME TO NASA
SCIENCE LIVE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR
YOU TO COME BEHIND THE SCENES.
THIS SHOW IS REALLY ALL ABOUT
YOU BEING ABLE TO INTERACT WITH
NASA SCIENTISTS AND GET YOUR
QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
SO PLEASE VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
OR TWITTER AND ASK US A QUESTION
USING THE #ASKNASA OR LEAVE A
QUESTION I THE COMMENT BOX
WHEREVER YOU'RE WATCHING.
LET's GET STARTED WITH SOME OF
THE LATEST FROM AROUND THE
GALAXY.
SCIENTISTS WERE SURPRISED TO
LEARN THAT NEAR ASTEROID IS NOT
MORE RUGGED THAN EXPECTED BUT
ACTUALLY ERUPTING PLUMES OF
PARTICLES.
TWO FACTS SURE TO GIVE
SPACECRAFT NAVIGATORS A LITTLE
ASTEROID INDIGESTION.
NASA IS UP TO THE TASK OF
COLLECTING A SAMPLE FROM THIS
ASTEROID AND SENDING IT BACK TO
EARTH.
IN OTHER NEWS, THE AGENCY ROLLED
OUT ITS MOON TO MARS PROGRAM
THAT WILL SEE ASTRONAUTS LIVING
AND WORKING NOT ONLY AROUND THE
MOON BUT ON IT.
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, WE'LL ALL BE
LIKE MATT DAMON, MAKING SPACE
POTATOES, MAYBE LET's BRING OUR
OWN FERTILIZER.
ALL RIGHT MOVING ON TO MATTERS
OF INTERNATIONAL APPEAL.
NASA SIGNED ON AGREEMENT WITH
THE BRAZILIAN SPACE AGENCY IN
THE FORM OF A TEENIE WEENIE
SATELLITE.
IT'S THE SIZE OF TWO LOAVES OF
BREAD IT WILL INVESTIGATE TWO
PHENOM THAT DISRUPTED GPS
SIGNALS.
I NEED ME SOME GPS.
I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
FIND THE STUDIO WITHOUT IT.
SO GO BRAZIL!
THAT IS ALL THE NEWS WE HAVE FOR
NOW.
TODAY's EPISODE IS ALL ABOUT
INTERSTELLAR SPACE AND WE'LL
TAKE YOU TO THE EDGE OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND.
WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW BIG OUR
GALAXY IS AND EXPLORE THE REGION
BEYOND OUR BUBBLE AND YOU'LL
MEET A SPECIAL STUDENT.
INTERSTELLAR SPACE BEGINS WHERE
THE SUN CHARGED PARTICLES END
AND WE CALL IT THE SOLAR WIND.
IT EXTENDS WELL BEYOND THE ORBIT
BUT NOT ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
IT CONTINUES ALL THE WAY OUT TO
THE CLOUD WHERE BILLIONS OF
COMETS STILL CLING TO THE SUN's
GRAVITATIONAL PULL.
WHEN WE LEAVE ORDER SOUR SOLAR
SYSTEM WE'RE STILL IN THE MILKY
WAY GALAXY.
JOIN ME AND 2 IS A PHYSICIAN
SIFTS.
OUR FIRST CONTENT IS AN
ASTROPHYSICIST AND FOOTBALL
CALLER DR. KNICOLE COLON AND OUR
SECOND IS A SCI-FI NERD DR. AKI
ROBERGE.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING ME.
THIS IS HOW IT WILL ALL WORK.
IF YOU GET THE QUESTIONS
RIGHT... BUT IF YOU GET THEM
WRONG... SO NO PRESSURE HERE.
GREAT.
ALL RIGHT QUESTION NUMBER 1.
IF THE EARTH WAS THE SIZE OF A
BASKETBALL, THE SUN WOULD BE
A-20 FEET IN TKPHA DIAMETER OR B
FEET IN DIAMETER OR C1,000 FEET
IN DIAMETER.
>> YOU PUT ABOUT 100 EARTHS
ACROSS THE SUN.
>> I'LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT.
SO 100 FEET.
IS THAT INWOULD OF THE CHOICES?
>> YES!
IT IS 100 FEET IN DIAMETER.
THE SUN IS HUGE, BUT HOW BIG IS
IT REALLY AND TO BE MORE PRECISE
SINCE WE HAVE SCIENTISTS WITH US
IT WOULD BE ABOUT 109 EARTHS
THAT FIT ACROSS THE DIAMETER AND
TAKE 1.3 MILLION EARTHS TO FILL
THE SUN's VOLUME.
THAT's A LOT OF EARTHS.
LET's MOVE ON TO QUESTION NUMBER
2.
IF THE SUN AND EARTH WERE
SEPARATED BY 5 PIECES OF TOILET
PAPER HOW MANY WOULD SEPARATE
THE SUN WHERE THE BOUNDARY OF
VOYAGER ONE CROSSED INTO
INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
WOULD WE HAVE 18 SHEETS OF
TOILET PAPER, 302 ORRISM IS 02
SHEETS OF TOILET PAPER?
>> OKAY.
TOILET PAPER, YAY BIG AND YAY
LONG.
DOESN'T MATTER.
BECAUSE WE KNOW THE DISTANCE
FROM THE EARTH TO THE SUN IS
WHAT WE CALL -- IS 5 PIECES OF
TOILET PAPER AND THAT IS ONE
ASTRONOMICAL UNIT.
AND VOYAGER IS ABOUT 100
ASTRONOMICAL UNITS OUTSIDE AWAY
FROM THE SUN.
SO YOU JUST DO CONFUSION, 5
TIMES 100 IS ABOUT 500 SO I
THINK THAT IS ONE OF YOUR
ANSWERS.
>> IT's 602 SHEETS OF TOILET
PAPER.
>> CLOSE ENOUGH.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE
MORE CONTEXT, USING THIS ANALOGY
MARS WOULD CLOCK IN AT 7.6
PIECES AND JUPITER WOULD BE AT
25.9 PIECES AND THEN YOU WOULD
NEED A WHOLE ANOTHER ROLL TO GET
TO PLUTO AT 196.2 PIECES OF
TOILET PAPER.
>> THAT's LOT OF TOILET PAPER.
>> REALLY IS.
I HOPE THIS HOPES YOU UNDERSTAND
HOW LARGE OUR GALAXY IS.
>> EVEN THE CLOSEST STAR IS
MUCH, MUCH, MUCH FURTHER AWAY
FR
THAT.
>> I WANTED TO MAKE ONE AND THE.
I'M A PROFESSIONAL
ASTROPHYSICIST AND I WOULD
NORMALLY SOLVE QUESTIONS EXACTLY
THE SALE WAY YOU WOULD.
I WOULD TYPE THEM INTO GOOGLE.
FOR ME THE MOST PART OF MY JOB
IS MORE ABOUT COMING UP WITH
THOSE QUESTIONS THAT ACTUALLY
THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ACTUALLY
PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF KNOWLEDGE
INTO THE UNKNOWN.
AND THAT's THE EXCITING PART AND
THE FUN PART.
>> THANK YOU BOTH FOR
PARTICIPATING IN OUR GAME SHOW.
>> THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
PLAYING.
AND OUR ASTROPHYSICISTS WILL BE
RETURNING LATER ON.
SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS USING THE
#ASKNASA.
SO AS YOU JUST HEARD OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM REALLY IS HUGE.
IN FACT THE VOYAGER 1 AND 2
SPACECRAFT TRAVELLED FOR 35 AND
41 YARS RESPECTIVELY BEFORE
THEY EVEN LEFT THE BOUNDARY OF
OUR SUNS INFLUENCE.
AT THEIR CURRENT SPEED IT WOULD
TAKE THE SROEU ANNERS ANOTHER
75,000 YEARS TO REACH THE NEXT
NEAREST STAR SYSTEM.
THE FACT THAT TWO SPACECRAFT
WHICH WERE BUILT IN THE 1970S
AND LOCATED 11 BILLION MILES
FROM EARTH STILL WORKING IS MIND
BLOWING FOR ME AT LEAST.
IN A MOMENT WE'LL BE JOINED BY
AN EXPERT FROM THE VOYAGER
MISSION LIVE FROM MISSION
CONTROL AT NASA JET PROPULSION
LABORATORY IN CALIFORNIA.
LET's LOOK AT THE AMAZING
MILESTONES OF THE VOYAGER 1 AD
2 SPACECRAFT.
>> 3, 2, 1... IGNITION AND WE
HAVE LIFTOFF.
>> THEY WERE LAUNCHED IN 1977.
THAT's TWO GENERATIONS AGO.
YOU CAN THINK OF WHAT THE
TECHNOLOGY WAS.
YOUR SMART PHONE AS 200 NOT
THOUSAND TIMES MORE MEMORY THAN
WHAT THE VOYAGER SPACECRAFT HAS.
>> VOYAGER 2 WAS THE ONE THAT
WAS CHOSEN TO DO THE GRAND TOUR.
TO FLY BY JUPITER AND SATURN AND
THEN AOURPB HIS AND NEPTUNE.
WE WERE ALL IN A PATH TO REACH
INTERSTELLAR SPACE WHILE WE HAD
POWER TO TRANSMIT THE DATA
BECOME.
>> THE TEAM HAS BEEN LOOKING
FORWARD TO THIS FOR A LONG TIME
AND WORKING HARD TO MAKE THIS
HAPPEN.
IT'S EXCITING THAT WE'VE BEEN
ABLE TO GET IT INTO INTERSTELLAR
SPACE AND KEEP ALL THE
INSTRUMENTS ON.
>> WE HAVE A WORKING WIND SOLAR
WIND INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE IT.
THE WONDERFUL THING IT's STILL
DISCOVERING NEW THINGS BECAUSE
IT's GOING WHERE NOTHING HAS
BEEN AND IT WILL CONTINUE THAT
JOURNEY FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS
ORBITING THE CENTER OF THE MILKY
WAY GALAXY.
>> I'M REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE WE
ARE JOINED BY A VOYAGER EXPERT
DR. SUZANNE DODD WHO IS CALLING
IN FROM JET PROPULSION IN
CALIFORNIA.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO TALK TO
YOU.
THANK FOR JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON.
>> YEAH.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US WHERE YOU
ARE RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE I THINK IT LOOKS REALLY
COOL.
CAN WE START OFF BY SAYING WHERE
YOU ARE.
>> YEAH, SURE.
THE ROOM THAT I'M SITTING IN IS
CALLED THE MISSION CONTROL
CENTER HERE AT THE JET
PROPULSION LABORATORY.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS ROOM IT's
WHERE WE CONTROL THE VERY LARGE
ANTENNAS ON THE GROUND WE
COMMUNICATE WITH WITH THE DEEP
SPACE MISSIONS, SO THAT ALL THE
DATA THAT COMES BACK FROM THE
NASA SPACECRAFT THAT ARE OUT IN
THE PLANETS OR BEYOND THAT COMES
THROUGH THE DEEP SPACE NETWORK
ANTENNAS AND INTO THIS ROOM.
WE ARE THE CENTER OF THE
UNIVERSE.
>> CAN YOU TELL US WHERE THE TWO
VOYAGERS ARE RIGHT NOW?
>> SURE.
VOYAGER 1 IS UP AND OUT OF THE
PLAIN OF THE PLANETS AND WENT BY
JUPITER AND SATURN AND UP AND
OUT AND VOYAGER 2 WENT BY
JUPITER AND NEPTUNE AND DOWN AND
OUT OF THE PLAIN THE PLANET.
VOYAGER 1 IS 13.5 BILLION MILES
FROM US ON EARTH AND VOYAGER 2
IS APPROXIMATELY 11 BILLION
MILES FROM HERE ON EARTH.
>> ARE WE COMMUNICATING WITH
THEM RIGHT NOW OR SOON?
>> WE CERTAINLY ARE.
YES, THE VOYAGER 2 SPACECRAFT IS
COMMUNICATING WITH OUR DEEP
SPACE NETWORK LOCATED IN
AUSTRALIA.
IT'S USING THE LARGE 70 METER
ANTENNA DISH.
>> HOW DO YOU KNOW WE'RE
COMMUNICATING WITH THEM RIGHT
NOW?
IS THERE A WAY TO SEE THAT?
YES.
ANY OF THE VIEWERS CAN SEE IT ON
A WEBSITE CALLED DSN NOW.
BUT IT's ON THE SCREEN RIGHT
HERE YOU CAN SEE IN THE LOWER
LEFT-HAND CORNER THERE'S A VGR2
THAT's TRACKING UNDER DSS43
WHICH IS THE LARGE ANTENNA IN
AUSTRALIA.
>> SO I'M SURE THAT ALL OF YOU
RIGHT NOW ARE CURIOUS ABOUT THE
VOYAGER SPACE MISSION.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO TURN IT
OVER TO YOU THE PUBLIC SO YOU
CAN ASK OUR DOCTOR SOME
QUESTIONS.
SO, I'M HEARING THAT BRUNO FROM
TWITTER IS ASKING, WHAT KIND OF
DATA ARE WE EXPECTING TO GATHER
FROM THE VOYAGER INTERSTELLAR
MISSION?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
VOYAGER IS REALLY LIKE A WEATHER
STATL LIGHT TRAVELING THROUGH
INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
WHAT INTERSTELLAR SPACE IS
CONTAINED IS DUST FROM OTHER
STARS.
WHAT VOYAGER IS MEASURING IS THE
DENSITY OF THE DUST AND PLASMA
THAT IT's TRAVELING THROUGH AND
THE DIRECTION THAT IT's COMING
FROM AND ALSO IT's MEASURING THE
MAGNETIC FIELD THAT VOYAGER IS
TRAVELING THROUGH.
>> AND CARLOS IS ASKING, IS THE
SPEED OF VOYAGER 1 AND 2
CHANGING IN ANY WAY AND IF SO,
WHY AND WHAT ARE THE
IMPLICATIONS IF THEY ARE?
>> STUIT's CONTACT.
THEY'RE APPROXIMATELY GOING 35
MILES PER HOUR.
VOYAGER 1 IS A LITTLE FASTER AND
VOYAGER 2 IS A LITTLE SLOWER.
BUT THEIR SPEED WAS SET BY THE
LAST PLANET THEY LEFT.
SO AFTER VOYAGER LEFT SATURN,
ITS SPEED HAS BEEN CONSTANT
SINCE THEN.
SIMILARLY AFTER VOYAGER 2 LEFT
AND FLEW BY IT's BEEN CONSTANT
SINCE THEN.
>> ALL RIGHT.
HAS THERE BEEN ANYWHERE AND TEAR
ON THE VOYAGERS AS THY'VE
TRAVELED THROUGH SPACE?
>> LOTS OF WEAR AND TEAR.
THESE SPACECRAFT ARE OVER 40
YEARS OLD SO THINGS HAVE BROKEN
AND WE HAVE TO WORK AROUND THAT
AS ENGINEERS.
WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT CLEVER
WAYS.
WE CAN'T GO TO THE SPACECRAFT TO
FIGURE THEM SO WE WORK AROUND
WHAT NO LONGER WORKS ON THE
SPACECRAFT AND IT's TRULY
REMARKABLE THAT WE'VE KEPT THESE
SPACECRAFT GOING FOR OVER 40
YEARS.
>> ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU SUZANNE.
THAT's ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR
ASK NASA.
BUT WE'LL BE RETURNING TO THAT
LATER ON.
SO LET's GET BACK TO SOME OF OUR
SCIENCE.
PLEASE KEEP SENDING YOUR
QUESTIONS OUR WAY THOUGH BECAUSE
WE WILL BE ANSWERING SOME LATER.
BUT I DO WANT TO JUST RECAP ON
SOME OF THE INCREDIBLE NUMBERS
THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SO FAR
BECAUSE I MEAN IT's JUST AMAZING
IT's GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER
75,000 YEARS FOR VOYAGER 1 TO
FLY IN HE WHERE NEAR ANOTHER
STAR.
AND THE PLANETS OUTSIDE OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM EVEN IN OUR
NEIGHBORHOOD ARE JUST REALLY,
REALLY FAR AWAY.
SO IT's ACTUALLY REMARKABLE THAT
SPACECRAFT CAN EVEN STUDY THEM.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO TESS,'s
TRANSITING EXOPLANET SATELLITE.
LET's TAKE A MINUTE TO
UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE TES IS
LOOKING.
>> FOR THE LONGEST TIME SPACE
SEEMED LIKE A BIG, NEARLY EMPTY
PLACE.
WE WERE ONLY FAMILIAR WITH OUR
HOME, EARTH.
BUT AS WE LEARN MORE, WE REALIZE
THERE WAS ACTUALLY A LOT OUT
THERE INCLUDING PLANETS ORBITING
THE SUN AND THE STARS.
A SPACE TELESCOPE CHANGED OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF PLANETS OUTSIDE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM KNOWN AS
EXOPLANETS.
THERE ARE MORE PLANETS IN OUR
GALAXY THAN THERE ARE STARS.
BUT KEPLER LOOKED TO ONLY A
SMALL FRACTION AND MANY OF THE
PLANETS ARE TOO FAR AWAY TO
STUDY IN MUCH FURTHER DETAIL.
THAT BRINGS US TO TESS.
OUR NEWEST PLANET HUNTER.
THE TRANSITING EXOPLANET SURVEY
SATELLITE WORKS LIKE KEPBLER.
IT WILL SCAN ALMOST THE ENTIRE
SKY.
TESS WILL FIND THE SIZES DOZENS
OF NEARBY PLANETS BEST SUITED BY
DETAILED INVESTIGATION BY
POWERFUL TELESCOPES ON THE
GROUND AND SPACE LIKE THE FUTURE
JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE.
BY DING THAT, WE MIGHT FINALLY
BEGIN TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF
WHETHER EARTH IS ALONE OR
WHETHER THERE ARE WORLDS OUT
THERE LIKE OUR OWN ROCKY COVER
IN OCEANS AND DENSE CLOUDS OR
EVEN POSSIBLY CAPABLE OF
SUPPORTING LIFE.
>> TESS PROJECT SCIENTIST
DR. PADI BOYD.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> AS WE LEARNED A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT TESS, I WANTED TO ASK YOU
WHERE IS IT LOOKING?
>> IT's REALLY EXCITING TO BE
TALKING ABOUT TESS WHEN WE'RE
CELEBRATING VOAGER BECAUSE AS
THE VOYAGER SPACECRAFT KEPT
GOING OUT AND FURTHER AND
FURTHER AWAY FROM EARTH, TESS IS
VERY DIFFERENT.
TESS IS ORBITING THE EARTH.
SO WE COME BACK CLOSE TO THE
EARTH EVERY TWO WEEKS AND WE
RETURN OUR DATA TO THE GROUND
AND WHAT WE ARE DOING WE'RE
LOOKING AT OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR
STAR, SO THE BRIGHTER STARS IN
THE SKY WHICH ARE TYPICAL LIT
CLOSER STARS.
WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE STARS
SEARCHING FOR PLANETS AROUND
THEM.
THOSE ARE CALLED EXOPLANETS.
WHEN VOYAGER WAS LAUNCHED THE
ONLY PLANETS WE KNEW WERE THE
ONES IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT TESS NOW WE KNOW THERE ARE
PLANETS EVERYWHERE IN OUR GALAXY
AND TESS IS TAKING THE NEXT
STEP.
>> WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT
THINGS INSIDE OF THE MILKY WAY
GALAXY.
>> VERY MUCH SO.
TAKING THE FIRST FEW STEPS
>> IT's IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
>> PERFECT.
>> WHICH IS AMAZING WE CAN STILL
FIND SO MUCH SO CLOSE TO US AND
THERE IS SO MUCH FURTHER AWAY TO
CONSIDER LATER ON.
>> RIGHT.
>> HOW DOES TESS LOOK FOR AND
FIND OTHER PLANETS, WHAT
PROCESS?
>> IT USES THE SAME METHOD THAT
CAPLER.
IT'S THE TRANSIT METHOD.
CAPLER GAVE US A GREAT ANSWER TO
THE MILKY WAY.
IT TOLD US THAT PLANETS ARE
EVERYWHERE AND THERE ARE MORE
THAN STARS.
THAT MEANS THAT TESS CAN TAKE
THE NEXT STEP AND DETERMINE
WHERE ARE THE CLOSEST STARS.
BOTH MISSIONS DO THIS THEY
MONITOR THE LIGHT FROM MANY,
MANY THOUSANDS OR MILLIONS OF
STARS ALL AT ONCE AND MEASURING
HOW BRIGHT THE LIGHT IS AND
LOOKING FOR A VERY TINY DIP IN
THE LIGHT CALLED A TRANSIT THAT
HAPPENS AS THE SYSTEM IS
PERFECTLY EYELINED BETWEEN THE
OBSERVER AND THE SUN, THE STAR.
YOU SEE A TINY DIP LIGHT IN THE
STAR CALLED THE TRANSIT.
THE PLANET GOES AROUND AND YOU
DON'T SEE ANYTHING AND THE NEXT
TIME IT COMES AROUND YOU SEE
ANOTHER TRANSIT AND THAT TELLS
YOU THE ORBIT OF THE PLANET AND
YOU CAN TELL HOW FAR AWAY IT IS.
>> YOU HAVE A TO HAVE A PRECISE
ABILITY TO MEASURE THE LIGHT
BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
HUNDREDS OF PARTS PER MILLION
AND ACTUALLY THE SMALLER THE
PLANET THE SMALLER THE DIP.
SO WE ACTUALLY GET SOME
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIZE OF
THE PLANET JUST BY MEASURING THE
DIP OR TRANSIT.
>> EVERY ONE IS ALWAYS WONDERING
ABOUT POTENTIAL LIFE.
ARE WE LOOKING JUST WITHIN THE
HABITABLE ZONES OR OTHER ONES OR
WHERE PRECISELY ARE WE
CONCENTRATING OUR EFFORTS?
>> SO TESS IS BASICALLY
SEARCHING FOR TRANSITS OF
ANYWHERE BETWEEN LESS THAN A DAY
LENGTH.
SO THOSE ARE REALLY ZIPPING
AROUND THE STAR, VERY, VERY
CLOSE TO THE STAR.
THEY'RE LAVA WORLDS ALL WAY
PLANETS THAT WOULD ORBIT AROUND
SMALL STARS.
THEY MIGHT BE IN THE HABITABLE
ZONE AND THAT's A SPECIAL AREA
NEAR A STAR WHERE THE PLANET
ISN'T TOO HOT AND ALL THE
ATMOSPHERE WOULD BE VAPORIZED OR
BLOWN OFF EITHER AND NOT SO FAR
AWAY THAT ANY LIQUID WATER TO
FREEZE ONTO THE SURFACE.
THAT GOLDIE LOCKS ZONE, NOT TOO
HOT AND NOT TOO COLD BUT JUST
RIGHT FOR LIQUID WATER AND ICE
CAPS TO BE THERE AND VAPORS.
SO TESS WILL FIND ALL KINDS OF
PLANETS AND SOME OF THEM WILL BE
IN THE HA HABITABLE ZONE.
>> NOW IT's TIME TO GET YOUR
QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
LET YOU KNOW USING THE #ASKNASA
OR IF YOU'RE JUST TAOUPING IN
THIS IS NASA SCIENCE LIVE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INTERSTELLAR
SPACE.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE BACK DR. AKI
AND DR. KNICOLE WHO WERE JOINING
US EARLIER.
WE HAVE OUR NASA SCIENTISTS HERE
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
SO, I'M GETTING PINGED HERE.
SOMEONE IS ASKING, WHICH
EXOPLANETS HAVE WATER?
>> I CAN START.
SO WE KNOW THOUSANDS OF
EXOPLANETS SO FAR.
SOME FROM TESS AND SOME FROM
KEPLER AND SOME FROM OTHER
SURVEYS AND HOW MANY HAVE WATER
IS A GREAT QUESTION.
WE'RE JUST STARTING TO PROBE
THAT USING TELESCOPES LIKE THE
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE AND THE
JAMES WEBB WHICH SHOULD LAUNCH
IN A FEW YEARS WE IDENTIFIED
WATER IN A LOT OF JUPITER SIZED
PLANETS.
THEY'RE ALL SKWRAOUP ITERS AND
THOSE ARE LARGER PLANETS TOO.
AS OUR TELESCOPES GET BETTER
WE'LL BE DIGGING DOWN CLOSER TO
EARTH SIZED PLANETS AND HOPING
THOSE SMALLER PLANETS WILL GIVE
US SOME SIGNALS?
>> WHERE IS TESS RIGHT NOW?
>> THAT's A GREAT QUESTION.
OR ORBIT IS REALLY VERY ECLIP
CAL.
WE USE THE DSN TO BRING THE DATA
DOWN AND WE JUST COMPLETED OUR
NINTH OBSERVING SECTOR IN THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE SKY AND
TURNED IT AROUND AS OF THE LAST
DAY OR SO.
SO IT IS ON ITS CLOSER PART OF
ITS ORBIT AND IT's HIGHLY
ELLIPTICAL BUT NEVER GETS
FURTHER THAN THE EARTH THAN THE
MOON.
SO WE'RE VERY, VERY CLOSE
>> THE WAY IT WORKS IT TAKES
LIKE A SLIVER OF THE SKY AT ONE
TIME AND THEN IT BUILDS LIKE A
LARGE PROFILE.
>> IT's GOING TO OBSERVE 85% OF
THE SKY IN SLICES THAT WE CALL
OBSERVING SECTORS AND STAIRS AT
ONE SLICE FOR 27 DAYS STRAIGHT
WITHOUT BLINKING AND SENDS THE
DATA DOWN AND THEN IT WILL TURN
TO THE NEXT.
WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THE FIRST
YEAR IF YOU WERE TO UNFOLD THAT
YOU WOULD SEE WE HAVE PAINTED
THESE OBSERVING SECTORS ON THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE SKY.
>> WHAT MAKES EARTH HABITABLE
AND HOW CAN WE TELL IF THE
PLANET COULD SUPPORT LIFE.
>> OKAY.
WELL, AGAIN, I WANT -- IT'
FUNNY I AWAYS WANT TO ANSWER
THESE QUESTIONS WITH STARTING
OFF "WE DON'T KNOW" AND THEN SAY
"WHAT WE DO KNOW."
THE THING ABOUT THE EARTH, THE
EARTHING UNIQUE IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM AND THE ONLY PLANET THAT
HAS A GLOBAL BY YOS SPHERE AND
THAT IT's CHANGING THE CHEMISTRY
OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
WHAT MAKES EARTH HABITABLE?
LIQUID WATER SEEMS LIKE IT's
REQUIRED.
BUT AS FAR AS THE OTHER THINGS
THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED WE DON'T
REALLY KNOW.
>> BUT WE KNOW IT WOULD MAKE IT
UNINHABITABLE.
IT'S MORE LIKE WE KNOW HOW TO
KILL A PLANT.
BUT FOR ALL THE OTHER THINGS
THAT MIGHT MATTER WE WANT TO
LEARN ABOUT THAT BY STUDYING THE
PLANETS AROUND OTHER STARS.
>> I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT TESS
IS GOING TO EXPLORE NEXT.
THESE SKOFRRYES ARE HELPING TO
US UNDERSTAND HOUR PLACE IN THE
COSMO.
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOMEONE
WHO KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THIS
SUBJECT AND THAT IS DR. THOMAS
ZURBUCHEN.
HE'S ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR
SCIENCE AT NASA.
HELLO, THOMAS AND JUST A BASIC
QUESTION EVEN FOR MY OWN
KNOWLEDGE, WHAT DOES AN
ASSOCIATED ADMINISTRATOR FOR
NASA DO?
>> I WORK TOGETHER WITH AN
AMAZING TEAM WE RUN ALL THESE
SCIENCE MEIGS WE JUST TALKED
ABOUT INCLUDING IT REALLY IS
AMAZING THE BREADTH AND TYPES OF
EXPERIMENTS NASA IS
>> IT REALLY IS AMAZING.
>> I'M HOPING TO COVER A LOT.
I KNOWOU HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST
SO I'LL LET YOU INTRODUCE HER.
>> THIS IS ANNA.
ANNA HUMPHREY.
YOU'RE A SENIOR THERE.
>> YES.
>> REPRESENT THE TITANS.
A TITAN RIGHT HERE. YOU'RE HERE
BECAUSE OF THE AMAZING WORK
YOU'VE DONE OUTSIDE OF THE
CLASSROOM AND YOU'RE A
RESEARCHER.
IN FACT YOU WON AN AWARD.
AND YOU DID RESEARCH ON
EXOPLANETS.
AND JUST TELL US WHAT DID YOU
FIND?
>> YEAH, SO I WAS LOOKING AT
SYSTEMS WHERE WE ALREADY FOUND
MULTIPLE PLANETS AND THE IDEA
WAS, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'RE
MISSING MORE PLANETS IN BETWEEN
THE ONES THAT WE ALREADY FOUND.
WHAT I DID I TOOK AN IMAGINARY
PLANET AND I WANTED TO SEE IF I
COULD SQUEEZE IT BETWEEN 2 WE
ALREADY KNEW ABOUT WITHOUT
DISRUPTING THE OR BITS.
AND THAT DISRUPTION WOULD BE
CALLED BY GRAVITY.
THEY PULL ON EACH OTHER AS WELL.
AND SO I WAS TRYING TO MAKE SURE
THAT PULL WOULDN'T BE SO BIG
THAT IT WOULD CAUSE ORBITAL
PLANETS TO BE EJECTED FROM THE
SYSTEM.
>> ALL THESE PLANETARY SYSTEM IF
YOU PUT ANOTHER ONE IN SOME
PLACES THEY WORK FINE AND SOME
OTHER PLACES WHAT HAPPENS?
>> IF THE PLANET IS TOO LARGE
THEY'LL PULL ON EACH SKPAO CAUSE
PLANETS TO GET EJECTED FROM A
SYSTEM OR COLLIDE.
DO REALLY EXCITING THINGS WE
DON'T WANT.
>> I REMEMBER WHEN I DOING IT I
WAS SITTING IN MY GRANDMOTHER's
HOUSE OVER CHRISTMAS BREAK AND
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE
FIGURE OUT IF THERE ARE MORE
PLANETS HERE AND THAT MOMENT
CAME --
>> YOU'LL NEVER FORGET THAT.
I NEVER FORGOT MY FIRST MOMENT.
>> I HOPE SO TOO.
THAT's MY GOAL.
>> ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US
AND REALLY THE SPECIAL THING.
I'M SO GLAD THAT NASA HAS ALL
THIS PUBLIC DATA THAT WE'RE
DOING THAT SPECIAL PERSON LIKE
YOU CAN USE IT.
AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU
FOR JOINING US TODAY WE LOVED
TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS AND
EXPLORING OUR COSMIC
NEIGHBORHOOD TOGETHER.
WE CHOSE TO DO THIS LIVE SO YOU
COULD BECOME A PART OF THE SHOW
AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS THAT FUEL
YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE
UNIVERSE.
PLEASE JOIN US NEXT MONTH WE WE
LOOK AT OUR HOME, EARTH.
AND IN THE MEANWHILE LEARN MORE
BY VISITING
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.