NASA's Unexplained Files (2012–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Nazis on the Moon - full transcript
A Russian probe discovers something has disturbed the lunar soil before the US or the USSR got there. Did Nazis get there first? Have scientists detected a laser signal from a planet capable of supporting life? Is there really a Bermuda Triangle of Space?
NASA'S MISSION
IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN.
THERE'S MORE THAT WE
DON'T KNOW THAN WE DO KNOW.
THAT'S JUST THE NATURE
OF THE UNIVERSE.
IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,
IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS
INTO SPACE, ITS CRAFT BEYOND
THE LIMITS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
TAKING RISK IS PART OF
MAKING DISCOVERIES.
SPACE EXPLORATION IS LIKE
LIGHTING A MATCH,
AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT LURKS
IN THE SHADOWS.
THERE COULD BE ANYTHING
OUT THERE.
A SOVIET PROBE UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
OF SOMETHING UNSETTLING
ON THE MOON.
I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS
COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY, I THINK
THEY COULD HAVE.
THE RED PLANET COMES ALIVE.
THERE COULD BE A WONDER WORLD
FOR SMALL LIVING CREATURES
UNDERNEATH THE MARTIAN SURFACE
RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S
ANY GOOD ARGUMENTS
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE.
AND SOMETHING IN ORBIT
APPEARS TO THREATEN
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED PHENOMENA.
WE'RE GONNA SEE DEVASTATING
EFFECTS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
NASA'S MISSIONS HAVE UNCOVERED
DISTURBING ANOMALIES...
OKAY. WE'RE SEEING
THREE OR FOUR OBJECTS.
YEAH, THERE ARE, UH,
THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS.
...THAT CONTINUE TO PERPLEX
OUR FINEST SCIENTIFIC MINDS.
THESE ARE...
NASA's Unexplained Files - SEASON 2
EP - 6 - Nazis on the Moon
Subtitles Diego Moraes
A SERIES OF REVOLUTIONARY
SOVIET LUNAR PROBES
DISAPPEAR AS THEY APPROACH
UNEXPLORED TERRITORY.
EVERYTHING CUTS OUT. BAM.
NOTHING.
WHEN ONE OF THE PROBES
FINALLY RETURNS TO EARTH,
SCIENTISTS
UNCOVER UNSETTLING EVIDENCE
THAT SOMETHING ELSE
GOT TO THE MOON FIRST.
WHAT COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS
COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.
3:17 P.M., JULY 20, 1969.
WHEN THE APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUTS
BECOME THE FIRST PEOPLE
IN HISTORY TO SET FOOT
ON ANOTHER WORLD...
THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
...RUSSIA SUFFERS
A CRUSHING DEFEAT
IN THE BATTLE TO CONQUER SPACE.
WHEN ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN
LANDED ON THE MOON,
I THINK THE RUSSIANS
WERE DEVASTATED.
I THINK THAT WAS A BIG BLOW
TO THEM.
BUT JUST THREE DAYS BEFORE
THE AMERICAN LANDING,
THE RUSSIAN ATTEMPT TO UPSTAGE
THEIR AMERICAN RIVALS
APPEARS TO BE GOING WELL,
AS THE UNMANNED SOVIET PROBE
CODE-NAMED LUNA 15
ARRIVES IN LUNAR ORBIT.
WHILE LUNA 15 ISN'T A MANNED
MISSION, IT IS A BIG STEP
IN LUNAR EXPLORATION AND
SHOULD PUT THE SOVIETS BACK
IN A STRONG POSITION.
LUNA 15's FLIGHT PLAN
CALLS FOR LANDING
ON A MYSTERIOUS AREA OF THE
MOON KNOWN AS THE SEA OF CRISES.
THE PROBE'S MISSION IS
TO DRILL INTO THE SURFACE
AND BEAT THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS
BACK TO EARTH
WITH MANKIND'S FIRST
SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK.
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE
GOING FINE,
BUT THEN 4 MINUTES INTO THE
DESCENT, EVERYTHING CUTS OUT.
BAM. NOTHING.
FIVE YEARS LATER,
THE RUSSIANS MAKE ANOTHER
ATTEMPT TO RETURN
TO THE SAME AREA WITH LUNA 23.
BUT THE SECOND CRAFT ALSO
CRASHES AND FAILS TO BRING BACK
ANY ROCKS FROM
THE SEA OF CRISES.
DESPITE THE SETBACKS, THE
RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY LAUNCHES
ANOTHER PROBE, HOPING THAT IT
CAN BEAT THE ODDS AND AVOID
WHATEVER CAUSED
ITS PREDECESSORS TO FAIL.
LUNA 24 FOLLOWS VERY SOON
AFTER LUNA 23, UH,
LANDS JUST A COUPLE
OF MILES AWAY.
THE RUSSIANS AREN'T GIVING UP
ON THIS ONE.
LUNA 24 SUCCEEDS
WHERE THE PREVIOUS RUSSIAN
MISSIONS FAILED,
RETURNING TO EARTH WITH
A PRECIOUS SAMPLE
FROM THE UNEXPLORED REGION.
THE SAMPLE OF LUNAR SOIL
BROUGHT BACK WEIGHS LESS THAN
7/10 OF A POUND, BUT HAS
A BIG IMPACT ON THE SOVIETS'
UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR GEOLOGY.
THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS
SHOCK SOVIET GEOLOGISTS.
IT LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING
HAD HAPPENED TO THE SOIL
IN AN AREA OF THE MOON THAT
WAS SUPPOSEDLY UNDISTURBED
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.
WHAT COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
TESTS ON THE SAMPLE
CONFIRM THAT THE SOIL
USED TO BE BURIED
DEEP UNDERGROUND.
SOMEONE OR SOMETHING
BROUGHT IT TO THE SURFACE.
THE SOVIETS KNOW THAT
THE AMERICANS HAVEN'T BEEN
TO THIS PART OF THE MOON.
THEY THINK THIS IS THEIR TURF.
SO THEY HAVE TO FACE UP TO
THE QUESTION...
WHO THE HECK'S BEEN DISTURBING
THE LUNAR SURFACE HERE?
COULD SOMEONE ELSE
HAVE LANDED ON THE MOON
BEFORE THE U.S. AND RUSSIA?
I HAVE HEARD THAT THE GERMANS
DEVELOPED A MOON ROCKET
BEFORE THEY WERE DEFEATED
IN 1945.
WE KNOW FOR A FACT
FROM NASA'S OWN RECORDS
THE GERMANS HAD A VERY ADVANCED
SPACE EXPLORATION PROGRAM.
THE NAZIS WERE LEADERS
IN THE ROCKETRY INDUSTRY.
AND THEY HAD PEOPLE LIKE
WERNHER VON BRAUN.
GERMAN AEROSPACE
ENGINEER WERNHER VON BRAUN
IS THE FOUNDING FATHER
OF ROCKET SCIENCE.
WERNHER VON BRAUN WAS A GENIUS.
MAY HAVE BEEN A NAZI,
BUT HE WAS A GENIUS.
AND WAS ABLE TO DESIGN SYSTEMS
THAT TO THIS DAY
ARE STILL ASTOUNDING TO US.
DURING WORLD WAR II,
THE NAZI REGIME
ASKED VON BRAUN TO DEVELOP
THE V-2 ROCKET,
THE FIRST MAN-MADE CRAFT
TO REACH SPACE.
NASA AND THEIR RUSSIAN
COUNTERPARTS BOTH KNOW
THAT THIS NAZI SUPERWEAPON
WAS A KEY STEP
IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THEIR OWN MOON ROCKETS.
WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO LAND ON THE MOON
IF IT HADN'T BEEN
FOR THE GERMANS.
DAMN RIGHT.
THE FIRST AMERICAN ROCKET WAS
BASED ON V-2 TECHNOLOGY.
THE FIRST RUSSIAN ROCKET WAS
ESSENTIALLY JUST A V-2.
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BELIEVE
THAT THE NAZIS PUSHED
THEIR TECHNOLOGY JUST THAT
LITTLE BIT FURTHER?
I REALLY WONDER IF THE...
IF THE GERMANS COULD'VE
GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.
NAZI TECHNOLOGY MAY
HAVE HAD THE POTENTIAL
TO REACH THE MOON,
BUT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO
SUGGEST THAT A GERMAN SPACECRAFT
DISTURBED THE DUST
OF THE SEA OF CRISES.
IN 2011, NASA'S
LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER
SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON THE MYSTERY
OF THE LUNA 24 PROBE.
AGAINST ALL ODDS, LUNA 24
LANDED IN THE VICINITY
OF A CRATER.
THE IMAGE FROM THE
LRO REVEALS THAT,
BY PURE CHANCE,
LUNA 24'S LANDING SPOT
WAS AT THE EDGE OF A CRATER
FROM AN ASTEROID IMPACT
THAT RELEASED ROCK
FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND.
THE SOVIETS WERE HOPING THIS
WOULD BE A PERFECT LANDING SITE,
BUT NOBODY KNOWS WHAT
THE LUNAR GEOLOGY'S GONNA BE
UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY LAND.
SO THE LUNA 24 SAMPLE
THAT SEEMED LIKE FRESHLY
DISTURBED DIRT
WAS THE RESULT OF GEOLOGY
RATHER THAN NAZI TECHNOLOGY.
IF THE PROBE HAD RETURNED
A SAMPLE FROM ANYWHERE ELSE,
THE MOON DIRT WOULD'VE TESTED
NORMAL.
THE DISCOVERY OF
A CRATER SOLVES THE MYSTERY
OF LUNA 24'S STRANGE SAMPLE.
BUT THE FATE OF THE OTHER SOVIET
PROBES REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.
ADVANCED NAZI ROCKET
TECHNOLOGY FROM THE 1940s
PALES IN COMPARISON TO NASA'S
CURRENT SPACECRAFT.
BUT AS WE ENTER A NEW ERA
OF EXPLORATION,
NEW DISCOVERIES REMIND US
THAT WE ARE STILL
IN THE EARLY YEARS
OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY.
IN A DISTANT CONSTELLATION,
AN ANCIENT STAR IS SURROUNDED
BY MYSTERIOUS RINGS.
RINGS AROUND STARS THAT ARE
AS OLD AS THIS STAR IS
ARE VERY RARE.
FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES,
THE RINGS DEFY ALL ATTEMPTS
AT SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION.
WHEN WE CAN'T EXPLAIN
WHAT WE SEE WITH WHAT WE KNOW,
WE HAVE TO START EXPLAINING
WITH WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THE ONLY SCIENCE
CAPABLE OF EXPLAINING
THIS PHENOMENON
IS TRULY MIND-BLOWING.
ANY CIVILIZATION CAPABLE
OF MAKING A...
A RING WORLD AROUND ITS STAR
WOULD BE LIGHT-YEARS
AHEAD OF US.
SOUTHERN SPAIN, 1995.
HIGH IN THE SIERRA NEVADA
MOUNTAINS,
ASTRONOMER BENJAMIN ZUCKERMAN
EXPLORES AN UNUSUAL STAR
ABOUT 190 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH
IN THE DISTANT
CETUS CONSTELLATION.
WE WEREN'T REALLY SURE
WHAT WE MIGHT FIND.
SO ALTHOUGH IT DEFINITELY WAS
A WOW MOMENT TO SEE 49 CET,
AT THE TIME,
WE DID NOT REALIZE QUITE HOW UNUSUAL
IT WAS GOING TO TURN OUT TO BE.
THE STAR IS SURROUNDED
BY TWO ENORMOUS RINGS.
ONE OF THE RINGS HAS A RADIUS,
I THINK,
OF ABOUT A BILLION MILES.
THE OTHER ONE IS TWO OR THREE
TIMES THAT SIZE, FARTHER OUT.
AND SO THESE ARE... ARE RINGS
THAT ARE OCCURRING IN PLACES
WHERE YOU WOULD EXPECT
PLANETS TO FORM.
FOR AN ASTRONOMER,
THE OBVIOUS CONCLUSION
IS THAT HE'S LOOKING
AT RINGS OF DUST AND GAS,
WHICH OFTEN ENCIRCLE
YOUNG STARS.
BUT AFTER YEARS OF OBSERVATION,
ZUCKERMAN DISCOVERS
THAT 49 CETI
IS NOT YOUNG AT ALL.
THIS STAR IS ABOUT
40 OR 50 MILLION YEARS OLD,
WHICH MAKES IT THE OLDEST STAR
WE KNOW OF
WITH THESE DUSTY DEBRIS DISCS.
ONCE A STAR GETS OLDER THAN
ABOUT 5 MILLION YEARS,
MOST OF THE GAS THAT'S
ORBITING IN THESE DISCS DISSIPATES,
AND DUST PARTICLES EITHER
GET BLOWN AWAY FROM STARS,
OR THEY SPIRAL INTO STARS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE...
THE GREAT MYSTERIES.
THERE'S SOME PROCESS
THAT'S REPLENISHING THE GAS
INTO THIS DISC SYSTEM,
AND WE DON'T SEE
THAT PROCESS GOING ON
IN OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM.
IT'S HARD TO KIND OF
GET IT INTO YOUR HEAD.
THE MYSTERY
OF WHAT HOLDS TOGETHER
THE RINGS AROUND 49 CETI
RAISES SOME INTRIGUING QUESTIONS,
QUESTIONS CONVENTIONAL SCIENCE
CAN STRUGGLE TO ANSWER.
WHEN WE CAN'T EXPLAIN WHAT
WE SEE WITH WHAT WE KNOW,
WE HAVE TO START EXPLAINING
WITH WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
PERHAPS THE MOST
EXTRAORDINARY IDEA
FOR WHAT THE RINGS COULD BE
COMES FROM THE REALM
OF SCIENCE FICTION.
THE CONCEPT OF A GIANT
RING-SHAPED WORLD
SURROUNDING A STAR
WAS FIRST PROPOSED
BY NOVELIST LARRY NIVEN.
LARRY NIVEN'S ORIGINAL
"RINGWORLD" CONCEPT
WOULD TAKE THE MATERIAL
OF SOME USELESS PLANETS
AND USE THEM TO POUND OUT
A RIBBON THAT SURROUNDS A STAR.
AND THIS RIBBON IS KEPT
INFLATED BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE,
RESULTING IN MILLIONS OF TIMES
MORE USEFUL SURFACE AREA
FOR A CIVILIZATION,
BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT TRILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
SO IT'S A FASCINATING CONCEPT.
THE IDEA OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION
BUILDING A RING WORLD
AROUND 49 CETI
IS HUMBLING FOR HUMANITY,
ESPECIALLY AS WE STRUGGLE TO
REACH OUR NEAREST PLANET.
ANY CIVILIZATION THAT WOULD BE
CAPABLE OF MAKING A...
A RING WORLD AROUND ITS STAR
WOULD BE LIGHT-YEARS
AHEAD OF US,
PROBABLY TENS OF MILLIONS
OF YEARS AHEAD OF US
IN TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY.
BUT ALTHOUGH THE RING
WORLD IDEA IS COMPELLING,
SCIENTISTS MUST FIRST RULE OUT
NATURAL PHENOMENA.
FOR 17 YEARS, THE STRANGE STAR
REMAINS UNEXPLAINED
UNTIL ZUCKERMAN COMES UP
WITH A NEW THEORY
THAT SOMETHING TRULY
EXTRAORDINARY IS PROVIDING
THE GAS TO MAKE THE RINGS.
IN 2012,
WE ATTRIBUTED ITS EXISTENCE
TO THE COLLISIONS
OF AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER
OF COMET-LIKE OBJECTS.
WE ESTIMATED THAT THERE HAVE
TO BE SOMETHING LIKE 100 TRILLION
OR MORE COMETS ORBITING
AROUND THE STAR,
AND THAT THE COMETS COULD BE
COLLIDING, SAY,
EVERY 10 SECONDS.
AND THAT'S HOW THIS GAS
THAT WE DISCOVERED IN 1995
IS BEING PRODUCED.
THE RATE OF
COLLISIONS IS ASTOUNDING.
IT'S HARD TO KIND OF GET
INTO YOUR HEAD
THAT THINGS COULD BE COLLIDING
INTO EACH OTHER THAT FREQUENTLY.
COLLISIONS IN THE STORM
OF TRILLIONS OF COMETS
WOULD EXPLAIN THE RING'S
APPARENTLY ENDLESS SUPPLY
OF DUST AND GAS.
HOW THERE COULD BE
THAT MANY COMETS
400 TIMES THE MASS OF EARTH
IN A SINGLE STAR SYSTEM
REMAINS A MYSTERY.
UP NEXT, A SHOCKING DISCOVERY
SUGGESTS
THERE REALLY MAY BE LIFE
UNDER THE MARTIAN SURFACE.
A NASA TELESCOPE MONITORING MARS
DISCOVERS SOMETHING THAT COULD
REWRITE THE HISTORY
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE TO GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE STORY.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE. WE NEED
TO GO BACK TO MARS AND FIND OUT.
THE RED PLANET
SEEMS TO BE ALIVE.
THERE COULD BE A, UH,
A WONDER WORLD FOR SMALL
LIVING CREATURES UNDERNEATH
THE MARTIAN SURFACE RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY GOOD
ARGUMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE.
EVER SINCE NASA FIRST BEGAN
ITS EXPLORATION OF MARS,
THE SPACE AGENCY HAS STRUGGLED
WITH THE QUESTION
OF WHETHER THERE COULD BE LIFE
ON THE RED PLANET.
NOW IT JUST MIGHT
HAVE AN ANSWER.
ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA,
IN HAWAII,
NASA'S POWERFUL INFRARED
TELESCOPE ZOOMS IN
ON EARTH'S NEAREST NEIGHBOR.
IN MARCH OF 2003,
THE DATA STARTS SHOWING
SOMETHING STRANGE.
IT IS NOW ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN
THAT THERE IS METHANE ON MARS.
IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE 19,000
TONS OF... OF METHANE
BEING PRODUCED ON MARS THAT...
THAT REALLY WE COULDN'T EXPLAIN.
THE IMPLICATIONS
OF THIS DISCOVERY
STUNNED ASTRONOMERS.
THE VERY PRESENCE OF METHANE
ON MARS IS REALLY,
UH, EXTRAORDINARY.
ONE OF THE VERY EXCITING THINGS
ABOUT FINDING METHANE ON MARS
IS THAT IT'S AN INDICATOR
OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY.
IT MIGHT BE A SIGNAL THAT
THERE ARE LIVING THINGS,
AND LIVING THINGS ON ANOTHER
WORLD WOULD BE, OF COURSE,
ONE OF THE MOST
DRAMATIC FINDINGS
IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE.
NASA'S SCIENTISTS LAUNCH
A LONG-TERM INVESTIGATION
INTO THE SOURCE
OF THE WEIRD PHENOMENON.
THEY MUST FIRST DETERMINE IF
THE CLOUDS OF GAS ARE SIMPLY
A RELIC FROM MARS'
GEOLOGICAL PAST.
METHANE HAS
A VERY SHORT LIFETIME
IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE.
MARS IS A VERY OXIDIZING PLACE,
AND THAT KIND OF BURNS
THE METHANE UP.
FOR IT TO EVEN BE THERE
IN ANY DETECTABLE AMOUNT
MEANS THAT THERE HAS TO BE
A SOURCE FOR IT,
IT HAS TO BE REPLENISHED.
WHERE WOULD THIS METHANE
COME FROM?
INVESTIGATORS
STRUGGLING TO ANSWER
THIS QUESTION TURN TO OUR
OWN PLANET FOR CLUES.
ON EARTH, IT'S... THERE'S A
FEW WAYS OF MAKING METHANE.
VOLCANOES,
FOR EXAMPLE, MAKE METHANE.
THERE ONCE WERE GREAT VOLCANOES ON MARS,
BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE
WHATSOEVER THAT THERE ARE ANY
ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON MARS TODAY.
SO THE RECENT DISCOVERY
OF METHANE ON MARS
IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE COME
FROM ANY VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.
THE ABSENCE OF
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON MARS
FORCES SCIENTISTS TO CONSIDER
A STARTLING POSSIBILITY.
ON EARTH, MOST METHANE IS
PRODUCED BY LIVING ORGANISMS.
FOR EXAMPLE, COWS.
COWS PRODUCE
VAST AMOUNTS OF METHANE.
THAT'S PART OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE.
IT'S PART OF THEIR METABOLISM.
WHAT IF METHANE IN THE MARTIAN
ATMOSPHERE WAS TELLING US THAT,
TODAY ON MARS, THERE WERE
LIFE FORMS ALIVE SOMEWHERE
PRODUCING IT?
SINCE NASA
FIRST DETECTED METHANE,
MANKIND HAS DISPATCHED
10 MISSIONS TO EXPLORE
THE ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE
OF MARS.
SO FAR, NONE HAVE DISCOVERED
DEFINITIVE PROOF OF LIFE.
BUT MAYBE WE'VE BEEN LOOKING
IN THE WRONG PLACE.
THE IDEA THAT, UH,
THERE'S METHANE ON MARS WHERE WE REALLY
WOULDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE FOUND
IS... IS MAYBE A HINT
THAT PERHAPS THERE COULD BE
A SOURCE THAT'S ASSOCIATED
WITH LIFE,
MAYBE IN THE SUBSURFACE.
I THINK, IF THERE IS
LIFE ON MARS,
IT'S LIKELY DEEP UNDERGROUND.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY
GOOD ARGUMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE
RIGHT NOW.
THE CONCEPT OF
A SUBTERRANEAN MARTIAN WORLD
FULL OF LIVING ORGANISMS
SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING
FROM A SCI-FI FILM.
BUT THE IDEA IS BASED ON
ESTABLISHED SCIENTIFIC FACT.
OVER 80 PERCENT OF EARTH LIFE
IS ACTUALLY LIVING UNDERNEATH
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
AND SO THE FACT THAT WE DON'T
FIND LIFE AT THE SURFACE OF MARS
TODAY DOESN'T REALLY TELL YOU
MUCH ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES
OF LIFE UNDERNEATH.
THERE COULD BE A WONDER WORLD
FOR... FOR SMALL
LIVING CREATURES UNDERNEATH
THE MARTIAN SURFACE RIGHT NOW.
SOMETIME
IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS,
THE EUROPEAN AND RUSSIAN
SPACE AGENCIES PLAN TO SEND
A ROVER TO THE RED PLANET TO
EXPLORE THE THREE KEY AREAS
WHERE LIFE COULD EXIST.
UNTIL THEN, THE SOURCE
OF THE METHANE ON MARS
WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE. WE NEED
TO GO BACK TO MARS AND FIND OUT.
WE HAVE TO GET TO
THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY.
METHANE IS RIGHT NOW THE
HOTTEST LEAD THAT WE HAVE
FOR LIFE ON MARS.
COMING UP, NASA'S
SPACECRAFT ARE UNDER ATTACK.
IT'S VIOLENT,
AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
IF YOU'RE NOT SCARED,
YOU SHOULD BE.
A MYSTERIOUS ENERGY
IS ATTACKING NASA CRAFT
IN EARTH'S ORBIT.
IT'S VIOLENT, AND WE DON'T
UNDERSTAND IT.
YOU COULD SUFFER ACUTE DAMAGE,
WHICH CAN LEAD TO DEATH.
COULD THIS FORCE PROVIDE CLUES
TO ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC
AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN HISTORY?
SOMETHING MUST'VE HAPPENED,
SOMETHING UNIQUE
TO CAUSE THE FLIGHT
TO FALL OUT OF THE AIR.
IF YOU'RE NOT SCARED,
YOU SHOULD BE.
HALF A CENTURY OF SPACE
EXPLORATION HAS UNCOVERED
THREATS WHICH EVEN
NASA'S GREATEST MINDS
STRUGGLE TO COMPREHEND.
THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLY
DESTRUCTIVE FORCES
IN THIS UNIVERSE.
CATASTROPHIC EVENTS ARE
HAPPENING AROUND THE GALAXY
EVERY DAY.
BUT INCREDIBLY,
ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES
FOR HUMAN SPACECRAFT
IS RIGHT ON EARTH'S DOORSTEP.
THIS AREA HAS BECOME KNOWN
AS THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY,
AND IT'S A PRETTY BIG AREA.
IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF
HALF OF SOUTH AMERICA.
IT'S KNOWN TO CAUSE ANOMALIES
IN SPACECRAFT, IN SHUTTLES.
IN FACT, IT'LL CRASH
PERSONAL COMPUTERS.
WE ARE JUST COMING UP
ON THE TELESCOPE.
OKAY.
YOU DON'T CONDUCT A SPACE WALK
WHEN YOU'RE PASSING OVER
THAT SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY.
YOU JUST DON'T DO IT.
YOU COULD CALL IT
THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE OF SPACE.
ONE THEORY FOR THE
ANOMALY'S WEIRD EFFECTS
IS THAT THEY COULD BE CAUSED
BY SPACE RADIATION.
IN THE 1950s, JAMES VAN ALLEN
CAME UP WITH WHAT AT THE TIME
WAS A, WELL, CRAZY IDEA
THAT THE EARTH WAS ACTUALLY
SURROUNDED BY
ENERGETIC RADIATION BELTS.
HE WAS RIGHT, AND IN FACT,
THOSE BELTS WERE NAMED
AFTER HIM.
THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
KEEPS THE POWERFUL RADIATION
OF THE VAN ALLEN BELTS
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY
FROM THE PLANET'S SURFACE.
BUT FOR SOME REASON, THERE ARE
DENTS IN THE FORCE FIELD
WHICH ALLOW DESTRUCTIVE ENERGY
TO GET DANGEROUSLY CLOSE
TO THE GROUND.
THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
ISN'T SYMMETRIC,
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THERE ARE
PLACES ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE
WHERE THE MAGNETIC FIELD
IS A LITTLE WEAKER.
IN THOSE REGIONS,
THE VAN ALLEN BELTS COME MUCH CLOSER
TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
IN THE REGION OF
SPACE ABOVE THE OCEAN
200 MILES EAST OF BRAZIL,
THE STORM OF CHARGED PARTICLES
BECOMES A VERY REAL THREAT.
ANYTHING MOVING THROUGH THAT
REGION OF SPACE IS BOMBARDED
BY HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES
HITTING AT A RATE OF 6,000
PARTICLES PER SQUARE INCH
PER SECOND.
THAT'S HUGE.
YOU DON'T REALLY WANNA FLY
INSIDE THE RADIATION BELTS
BECAUSE YOU COULD SUFFER
ACUTE RADIATION DAMAGE,
WHICH CAN LEAD TO DEATH.
THE POTENTIALLY DEADLY EFFECTS
OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
ON ORBITING NASA CRAFT
ARE WELL DOCUMENTED.
BUT RECENTLY, A THEORY HAS
EMERGED WHICH SUGGESTS
THE REACH OF THE ANOMALY'S
DESTRUCTIVE POWER
COULD BE FAR GREATER
THAN ANYONE HAD IMAGINED.
COULD AN AIRCRAFT FLYING
DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH
THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
HAVE ITS VITAL INSTRUMENTATION
KNOCKED OUT?
RADIATION CAN DAMAGE
CRITICAL AIRCRAFT
COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
THE PROBLEM WITH THIS THEORY IS THAT,
EVEN ABOVE THE ANOMALY,
THE CLOSEST THE RADIATION
BELTS COME TO EARTH
IS AROUND 125 MILES.
AIRLINERS FLY AT AROUND
38,000 TO 40,000 FEET.
AT THAT ALTITUDE,
THEY ARE STILL VERY FAR AWAY
FROM THE VAN ALLEN RADIATION
BELTS.
FOR THE ANOMALY TO
HAVE ANY EFFECT
ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT,
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE SOMETHING
TO BRIDGE THE DISTANCE
UP TO SPACE.
ONE IDEA IS VAST STREAKS
OF MEGALIGHTNING.
THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THERE
COULD BE SOME KIND OF CASCADING
EFFECT FROM THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE
THAT COMES DOWN AND COULD
POSSIBLY INTERACT
WITH ELECTRONICS.
METEOROLOGIST
JUSTIN BERK IS INVESTIGATING
WHETHER SUCH A PHENOMENON
COULD HAVE PLAYED A PART
IN THE TRAGIC LOSS OF AIR
FRANCE FLIGHT 447 IN 2009.
I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "THIS AREA,
THIS SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY,
WAS PRETTY DARN CLOSE
TO WHERE THE AIR FRANCE FLIGHT
PATTERN WAS."
FLIGHT 447 LEAVES RIO DE JANEIRO
AT 10:29 P.M.
LOCAL TIME ON MAY 31st.
MINUTES BEFORE THE PLANE
DISAPPEARS,
IT FLIES INTO A TROPICAL STORM
ABOVE THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
A SPOKESPERSON FROM AIR FRANCE
SAID THAT THE FLIGHT
WAS LIGHTLY IMPACTED
BY LIGHTNING.
SINCE PLANES ARE DESIGNED
TO GET HIT BY LIGHTNING,
SOMETHING ELSE MUST
HAVE HAPPENED,
SOMETHING SPECIAL,
SOMETHING UNIQUE
TO CAUSE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
POSSIBLY TO FAIL AND THE,
UM, FLIGHT TO FALL
OUT OF THE AIR.
BLACK BOX DATA
RECOVERED FROM THE WRECKAGE
REVEALS THAT TURBULENCE FORCED
THE PILOTS TO CLIMB UP
THOUSANDS OF FEET TOWARD
THE DENSE FIELD OF RADIATION.
IF MEGALIGHTNING CHANNELED
CHARGED PARTICLES
FROM THE RADIATION BELTS
INTO THE PLANE'S FUSELAGE,
IT COULD HAVE SERIOUS EFFECTS
ON INSTRUMENTATION.
YOU HAVE A TROPICAL-BASED
THUNDERSTORM THAT ITSELF IS...
IS CHARGED WITH A LOT OF
ELECTRICITY.
THEN YOU ADD IN THE SOUTH
ATLANTIC ANOMALY THAT HAS BEEN
DOCUMENTED TO HAVE
HIGHLY CHARGED PARTICLES.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE TWO
LINKED UP WITH THAT ONE MOMENT
IN TIME,
THAT RARITY OF A CONNECTION,
THAT SUPERCHARGED THAT STORM
TO SEND HIGHER VOLTAGE
THAT JUST OVERLOADED
THE CIRCUITS ON THE PLANE.
BERK'S THEORY THAT FLIGHT 447
WAS OVERWHELMED
BY STRANGE ATMOSPHERIC
PHENOMENA IS SUPPORTED BY RECORDS
OF A CONVERSATION
BETWEEN THE PILOTS.
ONE HOUR AND 51 MINUTES
INTO THE FLIGHT,
THE PILOT AND COPILOT CAN BE
HEARD ON THE BLACK BOX
DISCUSSING ST. ELMO'S FIRE,
WHICH IS A STATIC DISCHARGE
THAT'S CRAWLING
ALL OVER THE PLANE.
THE BLACK BOX
RECORDINGS STOP AT 2:14 A.M.
AN OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION
CONCLUDES THAT THE CRASH
IS CAUSED BY A COMBINATION
OF PILOT ERROR
AND INSTRUMENT FAILURE.
BUT FOR BERK, THE INFLUENCE
OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
ON THE DISASTER
IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.
IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S A VERY
PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION
FOR WHY THIS AIRCRAFT
GOT TAKEN OUT OF THE SKY.
STILL TO COME...
COULD AN UNIDENTIFIED VAPOR
TRAIL POSE A DEADLY THREAT
TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION?
AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
AN ASTRONAUT ON BOARD THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SPOTS AN EERIE VAPOR TRAIL
EMANATING FROM EARTH.
HE NOTICES OUT OF THE CORNER
OF HIS EYE A FLASH OF LIGHT.
AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
AS MISSION CONTROL STRUGGLES
TO IDENTIFY THE THREAT,
WITNESSES ON THE GROUND REPORT
AN EXPLOSION
HIGH IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
ON A SPACE STATION,
ANY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
WOULD JUST BE DEVASTATING.
OCTOBER 10, 2013.
ASTRONAUT LUCA PARMITANO
USES A RARE MOMENT OF DOWNTIME
TO PHOTOGRAPH EARTH'S
GREATEST LIGHT SHOW.
AN ASTRONAUT IS SITTING
IN THE CUPOLA, THE VIEWPORT
OF THE SPACE STATION,
GETTING READY TO TAKE PICTURES
OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.
THE I.S.S. IS TRAVELING AT
ABOUT 17,500 MILES PER HOUR.
IT SEES A SUNSET OR A SUNRISE
EVERY 45 MINUTES.
THE VIEWS FOR THE ASTRONAUTS
ARE STUNNING.
BUT PARMITANO'S
SIGHTSEEING DOESN'T LAST LONG.
HE NOTICES OUT OF THE CORNER
OF HIS EYE A FLASH OF LIGHT.
OFF TO THE WEST, HE SUDDENLY
SEES AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
IT'S ALREADY HIGH IN THE
EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, AND IT LOOKS
AS IF IT'S COME FROM THE EARTH.
THE OBJECT'S VELOCITY
AND TRAJECTORY
MAKE IT LOOK LIKE
A POTENTIAL THREAT.
THE TRAIL STARTS TO DISAPPEAR
IN THE FADING EVENING LIGHT,
BUT AS THE ASTRONAUTS
STARE AT IT,
THEY SEE SOMETHING ELSE STRANGE.
THEY OBSERVE A MYSTERIOUS CLOUD,
AN EXPANDING CLOUD
ON THE HORIZON THAT APPEARS
TO BE GETTING CLOSER.
THE IMAGE THE ASTRONAUTS CAPTURE
IS UNLIKE ANYTHING EVER
SEEN FROM THE I.S.S.
IT'S A SPOOKY IMAGE.
SOMETHING EMANATES FROM EARTH,
CREATES A MASSIVE, HOLLOW CLOUD.
IT'S THE CLASSIC SIGNATURE OF
A SPACECRAFT,
YET THERE IS NO SPACECRAFT.
THERE'S NO EXPLANATION
FOR WHAT THIS THING IS.
MISSION CONTROL CANNOT
SEE THE PHOTOS IN REAL TIME,
SO THEY'RE UNABLE TO MAKE
ANY ASSESSMENT
OF WHAT THE CREW IS SEEING.
WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME,
THE CREW REPORTS DOWN
TO MISSION CONTROL AT NASA
WHAT THEY'VE SEEN.
NASA DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
THE CREW'S IN THIS
WEIRD SITUATION.
THEY'VE DEFINITELY SEEN SOMETHING,
BUT HOUSTON'S DENYING
THERE'S ANYTHING THERE.
THERE'S NO RECORD OF A LAUNCH,
AND SO YOUR NEXT QUESTION HAS
TO BE, WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?
AS THE ASTRONAUTS
STRUGGLE TO IDENTIFY
THE SIGHTING, REPORTS
EMERGE FROM RUSSIA
OF A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT MOVING
ACROSS THE SKIES.
VIDEOS OF THE EVENT IMMEDIATELY
BEGIN TO CIRCULATE ONLINE.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH,
THERE WERE FOLKS IN RUSSIA WHO WERE
REPORTING SEEING THE EXACT
SAME THING AS THE ASTRONAUTS
AT THE EXACT SAME TIME.
IN NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN,
IN THE URAL AREA OF RUSSIA,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE NOW
PHOTOGRAPHING IT
WITH THEIR VIDEO CAMERAS,
THEIR DASH CAMS,
AND FILING IT ON YOUTUBE
WITHIN A FEW HOURS,
CALLING IT A UFO.
INITIALLY,
NASA DOESN'T LINK THE FOOTAGE
FROM THE GROUND WITH THE BIZARRE
EVENTS WITNESSED FROM THE I.S.S.
BUT JUST AS IT SEEMS
AS IF THE SIGHTING WILL REMAIN
UNEXPLAINED,
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY MAKES
A STARTLING DISCLOSURE.
IN MOSCOW, OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED
THE TEST FLIGHT
OF A MILITARY MISSILE.
IN THIS CASE, HOWEVER, THIS
NOTICE APPARENTLY NEVER GOT
TO NASA'S ATTENTION.
GENERALLY,
THE RUSSIANS DO PUT OUT INFORMATION ABOUT
MISSILE TESTS THAT
THEY'RE PERFORMING.
ANYTHING LAUNCHED INTO SPACE,
WELL, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT IT IS
AND WHERE IT'S GOING BECAUSE
YOU NEED TO TRACK
THOSE THINGS TO BE ABLE
TO PROTECT THE I.S.S.
THE MISSILE LAUNCH BECOMES
THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
FOR THE SIGHTING.
MISSION CONTROL VETERAN
JIM OBERG BELIEVES
THAT THE EERIE
SHAPE OF THE CLOUD
CAN BE EXPLAINED BY
A DISCARDED ROCKET STAGE
CASTING A SHADOW IN THE CENTER
OF THE MISSILE'S EXHAUST PLUME.
WHAT'S SO INTRIGUING
ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE IS THAT
IT'S TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.
THAT CLOUD THAT THEY TOOK
ALMOST 100 PICTURES OF IS
AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT IN SPACE,
AN EXTREMELY RARE TYPE OF
RUSSIAN MISSILE TEST.
AND JUST PURELY BY CHANCE,
THE ROCKET IS SILHOUETTED
AGAINST THE SETTING SUN.
AS LONG AS THE VEIL OF SECRECY
SURROUNDING RUSSIAN MISSILE
TESTS PERSISTS,
IT WILL BE HARD TO KNOW
FOR CERTAIN WHAT EFFECTS
THEY MAY PRODUCE
OR WHETHER THEY ARE JUST
A SMOKE SCREEN
FOR DEEPER SECRETS.
UP NEXT,
A MYSTERIOUS DEEP SPACE SIGNAL
APPEARS TO BE COMING FROM
A NEWLY DISCOVERED
HABITABLE WORLD.
I SAID, "WOW.
THIS IS FANTASTIC."
IS THIS E.T.?
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
WHILE SEARCHING SPACE FOR
SIGNALS FROM OTHER WORLDS,
AN ASTRONOMER SPOTS SOMETHING
EXTRAORDINARY.
I SAID, "WOW, THIS IS
FANTASTIC."
IS THIS E.T.?
THE QUESTION IS, IS SOMEONE
FIRING THAT LASER PULSE AT US?
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
SOME OF NASA'S FINEST
SCIENTISTS HAVE GRAPPLED WITH
THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION
OF WHETHER WE ARE ALONE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
BUT REALISTICALLY,
IF WE DO EVER RECEIVE AN ANSWER,
WE MAY STRUGGLE TO RECOGNIZE IT.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA,
DECEMBER 2008.
ASTROPHYSICIST
DR. RAGBIR BHATHAL
IS GETTING READY FOR HIS REGULAR
SEARCH OF THE SOUTHERN SKIES.
WHENEVER THERE'S A NICE,
CLEAR NIGHT, WE RECORD
ONTO THE OBSERVATORY.
WE HAVE A LIST OF OBJECTS, AND
WE JUST GO HOP FROM ONE OBJECT
TO THE OTHER INTO QUITE LATE
INTO THE NIGHT.
LIKE MANY SKYWATCHERS,
DR. BHATHAL IS HOPING
FOR A SIGNAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
BUT UNLIKE MANY OF HIS PEERS,
HE DOESN'T FOCUS
ON RADIO SIGNALS.
FORTY YEARS HAVE PASSED BY,
AND, UH,
NOTHING HAD BEEN DISCOVERED.
SO A NUMBER OF US THOUGHT,
"WELL, IT'S TIME WE MOVE INTO
ANOTHER SPECTRUM."
ADVANCED CIVILIZATIONS
COULD HAVE A RANGE
OF COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES
AVAILABLE TO THEM.
WE ARE AN EMERGING CIVILIZATION.
WE'VE ONLY HAD RADIO 100 YEARS
IN OUR 5-BILLION-YEAR HISTORY.
SOME STARS ARE 10 BILLION
YEARS OLD.
OUR STAR IS 5 BILLION YEARS OLD.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE CIVILIZATIONS
BILLIONS OF YEARS AHEAD OF US.
PERHAPS A MORE LIKELY
COMMUNICATION METHOD
WOULD BE LASERS SIGNALING.
IF WE HAVE DEVELOPED LASERS,
IT'S LIKELY THAT ANOTHER
CIVILIZATION HAS DEVELOPED
LASER SYSTEMS.
WE KNOW THAT WE CAN ENCODE
LASERS WITH SIGNAL
AND HAVE IT DECIPHERED
AT THE OTHER END.
SO, WHY CAN'T AN ALIEN
CIVILIZATION DO THE SAME THING
AND TRY AND COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHERS?
IN DECEMBER 2008,
DR. BHATHAL IS EIGHT YEARS INTO
HIS SEARCH FOR LASER SIGNALS
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN.
WE DID THIS NORMAL RUN.
I WENT INTO THE OBSERVATORY.
I CHECKED THE EQUIPMENT, UH,
MADE SURE I ALIGNED
THE TELESCOPE.
AND THEN I STARTED MY SEARCH.
HE USES AN OPTICAL
TELESCOPE TO SEARCH
THE TUCANAE STAR CLUSTER
16,000 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH.
WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE DATA,
HE SEES SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.
I FOUND THIS, UH,
THIS SPIKE ON THE SCREEN,
AND THAT WAS EXCITING.
WE WENT BACK AND, UH, CHECKED
THAT OUR INSTRUMENTS WERE NOT
MALFUNCTIONING, AND, UH,
THE EQUIPMENT PASSED ITS,
YOU KNOW... THERE WAS NOTHING
WRONG WITH THE EQUIPMENT.
I SAID, "WOW, THIS IS
FANTASTIC."
"YOU KNOW, HAVE I SEEN THIS,
UH, YOU KNOW, IS IT...
IS THIS E.T.?"
BHATHAL'S FIND IS EXCEPTIONAL.
BUT THEN A STRANGE SERIES OF
EVENTS STARTS TO MAKE IT LOOK
LIKE A DEFINING MOMENT
IN HISTORY.
IN SEPTEMBER 2010,
A TEAM OF ASTRONOMERS
DISCOVERS A PLANET
IN THE HABITABLE ZONE
OF THE STAR GLIESE 581.
AND REPORTS ON SEVERAL WEB
SITES CLAIM THAT THE NEW PLANET
IS THE POINT OF ORIGIN
FOR DR. BHATHAL'S
MYSTERIOUS LASER SIGNAL.
THIS IS SOMETHING BEYOND
OUR WILDEST DREAMS.
WE KNOW THAT ALMOST ALL STARS
HAVE PLANETS GOING AROUND THEM.
AND SOME OF THESE PLANETS... ACTUALLY,
A LOT OF THESE PLANETS
ARE PLANETS THAT ARE KIND OF
NICE PLANETS.
THEY'RE... WE CALL 'EM
GOLDILOCKS PLANETS...
NOT TOO HOT, NOT TOO COLD,
NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM THEIR SUN.
AND SOME OF THEM HAVE
LIQUID WATER
AND THE RIGHT CONDITIONS
FOR LIFE.
FOR A MOMENT,
IT SEEMS AS IF THE DATA
COULD FINALLY PROVIDE
AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION
OF WHETHER WE ARE ALONE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
IN 2010, THERE WAS
ANNOUNCED A DISCOVERY
OF A PLANET CALLED GLIESE 581G,
WHICH MEANS THAT IT WAS
THE FIFTH PLANET
AROUND THE STAR GLIESE 581.
AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS THE
FIRST ONE THAT WAS DETECTED
THAT MIGHT BE HABITABLE.
IN FACT,
SOME OF THE DISCOVERERS SAID,
"HUNDRED PERCENT SURE
THAT IT HAS LIFE."
IF WE HAVE AN INTELLIGENT
SIGNAL TIED TO AN EXOPLANET,
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
BUT WHILE IT DOES
INITIALLY LOOK LIKE
GLIESE 581G COULD ACTUALLY BE
THE FIRST HABITABLE PLANET
FOUND OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
THE REPORTS SUGGESTING
IT COULD BE THE SOURCE
OF THE TUCANAE LASER BEAM
TURN OUT TO BE WRONG.
AND THERE IS ANOTHER MAJOR
PROBLEM WITH THE POTENTIALLY
LIFE-CHANGING DISCOVERY.
A LOT OF PLANET HUNTERS WERE
SOMEWHAT SKEPTICAL THAT THEY'D
ACTUALLY HAD THIS SIGNAL
FOR THIS PLANET BEING THERE.
AND ACTUALLY, RECENT WORK
IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS
HAS SHOWN WITHOUT DOUBT
THAT GLIESE 581G
DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST,
THAT IT WAS AN ARTIFACT
OF THE DATA REDUCTION
THAT WAS USED.
WITH NO PLANET
NEAR THE POINT OF ORIGIN,
THE MYSTERIOUS LASER PULSE
MUST HAVE SOME OTHER SOURCE.
ALL ATTEMPTS TO FIND IT
A SECOND TIME FOR VERIFICATION
HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL.
PHYSICS IS A VERY
HARD DISCIPLINE,
AND YOU NEED TO HAVE, IN THIS
CASE, EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE.
AND THE EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE
WASN'T THERE.
YES, WE ARE STILL SEARCHING
FOR IT,
AND WE'LL CONTINUE
TO SEARCH FOR IT.
WHILE FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS
MAY STILL PROVE THAT THIS
SIGNAL WAS A FALSE LEAD,
THE SEARCH FOR FIRST CONTACT
CONTINUES.
STILL TO COME...
IS THERE AN UNKNOWN FORCE
IN THE GALACTIC CORE CAPABLE
OF MOVING ENTIRE STARS?
SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING
IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR MILKY WAY.
IN A DISTANT REGION OF SPACE
CLOSE TO THE GALACTIC CORE,
THE STARS ARE FORMING
INTO STRANGE PATTERNS.
SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING
IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR MILKY WAY.
BUT THE CAUSE OF THE PHENOMENON
IS UNKNOWN TO SCIENCE.
2009.
ASTROPHYSICIST ALBERT ZIJLSTRA
BEGINS HIS RESEARCH
WITH THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE,
LOOKING FOR PLANETARY NEBULAE
LOCATED NEAR
THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY.
BUT ZIJLSTRA ISN'T INTERESTED
IN THE BEAUTY OF THE
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA.
HE'S INVESTIGATING REPORTS
OF A DISTURBING ANOMALY
CLOSE TO THE CENTER
OF OUR GALAXY.
NEBULAE SHOULDN'T BE POINTING
IN A UNIFORM DIRECTION.
IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING
SCIENTISTS KNOW
ABOUT HOW THEY FORM.
BUT HOWEVER IMPROBABLE
THE PHENOMENON
OF NEBULAE FORMING
INTO PATTERNS MIGHT BE,
ZIJLSTRA CAN'T IGNORE
THE EVIDENCE IN FRONT OF HIM.
WHAT MAKES THE PHENOMENON
EVEN STRANGER IS THAT
IT SEEMS TO BE ONLY ONE TYPE
OF NEBULA FORMING INTO PATTERNS.
WHATEVER THE FORCE IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PHENOMENON,
SOME NEBULAE SEEM TO BE IMMUNE.
WHEN YOU SEE ORDER OR PATTERNS,
IT'S NATURAL TO THINK ABOUT
WHAT COULD BE CREATING
THAT ORDER.
SCIENTISTS CAN ONLY
SPECULATE ABOUT
WHAT IS PRODUCING SUCH ORDER.
BUT WHILE THE GALACTIC
MAGNETIC FIELD
IS TOO WEAK TODAY TO HAVE
ANY EFFECT ON STARS,
IT MAY NOT ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.
IF THERE WAS THIS GALACTIC
MAGNETIC FIELD THAT CAUSED THIS,
THE QUESTION IS, WHAT CAUSED
THE MAGNETIC FIELD?
UNTIL THE REALITIES OF THE
GALACTIC MAGNETIC FIELD
ARE BETTER UNDERSTOOD,
THE STRANGE ALIGNMENT
OF THE BUTTERFLY NEBULAE
WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY.
EVEN AS NASA LEADS US
INTO THE FUTURE, EVERY MISSION
IS BUILT UPON THE ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE PAST.
AND NEW DISCOVERIES FORCE US
TO RETHINK OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF THE COSMOS.
AS WE EXPLORE EVER DEEPER
INTO SPACE,
ONLY ONE THING IS CERTAIN...
WE WILL BE ASTONISHED.
Subtitles Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk
IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN.
THERE'S MORE THAT WE
DON'T KNOW THAN WE DO KNOW.
THAT'S JUST THE NATURE
OF THE UNIVERSE.
IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,
IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS
INTO SPACE, ITS CRAFT BEYOND
THE LIMITS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
TAKING RISK IS PART OF
MAKING DISCOVERIES.
SPACE EXPLORATION IS LIKE
LIGHTING A MATCH,
AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT LURKS
IN THE SHADOWS.
THERE COULD BE ANYTHING
OUT THERE.
A SOVIET PROBE UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
OF SOMETHING UNSETTLING
ON THE MOON.
I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS
COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY, I THINK
THEY COULD HAVE.
THE RED PLANET COMES ALIVE.
THERE COULD BE A WONDER WORLD
FOR SMALL LIVING CREATURES
UNDERNEATH THE MARTIAN SURFACE
RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S
ANY GOOD ARGUMENTS
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE.
AND SOMETHING IN ORBIT
APPEARS TO THREATEN
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED PHENOMENA.
WE'RE GONNA SEE DEVASTATING
EFFECTS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
NASA'S MISSIONS HAVE UNCOVERED
DISTURBING ANOMALIES...
OKAY. WE'RE SEEING
THREE OR FOUR OBJECTS.
YEAH, THERE ARE, UH,
THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS.
...THAT CONTINUE TO PERPLEX
OUR FINEST SCIENTIFIC MINDS.
THESE ARE...
NASA's Unexplained Files - SEASON 2
EP - 6 - Nazis on the Moon
Subtitles Diego Moraes
A SERIES OF REVOLUTIONARY
SOVIET LUNAR PROBES
DISAPPEAR AS THEY APPROACH
UNEXPLORED TERRITORY.
EVERYTHING CUTS OUT. BAM.
NOTHING.
WHEN ONE OF THE PROBES
FINALLY RETURNS TO EARTH,
SCIENTISTS
UNCOVER UNSETTLING EVIDENCE
THAT SOMETHING ELSE
GOT TO THE MOON FIRST.
WHAT COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS
COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.
3:17 P.M., JULY 20, 1969.
WHEN THE APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUTS
BECOME THE FIRST PEOPLE
IN HISTORY TO SET FOOT
ON ANOTHER WORLD...
THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
...RUSSIA SUFFERS
A CRUSHING DEFEAT
IN THE BATTLE TO CONQUER SPACE.
WHEN ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN
LANDED ON THE MOON,
I THINK THE RUSSIANS
WERE DEVASTATED.
I THINK THAT WAS A BIG BLOW
TO THEM.
BUT JUST THREE DAYS BEFORE
THE AMERICAN LANDING,
THE RUSSIAN ATTEMPT TO UPSTAGE
THEIR AMERICAN RIVALS
APPEARS TO BE GOING WELL,
AS THE UNMANNED SOVIET PROBE
CODE-NAMED LUNA 15
ARRIVES IN LUNAR ORBIT.
WHILE LUNA 15 ISN'T A MANNED
MISSION, IT IS A BIG STEP
IN LUNAR EXPLORATION AND
SHOULD PUT THE SOVIETS BACK
IN A STRONG POSITION.
LUNA 15's FLIGHT PLAN
CALLS FOR LANDING
ON A MYSTERIOUS AREA OF THE
MOON KNOWN AS THE SEA OF CRISES.
THE PROBE'S MISSION IS
TO DRILL INTO THE SURFACE
AND BEAT THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS
BACK TO EARTH
WITH MANKIND'S FIRST
SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK.
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE
GOING FINE,
BUT THEN 4 MINUTES INTO THE
DESCENT, EVERYTHING CUTS OUT.
BAM. NOTHING.
FIVE YEARS LATER,
THE RUSSIANS MAKE ANOTHER
ATTEMPT TO RETURN
TO THE SAME AREA WITH LUNA 23.
BUT THE SECOND CRAFT ALSO
CRASHES AND FAILS TO BRING BACK
ANY ROCKS FROM
THE SEA OF CRISES.
DESPITE THE SETBACKS, THE
RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY LAUNCHES
ANOTHER PROBE, HOPING THAT IT
CAN BEAT THE ODDS AND AVOID
WHATEVER CAUSED
ITS PREDECESSORS TO FAIL.
LUNA 24 FOLLOWS VERY SOON
AFTER LUNA 23, UH,
LANDS JUST A COUPLE
OF MILES AWAY.
THE RUSSIANS AREN'T GIVING UP
ON THIS ONE.
LUNA 24 SUCCEEDS
WHERE THE PREVIOUS RUSSIAN
MISSIONS FAILED,
RETURNING TO EARTH WITH
A PRECIOUS SAMPLE
FROM THE UNEXPLORED REGION.
THE SAMPLE OF LUNAR SOIL
BROUGHT BACK WEIGHS LESS THAN
7/10 OF A POUND, BUT HAS
A BIG IMPACT ON THE SOVIETS'
UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR GEOLOGY.
THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS
SHOCK SOVIET GEOLOGISTS.
IT LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING
HAD HAPPENED TO THE SOIL
IN AN AREA OF THE MOON THAT
WAS SUPPOSEDLY UNDISTURBED
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.
WHAT COULD IT HAVE BEEN?
TESTS ON THE SAMPLE
CONFIRM THAT THE SOIL
USED TO BE BURIED
DEEP UNDERGROUND.
SOMEONE OR SOMETHING
BROUGHT IT TO THE SURFACE.
THE SOVIETS KNOW THAT
THE AMERICANS HAVEN'T BEEN
TO THIS PART OF THE MOON.
THEY THINK THIS IS THEIR TURF.
SO THEY HAVE TO FACE UP TO
THE QUESTION...
WHO THE HECK'S BEEN DISTURBING
THE LUNAR SURFACE HERE?
COULD SOMEONE ELSE
HAVE LANDED ON THE MOON
BEFORE THE U.S. AND RUSSIA?
I HAVE HEARD THAT THE GERMANS
DEVELOPED A MOON ROCKET
BEFORE THEY WERE DEFEATED
IN 1945.
WE KNOW FOR A FACT
FROM NASA'S OWN RECORDS
THE GERMANS HAD A VERY ADVANCED
SPACE EXPLORATION PROGRAM.
THE NAZIS WERE LEADERS
IN THE ROCKETRY INDUSTRY.
AND THEY HAD PEOPLE LIKE
WERNHER VON BRAUN.
GERMAN AEROSPACE
ENGINEER WERNHER VON BRAUN
IS THE FOUNDING FATHER
OF ROCKET SCIENCE.
WERNHER VON BRAUN WAS A GENIUS.
MAY HAVE BEEN A NAZI,
BUT HE WAS A GENIUS.
AND WAS ABLE TO DESIGN SYSTEMS
THAT TO THIS DAY
ARE STILL ASTOUNDING TO US.
DURING WORLD WAR II,
THE NAZI REGIME
ASKED VON BRAUN TO DEVELOP
THE V-2 ROCKET,
THE FIRST MAN-MADE CRAFT
TO REACH SPACE.
NASA AND THEIR RUSSIAN
COUNTERPARTS BOTH KNOW
THAT THIS NAZI SUPERWEAPON
WAS A KEY STEP
IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THEIR OWN MOON ROCKETS.
WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO LAND ON THE MOON
IF IT HADN'T BEEN
FOR THE GERMANS.
DAMN RIGHT.
THE FIRST AMERICAN ROCKET WAS
BASED ON V-2 TECHNOLOGY.
THE FIRST RUSSIAN ROCKET WAS
ESSENTIALLY JUST A V-2.
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BELIEVE
THAT THE NAZIS PUSHED
THEIR TECHNOLOGY JUST THAT
LITTLE BIT FURTHER?
I REALLY WONDER IF THE...
IF THE GERMANS COULD'VE
GOTTEN TO THE MOON.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.
NAZI TECHNOLOGY MAY
HAVE HAD THE POTENTIAL
TO REACH THE MOON,
BUT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO
SUGGEST THAT A GERMAN SPACECRAFT
DISTURBED THE DUST
OF THE SEA OF CRISES.
IN 2011, NASA'S
LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER
SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON THE MYSTERY
OF THE LUNA 24 PROBE.
AGAINST ALL ODDS, LUNA 24
LANDED IN THE VICINITY
OF A CRATER.
THE IMAGE FROM THE
LRO REVEALS THAT,
BY PURE CHANCE,
LUNA 24'S LANDING SPOT
WAS AT THE EDGE OF A CRATER
FROM AN ASTEROID IMPACT
THAT RELEASED ROCK
FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND.
THE SOVIETS WERE HOPING THIS
WOULD BE A PERFECT LANDING SITE,
BUT NOBODY KNOWS WHAT
THE LUNAR GEOLOGY'S GONNA BE
UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY LAND.
SO THE LUNA 24 SAMPLE
THAT SEEMED LIKE FRESHLY
DISTURBED DIRT
WAS THE RESULT OF GEOLOGY
RATHER THAN NAZI TECHNOLOGY.
IF THE PROBE HAD RETURNED
A SAMPLE FROM ANYWHERE ELSE,
THE MOON DIRT WOULD'VE TESTED
NORMAL.
THE DISCOVERY OF
A CRATER SOLVES THE MYSTERY
OF LUNA 24'S STRANGE SAMPLE.
BUT THE FATE OF THE OTHER SOVIET
PROBES REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.
ADVANCED NAZI ROCKET
TECHNOLOGY FROM THE 1940s
PALES IN COMPARISON TO NASA'S
CURRENT SPACECRAFT.
BUT AS WE ENTER A NEW ERA
OF EXPLORATION,
NEW DISCOVERIES REMIND US
THAT WE ARE STILL
IN THE EARLY YEARS
OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY.
IN A DISTANT CONSTELLATION,
AN ANCIENT STAR IS SURROUNDED
BY MYSTERIOUS RINGS.
RINGS AROUND STARS THAT ARE
AS OLD AS THIS STAR IS
ARE VERY RARE.
FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES,
THE RINGS DEFY ALL ATTEMPTS
AT SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION.
WHEN WE CAN'T EXPLAIN
WHAT WE SEE WITH WHAT WE KNOW,
WE HAVE TO START EXPLAINING
WITH WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THE ONLY SCIENCE
CAPABLE OF EXPLAINING
THIS PHENOMENON
IS TRULY MIND-BLOWING.
ANY CIVILIZATION CAPABLE
OF MAKING A...
A RING WORLD AROUND ITS STAR
WOULD BE LIGHT-YEARS
AHEAD OF US.
SOUTHERN SPAIN, 1995.
HIGH IN THE SIERRA NEVADA
MOUNTAINS,
ASTRONOMER BENJAMIN ZUCKERMAN
EXPLORES AN UNUSUAL STAR
ABOUT 190 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH
IN THE DISTANT
CETUS CONSTELLATION.
WE WEREN'T REALLY SURE
WHAT WE MIGHT FIND.
SO ALTHOUGH IT DEFINITELY WAS
A WOW MOMENT TO SEE 49 CET,
AT THE TIME,
WE DID NOT REALIZE QUITE HOW UNUSUAL
IT WAS GOING TO TURN OUT TO BE.
THE STAR IS SURROUNDED
BY TWO ENORMOUS RINGS.
ONE OF THE RINGS HAS A RADIUS,
I THINK,
OF ABOUT A BILLION MILES.
THE OTHER ONE IS TWO OR THREE
TIMES THAT SIZE, FARTHER OUT.
AND SO THESE ARE... ARE RINGS
THAT ARE OCCURRING IN PLACES
WHERE YOU WOULD EXPECT
PLANETS TO FORM.
FOR AN ASTRONOMER,
THE OBVIOUS CONCLUSION
IS THAT HE'S LOOKING
AT RINGS OF DUST AND GAS,
WHICH OFTEN ENCIRCLE
YOUNG STARS.
BUT AFTER YEARS OF OBSERVATION,
ZUCKERMAN DISCOVERS
THAT 49 CETI
IS NOT YOUNG AT ALL.
THIS STAR IS ABOUT
40 OR 50 MILLION YEARS OLD,
WHICH MAKES IT THE OLDEST STAR
WE KNOW OF
WITH THESE DUSTY DEBRIS DISCS.
ONCE A STAR GETS OLDER THAN
ABOUT 5 MILLION YEARS,
MOST OF THE GAS THAT'S
ORBITING IN THESE DISCS DISSIPATES,
AND DUST PARTICLES EITHER
GET BLOWN AWAY FROM STARS,
OR THEY SPIRAL INTO STARS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE...
THE GREAT MYSTERIES.
THERE'S SOME PROCESS
THAT'S REPLENISHING THE GAS
INTO THIS DISC SYSTEM,
AND WE DON'T SEE
THAT PROCESS GOING ON
IN OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM.
IT'S HARD TO KIND OF
GET IT INTO YOUR HEAD.
THE MYSTERY
OF WHAT HOLDS TOGETHER
THE RINGS AROUND 49 CETI
RAISES SOME INTRIGUING QUESTIONS,
QUESTIONS CONVENTIONAL SCIENCE
CAN STRUGGLE TO ANSWER.
WHEN WE CAN'T EXPLAIN WHAT
WE SEE WITH WHAT WE KNOW,
WE HAVE TO START EXPLAINING
WITH WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
PERHAPS THE MOST
EXTRAORDINARY IDEA
FOR WHAT THE RINGS COULD BE
COMES FROM THE REALM
OF SCIENCE FICTION.
THE CONCEPT OF A GIANT
RING-SHAPED WORLD
SURROUNDING A STAR
WAS FIRST PROPOSED
BY NOVELIST LARRY NIVEN.
LARRY NIVEN'S ORIGINAL
"RINGWORLD" CONCEPT
WOULD TAKE THE MATERIAL
OF SOME USELESS PLANETS
AND USE THEM TO POUND OUT
A RIBBON THAT SURROUNDS A STAR.
AND THIS RIBBON IS KEPT
INFLATED BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE,
RESULTING IN MILLIONS OF TIMES
MORE USEFUL SURFACE AREA
FOR A CIVILIZATION,
BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT TRILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
SO IT'S A FASCINATING CONCEPT.
THE IDEA OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION
BUILDING A RING WORLD
AROUND 49 CETI
IS HUMBLING FOR HUMANITY,
ESPECIALLY AS WE STRUGGLE TO
REACH OUR NEAREST PLANET.
ANY CIVILIZATION THAT WOULD BE
CAPABLE OF MAKING A...
A RING WORLD AROUND ITS STAR
WOULD BE LIGHT-YEARS
AHEAD OF US,
PROBABLY TENS OF MILLIONS
OF YEARS AHEAD OF US
IN TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY.
BUT ALTHOUGH THE RING
WORLD IDEA IS COMPELLING,
SCIENTISTS MUST FIRST RULE OUT
NATURAL PHENOMENA.
FOR 17 YEARS, THE STRANGE STAR
REMAINS UNEXPLAINED
UNTIL ZUCKERMAN COMES UP
WITH A NEW THEORY
THAT SOMETHING TRULY
EXTRAORDINARY IS PROVIDING
THE GAS TO MAKE THE RINGS.
IN 2012,
WE ATTRIBUTED ITS EXISTENCE
TO THE COLLISIONS
OF AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER
OF COMET-LIKE OBJECTS.
WE ESTIMATED THAT THERE HAVE
TO BE SOMETHING LIKE 100 TRILLION
OR MORE COMETS ORBITING
AROUND THE STAR,
AND THAT THE COMETS COULD BE
COLLIDING, SAY,
EVERY 10 SECONDS.
AND THAT'S HOW THIS GAS
THAT WE DISCOVERED IN 1995
IS BEING PRODUCED.
THE RATE OF
COLLISIONS IS ASTOUNDING.
IT'S HARD TO KIND OF GET
INTO YOUR HEAD
THAT THINGS COULD BE COLLIDING
INTO EACH OTHER THAT FREQUENTLY.
COLLISIONS IN THE STORM
OF TRILLIONS OF COMETS
WOULD EXPLAIN THE RING'S
APPARENTLY ENDLESS SUPPLY
OF DUST AND GAS.
HOW THERE COULD BE
THAT MANY COMETS
400 TIMES THE MASS OF EARTH
IN A SINGLE STAR SYSTEM
REMAINS A MYSTERY.
UP NEXT, A SHOCKING DISCOVERY
SUGGESTS
THERE REALLY MAY BE LIFE
UNDER THE MARTIAN SURFACE.
A NASA TELESCOPE MONITORING MARS
DISCOVERS SOMETHING THAT COULD
REWRITE THE HISTORY
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE TO GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE STORY.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE. WE NEED
TO GO BACK TO MARS AND FIND OUT.
THE RED PLANET
SEEMS TO BE ALIVE.
THERE COULD BE A, UH,
A WONDER WORLD FOR SMALL
LIVING CREATURES UNDERNEATH
THE MARTIAN SURFACE RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY GOOD
ARGUMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE.
EVER SINCE NASA FIRST BEGAN
ITS EXPLORATION OF MARS,
THE SPACE AGENCY HAS STRUGGLED
WITH THE QUESTION
OF WHETHER THERE COULD BE LIFE
ON THE RED PLANET.
NOW IT JUST MIGHT
HAVE AN ANSWER.
ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA,
IN HAWAII,
NASA'S POWERFUL INFRARED
TELESCOPE ZOOMS IN
ON EARTH'S NEAREST NEIGHBOR.
IN MARCH OF 2003,
THE DATA STARTS SHOWING
SOMETHING STRANGE.
IT IS NOW ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN
THAT THERE IS METHANE ON MARS.
IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE 19,000
TONS OF... OF METHANE
BEING PRODUCED ON MARS THAT...
THAT REALLY WE COULDN'T EXPLAIN.
THE IMPLICATIONS
OF THIS DISCOVERY
STUNNED ASTRONOMERS.
THE VERY PRESENCE OF METHANE
ON MARS IS REALLY,
UH, EXTRAORDINARY.
ONE OF THE VERY EXCITING THINGS
ABOUT FINDING METHANE ON MARS
IS THAT IT'S AN INDICATOR
OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY.
IT MIGHT BE A SIGNAL THAT
THERE ARE LIVING THINGS,
AND LIVING THINGS ON ANOTHER
WORLD WOULD BE, OF COURSE,
ONE OF THE MOST
DRAMATIC FINDINGS
IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE.
NASA'S SCIENTISTS LAUNCH
A LONG-TERM INVESTIGATION
INTO THE SOURCE
OF THE WEIRD PHENOMENON.
THEY MUST FIRST DETERMINE IF
THE CLOUDS OF GAS ARE SIMPLY
A RELIC FROM MARS'
GEOLOGICAL PAST.
METHANE HAS
A VERY SHORT LIFETIME
IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE.
MARS IS A VERY OXIDIZING PLACE,
AND THAT KIND OF BURNS
THE METHANE UP.
FOR IT TO EVEN BE THERE
IN ANY DETECTABLE AMOUNT
MEANS THAT THERE HAS TO BE
A SOURCE FOR IT,
IT HAS TO BE REPLENISHED.
WHERE WOULD THIS METHANE
COME FROM?
INVESTIGATORS
STRUGGLING TO ANSWER
THIS QUESTION TURN TO OUR
OWN PLANET FOR CLUES.
ON EARTH, IT'S... THERE'S A
FEW WAYS OF MAKING METHANE.
VOLCANOES,
FOR EXAMPLE, MAKE METHANE.
THERE ONCE WERE GREAT VOLCANOES ON MARS,
BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE
WHATSOEVER THAT THERE ARE ANY
ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON MARS TODAY.
SO THE RECENT DISCOVERY
OF METHANE ON MARS
IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE COME
FROM ANY VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.
THE ABSENCE OF
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON MARS
FORCES SCIENTISTS TO CONSIDER
A STARTLING POSSIBILITY.
ON EARTH, MOST METHANE IS
PRODUCED BY LIVING ORGANISMS.
FOR EXAMPLE, COWS.
COWS PRODUCE
VAST AMOUNTS OF METHANE.
THAT'S PART OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE.
IT'S PART OF THEIR METABOLISM.
WHAT IF METHANE IN THE MARTIAN
ATMOSPHERE WAS TELLING US THAT,
TODAY ON MARS, THERE WERE
LIFE FORMS ALIVE SOMEWHERE
PRODUCING IT?
SINCE NASA
FIRST DETECTED METHANE,
MANKIND HAS DISPATCHED
10 MISSIONS TO EXPLORE
THE ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE
OF MARS.
SO FAR, NONE HAVE DISCOVERED
DEFINITIVE PROOF OF LIFE.
BUT MAYBE WE'VE BEEN LOOKING
IN THE WRONG PLACE.
THE IDEA THAT, UH,
THERE'S METHANE ON MARS WHERE WE REALLY
WOULDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE FOUND
IS... IS MAYBE A HINT
THAT PERHAPS THERE COULD BE
A SOURCE THAT'S ASSOCIATED
WITH LIFE,
MAYBE IN THE SUBSURFACE.
I THINK, IF THERE IS
LIFE ON MARS,
IT'S LIKELY DEEP UNDERGROUND.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY
GOOD ARGUMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE
THAT SAY THERE CAN'T BE
RIGHT NOW.
THE CONCEPT OF
A SUBTERRANEAN MARTIAN WORLD
FULL OF LIVING ORGANISMS
SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING
FROM A SCI-FI FILM.
BUT THE IDEA IS BASED ON
ESTABLISHED SCIENTIFIC FACT.
OVER 80 PERCENT OF EARTH LIFE
IS ACTUALLY LIVING UNDERNEATH
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
AND SO THE FACT THAT WE DON'T
FIND LIFE AT THE SURFACE OF MARS
TODAY DOESN'T REALLY TELL YOU
MUCH ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES
OF LIFE UNDERNEATH.
THERE COULD BE A WONDER WORLD
FOR... FOR SMALL
LIVING CREATURES UNDERNEATH
THE MARTIAN SURFACE RIGHT NOW.
SOMETIME
IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS,
THE EUROPEAN AND RUSSIAN
SPACE AGENCIES PLAN TO SEND
A ROVER TO THE RED PLANET TO
EXPLORE THE THREE KEY AREAS
WHERE LIFE COULD EXIST.
UNTIL THEN, THE SOURCE
OF THE METHANE ON MARS
WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE. WE NEED
TO GO BACK TO MARS AND FIND OUT.
WE HAVE TO GET TO
THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY.
METHANE IS RIGHT NOW THE
HOTTEST LEAD THAT WE HAVE
FOR LIFE ON MARS.
COMING UP, NASA'S
SPACECRAFT ARE UNDER ATTACK.
IT'S VIOLENT,
AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
IF YOU'RE NOT SCARED,
YOU SHOULD BE.
A MYSTERIOUS ENERGY
IS ATTACKING NASA CRAFT
IN EARTH'S ORBIT.
IT'S VIOLENT, AND WE DON'T
UNDERSTAND IT.
YOU COULD SUFFER ACUTE DAMAGE,
WHICH CAN LEAD TO DEATH.
COULD THIS FORCE PROVIDE CLUES
TO ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC
AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN HISTORY?
SOMETHING MUST'VE HAPPENED,
SOMETHING UNIQUE
TO CAUSE THE FLIGHT
TO FALL OUT OF THE AIR.
IF YOU'RE NOT SCARED,
YOU SHOULD BE.
HALF A CENTURY OF SPACE
EXPLORATION HAS UNCOVERED
THREATS WHICH EVEN
NASA'S GREATEST MINDS
STRUGGLE TO COMPREHEND.
THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLY
DESTRUCTIVE FORCES
IN THIS UNIVERSE.
CATASTROPHIC EVENTS ARE
HAPPENING AROUND THE GALAXY
EVERY DAY.
BUT INCREDIBLY,
ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES
FOR HUMAN SPACECRAFT
IS RIGHT ON EARTH'S DOORSTEP.
THIS AREA HAS BECOME KNOWN
AS THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY,
AND IT'S A PRETTY BIG AREA.
IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF
HALF OF SOUTH AMERICA.
IT'S KNOWN TO CAUSE ANOMALIES
IN SPACECRAFT, IN SHUTTLES.
IN FACT, IT'LL CRASH
PERSONAL COMPUTERS.
WE ARE JUST COMING UP
ON THE TELESCOPE.
OKAY.
YOU DON'T CONDUCT A SPACE WALK
WHEN YOU'RE PASSING OVER
THAT SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY.
YOU JUST DON'T DO IT.
YOU COULD CALL IT
THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE OF SPACE.
ONE THEORY FOR THE
ANOMALY'S WEIRD EFFECTS
IS THAT THEY COULD BE CAUSED
BY SPACE RADIATION.
IN THE 1950s, JAMES VAN ALLEN
CAME UP WITH WHAT AT THE TIME
WAS A, WELL, CRAZY IDEA
THAT THE EARTH WAS ACTUALLY
SURROUNDED BY
ENERGETIC RADIATION BELTS.
HE WAS RIGHT, AND IN FACT,
THOSE BELTS WERE NAMED
AFTER HIM.
THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
KEEPS THE POWERFUL RADIATION
OF THE VAN ALLEN BELTS
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY
FROM THE PLANET'S SURFACE.
BUT FOR SOME REASON, THERE ARE
DENTS IN THE FORCE FIELD
WHICH ALLOW DESTRUCTIVE ENERGY
TO GET DANGEROUSLY CLOSE
TO THE GROUND.
THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
ISN'T SYMMETRIC,
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THERE ARE
PLACES ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE
WHERE THE MAGNETIC FIELD
IS A LITTLE WEAKER.
IN THOSE REGIONS,
THE VAN ALLEN BELTS COME MUCH CLOSER
TO THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
IN THE REGION OF
SPACE ABOVE THE OCEAN
200 MILES EAST OF BRAZIL,
THE STORM OF CHARGED PARTICLES
BECOMES A VERY REAL THREAT.
ANYTHING MOVING THROUGH THAT
REGION OF SPACE IS BOMBARDED
BY HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES
HITTING AT A RATE OF 6,000
PARTICLES PER SQUARE INCH
PER SECOND.
THAT'S HUGE.
YOU DON'T REALLY WANNA FLY
INSIDE THE RADIATION BELTS
BECAUSE YOU COULD SUFFER
ACUTE RADIATION DAMAGE,
WHICH CAN LEAD TO DEATH.
THE POTENTIALLY DEADLY EFFECTS
OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
ON ORBITING NASA CRAFT
ARE WELL DOCUMENTED.
BUT RECENTLY, A THEORY HAS
EMERGED WHICH SUGGESTS
THE REACH OF THE ANOMALY'S
DESTRUCTIVE POWER
COULD BE FAR GREATER
THAN ANYONE HAD IMAGINED.
COULD AN AIRCRAFT FLYING
DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH
THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
HAVE ITS VITAL INSTRUMENTATION
KNOCKED OUT?
RADIATION CAN DAMAGE
CRITICAL AIRCRAFT
COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
THE PROBLEM WITH THIS THEORY IS THAT,
EVEN ABOVE THE ANOMALY,
THE CLOSEST THE RADIATION
BELTS COME TO EARTH
IS AROUND 125 MILES.
AIRLINERS FLY AT AROUND
38,000 TO 40,000 FEET.
AT THAT ALTITUDE,
THEY ARE STILL VERY FAR AWAY
FROM THE VAN ALLEN RADIATION
BELTS.
FOR THE ANOMALY TO
HAVE ANY EFFECT
ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT,
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE SOMETHING
TO BRIDGE THE DISTANCE
UP TO SPACE.
ONE IDEA IS VAST STREAKS
OF MEGALIGHTNING.
THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THERE
COULD BE SOME KIND OF CASCADING
EFFECT FROM THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE
THAT COMES DOWN AND COULD
POSSIBLY INTERACT
WITH ELECTRONICS.
METEOROLOGIST
JUSTIN BERK IS INVESTIGATING
WHETHER SUCH A PHENOMENON
COULD HAVE PLAYED A PART
IN THE TRAGIC LOSS OF AIR
FRANCE FLIGHT 447 IN 2009.
I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "THIS AREA,
THIS SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY,
WAS PRETTY DARN CLOSE
TO WHERE THE AIR FRANCE FLIGHT
PATTERN WAS."
FLIGHT 447 LEAVES RIO DE JANEIRO
AT 10:29 P.M.
LOCAL TIME ON MAY 31st.
MINUTES BEFORE THE PLANE
DISAPPEARS,
IT FLIES INTO A TROPICAL STORM
ABOVE THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
A SPOKESPERSON FROM AIR FRANCE
SAID THAT THE FLIGHT
WAS LIGHTLY IMPACTED
BY LIGHTNING.
SINCE PLANES ARE DESIGNED
TO GET HIT BY LIGHTNING,
SOMETHING ELSE MUST
HAVE HAPPENED,
SOMETHING SPECIAL,
SOMETHING UNIQUE
TO CAUSE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
POSSIBLY TO FAIL AND THE,
UM, FLIGHT TO FALL
OUT OF THE AIR.
BLACK BOX DATA
RECOVERED FROM THE WRECKAGE
REVEALS THAT TURBULENCE FORCED
THE PILOTS TO CLIMB UP
THOUSANDS OF FEET TOWARD
THE DENSE FIELD OF RADIATION.
IF MEGALIGHTNING CHANNELED
CHARGED PARTICLES
FROM THE RADIATION BELTS
INTO THE PLANE'S FUSELAGE,
IT COULD HAVE SERIOUS EFFECTS
ON INSTRUMENTATION.
YOU HAVE A TROPICAL-BASED
THUNDERSTORM THAT ITSELF IS...
IS CHARGED WITH A LOT OF
ELECTRICITY.
THEN YOU ADD IN THE SOUTH
ATLANTIC ANOMALY THAT HAS BEEN
DOCUMENTED TO HAVE
HIGHLY CHARGED PARTICLES.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE TWO
LINKED UP WITH THAT ONE MOMENT
IN TIME,
THAT RARITY OF A CONNECTION,
THAT SUPERCHARGED THAT STORM
TO SEND HIGHER VOLTAGE
THAT JUST OVERLOADED
THE CIRCUITS ON THE PLANE.
BERK'S THEORY THAT FLIGHT 447
WAS OVERWHELMED
BY STRANGE ATMOSPHERIC
PHENOMENA IS SUPPORTED BY RECORDS
OF A CONVERSATION
BETWEEN THE PILOTS.
ONE HOUR AND 51 MINUTES
INTO THE FLIGHT,
THE PILOT AND COPILOT CAN BE
HEARD ON THE BLACK BOX
DISCUSSING ST. ELMO'S FIRE,
WHICH IS A STATIC DISCHARGE
THAT'S CRAWLING
ALL OVER THE PLANE.
THE BLACK BOX
RECORDINGS STOP AT 2:14 A.M.
AN OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION
CONCLUDES THAT THE CRASH
IS CAUSED BY A COMBINATION
OF PILOT ERROR
AND INSTRUMENT FAILURE.
BUT FOR BERK, THE INFLUENCE
OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY
ON THE DISASTER
IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.
IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S A VERY
PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION
FOR WHY THIS AIRCRAFT
GOT TAKEN OUT OF THE SKY.
STILL TO COME...
COULD AN UNIDENTIFIED VAPOR
TRAIL POSE A DEADLY THREAT
TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION?
AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
AN ASTRONAUT ON BOARD THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SPOTS AN EERIE VAPOR TRAIL
EMANATING FROM EARTH.
HE NOTICES OUT OF THE CORNER
OF HIS EYE A FLASH OF LIGHT.
AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
AS MISSION CONTROL STRUGGLES
TO IDENTIFY THE THREAT,
WITNESSES ON THE GROUND REPORT
AN EXPLOSION
HIGH IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
ON A SPACE STATION,
ANY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
WOULD JUST BE DEVASTATING.
OCTOBER 10, 2013.
ASTRONAUT LUCA PARMITANO
USES A RARE MOMENT OF DOWNTIME
TO PHOTOGRAPH EARTH'S
GREATEST LIGHT SHOW.
AN ASTRONAUT IS SITTING
IN THE CUPOLA, THE VIEWPORT
OF THE SPACE STATION,
GETTING READY TO TAKE PICTURES
OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.
THE I.S.S. IS TRAVELING AT
ABOUT 17,500 MILES PER HOUR.
IT SEES A SUNSET OR A SUNRISE
EVERY 45 MINUTES.
THE VIEWS FOR THE ASTRONAUTS
ARE STUNNING.
BUT PARMITANO'S
SIGHTSEEING DOESN'T LAST LONG.
HE NOTICES OUT OF THE CORNER
OF HIS EYE A FLASH OF LIGHT.
OFF TO THE WEST, HE SUDDENLY
SEES AN ABSOLUTELY UNEXPECTED
PHENOMENON.
WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING
AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.
IT'S ALREADY HIGH IN THE
EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, AND IT LOOKS
AS IF IT'S COME FROM THE EARTH.
THE OBJECT'S VELOCITY
AND TRAJECTORY
MAKE IT LOOK LIKE
A POTENTIAL THREAT.
THE TRAIL STARTS TO DISAPPEAR
IN THE FADING EVENING LIGHT,
BUT AS THE ASTRONAUTS
STARE AT IT,
THEY SEE SOMETHING ELSE STRANGE.
THEY OBSERVE A MYSTERIOUS CLOUD,
AN EXPANDING CLOUD
ON THE HORIZON THAT APPEARS
TO BE GETTING CLOSER.
THE IMAGE THE ASTRONAUTS CAPTURE
IS UNLIKE ANYTHING EVER
SEEN FROM THE I.S.S.
IT'S A SPOOKY IMAGE.
SOMETHING EMANATES FROM EARTH,
CREATES A MASSIVE, HOLLOW CLOUD.
IT'S THE CLASSIC SIGNATURE OF
A SPACECRAFT,
YET THERE IS NO SPACECRAFT.
THERE'S NO EXPLANATION
FOR WHAT THIS THING IS.
MISSION CONTROL CANNOT
SEE THE PHOTOS IN REAL TIME,
SO THEY'RE UNABLE TO MAKE
ANY ASSESSMENT
OF WHAT THE CREW IS SEEING.
WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME,
THE CREW REPORTS DOWN
TO MISSION CONTROL AT NASA
WHAT THEY'VE SEEN.
NASA DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
THE CREW'S IN THIS
WEIRD SITUATION.
THEY'VE DEFINITELY SEEN SOMETHING,
BUT HOUSTON'S DENYING
THERE'S ANYTHING THERE.
THERE'S NO RECORD OF A LAUNCH,
AND SO YOUR NEXT QUESTION HAS
TO BE, WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?
AS THE ASTRONAUTS
STRUGGLE TO IDENTIFY
THE SIGHTING, REPORTS
EMERGE FROM RUSSIA
OF A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT MOVING
ACROSS THE SKIES.
VIDEOS OF THE EVENT IMMEDIATELY
BEGIN TO CIRCULATE ONLINE.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH,
THERE WERE FOLKS IN RUSSIA WHO WERE
REPORTING SEEING THE EXACT
SAME THING AS THE ASTRONAUTS
AT THE EXACT SAME TIME.
IN NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN,
IN THE URAL AREA OF RUSSIA,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE NOW
PHOTOGRAPHING IT
WITH THEIR VIDEO CAMERAS,
THEIR DASH CAMS,
AND FILING IT ON YOUTUBE
WITHIN A FEW HOURS,
CALLING IT A UFO.
INITIALLY,
NASA DOESN'T LINK THE FOOTAGE
FROM THE GROUND WITH THE BIZARRE
EVENTS WITNESSED FROM THE I.S.S.
BUT JUST AS IT SEEMS
AS IF THE SIGHTING WILL REMAIN
UNEXPLAINED,
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY MAKES
A STARTLING DISCLOSURE.
IN MOSCOW, OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED
THE TEST FLIGHT
OF A MILITARY MISSILE.
IN THIS CASE, HOWEVER, THIS
NOTICE APPARENTLY NEVER GOT
TO NASA'S ATTENTION.
GENERALLY,
THE RUSSIANS DO PUT OUT INFORMATION ABOUT
MISSILE TESTS THAT
THEY'RE PERFORMING.
ANYTHING LAUNCHED INTO SPACE,
WELL, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT IT IS
AND WHERE IT'S GOING BECAUSE
YOU NEED TO TRACK
THOSE THINGS TO BE ABLE
TO PROTECT THE I.S.S.
THE MISSILE LAUNCH BECOMES
THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
FOR THE SIGHTING.
MISSION CONTROL VETERAN
JIM OBERG BELIEVES
THAT THE EERIE
SHAPE OF THE CLOUD
CAN BE EXPLAINED BY
A DISCARDED ROCKET STAGE
CASTING A SHADOW IN THE CENTER
OF THE MISSILE'S EXHAUST PLUME.
WHAT'S SO INTRIGUING
ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE IS THAT
IT'S TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.
THAT CLOUD THAT THEY TOOK
ALMOST 100 PICTURES OF IS
AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT IN SPACE,
AN EXTREMELY RARE TYPE OF
RUSSIAN MISSILE TEST.
AND JUST PURELY BY CHANCE,
THE ROCKET IS SILHOUETTED
AGAINST THE SETTING SUN.
AS LONG AS THE VEIL OF SECRECY
SURROUNDING RUSSIAN MISSILE
TESTS PERSISTS,
IT WILL BE HARD TO KNOW
FOR CERTAIN WHAT EFFECTS
THEY MAY PRODUCE
OR WHETHER THEY ARE JUST
A SMOKE SCREEN
FOR DEEPER SECRETS.
UP NEXT,
A MYSTERIOUS DEEP SPACE SIGNAL
APPEARS TO BE COMING FROM
A NEWLY DISCOVERED
HABITABLE WORLD.
I SAID, "WOW.
THIS IS FANTASTIC."
IS THIS E.T.?
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
WHILE SEARCHING SPACE FOR
SIGNALS FROM OTHER WORLDS,
AN ASTRONOMER SPOTS SOMETHING
EXTRAORDINARY.
I SAID, "WOW, THIS IS
FANTASTIC."
IS THIS E.T.?
THE QUESTION IS, IS SOMEONE
FIRING THAT LASER PULSE AT US?
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
SOME OF NASA'S FINEST
SCIENTISTS HAVE GRAPPLED WITH
THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION
OF WHETHER WE ARE ALONE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
BUT REALISTICALLY,
IF WE DO EVER RECEIVE AN ANSWER,
WE MAY STRUGGLE TO RECOGNIZE IT.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA,
DECEMBER 2008.
ASTROPHYSICIST
DR. RAGBIR BHATHAL
IS GETTING READY FOR HIS REGULAR
SEARCH OF THE SOUTHERN SKIES.
WHENEVER THERE'S A NICE,
CLEAR NIGHT, WE RECORD
ONTO THE OBSERVATORY.
WE HAVE A LIST OF OBJECTS, AND
WE JUST GO HOP FROM ONE OBJECT
TO THE OTHER INTO QUITE LATE
INTO THE NIGHT.
LIKE MANY SKYWATCHERS,
DR. BHATHAL IS HOPING
FOR A SIGNAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
BUT UNLIKE MANY OF HIS PEERS,
HE DOESN'T FOCUS
ON RADIO SIGNALS.
FORTY YEARS HAVE PASSED BY,
AND, UH,
NOTHING HAD BEEN DISCOVERED.
SO A NUMBER OF US THOUGHT,
"WELL, IT'S TIME WE MOVE INTO
ANOTHER SPECTRUM."
ADVANCED CIVILIZATIONS
COULD HAVE A RANGE
OF COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES
AVAILABLE TO THEM.
WE ARE AN EMERGING CIVILIZATION.
WE'VE ONLY HAD RADIO 100 YEARS
IN OUR 5-BILLION-YEAR HISTORY.
SOME STARS ARE 10 BILLION
YEARS OLD.
OUR STAR IS 5 BILLION YEARS OLD.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE CIVILIZATIONS
BILLIONS OF YEARS AHEAD OF US.
PERHAPS A MORE LIKELY
COMMUNICATION METHOD
WOULD BE LASERS SIGNALING.
IF WE HAVE DEVELOPED LASERS,
IT'S LIKELY THAT ANOTHER
CIVILIZATION HAS DEVELOPED
LASER SYSTEMS.
WE KNOW THAT WE CAN ENCODE
LASERS WITH SIGNAL
AND HAVE IT DECIPHERED
AT THE OTHER END.
SO, WHY CAN'T AN ALIEN
CIVILIZATION DO THE SAME THING
AND TRY AND COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHERS?
IN DECEMBER 2008,
DR. BHATHAL IS EIGHT YEARS INTO
HIS SEARCH FOR LASER SIGNALS
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN.
WE DID THIS NORMAL RUN.
I WENT INTO THE OBSERVATORY.
I CHECKED THE EQUIPMENT, UH,
MADE SURE I ALIGNED
THE TELESCOPE.
AND THEN I STARTED MY SEARCH.
HE USES AN OPTICAL
TELESCOPE TO SEARCH
THE TUCANAE STAR CLUSTER
16,000 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH.
WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE DATA,
HE SEES SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.
I FOUND THIS, UH,
THIS SPIKE ON THE SCREEN,
AND THAT WAS EXCITING.
WE WENT BACK AND, UH, CHECKED
THAT OUR INSTRUMENTS WERE NOT
MALFUNCTIONING, AND, UH,
THE EQUIPMENT PASSED ITS,
YOU KNOW... THERE WAS NOTHING
WRONG WITH THE EQUIPMENT.
I SAID, "WOW, THIS IS
FANTASTIC."
"YOU KNOW, HAVE I SEEN THIS,
UH, YOU KNOW, IS IT...
IS THIS E.T.?"
BHATHAL'S FIND IS EXCEPTIONAL.
BUT THEN A STRANGE SERIES OF
EVENTS STARTS TO MAKE IT LOOK
LIKE A DEFINING MOMENT
IN HISTORY.
IN SEPTEMBER 2010,
A TEAM OF ASTRONOMERS
DISCOVERS A PLANET
IN THE HABITABLE ZONE
OF THE STAR GLIESE 581.
AND REPORTS ON SEVERAL WEB
SITES CLAIM THAT THE NEW PLANET
IS THE POINT OF ORIGIN
FOR DR. BHATHAL'S
MYSTERIOUS LASER SIGNAL.
THIS IS SOMETHING BEYOND
OUR WILDEST DREAMS.
WE KNOW THAT ALMOST ALL STARS
HAVE PLANETS GOING AROUND THEM.
AND SOME OF THESE PLANETS... ACTUALLY,
A LOT OF THESE PLANETS
ARE PLANETS THAT ARE KIND OF
NICE PLANETS.
THEY'RE... WE CALL 'EM
GOLDILOCKS PLANETS...
NOT TOO HOT, NOT TOO COLD,
NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM THEIR SUN.
AND SOME OF THEM HAVE
LIQUID WATER
AND THE RIGHT CONDITIONS
FOR LIFE.
FOR A MOMENT,
IT SEEMS AS IF THE DATA
COULD FINALLY PROVIDE
AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION
OF WHETHER WE ARE ALONE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
IN 2010, THERE WAS
ANNOUNCED A DISCOVERY
OF A PLANET CALLED GLIESE 581G,
WHICH MEANS THAT IT WAS
THE FIFTH PLANET
AROUND THE STAR GLIESE 581.
AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS THE
FIRST ONE THAT WAS DETECTED
THAT MIGHT BE HABITABLE.
IN FACT,
SOME OF THE DISCOVERERS SAID,
"HUNDRED PERCENT SURE
THAT IT HAS LIFE."
IF WE HAVE AN INTELLIGENT
SIGNAL TIED TO AN EXOPLANET,
YOU ACTUALLY DARE TO THINK,
"DID WE FIND IT?
DID WE FIND
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?"
BUT WHILE IT DOES
INITIALLY LOOK LIKE
GLIESE 581G COULD ACTUALLY BE
THE FIRST HABITABLE PLANET
FOUND OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
THE REPORTS SUGGESTING
IT COULD BE THE SOURCE
OF THE TUCANAE LASER BEAM
TURN OUT TO BE WRONG.
AND THERE IS ANOTHER MAJOR
PROBLEM WITH THE POTENTIALLY
LIFE-CHANGING DISCOVERY.
A LOT OF PLANET HUNTERS WERE
SOMEWHAT SKEPTICAL THAT THEY'D
ACTUALLY HAD THIS SIGNAL
FOR THIS PLANET BEING THERE.
AND ACTUALLY, RECENT WORK
IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS
HAS SHOWN WITHOUT DOUBT
THAT GLIESE 581G
DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST,
THAT IT WAS AN ARTIFACT
OF THE DATA REDUCTION
THAT WAS USED.
WITH NO PLANET
NEAR THE POINT OF ORIGIN,
THE MYSTERIOUS LASER PULSE
MUST HAVE SOME OTHER SOURCE.
ALL ATTEMPTS TO FIND IT
A SECOND TIME FOR VERIFICATION
HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL.
PHYSICS IS A VERY
HARD DISCIPLINE,
AND YOU NEED TO HAVE, IN THIS
CASE, EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE.
AND THE EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE
WASN'T THERE.
YES, WE ARE STILL SEARCHING
FOR IT,
AND WE'LL CONTINUE
TO SEARCH FOR IT.
WHILE FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS
MAY STILL PROVE THAT THIS
SIGNAL WAS A FALSE LEAD,
THE SEARCH FOR FIRST CONTACT
CONTINUES.
STILL TO COME...
IS THERE AN UNKNOWN FORCE
IN THE GALACTIC CORE CAPABLE
OF MOVING ENTIRE STARS?
SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING
IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR MILKY WAY.
IN A DISTANT REGION OF SPACE
CLOSE TO THE GALACTIC CORE,
THE STARS ARE FORMING
INTO STRANGE PATTERNS.
SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING
IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR MILKY WAY.
BUT THE CAUSE OF THE PHENOMENON
IS UNKNOWN TO SCIENCE.
2009.
ASTROPHYSICIST ALBERT ZIJLSTRA
BEGINS HIS RESEARCH
WITH THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE,
LOOKING FOR PLANETARY NEBULAE
LOCATED NEAR
THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY.
BUT ZIJLSTRA ISN'T INTERESTED
IN THE BEAUTY OF THE
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA.
HE'S INVESTIGATING REPORTS
OF A DISTURBING ANOMALY
CLOSE TO THE CENTER
OF OUR GALAXY.
NEBULAE SHOULDN'T BE POINTING
IN A UNIFORM DIRECTION.
IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING
SCIENTISTS KNOW
ABOUT HOW THEY FORM.
BUT HOWEVER IMPROBABLE
THE PHENOMENON
OF NEBULAE FORMING
INTO PATTERNS MIGHT BE,
ZIJLSTRA CAN'T IGNORE
THE EVIDENCE IN FRONT OF HIM.
WHAT MAKES THE PHENOMENON
EVEN STRANGER IS THAT
IT SEEMS TO BE ONLY ONE TYPE
OF NEBULA FORMING INTO PATTERNS.
WHATEVER THE FORCE IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PHENOMENON,
SOME NEBULAE SEEM TO BE IMMUNE.
WHEN YOU SEE ORDER OR PATTERNS,
IT'S NATURAL TO THINK ABOUT
WHAT COULD BE CREATING
THAT ORDER.
SCIENTISTS CAN ONLY
SPECULATE ABOUT
WHAT IS PRODUCING SUCH ORDER.
BUT WHILE THE GALACTIC
MAGNETIC FIELD
IS TOO WEAK TODAY TO HAVE
ANY EFFECT ON STARS,
IT MAY NOT ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.
IF THERE WAS THIS GALACTIC
MAGNETIC FIELD THAT CAUSED THIS,
THE QUESTION IS, WHAT CAUSED
THE MAGNETIC FIELD?
UNTIL THE REALITIES OF THE
GALACTIC MAGNETIC FIELD
ARE BETTER UNDERSTOOD,
THE STRANGE ALIGNMENT
OF THE BUTTERFLY NEBULAE
WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY.
EVEN AS NASA LEADS US
INTO THE FUTURE, EVERY MISSION
IS BUILT UPON THE ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE PAST.
AND NEW DISCOVERIES FORCE US
TO RETHINK OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF THE COSMOS.
AS WE EXPLORE EVER DEEPER
INTO SPACE,
ONLY ONE THING IS CERTAIN...
WE WILL BE ASTONISHED.
Subtitles Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk