Space's Deepest Secrets (2016–…): Season 6, Episode 1 - Mystery of the Alien Asteroid - full transcript
When a strange alien object is discovered speeding through our solar system, experts race to uncover if it's real evidence of extraterrestrial contact or a deadly asteroid on a collision course with planet earth.
Narrator:
A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
THE SIZE AND SHAPE
OF A SKYSCRAPER
HURTLING THROUGH
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AT OVER 100,000 MILES PER HOUR,
FAST ENOUGH TO LEVEL A
CITY IF IT HITS THE EARTH.
AS THE DATA CAME IN,
EVERYBODY'S JAWS BEGAN TO DROP
AND YOU REALIZE, NO,
THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE
NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
Narrator:
THIS BIZARRE OBJECT
COMES FROM OUTSIDE
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
IT'S OUR FIRST
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR.
ASTRONOMERS CALL IT "'OUMUAMUA,"
THE MESSENGER FROM AFAR.
'OUMUAMUA IS OUR GALAXY
COMING TO US.
Thaller: THIS IS THE FIRST
TIME IN HISTORY
WE ENCOUNTERED
SOMETHING LEGIT ALIEN.
Narrator:
ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE WORLD
SCRAMBLE TO UNLOCK
ITS DEEPEST SECRETS.
HOW DID 'OUMUAMUA GET HERE?
DOES IT POSE A THREAT
TO THE EARTH?
COULD IT EVEN BE
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP?
♪
'OUMUAMUA WAS SO STRANGE,
SO DIFFERENT,
THAT EVERYTHING
WAS ON THE TABLE.
WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS.
Narrator:
THIS IS THE INSIDE STORY
OF THE RACE TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY
OF THE ALIEN ASTEROID.
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
♪
THE SUMMIT OF MAUNAKEA,
THE GIANT VOLCANO
ON HAWAII'S BIG ISLAND.
HOME TO SOME OF THE EARTH'S
MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES.
THIS IS WHERE ASTRONOMERS
KEEP WATCH ON THE NIGHT SKIES
LOOKING FOR ASTEROIDS AND COMETS
THAT THREATEN THE EARTH.
ASTRONOMER ROB WERYK
IS PART OF THIS VITALLY
IMPORTANT SEARCH.
Weryk: AT THE END
OF MY E-MAIL SIGNATURE,
I JUST WRITE
"GUARDIAN OF EARTH."
IT'S KIND OF A JOKE
BETWEEN MY COLLEAGUES AND ME.
MY OFFICIAL TITLE IS
PLANETARY DEFENSE RESEARCHER.
BUT WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING
TO PROTECT THE PLANET
FROM HAZARDOUS
ASTEROIDS AND COMETS.
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 19th, 2017,
ROB SPOTS A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
STREAKING THROUGH SPACE
LIKE A ROGUE MISSILE.
Weryk: WE ACTUALLY HAD A NEW
CANDIDATE DETECTION.
IT WAS MOVING VERY FAST.
IT APPEARED AS A STREAK
IN THE IMAGE.
Narrator:
THE OBJECT IS MOVING SO FAST,
THAT IT APPEARS AS
A FAINT, GRAY LINE.
AT THIS SPEED,
IT WILL HIT THE EARTH
WITH MORE FORCE
THAN A NUCLEAR BOMB --
POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO DESTROY A CITY.
ROB AND THE TEAM SET UP CAMP
AT THE CANADA-FRANCE-HAWAII
TELESCOPE,
TO PLOT THE OBJECT'S TRAJECTORY.
THE DATA THEY CAPTURE CONFIRMS
THAT THIS OBJECT IS HEADING
AWAY FROM OUR PLANET.
THE EARTH IS SAFE...FOR NOW.
BUT THE OBJECT'S ORBIT
IS UNLIKE ANYTHING
ROB HAS SEEN BEFORE.
EVERYTHING THAT BELONGS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
TRAVELS IN CLOSED
LOOPS AROUND THE SUN.
THE SUN HOLDS THE PLANETS
IN NEAR CIRCULAR ORBITS.
SMALLER BODIES, LIKE COMETS,
MOVE IN VAST, ELLIPTICAL ORBITS
THAT TAKE THEM TO THE
EDGES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
BEFORE LOOPING BACK
TOWARDS THE SUN.
BUT ROB'S DATA REVEALS
THAT THIS MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
IS DIFFERENT.
ITS ORBIT IS OPEN, NOT CLOSED.
THIS MEANS THAT IT MUST COME
FROM OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
FROM INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
IT'S OUR FIRST
CONFIRMED ALIEN VISITOR.
ASTRONOMERS NAMED IT
"'OUMUAMUA,"
HAWAIIAN FOR "MESSENGER."
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.
AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY
TOLD US, RIGHT THEN,
THAT THIS OBJECT CAME FROM
OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
Thaller: 'OUMUAMUA WAS LIKE
NOTHING WE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.
AND THINK ABOUT THAT.
THAT'S LITERALLY TRUE.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY
A COMPLETELY ALIEN OBJECT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT DAY,
I KIND OF GOT SHIVERS, RIGHT?
Narrator:
BUT 'OUMUAMUA TRAVELS SO FAST,
THAT ASTRONOMERS HAVE
JUST WEEKS TO STUDY IT
BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS BEYOND
THE REACH OF EARTH'S TELESCOPES.
Weryk:
THE BEST ASSESSMENT WE HAD,
WE WOULD SEE IT FOR
ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS,
SO WE HAD TO GET AS
MUCH DATA AS WE COULD
AS SOON AS WE COULD ON AS
MANY TELESCOPES AS WE COULD.
Narrator:
IT'S NOW A RACE AGAINST TIME,
TO LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT
'OUMUAMUA AS POSSIBLE.
ASTRONOMERS START WITH
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION.
WHAT IS 'OUMUAMUA?
THE MAIN CANDIDATES ARE
TWO FORMS OF SPACE DEBRIS
ROUTINELY HURLED OUT OF
DEVELOPING SOLAR SYSTEMS.
WHEN OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM FIRST FORMED,
WE THINK THAT A HUGE NUMBER
OF COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
WERE EJECTED AWAY BY JUPITER,
ITS GRAVITY.
THIS MUST'VE HAPPENED
AROUND OTHER STARS, AS WELL.
IN ALL LIKELIHOOD,
'OUMUAMUA IS AN INTERSTELLAR
ASTEROID OR A COMET.
Narrator: COULD 'OUMUAMUA BE
AN ASTEROID OR COMET,
TOSSED INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE
DURING THE BIRTH OF
AN ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEM?
♪
ASTRONOMER MEG SCHWAMB
STUDIES ASTEROIDS AND COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
SHE AND HER TEAM RACE
TO OBSERVE THE OBJECT
USING THE GEMINI NORTH
TELESCOPE IN HAWAII.
ASTRONOMERS HOPE TO GET AN IDEA
OF 'OUMUAMUA'S SHAPE AND SIZE,
A VITAL CLUE AS TO WHAT IT IS.
IT WAS EXCITING.
I REALLY WANTED TO KNOW
WHERE IT WOULD FIT IN.
WOULD IT LOOK LIKE AN ASTEROID?
WOULD IT LOOK LIKE A COMET?
BUT IT LOOKED
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
Narrator: THERE ARE
NO TELESCOPES POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO DETERMINE THE SIZE
AND SHAPE DIRECTLY.
ALL THEY HAVE TO
GO ON IS THE FACT
THAT 'OUMUAMUA'S DIMENSIONS
AFFECT HOW MUCH LIGHT IT
REFLECTS BACK TOWARDS EARTH.
Schwamb: THIS IS ACTUALLY DATA
FROM MANY, MANY TELESCOPES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
WATCHING 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, THIS IS BRIGHTNESS
OVER TIME.
IT GETS BRIGHTER AND FAINTER
AND BRIGHTER AGAIN.
Narrator:
WHAT COULD MAKE THE LIGHT
FROM 'OUMUAMUA BRIGHTEN AND DIM?
ROB THINKS IT'S BECAUSE
OF THE OBJECT'S SHAPE,
AND THE WAY IT'S MOVING.
IF YOU CAN IMAGINE
THIS SHAPE HERE,
YOU'RE LOOKING
ON THE LONGEST EDGE,
IT HAS THE GREATER SURFACE AREA.
THIS REFLECTS MORE LIGHT.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK
AT THE SMALLER END,
IT DOESN'T REFLECT
AS MUCH LIGHT,
THEREFORE IT'S NOT
GONNA APPEAR AS BRIGHT.
SO, THIS IS SIMILAR
TO 'OUMUAMUA,
WHERE WE THINK IT'S
A VERY ELONGATED OBJECT.
AND AS IT'S TUMBLING
THROUGH SPACE,
THE DIFFERENT SIZE
OF THE REFLECTIVE SURFACE
GIVES YOU THE VARIATION
OF BRIGHTNESS YOU SEE.
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS USE
THIS DIFFERENCE IN LIGHT
TO DETERMINE EXACTLY
HOW ELONGATED
AND HOW BIG 'OUMUAMUA IS.
BASED ON THE VARIATION
IN THE LIGHT CURVE OF 'OUMUAMUA,
WE KNOW THAT IT'S APPROXIMATELY
A LENGTH-TO-WIDTH RATIO
OF 6 TO 1.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA IS SIX TIMES
LONGER THAN IT IS WIDE.
THIS MAKES IT EXCEPTIONALLY
TALL AND THIN.
IT SOARS BETWEEN 650
TO 785 FEET HIGH.
IT'S A SKYSCRAPER
THAT COULD BE AS BIG
AS THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING,
TUMBLING THROUGH
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
DETERMINING 'OUMUAMUA'S SHAPE
IS A FANTASTIC BIT
OF DETECTIVE WORK,
BUT ASTRONOMERS ARE
NO CLOSER TO SAYING
WHETHER THE ALIEN VISITOR
IS AN ASTEROID OR A COMET
BECAUSE THEY'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING WITH THIS SHAPE BEFORE.
ASTRONOMERS SCRAMBLE
TO EXPLAIN WHAT 'OUMUAMUA IS.
FIRST UP,
COULD IT BE AN ASTEROID?
INVESTIGATORS TURN
TO LAB EXPERIMENTS
TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
IF IT IS A ROCKY ASTEROID,
WHAT KIND OF COSMIC PROCESS
COULD CARVE OUT
SUCH A LONG AND
THIN SHARD OF ROCK?
♪
PLANETARY SCIENTIST
PETER SCHULTZ
HAS SPENT HIS CAREER RECREATING
VIOLENT COLLISIONS IN SPACE.
HE WANTS TO KNOW IF
AN ALMIGHTY COLLISION
CAN MAKE A ROCKY SPLINTER
THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA.
'OUMUAMUA IS REALLY INTERESTING,
'CAUSE WE'VE NEVER SEEN
AN ASTEROID THAT IS SHAPED
LIKE A CIGAR.
THAT'S JUST STRANGE.
AND SO, WE HAVE TO
FIGURE OUT WHY.
Narrator:
COULD AN EPIC COLLISION
CREATE A SIMILAR ASTEROID?
OR IS THERE AN EVEN MORE
INCREDIBLE EXPLANATION
BEHIND 'OUMUAMUA'S
STRANGE SHAPE?
COULD THIS INTERSTELLAR
VISITOR BE AN ALIEN SPACESHIP?
♪
Narrator: AT THE NASA AMES
VERTICAL GUN RANGE,
PLANETARY SCIENTIST
PETER SCHULTZ
USES A GIANT, HYPERVELOCITY GUN
TO RECREATE
SOME OF THE MOST VIOLENT
COLLISIONS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
TO UNDERSTAND THE
FORCES AT WORK.
HERE WE ARE, AT THE NASA
AMES VERTICAL GUN RANGE.
THIS ALLOWS US
TO FIRE PROJECTILES
AT 22 TIMES THE SPEEDS OF SOUND.
OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS,
PETER'S INVESTIGATED EVERYTHING
FROM MOON SHAPING COLLISIONS...
TO DETERMINING WHAT TYPE
OF IMPACT KILLED THE DINOSAURS.
♪
MOST OF PETER'S EPIC COLLISIONS
CREATE SHORT AND LUMPY DEBRIS,
SHAPED LIKE
MOST OF THE ASTEROIDS SEEN
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT DRAWING ON HIS
EXPERIENCE, PETER BELIEVES
THAT ONE VERY SPECIFIC
TYPE OF COLLISION
MIGHT JUST GENERATE SOMETHING
THAT LOOKS LONG
AND THIN LIKE 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR
VISITOR TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN
THE IMPACT CHAMBER.
THIS IS WHERE WE
SLAM INTO THINGS.
THIS IS OUR PROJECTILE,
WHICH REPRESENTS AN ASTEROID.
AND TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE
SLAMMING INTO THIS CYLINDER.
NOW, IMAGINE THAT THIS IS A
PLANET OR ANOTHER ASTEROID.
IT WILL BE COMING IN,
SLAMMING IN AT AN OBLIQUE ANGLE,
AND WE WANT TO FIND OUT
DOES IT BREAK INTO
MILLIONS OF PIECES,
OR ARE THERE SOME BIGGER CHUNKS
THAT IT MIGHT END UP
LOOKING LIKE A CIGAR --
SOMETHING LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
CHARGE IS LOADED,
THAT'S GOOD TO GO.
WE'RE READY
TO BRING THE GUN UP.
Narrator: PETER BELIEVES
THAT AS THE SMALL BODY
SMASHES INTO THE LARGER
OBJECT AT AN ANGLE,
THE GLANCING BLOW
COULD CREATE SOMETHING
THE SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT THE SHOT HAS TO BE
INCREDIBLY PRECISE TO WORK.
♪
YEAH, IF WE'RE OFF
BY ONE MILLIMETER.
♪
Man: OKAY, WE ARE
ARMED IN AND RESET.
HIGH VOLTAGE IS ON.
IRON PADDLES IN.
HERE WE GO.
ROLLING.
[ SHATTER ]
WHOA! OKAY.
YEP, WE HIT IT OKAY.
THIS WENT WELL.
Narrator: THE PROJECTILE
SUCCESSFULLY SLAMS
INTO THE CYLINDER
AT 22 TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.
BUT HAS THE FEROCIOUS IMPACT
GENERATED ANY FRAGMENTS
THE SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA?
♪
PETER EXAMINES
THE HIGH-SPEED FOOTAGE.
♪
Schultz:
THESE ARE ACTUAL FRAGMENTS
OF THE PROJECTILE ITSELF.
Narrator:
THESE BLACK SHAPES ARE PIECES
OF THE NOW SHATTERED
BALL BEARING.
THERE'S A FRAGMENT
HERE THAT'S ELONGATED,
A FRAGMENT HERE IS ELONGATED.
THAT'S ALMOST
A 5-TO-1 RATIO.
SO, THIS IS A FRAGMENT THAT
LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
Narrator:
AS IT SLAMS INTO THE CYLINDER,
THE TOP HALF OF THE
SMALL BALL SHEARS OFF,
AND BREAKS INTO
LONG, THIN SHARDS,
A SIMILAR SHAPE TO 'OUMUAMUA.
WE'VE BASICALLY SHOWN HERE...
THAT IT'S POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE
AN ELONGATE FRAGMENT,
FROM AN IMPACT
BETWEEN TWO BODIES.
[ SHATTER ]
Narrator: THESE SORTS OF
'OUMUAMUA-FORMING COLLISIONS
ARE THOUGHT TO HAPPEN
IN THE VIOLENT CONDITIONS
THAT EXIST WHEN
A SOLAR SYSTEM IS BORN.
♪
AS A SOLAR SYSTEM FORMS,
A DENSE CLOUD OF MATERIAL
SWIRLS AROUND A YOUNG STAR.
INSIDE THE CLOUD,
ASTEROIDS COLLIDE...
♪
...DRAWING OUT A BARRAGE
OF ROCKY FRAGMENTS.
SOME OF THEM ARE LONG AND THIN,
JUST LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT IN THE MAELSTROM
OF A YOUNG SOLAR SYSTEM,
THEY DON'T LAST LONG.
AFTER MULTIPLE COLLISIONS,
ONLY A SMALL FRACTION
OF THE THIN FRAGMENTS SURVIVE,
AND EVEN FEWER ESCAPE
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE
THAT AN ASTEROID
THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA,
CAN ESCAPE FROM
A DEVELOPING SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT THESE SHARDS
SURVIVE SO RARELY
THAT ASTRONOMERS
CAN'T SAY FOR SURE
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS AN ASTEROID.
WITH TIME RUNNING OUT,
ASTRONOMERS MUST INVESTIGATE
THE OTHER OPTIONS.
'OUMUAMUA IS GETTING
FAINTER EVERY SINGLE DAY,
EVERY SINGLE HOUR.
SO, THE RACE IS ON TO COLLECT
AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN
BEFORE IT FADES FOREVER
INTO NOTHINGNESS.
Narrator: AS THE ALIEN
VISITOR SPEEDS AWAY,
IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE
THAT IT COULD BE AN ICY COMET
OR PERHAPS AN ALIEN SPACESHIP
ON A MISSION
TO EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS.
♪
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
INVESTIGATORS ARE
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
THIS MYSTERIOUS OBJECT IS.
THEY KNOW THAT 'OUMUAMUA IS
SHAPED LIKE A LONG, THIN CIGAR.
BUT IS IT A COMET MADE FROM ICE?
THERE ARE GOOD REASONS
WHY THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE.
♪
WE THINK A LOT MORE
COMETS GET THROWN OUT,
AWAY FROM THE STAR SYSTEM
ENTIRELY, THAN ASTEROIDS.
Narrator: COMETS ARE A MIX
OF ROCK AND ICE,
LIKE DIRTY SNOWBALLS.
THEY FORM FURTHER OUT
IN SOLAR SYSTEMS,
AND THIS MAKES IT
EASIER FOR THEM
TO BREAK FREE AND HEAD
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
BUT IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A COMET
TO BE THIS SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA?
THERE IS NO SUCH THING
AS A TYPICAL COMET.
THE ONES THAT WE'VE
ACTUALLY SEEN UP CLOSE,
THEY ALL LOOK KIND OF DIFFERENT.
Narrator:
SOME COMETS STICK TOGETHER,
CREATING RUBBER DUCK SHAPES.
OTHERS ARE ROUNDED
AND FLY ALONE.
BUT NOTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE
HAS THE SKYSCRAPER PROFILE
OF 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, HOW DID IT FORM?
ONE POTENTIAL SOLUTION LIES
FAR BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
OUT IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA, IT'S BEEN OUT
IN THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS,
FOR MILLIONS,
TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS.
AND SO, THAT'S GONNA MAKE IT
A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT
THAN THE OBJECTS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
IT COULD'VE BEEN THAT
'OUMUAMUA LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT
AT THE BEGINNING OF ITS JOURNEY,
TO WHEN IT PASSED BY THE EARTH.
Narrator: IF 'OUMUAMUA
REALLY IS AN ICY COMET,
THE RAVAGES OF
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
COULD'VE DRAMATICALLY
ALTERED ITS SHAPE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA MAY HAVE STARTED LIFE
AS A LUMPY COMET.
ON ITS LONG JOURNEY,
IT ENCOUNTERS POCKETS OF DUST
AND TINY ABRASIVE
MICRO-METEOROIDS.
AS THEY STRIKE THE
COMET'S SURFACE,
THEY SANDBLAST AWAY
THE ICE AND ROCK...
AND OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,
WHITTLE AWAY
THE LUMPS AND BUMPS.
THE COMET GETS THINNER
AND THINNER...
UNTIL, EVENTUALLY,
IT LOOKS LIKE A SKYSCRAPER.
♪
IT MAY BE POSSIBLE FOR A COMET
TO BE THE SAME
SHAPE AS 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT IS THERE ANY HARD EVIDENCE
IN THE OBSERVATIONS
THAT CONFIRMS IF IT IS A COMET?
SO, THE FIRST THOUGHT IS THAT
IF IT WAS ICY IN COMING IN,
IT WOULD START BEHAVING
EXACTLY LIKE A COMET,
AND THEN ONCE
IT GOT CLOSE ENOUGH,
WE WOULD START SEEING
IT SHEDS ITS LAYERS,
AND THAT WE MIGHT SEE
A TAIL COMING FROM IT,
JUST LIKE WE DO
WHEN WE SEE A COMET
COMING IN FROM OUR
DISTANT SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: AS COMETS COME CLOSE
TO THE HEAT OF A STAR,
LIKE THE SUN, THE ICES
ON THEM FLASH INTO GAS.
♪
THIS CREATES AN EXTENDED
CLOUD OF GAS AND DUST,
A COMA AND TAIL.
♪
THE SAME SHOULD HAPPEN
TO 'OUMUAMUA IF IT'S A COMET.
Schwamb: WHAT WE EXPECTED TO SEE
WAS THAT WE WOULD SEE A COMA.
THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM
THE VERY LARGE TELESCOPE,
AND SO THE DOT
THERE IS 'OUMUAMUA,
AND IT'S JUST A DOT.
IT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A POINT
SOURCE, NO FUZZINESS AT ALL.
SO, WE DIDN'T SEE ANY OF
THE COMA WE WERE EXPECTING,
SO IT WASN'T A COMET.
♪
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST OBJECT
TO BE CLASSIFIED AS A COMET
AND THEN DECLASSIFIED
TO NOT BE A COMET.
Narrator:
SO, WHAT IS 'OUMUAMUA?
MANY THOUGHT IT MUST BE A COMET.
BUT THEN WHY DOES
IT NOT HAVE A TAIL?
AND IT'S UNLIKELY TO
BE A ROCKY ASTEROID,
BECAUSE WE SO RARELY SEE ONE
SHAPED LIKE A SKYSCRAPER.
WITH QUESTION MARKS HANGING OVER
THE TWO MOST LIKELY
EXPLANATIONS,
SOME BEGIN TO CONSIDER AN
EXTRAORDINARY THIRD ALTERNATIVE.
IS 'OUMUAMUA SO LONG AND THIN
BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP
ON A MISSION TO
EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS?
♪
THIS MAY SOUND LIKE
AN ASTONISHING IDEA,
BUT THERE IS OTHER EVIDENCE
THAT SUPPORTS THIS THEORY.
Oluseyi: ONE THING
THAT WAS REALLY SUSPICIOUS
ABOUT 'OUMUAMUA
WAS ITS TRAJECTORY
AND THIS IS KIND OF WHAT GAVE
A LITTLE BIT OF CREDENCE
TO THE NOTION THAT IT WAS
SOME KIND OF ALIEN VISITATION.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA'S TRAJECTORY
SENDS IT FLASHING
BETWEEN THE ORBITS
OF MARS AND EARTH.
ASTRONOMERS CALL THIS
THE HABITABLE ZONE...
THE ONE PLACE IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
WHERE 'OUMUAMUA COULD
ENCOUNTER INTELLIGENT LIFE.
SO, IS 'OUMUAMUA A SPACESHIP
SENT HERE TO
COMMUNICATE WITH US?
SETH SHOSTAK IS PART OF SETI,
THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT,
IT COULD BE BROADCASTING
SOME SORT OF RADIO SIGNAL.
SETH'S PLAN IS TO LISTEN
IN BEFORE THIS VISITOR
VANISHES FROM THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
COMMUNICATION IS SOMETHING
THAT ALL SPACECRAFT HAVE TO DO.
THEY'D HAVE TO COMMUNICATE
BACK TO THE MOTHERSHIP,
OR THE MOTHER PLANET
OR SOMEBODY ELSE.
SO, IF THEY WERE DOING THAT,
THEN WE COULD'VE DETECTED
SOME RADIO SIGNALS
COMING OFF THIS THING.
Narrator: IF ALIENS ARE
COMMUNICATING OUT IN SPACE,
IT'S A GOOD BET THEY'LL
BE USING RADIO WAVES.
THIS IS THE ALLEN
RADIO TELESCOPE ARRAY.
IT'S DESIGNED TO PROVE
THE EXISTENCE OF ALIENS
BY EAVESDROPPING ON
THEIR CONVERSATIONS.
♪
RADIO WAVES ESSENTIALLY
CAN GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT
IN THE UNIVERSE
WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM
IN TERMS OF THEM BEING
BLOCKED BY STUFF.
IF THERE'S ANY
COMMUNICATION GOING ON,
OUT THERE IN THE COSMOS,
RADIO IS GONNA BE PART OF THAT.
Narrator:
SETH'S WORK FOCUSES ON
LISTENING FOR COMMUNICATIONS,
COMING FROM DISTANT STARS,
BUT 'OUMUAMUA PROVES TOO GOOD
AN OPPORTUNITY TO PASS UP.
IF THERE'S ONLY A 1% CHANCE
THAT IT WAS A SPACECRAFT,
IT'S STILL WORTH POINTING THESE
ANTENNAS IN THAT DIRECTION
AND CHECKING IT OUT.
Narrator: SETH WORKS WITH
FELLOW ASTRONOMER JOHN RICHARDS.
IS 'OUMUAMUA
BROADCASTING A SIGNAL?
UNFORTUNATELY,
NOTHING YET.
THERE'S NO TRANSMITTER
THAT'S BROADCASTING
AS 'OUMUAMUA SLIDES BY US HERE
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
SO, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S
REALLY AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT,
THEY'RE IN STEALTH MODE, RIGHT?
[ LAUGHS ]
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP,
IT'S NOT BROADCASTING
SIGNALS...YET.
'OUMUAMUA IS PROVING
FAR MORE MYSTERIOUS
THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.
Plait: WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF
REALLY WEIRD STUFF
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT EVEN WITH ALL OF THAT,
'OUMUAMUA MIGHT BE THE WEIRDEST.
Narrator:
TWO WEEKS AFTER FIRST SPOTTING
THIS STRANGE,
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR,
INVESTIGATORS HAVE
ONE FINAL CHANCE
TO DECODE ITS IDENTITY.
ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE WORLD
RUSH TO TRY AND CAPTURE
ONE LAST CLUE,
'OUMUAMUA'S COLOR.
CAN THIS FINALLY SOLVE THE
MYSTERY OF WHAT THIS OBJECT IS?
AND CAN 'OUMUAMUA
REVEAL ANYTHING
ABOUT WHERE IT CAME FROM
AND CLUES AS TO
WHETHER LIFE EXISTS
IN A DISTANT ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEM?
♪
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
EVER DISCOVERED, IS RACING
TOWARDS THE EDGE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
AT NEARLY 100,000
MILES PER HOUR.
IT WILL SOON BE IMPOSSIBLE
FOR EVEN THE WORLD'S
MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES
TO OBSERVE IT.
BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS FOR GOOD,
INVESTIGATORS HAVE
ONE LAST CHANCE
TO PROBE ITS DEEPEST SECRETS
TO CONFIRM IF IT'S AN ASTEROID,
A COMET, OR AN ALIEN SPACESHIP.
♪
MEG SCHWAMB IS PART OF
THE GROUP RACING TO CAPTURE
THE ALIEN VISITOR'S COLOR.
THIS COULD PROVIDE
A CRUCIAL CLUE
TO HELP IDENTIFY
WHAT 'OUMUAMUA IS.
Schwamb:
EVERYONE WAS SORT OF RUSHING
TO GET AS MUCH DATA AS WE COULD
BEFORE WE COULDN'T GET ANYMORE.
I KNOW, FOR OUR GROUP, WE
OBSERVED IN THE LAST NIGHT
THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE.
WE GOT LUCKY.
Narrator: IS 'OUMUAMUA
THE COLOR OF AN ASTEROID,
A COMET, OR, PERHAPS, A COLOR
THAT ONLY AN ADVANCED ALIEN
CIVILIZATION COULD CREATE?
COMBINING MULTIPLE IMAGES
FROM GEMINI,
AND OTHER OPTICAL TELESCOPES,
INCREDIBLY, THEY CAPTURE
'OUMUAMUA'S COLOR.
THIS IS ACTUALLY
AN IMAGE, AN OPTICAL
SHOWING WHAT 'OUMUAMUA
WOULD LOOK LIKE TO OUR EYES.
SO, YOU MIGHT NOTICE
THIS SORT OF REDDISH HUE
THAT 'OUMUAMUA HAS,
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY REAL.
AND THAT ACTUALLY TELLS US
SOMETHING ABOUT ITS COMPOSITION,
AND WE CAN USE THAT TO
LOOK AT HOW IT FITS INTO
THE COLORS OF OBJECTS
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: IT'S AN ASTONISHING
BREAKTHROUGH.
'OUMUAMUA'S DARK
RED COLOR DOES MATCH
SOMETHING SCIENTISTS
HAVE SEEN BEFORE --
THE COLOR OF COMETS.
ASTRONOMERS HAVE
OBSERVED MANY ICY COMETS
THAT HAVE THE SAME RED COLOR,
THOUGHT TO BE A TAR-LIKE CRUST.
IT MIGHT MEAN THAT
IT'S ACTUALLY NOT JUST ROCK,
BUT MAYBE ICE INVOLVED
AS WELL WITH 'OUMUAMUA.
Narrator:
THIS CRUCIAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT 'OUMUAMUA IS AN ICY OBJECT.
NEW DATA ALSO REVEALS
THAT 'OUMUAMUA
HAS AN UNEXPECTED SPEED BOOST
AS IT PASSES BY THE SUN.
THE SUN'S HEAT VAPORIZES
SMALL AMOUNTS OF ITS ICE,
BLASTING IT INTO SPACE.
THESE JETS ACT LIKE
MINI ROCKET BOOSTERS.
COMBINED WITH THE COLOR,
IT'S A SLAM DUNK.
'OUMUAMUA IS A COMET,
BUT IT'S UNLIKE ANY COMET
WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
THE 'OUMUAMUA IS
LITERALLY ONE OF ITS KIND.
IT'S THE ONLY BODY
IN ITS OWN CATEGORY.
Narrator: WHY DIDN'T 'OUMUAMUA
FORM A FULL TAIL,
AS IT PASSED BY THE SUN,
AS ALL OTHER COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM DO?
ASTROPHYSICIST PERRY GERAKINES
FROM NASA'S
COSMIC ICE LABORATORY
BELIEVES IT COULD BE
DOWN TO THE THICKNESS
OF THE COMET'S CRUST.
HE STUDIES HOW THESE
RED CRUSTS FORM.
WE'RE INVESTIGATING
THE COMPOUNDS
THAT MAKE UP INTERSTELLAR
AND PLANETARY ICES,
AND WE'RE MEASURING
THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION
ON THOSE ICES.
Narrator:
PERRY'S CONVINCED THAT RADIATION
HAS A STRANGE EFFECT ON THE ICY,
OUTER LAYERS OF A COMET.
HE STARTS BY MAKING HIS
OWN SAMPLE OF COMET ICE.
Gerakines:
I'VE GOT A MIRROR HERE,
THAT I PLACE IN
THE VACUUM CHAMBER,
AND I'M COOLING IT
TO 20 DEGREES KELVIN,
OR MINUS-250 CENTIGRADE.
I'M GOING TO CREATE
AN ICE ON TOP OF IT.
Narrator:
PERRY THEN RELEASES WATER,
CARBON DIOXIDE, AND METHANE
GASES INTO THE CHAMBER.
♪
THESE ARE ALL COMMONLY
FOUND IN OUTER SPACE.
THE GASES FREEZE INTO
ICE ON THE SURFACE
OF THE SUPER COLD MIRROR.
Gerakines: AND WE CAN PEEK
INSIDE THE VACUUM CHAMBER,
AND IN THIS CASE,
I'VE GOT QUITE A THICK ICE,
SO I CAN SEE THE ICE
BUILDUP ON THAT MIRROR.
IT LOOKS QUITE GOOD.
Narrator:
THE SILVER MIRROR IS NOW COVERED
IN A CREAMY LAYER
OF COMETARY ICE.
PERRY WANTS TO
TRANSFORM THIS ICE
INTO THE RED CRUST
THOUGHT TO ENCASE 'OUMUAMUA,
SO HE ADDS ONE LAST
INGREDIENT -- RADIATION.
Gerakines:
THE NEXT PART OF THIS EXPERIMENT
IS TO TURN ON OUR
SOURCE OF RADIATION,
AND THEN EXPOSE THE ICE
TO THAT RADIATION.
Narrator: RADIATION FROM STARS
BLASTS COMETS
AS THEY TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE
OVER MILLIONS AND BILLIONS
OF YEARS.
PERRY GIVES HIS SAMPLE AN
INTENSE BLAST OF RADIATION,
TO MIMIC THESE CONDITIONS.
WE START EXPOSING THE
ICE TO THE RADIATION.
GONNA LEAVE IT LIKE THIS
FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES,
WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF
ABOUT A MILLION YEARS IN SPACE.
Narrator:
UNDER THIS INTENSE FLOOD
OF A MILLION YEARS
WORTH OF RADIATION,
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY
HAPPENS TO THE ICE.
♪
BEFORE, WE HAD SORT
OF THIS CREAMY WHITE
SORT OF FROST LAYER.
NOW IT'S THIS MUDDY BROWN COLOR.
SO, THE RADIATION HAS
CHANGED IT, VISIBLY.
Narrator: THIS DARK RED CRUST
MADE FROM RADIATION BLASTED ICE
IS WHAT ASTRONOMERS
THINK COVERS MANY COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AND 'OUMUAMUA.
CAN THIS CRUST
EXPLAIN WHY 'OUMUAMUA
DOESN'T FORM A FULL TAIL?
♪
PERRY BELIEVES THAT
IN 'OUMUAMUA'S CASE,
INTERSTELLAR SPACE SUPERCHARGED
THE FORMATION OF ITS RED CRUST.
♪
Gerakines: 'OUMUAMUA HAS SPENT
50 MILLION YEARS OR SO
IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE
WHERE IT HAS NOT BEEN
PROTECTED BY THE
SUN'S MAGNETIC FIELD,
SO IT'S BEEN EXPOSED
TO HARSHER RADIATION.
Narrator:
IS INTERSTELLAR RADIATION
THE FINAL PIECE IN THE PUZZLE
OF THE ALIEN VISITOR?
♪
AS 'OUMUAMUA PASSES THROUGH
THE INTERSTELLAR VOID,
COSMIC RAYS PEPPER ITS SURFACE.
♪
AS THEY HIT THE COMET,
THEY TRANSFORM THE OUTER LAYERS
OF ICE INTO A CRUST OF RED,
STICKY COMPOUNDS.
OVER MILLIONS OF
YEARS, THIS GROWS INTO
A TOUGH SHELL, UP TO
A FOOT AND A HALF THICK.
THIS RED CRUST PROTECTS
THE ICY CORE FROM
THE HEAT OF THE STARS AND
STOPS IT FROM TURNING INTO GAS.
THAT'S HOW 'OUMUAMUA
COULD PASS SO CLOSE
TO THE SUN WITHOUT
FORMING A VISIBLE TAIL.
♪
AND SO, FOR 'OUMUAMUA, THIS
MIGHT MEAN THAT THERE IS STILL
AN ICY CORE, SO IT MIGHT NOT
BE SO SURPRISING THAT WE DIDN'T
SEE ANYTHING BECAUSE
OF THAT PROTECTIVE CRUST.
♪
Narrator:
'OUMUAMUA FINALLY PASSES BEYOND
THE REACH OF OUR TELESCOPES.
FROM THE EVIDENCE
GATHERED IN THOSE
FEW SHORT WEEKS,
THIS IS OUR BEST GUESS
AT THE ALIEN VISITOR'S
EXTRAORDINARY STORY.
♪
'OUMUAMUA BEGINS LIFE
AS AN ICY COMET,
BEFORE BEING THROWN
OUT OF ITS PARENT SOLAR SYSTEM
AND INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,
DUST AND MICROMETEORITES
WHITTLE AWAY AT THE SURFACE
UNTIL IT'S A STRANGE,
THIN SKYSCRAPER SHAPE.
COSMIC RAYS CREATE
A THICK, RED CRUST
THAT WRAPS AROUND ITS ICY CORE
AND PROTECTS 'OUMUAMUA AS
IT FLASHES PAST OUR SUN
BEFORE HEADING OUT ONCE MORE
TOWARDS INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
WE'VE EVER SPOTTED, BUT
HOW MANY MORE ARE OUT THERE,
AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES
OF US SEEING ANOTHER?
♪
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE
OUR FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR,
'OUMUAMUA, IS FAR FROM ALONE.
WE THINK THAT
INTERSTELLAR MATERIAL
SUCH AS INTERSTELLAR ASTEROIDS,
THINGS THAT ORIGINATED
BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
PASS THROUGH
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ALL THE TIME.
WE THINK THAT 10,000 OF THEM ARE
PASSING THROUGH
AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.
Narrator: THE CHAOS
OF SOLAR-SYSTEM FORMATION
ACROSS THE GALAXY THROWS OUT
BILLIONS OF ASTEROIDS
AND COMETS INTO
INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
MANY FIND THEIR WAY HERE.
THERE'S ALWAYS
SOMETHING LIKE THIS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
THE PROBLEM IS FINDING IT.
FOR MANY YEARS,
ASTRONOMERS THOUGHT
THESE WOULD BE
TOO DIFFICULT TO SPOT
UNTIL 'OUMUAMUA
FLASHED BY OUR PLANET.
WE REALLY SHOULD BE
LOOKING FOR MORE OF THEM,
AND THERE SHOULD BE
MORE OF THEM OUT THERE.
Narrator:
SO, HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO WAIT
UNTIL WE DETECT
THE NEXT INTERSTELLAR VISITOR?
♪
ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE
THAT HUGE NUMBERS OF THESE
ALIEN OBJECTS PASS
THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
SPOTTING THEM IS SIMPLY A CASE
OF CONSTANTLY MONITORING
A LARGE ENOUGH AREA OF THE SKY.
Schwamb: WE ALSO KNOW BIGGER
TELESCOPES ARE COMING,
LIKE THE LARGE SYNOPTIC
SKY SURVEY TELESCOPE
THAT'S BEING CURRENTLY
BUILT IN CHILE.
SO, THEY'RE GONNA FIND
ONE OF THESE A YEAR,
HOPEFULLY, OR MORE.
AND SO, THEN WE START
UNDERSTANDING WHETHER
'OUMUAMUA IS REALLY
STRANGE OR NOT.
Narrator: WHAT CAN 'OUMUAMUA
AND OTHER INTERSTELLAR OBJECTS
TELL US ABOUT
THE DISTANT AND MYSTERIOUS
ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEMS
THAT THEY COME FROM?
NOW WITH 'OUMUAMUA,
THE POSSIBILITY HAS ARISEN
THAT WE CAN SAMPLE OTHER
STAR SYSTEMS, AS WELL --
NOT JUST OUR OWN PLANETS, BUT
SOMETHING FROM A DISTANT STAR.
HOW SIMILAR TO US,
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT?
'OUMUAMUA MAY BE SMALL,
BUT THE SCIENTIFIC RAMIFICATIONS
COULD BE VAST.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY
TO TEST OUR THEORIES
ABOUT HOW PLANETS
AND SOLAR SYSTEMS FORM
ACROSS THE COSMOS.
MAYBE THE SAME PROCESSES
ARE UBIQUITOUS OR EVERYWHERE
AROUND STARS, OR MAYBE
IT CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT.
Narrator: WITH ITS STRANGE
SHAPE, 'OUMUAMUA AT FIRST SEEMS
SHOCKINGLY ALIEN, BUT IT'S NOT
AS DIFFERENT AS FIRST THOUGHT.
ITS RED COLOR MATCHES
MANY OF THE ICY OBJECTS
SEEN IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
I WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE
TO TELL YOU THAT THIS OBJECT
OR THIS IMAGE IS FROM AN OBJECT
FROM ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM
PASSING BY.
I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU
IT'S SOMETHING
FROM OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: THESE SIMILARITIES
MEAN THAT 'OUMUAMUA'S
HOME SOLAR SYSTEM MAY NOT BE
SO VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN,
AND THAT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT
FOR ASTRONOMERS' THEORIES ABOUT
HOW SOLAR SYSTEMS AND PLANETS
FORM THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
Howett: IT'S PHENOMENALLY
EXCITING BECAUSE WHAT IT MEANS
IS THE PROCESSES
THAT ARE HAPPENING
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
THAT WE HAVE A PRETTY
GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF
ARE HAPPENING OUTSIDE
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, AS WELL.
Narrator: MANY UNSOLVED
MYSTERIES SURROUND 'OUMUAMUA.
♪
ONE REMAINS
THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL --
CAN 'OUMUAMUA REVEAL
ANY POSSIBLE SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN LIFE ON EARTH,
AND ANY ALIEN LIFE
THAT MAY EXIST IN THE UNIVERSE?
PERRY GERAKINES THINKS IT CAN.
HE'S FINDING THE SIGNATURE
OF SURPRISING CHEMICALS
HIDDEN INSIDE THE RED CRUST
THOUGHT TO ENCASE 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, WE COME OVER HERE,
AND WE CAN SEE A SPECTRUM.
Narrator: THESE LARGE PEAKS
REVEAL THE PRESENCE OF WATER,
HARDLY SURPRISING FOR
SOMETHING THAT STARTED AS ICE,
BUT PERRY ALSO
DISCOVERS SOMETHING
FAR MORE COMPLEX AND UNEXPECTED.
AND YOU CAN SEE LITTLE BUMPS
THAT INDICATE THE PRESENCE
OF ANOTHER ORGANIC MOLECULE
THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR LIFE.
THESE ORGANIC MOLECULES
ARE SOME OF
THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS
OF DNA, THE BLUEPRINT OF LIFE.
OBJECTS LIKE 'OUMUAMUA
MAY HAVE EVEN DELIVERED
THE INGREDIENTS OF LIFE
TO THE YOUNG EARTH.
♪
SO, THIS GIVES US SOME CLUE
ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF LIFE.
YOU AND I ARE BASED ON COMPOUNDS
THAT ARE COMMON
IN COMETS AND METEORITES
AND THINGS LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
THAT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE.
THAT'S WHAT LANDS HERE,
WE ARE COMMON AS MUCK.
♪
Narrator: IF 'OUMUAMUA DOES HAVE
THE SAME MOLECULES
IT ITS RED CRUST, THEN THE
IMPLICATIONS ARE EXTRAORDINARY.
RED STAINED OBJECTS JUST LIKE IT
MAY BE SPREADING THE SAME
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LIFE
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.
'OUMUAMUA TELLS US THAT MAYBE
MATERIAL IS BEING SHARED
FROM ONE SOLAR SYSTEM
TO ANOTHER,
AND THE FACT THAT 'OUMUAMUA
IS COVERED WITH ORGANICS,
THIS BRINGS UP THE IDEA
THAT THE SEEDS FOR LIFE
OR MAYBE EVEN LIFE ITSELF
CAN SPREAD FROM ONE STAR SYSTEM
TO ANOTHER.
WHEN COMETS LAND HERE ON EARTH,
THEY BRING A RICH TREASURE TROVE
OF ORGANIC MOLECULES.
THEY BRING THEM HERE TO EARTH,
WHERE LIFE CAN EVOLVE,
AND SOME OF THOSE MOLECULES
THAT ACTUALLY WERE BAKED
ON THE SURFACE
OF A DISTANT COMET
AROUND ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM ARE
PROBABLY IN YOUR BODY RIGHT NOW.
Narrator: IT'S AN ASTONISHING
IDEA, BUT TO KNOW FOR SURE,
ASTRONOMERS WOULD NEED TO FLY
TO AN INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
LIKE 'OUMUAMUA AND GET
A SAMPLE FROM THE SURFACE.
'OUMUAMUA IS NOW
TOO REMOTE TO REACH,
BUT COULD WE VISIT AND SAMPLE
THE NEXT INTERSTELLAR OBJECT?
ONE SCIENTIST IS WORKING
ON A WAY TO DO JUST THAT.
♪
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 19th, 2017,
AN OBJECT APPEARS AS A FLASH
OF LIGHT IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST
INTERSTELLAR OBJECT
EVER DISCOVERED.
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE HUGE NUMBERS
OF SIMILAR OBJECTS
ARE OUT THERE,
BUT WHEN WILL WE DETECT
THE NEXT ONE, AND WHEN WE DO,
WILL IT BE POSSIBLE TO VISIT IT
AND COLLECT A SAMPLE?
Wadhwa: IF ANOTHER INTERSTELLAR
OBJECT LIKE THIS
WERE TO COME THROUGH,
WHAT AN AMAZING DREAM COME TRUE
IT WOULD BE
TO ACTUALLY GO TO THAT OBJECT,
PICK UP SOME ROCKS
FROM THE SURFACE
AND BRING THEM BACK AND ANALYZE
THEM IN OUR LABORATORIES.
BOY, WOULD IT BE COOL.
Narrator: THE IDEA
OF CAPTURING A SAMPLE
OF AN ALIEN COMET LIKE 'OUMUAMUA
MAY SOUND LIKE SCIENCE FICTION,
BUT JASON DWORKIN'S TEAM
AT NASA'S ASTROBIOLOGY LAB,
IS PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY
THAT COULD HELP US DO JUST THAT.
THEY'RE SENDING A SPACESHIP
TO GRAB A CHUNK OF AN OBJECT
THAT ALREADY BELONGS
TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
WHEN WE GET OUR SAMPLE, THEN
WE TAKE IT IN THIS LABORATORY.
THIS IS WHERE WE CAN DO
THE CRUSHING EXTRACTION WORK
NECESSARY TO FIND
OUT WHAT'S INSIDE.
Narrator: THE BOLD IDEA IS
TO FLY TO THE ASTEROID BENNU,
A ROUNDED LUMP OF ROCK
NEARLY 1,650 FEET THAT ORBITS
BETWEEN VENUS AND MARS,
AND THEN GRAB A SAMPLE.
THE SPACECRAFT HAS A
THREE-METER-LONG POGO STICK
THAT WILL TOUCH THE SURFACE
OF ASTEROID BENNU FOR AS LONG
AS FIVE SECONDS, BRINGING BACK
TWO KILOGRAMS OF THE SURFACE
OF BENNU TO STUDY WHAT THIS
ANCIENT ASTEROID TELLS US ABOUT
THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AND MAYBE THE ORIGIN OF LIFE.
Narrator: COULD SCIENTISTS USE
SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY
TO SAMPLE AN ALIEN COMET?
ACTUALLY, A SAMPLE FROM
'OUMUAMUA IS THE NEXT BEST THING
TO GOING TO ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM
AND GETTING A SAMPLE BACK.
WE CAN LEARN ABOUT
THE UNIVERSALITIES OF LIFE
OR THE IDIOSYNCRASIES
OF LIFE HERE VERSUS ELSEWHERE.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
TO CAPTURING
AN ALIEN SAMPLE, IS
THE TIME NEEDED FOR
THE MISSION TO GET
OFF THE GROUND.
TO HAVE THE ROCKET READY,
HAVE THE SPACECRAFT READY,
HAVE EVERYTHING TESTED
AND WORKING PERFECTLY
WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME,
WOULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS
TO GET READY, AND 'OUMUAMUA CAME
IN QUICKLY AND LEFT QUICKLY.
SO, BY THE TIME WE WERE READY,
IT WOULD BE GONE.
'OUMUAMUA'S PATH BROUGHT IT
LOOPING IN BEHIND THE SUN.
THIS BLINDS ASTRONOMERS ON EARTH
TO ITS APPROACH.
SCIENTISTS ONLY DETECT
IT WHEN IT'S ALREADY
ON ITS WAY OUT
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT WITH THE EXPANDING NETWORK
OF TELESCOPES KEEPING WATCH
ON THE SKY, NEXT TIME WE
SHOULD HAVE MORE WARNING.
Dworkin: THE LONGER YOU HAVE
BEFORE YOU KNOW TO SEE IT,
THE BETTER YOU CAN PREPARE,
THE MORE TIME YOU HAVE
TO GET SOMETHING
READY TO INTERCEPT IT
AND GET A SAMPLE AND STUDY IT.
Narrator: PERHAPS, WITH
A SPACESHIP READY ON STANDBY,
WE CAN SNATCH OUR FIRST SAMPLE
OF AN ALIEN VISITOR
THE NEXT TIME ONE COMES CALLING.
♪
'OUMUAMUA,
OUR FIRST ALIEN VISITOR,
IS NOW HEADING BACK
TOWARDS INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY,
BOTH FOR 'OUMUAMUA
AND THE ASTRONOMERS CHASING IT.
Schwamb:
ALL OF 'OUMUAMUA'S INTERESTING
AND SORT OF DIFFERENT
BECAUSE IT'S THE
FIRST OF ITS KIND.
AND SO,
I THINK TO REALLY UNDERSTAND
HOW IT FITS IN,
WE NEED TO FIND MORE OF THEM,
AND THE NICE THING IS WE WILL.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA HAS BEEN
TRAVELING TOWARD US
FOR MANY TENS
OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,
BACK BEFORE THERE WERE
HUMANS ON EARTH,
AND NOW IT'S GOING ON,
AND IT'S GOING TO TRAVEL
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS MORE.
IT'S MIND BLOWING.
Thaller: 'OUMUAMUA WAS ONE
OF THESE MOMENTS
IN MY CAREER AS A SCIENTIST,
WHERE SOMETHING GOT
EVEN BETTER THAN I HAD IMAGINED
AS THE EVIDENCE MOUNTED
BECAME MORE AND MORE BIZARRE,
MORE AND MORE ALIEN.
THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN,
I WILL NEVER FORGET 'OUMUAMUA.
♪
Narrator:
NOW ASTRONOMERS PREPARE
FOR THE NEXT
INTERSTELLAR ARRIVAL
AND HOPE IT WILL
BE AS SURPRISING,
AS MYSTERIOUS,
AND AS REVOLUTIONARY
AS 'OUMUAMUA,
THE MESSENGER FROM AFAR.
Adjusted CORNELDVD
A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
THE SIZE AND SHAPE
OF A SKYSCRAPER
HURTLING THROUGH
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AT OVER 100,000 MILES PER HOUR,
FAST ENOUGH TO LEVEL A
CITY IF IT HITS THE EARTH.
AS THE DATA CAME IN,
EVERYBODY'S JAWS BEGAN TO DROP
AND YOU REALIZE, NO,
THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE
NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
Narrator:
THIS BIZARRE OBJECT
COMES FROM OUTSIDE
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
IT'S OUR FIRST
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR.
ASTRONOMERS CALL IT "'OUMUAMUA,"
THE MESSENGER FROM AFAR.
'OUMUAMUA IS OUR GALAXY
COMING TO US.
Thaller: THIS IS THE FIRST
TIME IN HISTORY
WE ENCOUNTERED
SOMETHING LEGIT ALIEN.
Narrator:
ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE WORLD
SCRAMBLE TO UNLOCK
ITS DEEPEST SECRETS.
HOW DID 'OUMUAMUA GET HERE?
DOES IT POSE A THREAT
TO THE EARTH?
COULD IT EVEN BE
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP?
♪
'OUMUAMUA WAS SO STRANGE,
SO DIFFERENT,
THAT EVERYTHING
WAS ON THE TABLE.
WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS.
Narrator:
THIS IS THE INSIDE STORY
OF THE RACE TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY
OF THE ALIEN ASTEROID.
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
♪
THE SUMMIT OF MAUNAKEA,
THE GIANT VOLCANO
ON HAWAII'S BIG ISLAND.
HOME TO SOME OF THE EARTH'S
MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES.
THIS IS WHERE ASTRONOMERS
KEEP WATCH ON THE NIGHT SKIES
LOOKING FOR ASTEROIDS AND COMETS
THAT THREATEN THE EARTH.
ASTRONOMER ROB WERYK
IS PART OF THIS VITALLY
IMPORTANT SEARCH.
Weryk: AT THE END
OF MY E-MAIL SIGNATURE,
I JUST WRITE
"GUARDIAN OF EARTH."
IT'S KIND OF A JOKE
BETWEEN MY COLLEAGUES AND ME.
MY OFFICIAL TITLE IS
PLANETARY DEFENSE RESEARCHER.
BUT WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING
TO PROTECT THE PLANET
FROM HAZARDOUS
ASTEROIDS AND COMETS.
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 19th, 2017,
ROB SPOTS A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
STREAKING THROUGH SPACE
LIKE A ROGUE MISSILE.
Weryk: WE ACTUALLY HAD A NEW
CANDIDATE DETECTION.
IT WAS MOVING VERY FAST.
IT APPEARED AS A STREAK
IN THE IMAGE.
Narrator:
THE OBJECT IS MOVING SO FAST,
THAT IT APPEARS AS
A FAINT, GRAY LINE.
AT THIS SPEED,
IT WILL HIT THE EARTH
WITH MORE FORCE
THAN A NUCLEAR BOMB --
POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO DESTROY A CITY.
ROB AND THE TEAM SET UP CAMP
AT THE CANADA-FRANCE-HAWAII
TELESCOPE,
TO PLOT THE OBJECT'S TRAJECTORY.
THE DATA THEY CAPTURE CONFIRMS
THAT THIS OBJECT IS HEADING
AWAY FROM OUR PLANET.
THE EARTH IS SAFE...FOR NOW.
BUT THE OBJECT'S ORBIT
IS UNLIKE ANYTHING
ROB HAS SEEN BEFORE.
EVERYTHING THAT BELONGS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
TRAVELS IN CLOSED
LOOPS AROUND THE SUN.
THE SUN HOLDS THE PLANETS
IN NEAR CIRCULAR ORBITS.
SMALLER BODIES, LIKE COMETS,
MOVE IN VAST, ELLIPTICAL ORBITS
THAT TAKE THEM TO THE
EDGES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
BEFORE LOOPING BACK
TOWARDS THE SUN.
BUT ROB'S DATA REVEALS
THAT THIS MYSTERIOUS OBJECT
IS DIFFERENT.
ITS ORBIT IS OPEN, NOT CLOSED.
THIS MEANS THAT IT MUST COME
FROM OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
FROM INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
IT'S OUR FIRST
CONFIRMED ALIEN VISITOR.
ASTRONOMERS NAMED IT
"'OUMUAMUA,"
HAWAIIAN FOR "MESSENGER."
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.
AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY
TOLD US, RIGHT THEN,
THAT THIS OBJECT CAME FROM
OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
Thaller: 'OUMUAMUA WAS LIKE
NOTHING WE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.
AND THINK ABOUT THAT.
THAT'S LITERALLY TRUE.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY
A COMPLETELY ALIEN OBJECT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT DAY,
I KIND OF GOT SHIVERS, RIGHT?
Narrator:
BUT 'OUMUAMUA TRAVELS SO FAST,
THAT ASTRONOMERS HAVE
JUST WEEKS TO STUDY IT
BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS BEYOND
THE REACH OF EARTH'S TELESCOPES.
Weryk:
THE BEST ASSESSMENT WE HAD,
WE WOULD SEE IT FOR
ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS,
SO WE HAD TO GET AS
MUCH DATA AS WE COULD
AS SOON AS WE COULD ON AS
MANY TELESCOPES AS WE COULD.
Narrator:
IT'S NOW A RACE AGAINST TIME,
TO LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT
'OUMUAMUA AS POSSIBLE.
ASTRONOMERS START WITH
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION.
WHAT IS 'OUMUAMUA?
THE MAIN CANDIDATES ARE
TWO FORMS OF SPACE DEBRIS
ROUTINELY HURLED OUT OF
DEVELOPING SOLAR SYSTEMS.
WHEN OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM FIRST FORMED,
WE THINK THAT A HUGE NUMBER
OF COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
WERE EJECTED AWAY BY JUPITER,
ITS GRAVITY.
THIS MUST'VE HAPPENED
AROUND OTHER STARS, AS WELL.
IN ALL LIKELIHOOD,
'OUMUAMUA IS AN INTERSTELLAR
ASTEROID OR A COMET.
Narrator: COULD 'OUMUAMUA BE
AN ASTEROID OR COMET,
TOSSED INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE
DURING THE BIRTH OF
AN ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEM?
♪
ASTRONOMER MEG SCHWAMB
STUDIES ASTEROIDS AND COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
SHE AND HER TEAM RACE
TO OBSERVE THE OBJECT
USING THE GEMINI NORTH
TELESCOPE IN HAWAII.
ASTRONOMERS HOPE TO GET AN IDEA
OF 'OUMUAMUA'S SHAPE AND SIZE,
A VITAL CLUE AS TO WHAT IT IS.
IT WAS EXCITING.
I REALLY WANTED TO KNOW
WHERE IT WOULD FIT IN.
WOULD IT LOOK LIKE AN ASTEROID?
WOULD IT LOOK LIKE A COMET?
BUT IT LOOKED
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
Narrator: THERE ARE
NO TELESCOPES POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO DETERMINE THE SIZE
AND SHAPE DIRECTLY.
ALL THEY HAVE TO
GO ON IS THE FACT
THAT 'OUMUAMUA'S DIMENSIONS
AFFECT HOW MUCH LIGHT IT
REFLECTS BACK TOWARDS EARTH.
Schwamb: THIS IS ACTUALLY DATA
FROM MANY, MANY TELESCOPES
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
WATCHING 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, THIS IS BRIGHTNESS
OVER TIME.
IT GETS BRIGHTER AND FAINTER
AND BRIGHTER AGAIN.
Narrator:
WHAT COULD MAKE THE LIGHT
FROM 'OUMUAMUA BRIGHTEN AND DIM?
ROB THINKS IT'S BECAUSE
OF THE OBJECT'S SHAPE,
AND THE WAY IT'S MOVING.
IF YOU CAN IMAGINE
THIS SHAPE HERE,
YOU'RE LOOKING
ON THE LONGEST EDGE,
IT HAS THE GREATER SURFACE AREA.
THIS REFLECTS MORE LIGHT.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK
AT THE SMALLER END,
IT DOESN'T REFLECT
AS MUCH LIGHT,
THEREFORE IT'S NOT
GONNA APPEAR AS BRIGHT.
SO, THIS IS SIMILAR
TO 'OUMUAMUA,
WHERE WE THINK IT'S
A VERY ELONGATED OBJECT.
AND AS IT'S TUMBLING
THROUGH SPACE,
THE DIFFERENT SIZE
OF THE REFLECTIVE SURFACE
GIVES YOU THE VARIATION
OF BRIGHTNESS YOU SEE.
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS USE
THIS DIFFERENCE IN LIGHT
TO DETERMINE EXACTLY
HOW ELONGATED
AND HOW BIG 'OUMUAMUA IS.
BASED ON THE VARIATION
IN THE LIGHT CURVE OF 'OUMUAMUA,
WE KNOW THAT IT'S APPROXIMATELY
A LENGTH-TO-WIDTH RATIO
OF 6 TO 1.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA IS SIX TIMES
LONGER THAN IT IS WIDE.
THIS MAKES IT EXCEPTIONALLY
TALL AND THIN.
IT SOARS BETWEEN 650
TO 785 FEET HIGH.
IT'S A SKYSCRAPER
THAT COULD BE AS BIG
AS THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING,
TUMBLING THROUGH
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
DETERMINING 'OUMUAMUA'S SHAPE
IS A FANTASTIC BIT
OF DETECTIVE WORK,
BUT ASTRONOMERS ARE
NO CLOSER TO SAYING
WHETHER THE ALIEN VISITOR
IS AN ASTEROID OR A COMET
BECAUSE THEY'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING WITH THIS SHAPE BEFORE.
ASTRONOMERS SCRAMBLE
TO EXPLAIN WHAT 'OUMUAMUA IS.
FIRST UP,
COULD IT BE AN ASTEROID?
INVESTIGATORS TURN
TO LAB EXPERIMENTS
TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
IF IT IS A ROCKY ASTEROID,
WHAT KIND OF COSMIC PROCESS
COULD CARVE OUT
SUCH A LONG AND
THIN SHARD OF ROCK?
♪
PLANETARY SCIENTIST
PETER SCHULTZ
HAS SPENT HIS CAREER RECREATING
VIOLENT COLLISIONS IN SPACE.
HE WANTS TO KNOW IF
AN ALMIGHTY COLLISION
CAN MAKE A ROCKY SPLINTER
THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA.
'OUMUAMUA IS REALLY INTERESTING,
'CAUSE WE'VE NEVER SEEN
AN ASTEROID THAT IS SHAPED
LIKE A CIGAR.
THAT'S JUST STRANGE.
AND SO, WE HAVE TO
FIGURE OUT WHY.
Narrator:
COULD AN EPIC COLLISION
CREATE A SIMILAR ASTEROID?
OR IS THERE AN EVEN MORE
INCREDIBLE EXPLANATION
BEHIND 'OUMUAMUA'S
STRANGE SHAPE?
COULD THIS INTERSTELLAR
VISITOR BE AN ALIEN SPACESHIP?
♪
Narrator: AT THE NASA AMES
VERTICAL GUN RANGE,
PLANETARY SCIENTIST
PETER SCHULTZ
USES A GIANT, HYPERVELOCITY GUN
TO RECREATE
SOME OF THE MOST VIOLENT
COLLISIONS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
TO UNDERSTAND THE
FORCES AT WORK.
HERE WE ARE, AT THE NASA
AMES VERTICAL GUN RANGE.
THIS ALLOWS US
TO FIRE PROJECTILES
AT 22 TIMES THE SPEEDS OF SOUND.
OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS,
PETER'S INVESTIGATED EVERYTHING
FROM MOON SHAPING COLLISIONS...
TO DETERMINING WHAT TYPE
OF IMPACT KILLED THE DINOSAURS.
♪
MOST OF PETER'S EPIC COLLISIONS
CREATE SHORT AND LUMPY DEBRIS,
SHAPED LIKE
MOST OF THE ASTEROIDS SEEN
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT DRAWING ON HIS
EXPERIENCE, PETER BELIEVES
THAT ONE VERY SPECIFIC
TYPE OF COLLISION
MIGHT JUST GENERATE SOMETHING
THAT LOOKS LONG
AND THIN LIKE 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR
VISITOR TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN
THE IMPACT CHAMBER.
THIS IS WHERE WE
SLAM INTO THINGS.
THIS IS OUR PROJECTILE,
WHICH REPRESENTS AN ASTEROID.
AND TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE
SLAMMING INTO THIS CYLINDER.
NOW, IMAGINE THAT THIS IS A
PLANET OR ANOTHER ASTEROID.
IT WILL BE COMING IN,
SLAMMING IN AT AN OBLIQUE ANGLE,
AND WE WANT TO FIND OUT
DOES IT BREAK INTO
MILLIONS OF PIECES,
OR ARE THERE SOME BIGGER CHUNKS
THAT IT MIGHT END UP
LOOKING LIKE A CIGAR --
SOMETHING LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
CHARGE IS LOADED,
THAT'S GOOD TO GO.
WE'RE READY
TO BRING THE GUN UP.
Narrator: PETER BELIEVES
THAT AS THE SMALL BODY
SMASHES INTO THE LARGER
OBJECT AT AN ANGLE,
THE GLANCING BLOW
COULD CREATE SOMETHING
THE SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT THE SHOT HAS TO BE
INCREDIBLY PRECISE TO WORK.
♪
YEAH, IF WE'RE OFF
BY ONE MILLIMETER.
♪
Man: OKAY, WE ARE
ARMED IN AND RESET.
HIGH VOLTAGE IS ON.
IRON PADDLES IN.
HERE WE GO.
ROLLING.
[ SHATTER ]
WHOA! OKAY.
YEP, WE HIT IT OKAY.
THIS WENT WELL.
Narrator: THE PROJECTILE
SUCCESSFULLY SLAMS
INTO THE CYLINDER
AT 22 TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.
BUT HAS THE FEROCIOUS IMPACT
GENERATED ANY FRAGMENTS
THE SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA?
♪
PETER EXAMINES
THE HIGH-SPEED FOOTAGE.
♪
Schultz:
THESE ARE ACTUAL FRAGMENTS
OF THE PROJECTILE ITSELF.
Narrator:
THESE BLACK SHAPES ARE PIECES
OF THE NOW SHATTERED
BALL BEARING.
THERE'S A FRAGMENT
HERE THAT'S ELONGATED,
A FRAGMENT HERE IS ELONGATED.
THAT'S ALMOST
A 5-TO-1 RATIO.
SO, THIS IS A FRAGMENT THAT
LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
Narrator:
AS IT SLAMS INTO THE CYLINDER,
THE TOP HALF OF THE
SMALL BALL SHEARS OFF,
AND BREAKS INTO
LONG, THIN SHARDS,
A SIMILAR SHAPE TO 'OUMUAMUA.
WE'VE BASICALLY SHOWN HERE...
THAT IT'S POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE
AN ELONGATE FRAGMENT,
FROM AN IMPACT
BETWEEN TWO BODIES.
[ SHATTER ]
Narrator: THESE SORTS OF
'OUMUAMUA-FORMING COLLISIONS
ARE THOUGHT TO HAPPEN
IN THE VIOLENT CONDITIONS
THAT EXIST WHEN
A SOLAR SYSTEM IS BORN.
♪
AS A SOLAR SYSTEM FORMS,
A DENSE CLOUD OF MATERIAL
SWIRLS AROUND A YOUNG STAR.
INSIDE THE CLOUD,
ASTEROIDS COLLIDE...
♪
...DRAWING OUT A BARRAGE
OF ROCKY FRAGMENTS.
SOME OF THEM ARE LONG AND THIN,
JUST LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT IN THE MAELSTROM
OF A YOUNG SOLAR SYSTEM,
THEY DON'T LAST LONG.
AFTER MULTIPLE COLLISIONS,
ONLY A SMALL FRACTION
OF THE THIN FRAGMENTS SURVIVE,
AND EVEN FEWER ESCAPE
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE
THAT AN ASTEROID
THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA,
CAN ESCAPE FROM
A DEVELOPING SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT THESE SHARDS
SURVIVE SO RARELY
THAT ASTRONOMERS
CAN'T SAY FOR SURE
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS AN ASTEROID.
WITH TIME RUNNING OUT,
ASTRONOMERS MUST INVESTIGATE
THE OTHER OPTIONS.
'OUMUAMUA IS GETTING
FAINTER EVERY SINGLE DAY,
EVERY SINGLE HOUR.
SO, THE RACE IS ON TO COLLECT
AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN
BEFORE IT FADES FOREVER
INTO NOTHINGNESS.
Narrator: AS THE ALIEN
VISITOR SPEEDS AWAY,
IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE
THAT IT COULD BE AN ICY COMET
OR PERHAPS AN ALIEN SPACESHIP
ON A MISSION
TO EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS.
♪
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
INVESTIGATORS ARE
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
THIS MYSTERIOUS OBJECT IS.
THEY KNOW THAT 'OUMUAMUA IS
SHAPED LIKE A LONG, THIN CIGAR.
BUT IS IT A COMET MADE FROM ICE?
THERE ARE GOOD REASONS
WHY THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE.
♪
WE THINK A LOT MORE
COMETS GET THROWN OUT,
AWAY FROM THE STAR SYSTEM
ENTIRELY, THAN ASTEROIDS.
Narrator: COMETS ARE A MIX
OF ROCK AND ICE,
LIKE DIRTY SNOWBALLS.
THEY FORM FURTHER OUT
IN SOLAR SYSTEMS,
AND THIS MAKES IT
EASIER FOR THEM
TO BREAK FREE AND HEAD
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
BUT IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A COMET
TO BE THIS SHAPE OF 'OUMUAMUA?
THERE IS NO SUCH THING
AS A TYPICAL COMET.
THE ONES THAT WE'VE
ACTUALLY SEEN UP CLOSE,
THEY ALL LOOK KIND OF DIFFERENT.
Narrator:
SOME COMETS STICK TOGETHER,
CREATING RUBBER DUCK SHAPES.
OTHERS ARE ROUNDED
AND FLY ALONE.
BUT NOTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE
HAS THE SKYSCRAPER PROFILE
OF 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, HOW DID IT FORM?
ONE POTENTIAL SOLUTION LIES
FAR BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
OUT IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA, IT'S BEEN OUT
IN THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS,
FOR MILLIONS,
TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS.
AND SO, THAT'S GONNA MAKE IT
A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT
THAN THE OBJECTS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
IT COULD'VE BEEN THAT
'OUMUAMUA LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT
AT THE BEGINNING OF ITS JOURNEY,
TO WHEN IT PASSED BY THE EARTH.
Narrator: IF 'OUMUAMUA
REALLY IS AN ICY COMET,
THE RAVAGES OF
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
COULD'VE DRAMATICALLY
ALTERED ITS SHAPE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA MAY HAVE STARTED LIFE
AS A LUMPY COMET.
ON ITS LONG JOURNEY,
IT ENCOUNTERS POCKETS OF DUST
AND TINY ABRASIVE
MICRO-METEOROIDS.
AS THEY STRIKE THE
COMET'S SURFACE,
THEY SANDBLAST AWAY
THE ICE AND ROCK...
AND OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,
WHITTLE AWAY
THE LUMPS AND BUMPS.
THE COMET GETS THINNER
AND THINNER...
UNTIL, EVENTUALLY,
IT LOOKS LIKE A SKYSCRAPER.
♪
IT MAY BE POSSIBLE FOR A COMET
TO BE THE SAME
SHAPE AS 'OUMUAMUA.
BUT IS THERE ANY HARD EVIDENCE
IN THE OBSERVATIONS
THAT CONFIRMS IF IT IS A COMET?
SO, THE FIRST THOUGHT IS THAT
IF IT WAS ICY IN COMING IN,
IT WOULD START BEHAVING
EXACTLY LIKE A COMET,
AND THEN ONCE
IT GOT CLOSE ENOUGH,
WE WOULD START SEEING
IT SHEDS ITS LAYERS,
AND THAT WE MIGHT SEE
A TAIL COMING FROM IT,
JUST LIKE WE DO
WHEN WE SEE A COMET
COMING IN FROM OUR
DISTANT SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: AS COMETS COME CLOSE
TO THE HEAT OF A STAR,
LIKE THE SUN, THE ICES
ON THEM FLASH INTO GAS.
♪
THIS CREATES AN EXTENDED
CLOUD OF GAS AND DUST,
A COMA AND TAIL.
♪
THE SAME SHOULD HAPPEN
TO 'OUMUAMUA IF IT'S A COMET.
Schwamb: WHAT WE EXPECTED TO SEE
WAS THAT WE WOULD SEE A COMA.
THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM
THE VERY LARGE TELESCOPE,
AND SO THE DOT
THERE IS 'OUMUAMUA,
AND IT'S JUST A DOT.
IT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A POINT
SOURCE, NO FUZZINESS AT ALL.
SO, WE DIDN'T SEE ANY OF
THE COMA WE WERE EXPECTING,
SO IT WASN'T A COMET.
♪
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST OBJECT
TO BE CLASSIFIED AS A COMET
AND THEN DECLASSIFIED
TO NOT BE A COMET.
Narrator:
SO, WHAT IS 'OUMUAMUA?
MANY THOUGHT IT MUST BE A COMET.
BUT THEN WHY DOES
IT NOT HAVE A TAIL?
AND IT'S UNLIKELY TO
BE A ROCKY ASTEROID,
BECAUSE WE SO RARELY SEE ONE
SHAPED LIKE A SKYSCRAPER.
WITH QUESTION MARKS HANGING OVER
THE TWO MOST LIKELY
EXPLANATIONS,
SOME BEGIN TO CONSIDER AN
EXTRAORDINARY THIRD ALTERNATIVE.
IS 'OUMUAMUA SO LONG AND THIN
BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP
ON A MISSION TO
EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS?
♪
THIS MAY SOUND LIKE
AN ASTONISHING IDEA,
BUT THERE IS OTHER EVIDENCE
THAT SUPPORTS THIS THEORY.
Oluseyi: ONE THING
THAT WAS REALLY SUSPICIOUS
ABOUT 'OUMUAMUA
WAS ITS TRAJECTORY
AND THIS IS KIND OF WHAT GAVE
A LITTLE BIT OF CREDENCE
TO THE NOTION THAT IT WAS
SOME KIND OF ALIEN VISITATION.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA'S TRAJECTORY
SENDS IT FLASHING
BETWEEN THE ORBITS
OF MARS AND EARTH.
ASTRONOMERS CALL THIS
THE HABITABLE ZONE...
THE ONE PLACE IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
WHERE 'OUMUAMUA COULD
ENCOUNTER INTELLIGENT LIFE.
SO, IS 'OUMUAMUA A SPACESHIP
SENT HERE TO
COMMUNICATE WITH US?
SETH SHOSTAK IS PART OF SETI,
THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT,
IT COULD BE BROADCASTING
SOME SORT OF RADIO SIGNAL.
SETH'S PLAN IS TO LISTEN
IN BEFORE THIS VISITOR
VANISHES FROM THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
COMMUNICATION IS SOMETHING
THAT ALL SPACECRAFT HAVE TO DO.
THEY'D HAVE TO COMMUNICATE
BACK TO THE MOTHERSHIP,
OR THE MOTHER PLANET
OR SOMEBODY ELSE.
SO, IF THEY WERE DOING THAT,
THEN WE COULD'VE DETECTED
SOME RADIO SIGNALS
COMING OFF THIS THING.
Narrator: IF ALIENS ARE
COMMUNICATING OUT IN SPACE,
IT'S A GOOD BET THEY'LL
BE USING RADIO WAVES.
THIS IS THE ALLEN
RADIO TELESCOPE ARRAY.
IT'S DESIGNED TO PROVE
THE EXISTENCE OF ALIENS
BY EAVESDROPPING ON
THEIR CONVERSATIONS.
♪
RADIO WAVES ESSENTIALLY
CAN GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT
IN THE UNIVERSE
WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM
IN TERMS OF THEM BEING
BLOCKED BY STUFF.
IF THERE'S ANY
COMMUNICATION GOING ON,
OUT THERE IN THE COSMOS,
RADIO IS GONNA BE PART OF THAT.
Narrator:
SETH'S WORK FOCUSES ON
LISTENING FOR COMMUNICATIONS,
COMING FROM DISTANT STARS,
BUT 'OUMUAMUA PROVES TOO GOOD
AN OPPORTUNITY TO PASS UP.
IF THERE'S ONLY A 1% CHANCE
THAT IT WAS A SPACECRAFT,
IT'S STILL WORTH POINTING THESE
ANTENNAS IN THAT DIRECTION
AND CHECKING IT OUT.
Narrator: SETH WORKS WITH
FELLOW ASTRONOMER JOHN RICHARDS.
IS 'OUMUAMUA
BROADCASTING A SIGNAL?
UNFORTUNATELY,
NOTHING YET.
THERE'S NO TRANSMITTER
THAT'S BROADCASTING
AS 'OUMUAMUA SLIDES BY US HERE
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
SO, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S
REALLY AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT,
THEY'RE IN STEALTH MODE, RIGHT?
[ LAUGHS ]
IF 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN ALIEN SPACESHIP,
IT'S NOT BROADCASTING
SIGNALS...YET.
'OUMUAMUA IS PROVING
FAR MORE MYSTERIOUS
THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.
Plait: WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF
REALLY WEIRD STUFF
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT EVEN WITH ALL OF THAT,
'OUMUAMUA MIGHT BE THE WEIRDEST.
Narrator:
TWO WEEKS AFTER FIRST SPOTTING
THIS STRANGE,
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR,
INVESTIGATORS HAVE
ONE FINAL CHANCE
TO DECODE ITS IDENTITY.
ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE WORLD
RUSH TO TRY AND CAPTURE
ONE LAST CLUE,
'OUMUAMUA'S COLOR.
CAN THIS FINALLY SOLVE THE
MYSTERY OF WHAT THIS OBJECT IS?
AND CAN 'OUMUAMUA
REVEAL ANYTHING
ABOUT WHERE IT CAME FROM
AND CLUES AS TO
WHETHER LIFE EXISTS
IN A DISTANT ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEM?
♪
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA,
THE FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
EVER DISCOVERED, IS RACING
TOWARDS THE EDGE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
AT NEARLY 100,000
MILES PER HOUR.
IT WILL SOON BE IMPOSSIBLE
FOR EVEN THE WORLD'S
MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES
TO OBSERVE IT.
BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS FOR GOOD,
INVESTIGATORS HAVE
ONE LAST CHANCE
TO PROBE ITS DEEPEST SECRETS
TO CONFIRM IF IT'S AN ASTEROID,
A COMET, OR AN ALIEN SPACESHIP.
♪
MEG SCHWAMB IS PART OF
THE GROUP RACING TO CAPTURE
THE ALIEN VISITOR'S COLOR.
THIS COULD PROVIDE
A CRUCIAL CLUE
TO HELP IDENTIFY
WHAT 'OUMUAMUA IS.
Schwamb:
EVERYONE WAS SORT OF RUSHING
TO GET AS MUCH DATA AS WE COULD
BEFORE WE COULDN'T GET ANYMORE.
I KNOW, FOR OUR GROUP, WE
OBSERVED IN THE LAST NIGHT
THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE.
WE GOT LUCKY.
Narrator: IS 'OUMUAMUA
THE COLOR OF AN ASTEROID,
A COMET, OR, PERHAPS, A COLOR
THAT ONLY AN ADVANCED ALIEN
CIVILIZATION COULD CREATE?
COMBINING MULTIPLE IMAGES
FROM GEMINI,
AND OTHER OPTICAL TELESCOPES,
INCREDIBLY, THEY CAPTURE
'OUMUAMUA'S COLOR.
THIS IS ACTUALLY
AN IMAGE, AN OPTICAL
SHOWING WHAT 'OUMUAMUA
WOULD LOOK LIKE TO OUR EYES.
SO, YOU MIGHT NOTICE
THIS SORT OF REDDISH HUE
THAT 'OUMUAMUA HAS,
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY REAL.
AND THAT ACTUALLY TELLS US
SOMETHING ABOUT ITS COMPOSITION,
AND WE CAN USE THAT TO
LOOK AT HOW IT FITS INTO
THE COLORS OF OBJECTS
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: IT'S AN ASTONISHING
BREAKTHROUGH.
'OUMUAMUA'S DARK
RED COLOR DOES MATCH
SOMETHING SCIENTISTS
HAVE SEEN BEFORE --
THE COLOR OF COMETS.
ASTRONOMERS HAVE
OBSERVED MANY ICY COMETS
THAT HAVE THE SAME RED COLOR,
THOUGHT TO BE A TAR-LIKE CRUST.
IT MIGHT MEAN THAT
IT'S ACTUALLY NOT JUST ROCK,
BUT MAYBE ICE INVOLVED
AS WELL WITH 'OUMUAMUA.
Narrator:
THIS CRUCIAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT 'OUMUAMUA IS AN ICY OBJECT.
NEW DATA ALSO REVEALS
THAT 'OUMUAMUA
HAS AN UNEXPECTED SPEED BOOST
AS IT PASSES BY THE SUN.
THE SUN'S HEAT VAPORIZES
SMALL AMOUNTS OF ITS ICE,
BLASTING IT INTO SPACE.
THESE JETS ACT LIKE
MINI ROCKET BOOSTERS.
COMBINED WITH THE COLOR,
IT'S A SLAM DUNK.
'OUMUAMUA IS A COMET,
BUT IT'S UNLIKE ANY COMET
WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
THE 'OUMUAMUA IS
LITERALLY ONE OF ITS KIND.
IT'S THE ONLY BODY
IN ITS OWN CATEGORY.
Narrator: WHY DIDN'T 'OUMUAMUA
FORM A FULL TAIL,
AS IT PASSED BY THE SUN,
AS ALL OTHER COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM DO?
ASTROPHYSICIST PERRY GERAKINES
FROM NASA'S
COSMIC ICE LABORATORY
BELIEVES IT COULD BE
DOWN TO THE THICKNESS
OF THE COMET'S CRUST.
HE STUDIES HOW THESE
RED CRUSTS FORM.
WE'RE INVESTIGATING
THE COMPOUNDS
THAT MAKE UP INTERSTELLAR
AND PLANETARY ICES,
AND WE'RE MEASURING
THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION
ON THOSE ICES.
Narrator:
PERRY'S CONVINCED THAT RADIATION
HAS A STRANGE EFFECT ON THE ICY,
OUTER LAYERS OF A COMET.
HE STARTS BY MAKING HIS
OWN SAMPLE OF COMET ICE.
Gerakines:
I'VE GOT A MIRROR HERE,
THAT I PLACE IN
THE VACUUM CHAMBER,
AND I'M COOLING IT
TO 20 DEGREES KELVIN,
OR MINUS-250 CENTIGRADE.
I'M GOING TO CREATE
AN ICE ON TOP OF IT.
Narrator:
PERRY THEN RELEASES WATER,
CARBON DIOXIDE, AND METHANE
GASES INTO THE CHAMBER.
♪
THESE ARE ALL COMMONLY
FOUND IN OUTER SPACE.
THE GASES FREEZE INTO
ICE ON THE SURFACE
OF THE SUPER COLD MIRROR.
Gerakines: AND WE CAN PEEK
INSIDE THE VACUUM CHAMBER,
AND IN THIS CASE,
I'VE GOT QUITE A THICK ICE,
SO I CAN SEE THE ICE
BUILDUP ON THAT MIRROR.
IT LOOKS QUITE GOOD.
Narrator:
THE SILVER MIRROR IS NOW COVERED
IN A CREAMY LAYER
OF COMETARY ICE.
PERRY WANTS TO
TRANSFORM THIS ICE
INTO THE RED CRUST
THOUGHT TO ENCASE 'OUMUAMUA,
SO HE ADDS ONE LAST
INGREDIENT -- RADIATION.
Gerakines:
THE NEXT PART OF THIS EXPERIMENT
IS TO TURN ON OUR
SOURCE OF RADIATION,
AND THEN EXPOSE THE ICE
TO THAT RADIATION.
Narrator: RADIATION FROM STARS
BLASTS COMETS
AS THEY TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE
OVER MILLIONS AND BILLIONS
OF YEARS.
PERRY GIVES HIS SAMPLE AN
INTENSE BLAST OF RADIATION,
TO MIMIC THESE CONDITIONS.
WE START EXPOSING THE
ICE TO THE RADIATION.
GONNA LEAVE IT LIKE THIS
FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES,
WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF
ABOUT A MILLION YEARS IN SPACE.
Narrator:
UNDER THIS INTENSE FLOOD
OF A MILLION YEARS
WORTH OF RADIATION,
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY
HAPPENS TO THE ICE.
♪
BEFORE, WE HAD SORT
OF THIS CREAMY WHITE
SORT OF FROST LAYER.
NOW IT'S THIS MUDDY BROWN COLOR.
SO, THE RADIATION HAS
CHANGED IT, VISIBLY.
Narrator: THIS DARK RED CRUST
MADE FROM RADIATION BLASTED ICE
IS WHAT ASTRONOMERS
THINK COVERS MANY COMETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AND 'OUMUAMUA.
CAN THIS CRUST
EXPLAIN WHY 'OUMUAMUA
DOESN'T FORM A FULL TAIL?
♪
PERRY BELIEVES THAT
IN 'OUMUAMUA'S CASE,
INTERSTELLAR SPACE SUPERCHARGED
THE FORMATION OF ITS RED CRUST.
♪
Gerakines: 'OUMUAMUA HAS SPENT
50 MILLION YEARS OR SO
IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE
WHERE IT HAS NOT BEEN
PROTECTED BY THE
SUN'S MAGNETIC FIELD,
SO IT'S BEEN EXPOSED
TO HARSHER RADIATION.
Narrator:
IS INTERSTELLAR RADIATION
THE FINAL PIECE IN THE PUZZLE
OF THE ALIEN VISITOR?
♪
AS 'OUMUAMUA PASSES THROUGH
THE INTERSTELLAR VOID,
COSMIC RAYS PEPPER ITS SURFACE.
♪
AS THEY HIT THE COMET,
THEY TRANSFORM THE OUTER LAYERS
OF ICE INTO A CRUST OF RED,
STICKY COMPOUNDS.
OVER MILLIONS OF
YEARS, THIS GROWS INTO
A TOUGH SHELL, UP TO
A FOOT AND A HALF THICK.
THIS RED CRUST PROTECTS
THE ICY CORE FROM
THE HEAT OF THE STARS AND
STOPS IT FROM TURNING INTO GAS.
THAT'S HOW 'OUMUAMUA
COULD PASS SO CLOSE
TO THE SUN WITHOUT
FORMING A VISIBLE TAIL.
♪
AND SO, FOR 'OUMUAMUA, THIS
MIGHT MEAN THAT THERE IS STILL
AN ICY CORE, SO IT MIGHT NOT
BE SO SURPRISING THAT WE DIDN'T
SEE ANYTHING BECAUSE
OF THAT PROTECTIVE CRUST.
♪
Narrator:
'OUMUAMUA FINALLY PASSES BEYOND
THE REACH OF OUR TELESCOPES.
FROM THE EVIDENCE
GATHERED IN THOSE
FEW SHORT WEEKS,
THIS IS OUR BEST GUESS
AT THE ALIEN VISITOR'S
EXTRAORDINARY STORY.
♪
'OUMUAMUA BEGINS LIFE
AS AN ICY COMET,
BEFORE BEING THROWN
OUT OF ITS PARENT SOLAR SYSTEM
AND INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,
DUST AND MICROMETEORITES
WHITTLE AWAY AT THE SURFACE
UNTIL IT'S A STRANGE,
THIN SKYSCRAPER SHAPE.
COSMIC RAYS CREATE
A THICK, RED CRUST
THAT WRAPS AROUND ITS ICY CORE
AND PROTECTS 'OUMUAMUA AS
IT FLASHES PAST OUR SUN
BEFORE HEADING OUT ONCE MORE
TOWARDS INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
WE'VE EVER SPOTTED, BUT
HOW MANY MORE ARE OUT THERE,
AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES
OF US SEEING ANOTHER?
♪
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE
OUR FIRST INTERSTELLAR VISITOR,
'OUMUAMUA, IS FAR FROM ALONE.
WE THINK THAT
INTERSTELLAR MATERIAL
SUCH AS INTERSTELLAR ASTEROIDS,
THINGS THAT ORIGINATED
BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
PASS THROUGH
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ALL THE TIME.
WE THINK THAT 10,000 OF THEM ARE
PASSING THROUGH
AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.
Narrator: THE CHAOS
OF SOLAR-SYSTEM FORMATION
ACROSS THE GALAXY THROWS OUT
BILLIONS OF ASTEROIDS
AND COMETS INTO
INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
♪
MANY FIND THEIR WAY HERE.
THERE'S ALWAYS
SOMETHING LIKE THIS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
THE PROBLEM IS FINDING IT.
FOR MANY YEARS,
ASTRONOMERS THOUGHT
THESE WOULD BE
TOO DIFFICULT TO SPOT
UNTIL 'OUMUAMUA
FLASHED BY OUR PLANET.
WE REALLY SHOULD BE
LOOKING FOR MORE OF THEM,
AND THERE SHOULD BE
MORE OF THEM OUT THERE.
Narrator:
SO, HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO WAIT
UNTIL WE DETECT
THE NEXT INTERSTELLAR VISITOR?
♪
ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE
THAT HUGE NUMBERS OF THESE
ALIEN OBJECTS PASS
THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
SPOTTING THEM IS SIMPLY A CASE
OF CONSTANTLY MONITORING
A LARGE ENOUGH AREA OF THE SKY.
Schwamb: WE ALSO KNOW BIGGER
TELESCOPES ARE COMING,
LIKE THE LARGE SYNOPTIC
SKY SURVEY TELESCOPE
THAT'S BEING CURRENTLY
BUILT IN CHILE.
SO, THEY'RE GONNA FIND
ONE OF THESE A YEAR,
HOPEFULLY, OR MORE.
AND SO, THEN WE START
UNDERSTANDING WHETHER
'OUMUAMUA IS REALLY
STRANGE OR NOT.
Narrator: WHAT CAN 'OUMUAMUA
AND OTHER INTERSTELLAR OBJECTS
TELL US ABOUT
THE DISTANT AND MYSTERIOUS
ALIEN SOLAR SYSTEMS
THAT THEY COME FROM?
NOW WITH 'OUMUAMUA,
THE POSSIBILITY HAS ARISEN
THAT WE CAN SAMPLE OTHER
STAR SYSTEMS, AS WELL --
NOT JUST OUR OWN PLANETS, BUT
SOMETHING FROM A DISTANT STAR.
HOW SIMILAR TO US,
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT?
'OUMUAMUA MAY BE SMALL,
BUT THE SCIENTIFIC RAMIFICATIONS
COULD BE VAST.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA IS
AN EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY
TO TEST OUR THEORIES
ABOUT HOW PLANETS
AND SOLAR SYSTEMS FORM
ACROSS THE COSMOS.
MAYBE THE SAME PROCESSES
ARE UBIQUITOUS OR EVERYWHERE
AROUND STARS, OR MAYBE
IT CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT.
Narrator: WITH ITS STRANGE
SHAPE, 'OUMUAMUA AT FIRST SEEMS
SHOCKINGLY ALIEN, BUT IT'S NOT
AS DIFFERENT AS FIRST THOUGHT.
ITS RED COLOR MATCHES
MANY OF THE ICY OBJECTS
SEEN IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
I WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE
TO TELL YOU THAT THIS OBJECT
OR THIS IMAGE IS FROM AN OBJECT
FROM ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM
PASSING BY.
I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU
IT'S SOMETHING
FROM OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: THESE SIMILARITIES
MEAN THAT 'OUMUAMUA'S
HOME SOLAR SYSTEM MAY NOT BE
SO VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN,
AND THAT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT
FOR ASTRONOMERS' THEORIES ABOUT
HOW SOLAR SYSTEMS AND PLANETS
FORM THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
Howett: IT'S PHENOMENALLY
EXCITING BECAUSE WHAT IT MEANS
IS THE PROCESSES
THAT ARE HAPPENING
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
THAT WE HAVE A PRETTY
GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF
ARE HAPPENING OUTSIDE
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, AS WELL.
Narrator: MANY UNSOLVED
MYSTERIES SURROUND 'OUMUAMUA.
♪
ONE REMAINS
THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL --
CAN 'OUMUAMUA REVEAL
ANY POSSIBLE SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN LIFE ON EARTH,
AND ANY ALIEN LIFE
THAT MAY EXIST IN THE UNIVERSE?
PERRY GERAKINES THINKS IT CAN.
HE'S FINDING THE SIGNATURE
OF SURPRISING CHEMICALS
HIDDEN INSIDE THE RED CRUST
THOUGHT TO ENCASE 'OUMUAMUA.
SO, WE COME OVER HERE,
AND WE CAN SEE A SPECTRUM.
Narrator: THESE LARGE PEAKS
REVEAL THE PRESENCE OF WATER,
HARDLY SURPRISING FOR
SOMETHING THAT STARTED AS ICE,
BUT PERRY ALSO
DISCOVERS SOMETHING
FAR MORE COMPLEX AND UNEXPECTED.
AND YOU CAN SEE LITTLE BUMPS
THAT INDICATE THE PRESENCE
OF ANOTHER ORGANIC MOLECULE
THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR LIFE.
THESE ORGANIC MOLECULES
ARE SOME OF
THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS
OF DNA, THE BLUEPRINT OF LIFE.
OBJECTS LIKE 'OUMUAMUA
MAY HAVE EVEN DELIVERED
THE INGREDIENTS OF LIFE
TO THE YOUNG EARTH.
♪
SO, THIS GIVES US SOME CLUE
ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF LIFE.
YOU AND I ARE BASED ON COMPOUNDS
THAT ARE COMMON
IN COMETS AND METEORITES
AND THINGS LIKE 'OUMUAMUA.
THAT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE.
THAT'S WHAT LANDS HERE,
WE ARE COMMON AS MUCK.
♪
Narrator: IF 'OUMUAMUA DOES HAVE
THE SAME MOLECULES
IT ITS RED CRUST, THEN THE
IMPLICATIONS ARE EXTRAORDINARY.
RED STAINED OBJECTS JUST LIKE IT
MAY BE SPREADING THE SAME
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LIFE
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.
'OUMUAMUA TELLS US THAT MAYBE
MATERIAL IS BEING SHARED
FROM ONE SOLAR SYSTEM
TO ANOTHER,
AND THE FACT THAT 'OUMUAMUA
IS COVERED WITH ORGANICS,
THIS BRINGS UP THE IDEA
THAT THE SEEDS FOR LIFE
OR MAYBE EVEN LIFE ITSELF
CAN SPREAD FROM ONE STAR SYSTEM
TO ANOTHER.
WHEN COMETS LAND HERE ON EARTH,
THEY BRING A RICH TREASURE TROVE
OF ORGANIC MOLECULES.
THEY BRING THEM HERE TO EARTH,
WHERE LIFE CAN EVOLVE,
AND SOME OF THOSE MOLECULES
THAT ACTUALLY WERE BAKED
ON THE SURFACE
OF A DISTANT COMET
AROUND ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM ARE
PROBABLY IN YOUR BODY RIGHT NOW.
Narrator: IT'S AN ASTONISHING
IDEA, BUT TO KNOW FOR SURE,
ASTRONOMERS WOULD NEED TO FLY
TO AN INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
LIKE 'OUMUAMUA AND GET
A SAMPLE FROM THE SURFACE.
'OUMUAMUA IS NOW
TOO REMOTE TO REACH,
BUT COULD WE VISIT AND SAMPLE
THE NEXT INTERSTELLAR OBJECT?
ONE SCIENTIST IS WORKING
ON A WAY TO DO JUST THAT.
♪
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 19th, 2017,
AN OBJECT APPEARS AS A FLASH
OF LIGHT IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
'OUMUAMUA IS THE FIRST
INTERSTELLAR OBJECT
EVER DISCOVERED.
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE HUGE NUMBERS
OF SIMILAR OBJECTS
ARE OUT THERE,
BUT WHEN WILL WE DETECT
THE NEXT ONE, AND WHEN WE DO,
WILL IT BE POSSIBLE TO VISIT IT
AND COLLECT A SAMPLE?
Wadhwa: IF ANOTHER INTERSTELLAR
OBJECT LIKE THIS
WERE TO COME THROUGH,
WHAT AN AMAZING DREAM COME TRUE
IT WOULD BE
TO ACTUALLY GO TO THAT OBJECT,
PICK UP SOME ROCKS
FROM THE SURFACE
AND BRING THEM BACK AND ANALYZE
THEM IN OUR LABORATORIES.
BOY, WOULD IT BE COOL.
Narrator: THE IDEA
OF CAPTURING A SAMPLE
OF AN ALIEN COMET LIKE 'OUMUAMUA
MAY SOUND LIKE SCIENCE FICTION,
BUT JASON DWORKIN'S TEAM
AT NASA'S ASTROBIOLOGY LAB,
IS PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY
THAT COULD HELP US DO JUST THAT.
THEY'RE SENDING A SPACESHIP
TO GRAB A CHUNK OF AN OBJECT
THAT ALREADY BELONGS
TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
WHEN WE GET OUR SAMPLE, THEN
WE TAKE IT IN THIS LABORATORY.
THIS IS WHERE WE CAN DO
THE CRUSHING EXTRACTION WORK
NECESSARY TO FIND
OUT WHAT'S INSIDE.
Narrator: THE BOLD IDEA IS
TO FLY TO THE ASTEROID BENNU,
A ROUNDED LUMP OF ROCK
NEARLY 1,650 FEET THAT ORBITS
BETWEEN VENUS AND MARS,
AND THEN GRAB A SAMPLE.
THE SPACECRAFT HAS A
THREE-METER-LONG POGO STICK
THAT WILL TOUCH THE SURFACE
OF ASTEROID BENNU FOR AS LONG
AS FIVE SECONDS, BRINGING BACK
TWO KILOGRAMS OF THE SURFACE
OF BENNU TO STUDY WHAT THIS
ANCIENT ASTEROID TELLS US ABOUT
THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AND MAYBE THE ORIGIN OF LIFE.
Narrator: COULD SCIENTISTS USE
SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY
TO SAMPLE AN ALIEN COMET?
ACTUALLY, A SAMPLE FROM
'OUMUAMUA IS THE NEXT BEST THING
TO GOING TO ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM
AND GETTING A SAMPLE BACK.
WE CAN LEARN ABOUT
THE UNIVERSALITIES OF LIFE
OR THE IDIOSYNCRASIES
OF LIFE HERE VERSUS ELSEWHERE.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
TO CAPTURING
AN ALIEN SAMPLE, IS
THE TIME NEEDED FOR
THE MISSION TO GET
OFF THE GROUND.
TO HAVE THE ROCKET READY,
HAVE THE SPACECRAFT READY,
HAVE EVERYTHING TESTED
AND WORKING PERFECTLY
WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME,
WOULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS
TO GET READY, AND 'OUMUAMUA CAME
IN QUICKLY AND LEFT QUICKLY.
SO, BY THE TIME WE WERE READY,
IT WOULD BE GONE.
'OUMUAMUA'S PATH BROUGHT IT
LOOPING IN BEHIND THE SUN.
THIS BLINDS ASTRONOMERS ON EARTH
TO ITS APPROACH.
SCIENTISTS ONLY DETECT
IT WHEN IT'S ALREADY
ON ITS WAY OUT
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
BUT WITH THE EXPANDING NETWORK
OF TELESCOPES KEEPING WATCH
ON THE SKY, NEXT TIME WE
SHOULD HAVE MORE WARNING.
Dworkin: THE LONGER YOU HAVE
BEFORE YOU KNOW TO SEE IT,
THE BETTER YOU CAN PREPARE,
THE MORE TIME YOU HAVE
TO GET SOMETHING
READY TO INTERCEPT IT
AND GET A SAMPLE AND STUDY IT.
Narrator: PERHAPS, WITH
A SPACESHIP READY ON STANDBY,
WE CAN SNATCH OUR FIRST SAMPLE
OF AN ALIEN VISITOR
THE NEXT TIME ONE COMES CALLING.
♪
'OUMUAMUA,
OUR FIRST ALIEN VISITOR,
IS NOW HEADING BACK
TOWARDS INTERSTELLAR SPACE.
IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY,
BOTH FOR 'OUMUAMUA
AND THE ASTRONOMERS CHASING IT.
Schwamb:
ALL OF 'OUMUAMUA'S INTERESTING
AND SORT OF DIFFERENT
BECAUSE IT'S THE
FIRST OF ITS KIND.
AND SO,
I THINK TO REALLY UNDERSTAND
HOW IT FITS IN,
WE NEED TO FIND MORE OF THEM,
AND THE NICE THING IS WE WILL.
Narrator: 'OUMUAMUA HAS BEEN
TRAVELING TOWARD US
FOR MANY TENS
OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,
BACK BEFORE THERE WERE
HUMANS ON EARTH,
AND NOW IT'S GOING ON,
AND IT'S GOING TO TRAVEL
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS MORE.
IT'S MIND BLOWING.
Thaller: 'OUMUAMUA WAS ONE
OF THESE MOMENTS
IN MY CAREER AS A SCIENTIST,
WHERE SOMETHING GOT
EVEN BETTER THAN I HAD IMAGINED
AS THE EVIDENCE MOUNTED
BECAME MORE AND MORE BIZARRE,
MORE AND MORE ALIEN.
THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN,
I WILL NEVER FORGET 'OUMUAMUA.
♪
Narrator:
NOW ASTRONOMERS PREPARE
FOR THE NEXT
INTERSTELLAR ARRIVAL
AND HOPE IT WILL
BE AS SURPRISING,
AS MYSTERIOUS,
AND AS REVOLUTIONARY
AS 'OUMUAMUA,
THE MESSENGER FROM AFAR.
Adjusted CORNELDVD