ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carolyn Porco - Planetary scientist
As the leader of the Imaging Team on the Cassini mission to Saturn, Carolyn Porco interprets and shares the pictures coming back from this fascinating planet, its rings and its moons.

Why you should listen

Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco studies and interprets the photos from NASA space missions like the renowned Voyager mission to the outer solar system in the 1980s and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. She leads a team of scientists from the US and Europe that has been analyzing the images Cassini has sent back since it left Earth in 1997. At Saturn, they have found new phenomena everywhere they've turned their cameras … in the planet’s atmosphere, within its rings and on the surfaces of its many moons. And they've produced spectacular images and animations of these marvels in the process.

Back in the early-1980s, while still working on her doctorate, Porco was drafted onto the Voyager imaging team to assist in crunching the mountains of data coming back from Voyager’s fly-by of Saturn. Her work on the planet's rings and their relation to its moons cemented her connection with Saturn. After Voyager had flown by Neptune and was nearing conclusion, she worked together with Carl Sagan in planning Voyager’s celebrated Pale Blue Dot picture of Earth.

Her ongoing work at the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPs) has two goals: to process, interpret and archive Cassini’s images for other scientists, and to make sure the images -- in all their breathtaking poetry and mystery and sheer Save-Image-As-Desktop awesomeness -- connect with the general public. She is an advocate for the exploration and understanding of planetary space, and her frequent talks (as well as her "Captain's Log" memos on the CICLOPS website) speak to everyone, scientist and nonscientist alike. Her advocacy extends to Hollywood, where she was the character consultant on the 1997 movie “Contact,” and a consultant on the 2009 Paramount Pictures re-boot of “Star Trek.” In 2012, she was named one the 25 most influential people in space by TIME magazine.

Finally, in a twist on the Pale Blue Dot theme, it was she who conceived the idea to invite the people of the world to smile while Cassini imaged the Earth on July 19, 2013 in an event called “The Day the Earth Smiled.”

For more information: 

Solar System Portrait: Earth as 'Pale Blue Dot'

BBC: Saturn snapped as Earth smiled

The Atlantic: The Carl Sagan of Our Time Reprises the 'Pale Blue Dot' Photo of Earth

The Day the Earth Smiled: Image

Library of Congress: Portraits of the Solar System: Talking with Carolyn Porco About Carl Sagan  

More profile about the speaker
Carolyn Porco | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Carolyn Porco: Could a Saturn moon harbor life?

Carolyn Porvo: Findes der liv på en Saturn-måne?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Carolyn Porco deler spændende nye opdagelser fra rumskibet Cassinis nylige passering af en af Saturns måner, Enceladus. Prøver, samlet fra månens isede gejsere, tyder på et hav under dens overflade, der kunne have liv.
- Planetary scientist
As the leader of the Imaging Team on the Cassini mission to Saturn, Carolyn Porco interprets and shares the pictures coming back from this fascinating planet, its rings and its moons. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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Two yearsflere år agosiden here at TEDTED
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For to år siden her på TED
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I reportedrapporteret that we had discoveredopdaget
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rapporterede jeg at vi havde opdaget
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at SaturnSaturn, with the CassiniCassini SpacecraftRumfartøj,
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på Saturn, med rumskibet Cassini,
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an anomalouslyanomalously warmvarm and geologicallygeologisk activeaktiv regionområde
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et anomalt varmt og geologisk aktivt område
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at the southernsyd- tiptip of the smalllille SaturnineSaturnine moonmåne
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ved den sydlige ende af den lille Saturnske måne
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EnceladusEnceladus, seenset here.
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Enceladus, som ses her.
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This regionområde seenset here for the first time
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Dette område ses her for første gang
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in the CassiniCassini imagebillede takentaget in 2005. This is the southsyd polarpolær regionområde,
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i billedet her taget af Cassini i 2005. Dette er den syd-polære region.
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with the famousberømt tiger-stripeTiger-stripe fracturesfrakturer crossingoverfart the southsyd polepol.
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Med de berømte tigerstribe-lignende frakturer hen over sydpolen.
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And seenset just recentlyfor nylig in latesent 2008,
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Og som set for nyligt i slutningen af 2008,
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here is that regionområde again,
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her er den samme region igen,
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now halfhalvt in darknessmørke because the southernsyd- hemispherehalvkugle
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nu halvt i mørke fordi den sydlige halvkugle
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is experiencingoplever the onsetdebut of AugustAugust
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oplever begyndelsen af August
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and eventuallytil sidst wintervinter.
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og til sidst vinter.
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And I alsoogså reportedrapporteret that we'dvi ville madelavet this mind-blowingmildt sagt forbløffende discoveryopdagelse --
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Jeg fortalte også at vi har gjort denne fantastiske opdagelse --
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this once-in-a-lifetimeenestående discoveryopdagelse
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denne unikke opdagelse
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of toweringtårnhøje jetsjetfly
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af tårnhøje luftstrømme
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eruptingbryder ud from those fracturesfrakturer at the southsyd polepol,
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der bryder ud fra de frakturer ved sydpolen
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consistingbestående of tinylille bitte watervand iceis crystalskrystaller
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bestående af bitte små vand is-krystaller
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accompaniedledsaget by watervand vapordamp
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ledsaget af vanddamp
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and simpleenkel organicorganisk compoundsforbindelser like carbonkulstof dioxidedioxid and methanemetan.
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og simple organiske forbindelser som carbondioxid og metan.
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And at that time two yearsflere år agosiden
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Og på det tidspunkt for to år siden
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I mentionednævnte that we were speculatingspekulere
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nævnte jeg at vi spekulerede på
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that these jetsjetfly mightmagt in factfaktum be geysersgejsere,
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om disse luftstrømme faktisk er gejsere
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and eruptingbryder ud from pocketslommer
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og at de bryder ud fra lommer
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or chambersChambers of liquidvæske watervand underneathunder the surfaceoverflade,
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eller kamre af flydende vand under overfladen.
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but we weren'tvar ikke really sure.
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Men vi var ikke rigtig sikre.
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HoweverMen, the implicationsimplikationer of those resultsresultater --
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Dog var implikationen af de resultater
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of a possiblemuligt environmentmiljø withininden for this moonmåne
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der pegede på et muligt miljø inde i denne måne
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that could supportsupport prebioticprebiotiske chemistrykemi,
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som kunne støtte op om prebiotisk kemi,
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and perhapsmåske life itselfsig selv --
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og måske liv,
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were so excitingspændende that, in the interveninggribe ind two yearsflere år,
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var så spændende, at vi i de to mellemliggende år
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we have focusedfokuseret more on EnceladusEnceladus.
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har fokuseret mere på Enceladus.
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We'veVi har flownfløjet the CassiniCassini SpacecraftRumfartøj
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Vi har fløjet Cassini-rumskibet
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by this moonmåne now severalflere timesgange,
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forbi denne måne flere gange nu.
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flyingflyvende closertættere and deeperdybere into these jetsjetfly,
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Vi flyver tættere og dybere ind i disse luftstrømme,
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into the densertættere regionsregioner of these jetsjetfly,
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ind i disse tætte område af strømmene,
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so that now we have come away with some
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sådan at vi nu er kommet afsted med nogle
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very precisepræcis compositionalkompositorisk measurementsmålinger.
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meget præcise kompositoriske målinger.
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And we have foundfundet
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Og vi har fundet ud af
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that the organicorganisk compoundsforbindelser comingkommer from this moonmåne
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at de organiske forbindelser der kommer fra denne måne
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are in factfaktum more complexkompleks than we previouslytidligere reportedrapporteret.
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rent faktisk er mere komplekse end vi tidligere har rapporteret.
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While they're not aminoamino acidssyrer,
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Da de ikke er aminosyrer,
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we're now findingfund things like
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finder vi nu ting som
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propanepropan and benzenebenzen,
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propan og benzen,
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hydrogenhydrogen cyanidecyanid, and formaldehydeformaldehyd.
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blåsyre og formaldehyd.
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And the tinylille bitte watervand crystalskrystaller here
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Og de små vandkrystaller her
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now look for all the worldverden
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ser nu ud som om
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like they are frozenFrosset dropletsdråber of saltysalt watervand,
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at de er frosne saltvanddråber.
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whichhvilken is a discoveryopdagelse that suggestsforeslår
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Hvilket er en opdagelse der peger på
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that not only do the jetsjetfly come from
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at disse luftstrømme ikke blot kommer fra
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pocketslommer of liquidvæske watervand,
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lommer af flydende vand,
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but that that liquidvæske watervand is in contactkontakt with rockklippe.
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men at det flydende vand er i kontakt med sten.
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And that is a circumstanceomstændighed
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Og det er omstændigheder
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that could supplylevere the chemicalkemisk energyenergi
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der kunne forsyne den kemiske energi
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and the chemicalkemisk compoundsforbindelser neededhavde brug for to sustainopretholde life.
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og de kemiske forbindelser, der er nødvendige for at opretholde liv.
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So we are very encouragedopmuntret by these resultsresultater.
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Så vi er meget opmuntrede af disse resultater.
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And we are much more confidentselvsikker now than we were two yearsflere år agosiden
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Og vi er nu meget mere sikre, end vi var for to år siden
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that we mightmagt indeedJa
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på at vi rent faktisk kan
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have on this moonmåne, underunder the southsyd polepol,
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have, på denne måne, under sydpolen,
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an environmentmiljø or a zonezone that is hospitablegæstfri to livinglevende organismsorganismer.
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et miljø eller en zone, der er gæstfri overfor levende organismer.
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WhetherOm or not there are livinglevende organismsorganismer there, of courseRute,
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Om der er liv eller ej, er selvfølgelig
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is an entirelyhelt differentforskellige matterstof.
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en helt anden sag.
02:57
And that will have to awaitventer the arrivalankomst,
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Og den sag vil blive nød til at vente på ankomsten,
02:59
back at EnceladusEnceladus,
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tilbage på Enceladus,
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of the spacecraftsrumfartøjer, hopefullyforhåbentlig some time in the nearnær ved futurefremtid,
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af de rumskibe, som forhåbentlig i en nær fremtid,
03:05
specificallyspecifikt equippedudstyret to addressadresse that particularsærlig questionspørgsmål.
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som er specifikt udstyret til at svare på netop det spørgsmål.
03:09
But in the meantimemellemtiden I inviteinvitere you to imagineforestille the day
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Men i mellemtiden indbyder jeg jer til at forestille den dag
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when we mightmagt journeyrejse to the SaturnineSaturnine systemsystem,
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hvor vi kan rejse til Saturn-systemet,
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and visitbesøg the EnceladusEnceladus interplanetaryinterplanetariske geysergejser parkparkere,
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og besøge interplanetære gejser park på Enceladus
03:19
just because we can.
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bare fordi vi kan.
03:21
Thank you.
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Tak
03:23
(ApplauseBifald)
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(Bifald)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carolyn Porco - Planetary scientist
As the leader of the Imaging Team on the Cassini mission to Saturn, Carolyn Porco interprets and shares the pictures coming back from this fascinating planet, its rings and its moons.

Why you should listen

Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco studies and interprets the photos from NASA space missions like the renowned Voyager mission to the outer solar system in the 1980s and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. She leads a team of scientists from the US and Europe that has been analyzing the images Cassini has sent back since it left Earth in 1997. At Saturn, they have found new phenomena everywhere they've turned their cameras … in the planet’s atmosphere, within its rings and on the surfaces of its many moons. And they've produced spectacular images and animations of these marvels in the process.

Back in the early-1980s, while still working on her doctorate, Porco was drafted onto the Voyager imaging team to assist in crunching the mountains of data coming back from Voyager’s fly-by of Saturn. Her work on the planet's rings and their relation to its moons cemented her connection with Saturn. After Voyager had flown by Neptune and was nearing conclusion, she worked together with Carl Sagan in planning Voyager’s celebrated Pale Blue Dot picture of Earth.

Her ongoing work at the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPs) has two goals: to process, interpret and archive Cassini’s images for other scientists, and to make sure the images -- in all their breathtaking poetry and mystery and sheer Save-Image-As-Desktop awesomeness -- connect with the general public. She is an advocate for the exploration and understanding of planetary space, and her frequent talks (as well as her "Captain's Log" memos on the CICLOPS website) speak to everyone, scientist and nonscientist alike. Her advocacy extends to Hollywood, where she was the character consultant on the 1997 movie “Contact,” and a consultant on the 2009 Paramount Pictures re-boot of “Star Trek.” In 2012, she was named one the 25 most influential people in space by TIME magazine.

Finally, in a twist on the Pale Blue Dot theme, it was she who conceived the idea to invite the people of the world to smile while Cassini imaged the Earth on July 19, 2013 in an event called “The Day the Earth Smiled.”

For more information: 

Solar System Portrait: Earth as 'Pale Blue Dot'

BBC: Saturn snapped as Earth smiled

The Atlantic: The Carl Sagan of Our Time Reprises the 'Pale Blue Dot' Photo of Earth

The Day the Earth Smiled: Image

Library of Congress: Portraits of the Solar System: Talking with Carolyn Porco About Carl Sagan  

More profile about the speaker
Carolyn Porco | Speaker | TED.com