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 Porco: ¿Podría la luna de Saturno albergar vida?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Carolyn Porco comparte sus emocionantes nuevos descubrimientos de la última exploración realizada por la nave Cassini a una de las lunas de Saturno, Encélado. Las muestras recogidas de los fríos géisers de la luna insinúan que debajo de la superficie océanica podría albergar vida.
- 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 yearsaños agohace here at TEDTED
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Hace dos años aquí en TED
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I reportedreportado that we had discovereddescubierto
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Informé que habíamos descubierto
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at SaturnSaturno, with the CassiniCassini SpacecraftAstronave,
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en Saturno, con el orbitador Cassini,
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an anomalouslyanómalamente warmcalentar and geologicallygeológicamente activeactivo regionregión
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una región anormalmente cálida y geológicamente activa
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at the southerndel Sur tippropina of the smallpequeña SaturnineSaturnino moonLuna
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en el extremo sur del pequeño satélite de Saturno
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EnceladusEnceladus, seenvisto here.
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Encélado, como se ve aquí
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This regionregión seenvisto here for the first time
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Esta región vista aquí por primera vez
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in the CassiniCassini imageimagen takentomado in 2005. This is the southsur polarpolar regionregión,
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en la imagen del Cassini tomada en el 2005. Esta es la región polar sur
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with the famousfamoso tiger-stripetiger-stripe fracturesfracturas crossingcruce the southsur polepolo.
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con sus famosas fracturas raya de tigre cruzando el polo sur
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And seenvisto just recentlyrecientemente in latetarde 2008,
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Y sólo visto recién a fines del 2008
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here is that regionregión again,
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aquí está nuevamente la región
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now halfmitad in darknessoscuridad because the southerndel Sur hemispherehemisferio
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ahora ensombrecida hasta la mitad debido a que el hemisferio sur
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is experiencingexperimentar the onsetcomienzo of Augustagosto
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está experimentando la llegada de Agosto
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and eventuallyfinalmente winterinvierno.
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y eventualmente el invierno
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And I alsoademás reportedreportado that we'dmie madehecho this mind-blowingalucinante discoverydescubrimiento --
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Y también informé que habíamos hecho este asombroso descubrimiento
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this once-in-a-lifetimeuna vez en la vida discoverydescubrimiento
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un descubrimiento que ocurre una vez en la vida.
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of toweringimponente jetschorros
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de elevados chorros
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eruptingerupcionando from those fracturesfracturas at the southsur polepolo,
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eruptando de esas fracturas en el polo sur,
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consistingconsistente of tinyminúsculo wateragua icehielo crystalscristales
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consistente en pequeños cristales de agua helada
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accompaniedacompañado by wateragua vaporvapor
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acompañadas por vapor de agua
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and simplesencillo organicorgánico compoundscompuestos like carboncarbón dioxidedióxido and methanemetano.
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y simples compuestos orgánicos como el dióxido de carbono y metano
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And at that time two yearsaños agohace
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Y en esa época, hace dos años atrás
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I mentionedmencionado that we were speculatingespeculando
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mencioné que estábamos especulando
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that these jetschorros mightpodría in facthecho be geysersgéiseres,
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que esos chorros podrían ser en realidad géisers
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and eruptingerupcionando from pocketsbolsillos
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siendo lanzados desde bolsas de aire
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or chamberscámaras of liquidlíquido wateragua underneathdebajo the surfacesuperficie,
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o cámaras de agua líquida bajo la superficie
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but we weren'tno fueron really sure.
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Pero no estábamos seguros
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Howeversin embargo, the implicationstrascendencia of those resultsresultados --
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Sin embargo, las implicaciones de estos resultados
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of a possibleposible environmentambiente withindentro this moonLuna
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de un posible ambiente dentro de este satélite
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that could supportapoyo prebioticprebiótico chemistryquímica,
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que podría soportar química prebiótica
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and perhapsquizás life itselfsí mismo --
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y quizás vida en sí misma
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were so excitingemocionante that, in the interveninginterviniendo two yearsaños,
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eran tan emocionantes que en el intervalo de dos años
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we have focusedcentrado more on EnceladusEnceladus.
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nos hemos concentrado más en Encélado.
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We'veNosotros tenemos flownvolado the CassiniCassini SpacecraftAstronave
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hemos hecho volar el orbitador Cassini
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by this moonLuna now severalvarios timesveces,
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por este satélite muchísimas veces
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flyingvolador closercerca and deeperMás adentro into these jetschorros,
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Volando más cerca y más profundo en estos chorros
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into the densermás denso regionsregiones of these jetschorros,
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en las regiones más densas de estos chorros
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so that now we have come away with some
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así que ahora hemos obtenido
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very precisepreciso compositionalcomposicional measurementsmediciones.
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medidas de composición más precisas
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And we have foundencontró
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Y hemos encontrado
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that the organicorgánico compoundscompuestos comingviniendo from this moonLuna
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que los compuestos orgánicos provenientes de este satélite
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are in facthecho more complexcomplejo than we previouslypreviamente reportedreportado.
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son de hecho más complejos que los reportados previamente
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While they're not aminoaminado acidsácidos,
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A pesar que no son aminoácidos
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we're now findinghallazgo things like
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hemos encontrado cosas como
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propanepropano and benzenebenceno,
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propano y benceno
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hydrogenhidrógeno cyanidecianuro, and formaldehydeformaldehído.
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cianuro de hidrógeno y formaldehído.
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And the tinyminúsculo wateragua crystalscristales here
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Y los pequeños cristales de agua aquí
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now look for all the worldmundo
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ahora lucen ante el mundo
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like they are frozencongelado dropletsgotitas of saltysalado wateragua,
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como si fueran gotitas congeladas de agua salada.
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whichcual is a discoverydescubrimiento that suggestssugiere
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El cual es un descubrimiento que sugiere
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that not only do the jetschorros come from
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que no sólo los chorros vienen de
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pocketsbolsillos of liquidlíquido wateragua,
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bolsas de aire o agua líquida,
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but that that liquidlíquido wateragua is in contactcontacto with rockrock.
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pero que el agua líquida está con contacto con la roca.
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And that is a circumstancecircunstancia
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Y esa es una circunstancia
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that could supplysuministro the chemicalquímico energyenergía
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que puede proveer la energía química
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and the chemicalquímico compoundscompuestos needednecesario to sustainsostener life.
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y los componentes químicos necesarios para sustentar la vida.
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So we are very encouragedalentado by these resultsresultados.
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Así que estamos muy animados con estos resultados
02:40
And we are much more confidentconfidente now than we were two yearsaños agohace
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Y tenemos mucha más confianza de la que teníamos hace dos años
02:43
that we mightpodría indeeden efecto
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que de hecho podríamos
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have on this moonLuna, underdebajo the southsur polepolo,
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tener en este satélite, bajo el polo sur,
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an environmentambiente or a zonezona that is hospitablehospitalario to livingvivo organismsorganismos.
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un ambiente o una zona que es hospitalario para organismos vivientes.
02:52
WhetherSi or not there are livingvivo organismsorganismos there, of coursecurso,
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Exista o no organismos vivientes ahí, por supuesto,
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is an entirelyenteramente differentdiferente matterimportar.
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eso es algo completamente diferente.
02:57
And that will have to awaitesperar the arrivalllegada,
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Y que tendremos que esperar la llegada,
02:59
back at EnceladusEnceladus,
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nuevamente en Encélado
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of the spacecraftsnaves espaciales, hopefullyOjalá some time in the nearcerca futurefuturo,
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de las naves, esperando que sea en un futuro cercano,
03:05
specificallyespecíficamente equippedequipado to addressdirección that particularespecial questionpregunta.
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especialmente equipado para dirigir este asunto en particular.
03:09
But in the meantimemientras tanto I inviteinvitación you to imagineimagina the day
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Pero por mientras los invito a imaginar el día
03:12
when we mightpodría journeyviaje to the SaturnineSaturnino systemsistema,
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que podamos viajar al sistema de Saturno,
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and visitvisitar the EnceladusEnceladus interplanetaryinterplanetario geysergéiser parkparque,
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y visitar el parque de geísers interplanetario de Encélado,
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just because we can.
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simplemente porque podemos.
03:21
Thank you.
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Gracias.
03:23
(ApplauseAplausos)
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(aplausos)
Translated by Tiare Rivera
Reviewed by Lourdes Cahuich

▲Back to top

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