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: Bi lahko Saturnova luna skrivala življenje?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Carolyn Porco govori o razburljivih novih odkritjih vesoljskega plovila Cassini med njegovim nedavnim preletom ene od Saturnovih lun, imenovane Enceladus. Vzorci, zbrani iz luninih ledenih gejzirjev, namigujejo, da bi lahko ocean pod njeno površino skrival življenje.
- 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.

00:18
Two yearslet agonazaj here at TEDTED
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Pred dvema letoma sem tukaj na TED
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I reportedporočali that we had discoveredodkriti
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poročala, da smo pri Saturnu
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at SaturnSaturn, with the CassiniCassini SpacecraftVesoljsko plovilo,
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z vesoljskim plovilom Cassini odkrili
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an anomalouslyanomalously warmtoplo and geologicallygeološko activeaktiven regionregija
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nenavadno toplo in geološko aktivno področje
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at the southernJužni tipnasvet of the smallmajhna SaturnineSaturnine moonluna
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na južnem koncu majhne Saturnove lune
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EnceladusEnkelad, seenvidel here.
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Enceladus, ki jo vidimo tukaj.
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This regionregija seenvidel here for the first time
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To področje je tukaj prvič vidno
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in the CassiniCassini imagesliko takensprejeti in 2005. This is the southjužno polarpolarno regionregija,
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na fotografiji, ki jo je Cassini posnel leta 2005. To je južno polarno območje.
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with the famousslavni tiger-stripeTiger trak fractureszlomov crossingprečkanje the southjužno polepol.
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S slavnimi razpokami v obliki tigrovih prog, ki prečijo južni pol.
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And seenvidel just recentlypred kratkim in latepozen 2008,
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In kot smo videli ravno pred kratkim, konec 2008,
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here is that regionregija again,
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je tu ponovno to področje,
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now halfpol in darknesstemno because the southernJužni hemispherepolobli
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sedaj na pol v temi, ker bo na južni polobli
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is experiencingdoživlja the onsetpojav of AugustAvgust
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nastopil avgust,
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and eventuallysčasoma winterzima.
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ki mu bo sledila zima.
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And I alsotudi reportedporočali that we'dBili bi madeizdelane this mind-blowingneverjetno discoveryodkritje --
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Poročala sem tudi, da smo prišli do osupljivega odkritja --
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this once-in-a-lifetimeenkrat v življenju discoveryodkritje
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tega enkrat-v-življenju odkritja
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of toweringzelo visok jetsletala
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vzpenjajočih se curkov,
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eruptingerupting from those fractureszlomov at the southjužno polepol,
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ki so izbruhnili iz tistih razpok na južnem polu
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consistingsestavljen iz of tinymajhen watervoda iceled crystalskristali
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in sestojijo iz majcenih vodnih ledenih kristalov,
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accompaniedskupaj by watervoda vaporpare
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ki jih spremljajo vodni hlapi
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and simplepreprosto organicekološko compoundsspojine like carbonogljik dioxidedioksid and methanemetana.
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in preproste organske spojine, kot sta ogljikov dioksid in metan.
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And at that time two yearslet agonazaj
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In takrat, pred dvema letoma,
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I mentionedomenjeno that we were speculatingšpekulacij
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sem omenila, da domnevamo,
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that these jetsletala mightmorda in factdejstvo be geysersgejzirji,
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da so ti curki morda v resnici gejzirji,
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and eruptingerupting from pocketsžepi
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ki bruhajo iz žepov
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or chamberszbornice of liquidtekočina watervoda underneathspodaj the surfacepovršina,
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ali komor tekoče vode pod površjem.
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but we weren'tni bilo really sure.
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Vendar nismo bili prepričani.
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HoweverVendar, the implicationsposledice of those resultsrezultate --
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Vendar pa so nakazovanja teh rezultatov
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of a possiblemogoče environmentokolje withinznotraj this moonluna
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na možnost okolja znotraj te lune,
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that could supportpodporo prebioticprebiotik chemistrykemija,
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ki bi lahko omogočalo prebiotično kemijo
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and perhapsmorda life itselfsama --
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in mogoče življenje sámo,
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were so excitingvznemirljivo that, in the interveningposredovanja two yearslet,
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bila tako razburljiva, da smo se v vmesnih dveh letih
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we have focusedosredotočen more on EnceladusEnkelad.
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bolj osredotočili na Enceladus.
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We'veSmo flownpreletel the CassiniCassini SpacecraftVesoljsko plovilo
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Vesoljsko plovilo Cassini je sedaj
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by this moonluna now severalveč timeskrat,
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že večkrat poletelo mimo te lune.
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flyingletenje closerbližje and deepergloblje into these jetsletala,
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Letelo je bližje in globlje v te curke,
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into the densergostejša regionsregije of these jetsletala,
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v gostejša področja teh curkov,
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so that now we have come away with some
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tako da smo zdaj dobili nekaj
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very precisenatančno compositionalglede sestave measurementsmeritve.
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zelo natančnih meritev sestave.
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And we have foundnajdemo
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In odkrili smo,
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that the organicekološko compoundsspojine comingprihajajo from this moonluna
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da so organske spojine s te lune
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are in factdejstvo more complexkompleksno than we previouslyprej reportedporočali.
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v resnici bolj kompleksne, kot smo prej poročali.
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While they're not aminoamino acidskislin,
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Čeprav niso aminokisline,
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we're now findingugotovitev things like
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sedaj odkrivamo stvari, kot so
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propanerazstavovali.D Vedwe vstopivno.D Vedwelessemu, and benzenebenzen,
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propan in benzen,
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hydrogenvodik cyanidecianid, and formaldehydeformaldehid.
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cianovodikovo kislino in formaldehid.
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And the tinymajhen watervoda crystalskristali here
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In tile majceni vodni kristali
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now look for all the worldsvet
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sedaj izgledajo čisto tako,
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like they are frozenzamrznjeno dropletskapljice of saltyslano watervoda,
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kot da so zmrznjene kapljice slane vode.
02:21
whichki is a discoveryodkritje that suggestspredlaga
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Kar je odkritje, ki kaže,
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that not only do the jetsletala come from
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da ne le, da curki prihajajo iz
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pocketsžepi of liquidtekočina watervoda,
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žepov tekoče vode,
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but that that liquidtekočina watervoda is in contactstik with rockrock.
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temveč, da je tista tekoča voda v stiku s kamnino.
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And that is a circumstanceokoliščine
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In to je okoliščina,
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that could supplydobavo the chemicalkemično energyenergija
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ki bi lahko nudila kemično energijo
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and the chemicalkemično compoundsspojine neededpotrebno to sustainvzdrževati life.
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in kemične spojine potrebne za vzdrževanje življenja.
02:37
So we are very encouragedspodbuja by these resultsrezultate.
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Ti rezultati so nas zelo opogumili.
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And we are much more confidentsamozavesten now than we were two yearslet agonazaj
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Sedaj smo veliko bolj prepričani kot pred dvema letoma,
02:43
that we mightmorda indeedprav zares
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da bi na tej luni,
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have on this moonluna, underSpodaj the southjužno polepol,
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pod južnim polom, zares lahko imeli
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an environmentokolje or a zoneobmočje that is hospitablegostoljubno to livingživeti organismsorganizmi.
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okolje ali predel, ki je prijazen do živih organizmov.
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WhetherAli or not there are livingživeti organismsorganizmi there, of courseseveda,
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Če so ali niso tam živi organizmi, je seveda
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is an entirelypopolnoma differentdrugačen matterzadevo.
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popolnoma druga stvar.
02:57
And that will have to awaitčakajo the arrivalprihod,
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In to bo moralo počakati na prihod
02:59
back at EnceladusEnkelad,
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vesoljskih plovil nazaj na Enceladus,
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of the spacecraftsvesoljskih plovilih, hopefullyupajmo some time in the nearblizu futureprihodnost,
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upamo, da v bližnji prihodnosti,
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specificallyposebej equippedopremljeni to addressnaslov that particularzlasti questionvprašanje.
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ki bodo opremljena posebej za naslavljanje tega vprašanja.
03:09
But in the meantimeMedtem I invitepovabite you to imaginezamislite the day
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Medtem pa vas vabim, da si predstavljate dan,
03:12
when we mightmorda journeypotovanje to the SaturnineSaturnine systemsistem,
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ko bomo lahko potovali v Saturnov sistem
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and visitobisk the EnceladusEnkelad interplanetarymedplanetarni geyserGejzir parkparkirati,
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in obiskali medplanetarni park gejzirjev na Enceladusu,
03:19
just because we can.
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samo zato, ker bomo lahko.
03:21
Thank you.
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Hvala.
03:23
(ApplauseAplavz)
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(aplavz)
Translated by Matej Divjak
Reviewed by Klavdija Cernilogar

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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
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM