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: A fshihet jetë në një hënë te Saturnit?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Carolyn Porco tregon gjetje të reja interesante nga udhëtimet e fundit të anijes kozmike Cassini në një nga hënat e Saturnit, Enceladus. Mostrat e mbledhura nga gejzerët e akullt të hënës japin shenja se një oqean nën sipërfaqen e saj mund të strehojë jetë.
- 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 years ago here at TED
0
0
2000
Dy vjet më parë këtu në TED
00:20
I reported that we had discovered
1
2000
2000
unë tregova se kishim zbuluar
00:22
at Saturn, with the Cassini Spacecraft,
2
4000
3000
me anijen kozmike Cassini, ne Saturn,
00:25
an anomalously warm and geologically active region
3
7000
3000
një regjion çuditërisht të ngrohtë dhe gjeologjikisht aktiv
00:28
at the southern tip of the small Saturnine moon
4
10000
3000
në cepin jugor të hënës së vogël të Saturnit
00:31
Enceladus, seen here.
5
13000
2000
Enceladus, të parë këtu.
00:33
This region seen here for the first time
6
15000
2000
Ky regjion i parë këtu për herë të parë
00:35
in the Cassini image taken in 2005. This is the south polar region,
7
17000
5000
në imazhin e marrë nga Cassini në 2005. Ky është regjioni jugor polar,
00:40
with the famous tiger-stripe fractures crossing the south pole.
8
22000
3000
me çarjet vija-tigri të famshme që kryqëzon Polin e Jugut.
00:43
And seen just recently in late 2008,
9
25000
4000
Dhe i parë së fundi vonë në 2008,
00:47
here is that region again,
10
29000
2000
ja ku është ai regjion përsëri,
00:49
now half in darkness because the southern hemisphere
11
31000
3000
tani gjysmë në errësirë sepse hemisfera jugore
00:52
is experiencing the onset of August
12
34000
3000
është duke përjetuar fillimin e gushtit
00:55
and eventually winter.
13
37000
2000
dhe eventualisht dimrin.
00:57
And I also reported that we'd made this mind-blowing discovery --
14
39000
3000
Dhe unë gjithashtu raportova se e kishim bërë një zbulim të hatashëm,
01:00
this once-in-a-lifetime discovery
15
42000
2000
një zbulim që bëhet një herë në jetë
01:02
of towering jets
16
44000
2000
i rrymave të tmerrshme
01:04
erupting from those fractures at the south pole,
17
46000
3000
duke shpërthyer nga ato çarje në polin e jugut,
01:07
consisting of tiny water ice crystals
18
49000
2000
që përmbajnë kristale të vogla akulli
01:09
accompanied by water vapor
19
51000
3000
të shoqëruara nga avulli
01:12
and simple organic compounds like carbon dioxide and methane.
20
54000
4000
dhe përbërje të thjeshta organike si dioksidi i karbonit dhe metani.
01:16
And at that time two years ago
21
58000
2000
Dhe në atë kohë para dy vjetësh
01:18
I mentioned that we were speculating
22
60000
2000
unë përmenda se ishim duke menduar
01:20
that these jets might in fact be geysers,
23
62000
2000
që këto rryma mund të ishin në fakt gejzerë,
01:22
and erupting from pockets
24
64000
2000
duke shpërthyer nga gropat
01:24
or chambers of liquid water underneath the surface,
25
66000
2000
apo hapësirat me ujë të lëngshëm nën sipërfaqe,
01:26
but we weren't really sure.
26
68000
2000
por nuk ishim shumë të sigurtë.
01:28
However, the implications of those results --
27
70000
3000
Gjithsesi, nënkuptimet e atyre rezultateve --
01:31
of a possible environment within this moon
28
73000
3000
të një ambienti të mundur brenda kësaj hëne
01:34
that could support prebiotic chemistry,
29
76000
2000
që mund të mbështesë kiminë prebiotike,
01:36
and perhaps life itself --
30
78000
3000
dhe ndoshta vetë jetën --
01:39
were so exciting that, in the intervening two years,
31
81000
2000
ishin aq emocionuese sa, në dy vitet në vazhdim,
01:41
we have focused more on Enceladus.
32
83000
2000
ne jemi fokusuar më shumë në Enceladus.
01:43
We've flown the Cassini Spacecraft
33
85000
3000
Ne kemi fluturuar anijen kozmike Cassini
01:46
by this moon now several times,
34
88000
2000
afer kesaj hëne disa herë,
01:48
flying closer and deeper into these jets,
35
90000
3000
duke fluturuar më afër dhe më thellë në këto rryma,
01:51
into the denser regions of these jets,
36
93000
2000
në regjionet më të dendura të këtyre rrymave,
01:53
so that now we have come away with some
37
95000
2000
saqë tani kemi ardhur në disa
01:55
very precise compositional measurements.
38
97000
2000
matje kompozitore shumë të përpikta.
01:57
And we have found
39
99000
2000
Dhe kemi zbuluar
01:59
that the organic compounds coming from this moon
40
101000
3000
se përbërjet organike që që gjenden te kjo hënë
02:02
are in fact more complex than we previously reported.
41
104000
3000
janë faktikisht më të ndërlikuara se sa kemi raportuar më parë.
02:05
While they're not amino acids,
42
107000
2000
Ndërsa nuk janë amino acide,
02:07
we're now finding things like
43
109000
2000
tani ne po zbulojmë gjëra si
02:09
propane and benzene,
44
111000
2000
propan dhe benzen,
02:11
hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde.
45
113000
2000
acid cianhidric dhe formaldehyde.
02:13
And the tiny water crystals here
46
115000
3000
Dhe kristalet e vogla të ujit këtu
02:16
now look for all the world
47
118000
2000
tani duken
02:18
like they are frozen droplets of salty water,
48
120000
3000
sikur janë pika të ngrira të ujit të kripur,
02:21
which is a discovery that suggests
49
123000
2000
i cili është një zbulim që sugjeron
02:23
that not only do the jets come from
50
125000
2000
se jo vetëm që këto rryma vijnë nga
02:25
pockets of liquid water,
51
127000
2000
xhepa të ujit të lëngshëm,
02:27
but that that liquid water is in contact with rock.
52
129000
3000
por dhe që ai ujë i lëngshëm është në kontakt me shkëmb.
02:30
And that is a circumstance
53
132000
2000
Dhe kjo është një rrethanë
02:32
that could supply the chemical energy
54
134000
2000
që do të mund të furnizonte energjinë kimike
02:34
and the chemical compounds needed to sustain life.
55
136000
3000
dhe përbërjet kimike që duhen për të mbajtur jetë.
02:37
So we are very encouraged by these results.
56
139000
3000
Kështu që jemi shumë të inkurajuar nga këto rezultate.
02:40
And we are much more confident now than we were two years ago
57
142000
3000
Jemi shumë më të sigurt tani sesa ishim dy vjet më parë
02:43
that we might indeed
58
145000
2000
që ne me të vërtetë
02:45
have on this moon, under the south pole,
59
147000
3000
mund të kemi në këtë hënë, nën polit të jugut,
02:48
an environment or a zone that is hospitable to living organisms.
60
150000
4000
një ambient ose një zonë që është mikpritëse për organizmat e gjallë.
02:52
Whether or not there are living organisms there, of course,
61
154000
3000
Ka apo nuk ka organizma të gjallë atje, sigurisht,
02:55
is an entirely different matter.
62
157000
2000
është një çështje krejtësisht e ndryshme.
02:57
And that will have to await the arrival,
63
159000
2000
Dhe që ne do të duhet të presim arritjen,
02:59
back at Enceladus,
64
161000
3000
atje në Enceladus,
03:02
of the spacecrafts, hopefully some time in the near future,
65
164000
3000
të anijeve kozmike, me shpresë se ndonjë ditë në një të ardhme të afërt,
03:05
specifically equipped to address that particular question.
66
167000
4000
të pajisura veçanërisht për të drejtuar këtë pyetje të posaçme.
03:09
But in the meantime I invite you to imagine the day
67
171000
3000
Por ndërkohë unë ju ftoj të imagjinoni ditën
03:12
when we might journey to the Saturnine system,
68
174000
3000
kur ne mund të udhëtojmë në sistemin e Saturnit,
03:15
and visit the Enceladus interplanetary geyser park,
69
177000
4000
dhe të vizitojmë parkun ndërplanetar të gejzerëve në Encaladus,
03:19
just because we can.
70
181000
2000
thjesht sepse mundemi.
03:21
Thank you.
71
183000
2000
Faleminderit.
03:23
(Applause)
72
185000
1000
(Duartrokitje)
Translated by Diamant Hasani
Reviewed by Helena Bedalli

▲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
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee