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?

Karolin Porko: Saturnning Oyida ( yo'ldoshida) hayot bo'lishi mumkinmi?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Karolin Porko fazo kemasi "Kassinining" yaqin kunlardagi izlanishida topilgan hayajonli natija - Saturndagi Enselada oyining topilganini aytadi. Oyning muzli suv qatlamidan (geyzerdan) olingan namunalar uning tagidagi ummonda hayot mavjudligidan darak beradi.
- 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
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Ikki yil avval, shu TEDda
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I reported that we had discovered
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Biz Saturnda, Kassini fazo kemasida,
00:22
at Saturn, with the Cassini Spacecraft,
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gayrioddiy iliq va geologik faol
00:25
an anomalously warm and geologically active region
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mintaqani topganligimzni aytgan edim.
00:28
at the southern tip of the small Saturnine moon
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U mintaqa Saturnning kichik Oyi, mana bu yerda ko'rinib turgan,
00:31
Enceladus, seen here.
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Enseladaning janubiy chekkasida topilgan edi.
00:33
This region seen here for the first time
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Birinchi marta ko'rinib turgan bu mintaqa
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in the Cassini image taken in 2005. This is the south polar region,
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2005 yilda Kassinida suratga olingan. Bu janubiy qutb mintaqasi.
00:40
with the famous tiger-stripe fractures crossing the south pole.
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Janubiy qutbdan o'tayotgan mashhur yo'lbars chiziqli singan parchalari bilan ko'rinib turibdi.
00:43
And seen just recently in late 2008,
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Yaqindagina, 2008 yilning oxirlarida ko'ringan
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here is that region again,
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mana yana o'sha mintaqa,
00:49
now half in darkness because the southern hemisphere
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hozir buning yarmi qorong'i chunki janubiy yarim sharda
00:52
is experiencing the onset of August
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Avgust oyi kirib kelyapdi
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and eventually winter.
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va bor bora qish ham kiradi
00:57
And I also reported that we'd made this mind-blowing discovery --
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Shu jumladan, bizning hayratlanarli kashfiyotimiz haqida aytgandim --
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this once-in-a-lifetime discovery
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hayotda bir marta bo'ladigan kashfiyot -
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of towering jets
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yani bu janubiy qutbdagi o'sha yoriq parchalardan
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erupting from those fractures at the south pole,
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otib chiqayotgan - baland-baland suyuqliklardir.
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consisting of tiny water ice crystals
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uning tarkibida juda kichkina suvli muz kristallaridan tashkil topgan,
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accompanied by water vapor
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hamda u bilan birgan suv bug'i
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and simple organic compounds like carbon dioxide and methane.
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va uglerod dioksid va metan kabi oddiy organik birikmalar ham mavjud.
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And at that time two years ago
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Ikki yil avval o'sha paytda
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I mentioned that we were speculating
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biz bu suyuqliklarni tekislikning
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that these jets might in fact be geysers,
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tagidagi suyuq suvlar joylashgan bo'shliqdan
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and erupting from pockets
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oqib chiqayotgan geyzerlar deb
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or chambers of liquid water underneath the surface,
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taxmin qilganimizni aytib o'tgandim.
01:26
but we weren't really sure.
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Lekin, bunga ishonchimiz aniq emas edi.
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However, the implications of those results --
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Ammo, bu oydagi prebiotik kimyo
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of a possible environment within this moon
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va, ehtimol, hayotni ham qo'llab quvvatlaydigan,
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that could support prebiotic chemistry,
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bu oyda mavjudligi ehtimol bo'lgan muhitni
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and perhaps life itself --
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topganligimizning oqibati
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were so exciting that, in the intervening two years,
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juda hayajonli bo'ldi va ikki yil mobaynida
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we have focused more on Enceladus.
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Enseladaga ko'p e'tibor berdik.
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We've flown the Cassini Spacecraft
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Kassini fazo kemasida bu oy atrofidan
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by this moon now several times,
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bir necha marta uchdik.
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flying closer and deeper into these jets,
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Bu suyuqliklarga, hamda bu suyuqliklarning
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into the denser regions of these jets,
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zich bo'lgan mintaqalariga yaqinroq uchib,
01:53
so that now we have come away with some
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biz juda aniq tarkibiy o'lchovlarni
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very precise compositional measurements.
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ishlab chiqdik.
01:57
And we have found
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Bu oydan kelayotgan organik birikmalar
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that the organic compounds coming from this moon
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biz avval aytib o'tganimizdan ham ko'ra ancha
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are in fact more complex than we previously reported.
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murrakabroq ekanligini topdik.
02:05
While they're not amino acids,
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Ular aminokislota bo'lmasada,
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we're now finding things like
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biz propan va benzol,
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propane and benzene,
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sianid vodorod va formaldegid
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hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde.
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kabi narsalarni topyapmiz.
02:13
And the tiny water crystals here
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Bu yerdagi kichkinagina suvli muz kristallari esa
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now look for all the world
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butun dunyoga huddi tuzli suvning
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like they are frozen droplets of salty water,
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muzlagan tomchilari kabi ko'rinadi.
02:21
which is a discovery that suggests
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Bu kashfiyot shuni anglatadiki,
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that not only do the jets come from
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suyuqliklar nafaqat suyuq suv
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pockets of liquid water,
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joylashgan bo'shliqlardan chiqadi,
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but that that liquid water is in contact with rock.
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balki o'sha suyuq suv qoya, tosh bilan ham birga munosabatda bo'ladi.
02:30
And that is a circumstance
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Bu kimyoviy energiyani
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that could supply the chemical energy
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va hayot uchun zarur bo'lgan kimyoviy birikmalarni
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and the chemical compounds needed to sustain life.
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ta'minlay oladigan holatdir.
02:37
So we are very encouraged by these results.
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Bu natijalardan juda ham hursandmiz.
02:40
And we are much more confident now than we were two years ago
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Bu oyda, janubiy qutbning tagida, tirik organizmlarning
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that we might indeed
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yashashi uchun qulay muhit borligiga
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have on this moon, under the south pole,
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ikki yil avvalgidagidan ko'ra
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an environment or a zone that is hospitable to living organisms.
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hozir ishonchimiz ancha komilroq.
02:52
Whether or not there are living organisms there, of course,
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U yerda tirik organizmlarning mavjud yoki mavjud emasligi,
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is an entirely different matter.
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albatta, butunlay boshqa masala.
02:57
And that will have to await the arrival,
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Bu masala uchun, umid qilamizki, yaqin kelajakda,
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back at Enceladus,
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yana Enseladaga fazo kemalari
03:02
of the spacecrafts, hopefully some time in the near future,
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ayni shu masalani o'rganish uchun mos asboblar bilan
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specifically equipped to address that particular question.
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jihozlanib boradi.
03:09
But in the meantime I invite you to imagine the day
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Ayni paytda esa, biz Saturn sistemasiga
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when we might journey to the Saturnine system,
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sayohat qila oladigan va
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and visit the Enceladus interplanetary geyser park,
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va Enselada sayyoralar aro geyzer hiyoboniga tashrif buyur oladigan
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just because we can.
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kunni tasavvur qilib ko'ring-a!
03:21
Thank you.
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Rahmat.
03:23
(Applause)
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(Qarsaklar)
Translated by Gulnoza Yakubova
Reviewed by Nafissa Yakubova

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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