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: Potrebbe esserci vita su un satellite di Saturno?

Filmed:
1,054,733 views

Carolyn Porco condivide nuove importanti scoperte dal recente passaggio della sonda Cassini vicino ad una delle lune di Saturno, Encelado. I campioni raccolti dai geyser ghiacciati suggeriscono che un oceano potrebbe ospitare la vita sotto la sua superficie.
- 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 yearsanni agofa here at TEDTED
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Due anni fa qui al TED
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I reportedsegnalati that we had discoveredscoperto
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ho illustrato di aver scoperto col mio team
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at SaturnSaturno, with the CassiniCassini SpacecraftVeicolo spaziale,
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su Saturno grazie alla sonda Cassini
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an anomalouslyanomalamente warmcaldo and geologicallygeologicamente activeattivo regionregione
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una zona particolarmente calda e geologicamente attiva
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at the southernmeridionale tipmancia of the smallpiccolo SaturnineMinio di ferro moonLuna
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al polo sud di una piccola luna di Saturno
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EnceladusEncelado, seenvisto here.
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che si chiama Encelado, che vedete qui.
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This regionregione seenvisto here for the first time
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Questa regione qui fotografata per la prima volta
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in the CassiniCassini imageImmagine takenprese in 2005. This is the southSud polarpolare regionregione,
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dalla sonda Cassini nel 2005. Questo è il suo polo sud.
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with the famousfamoso tiger-stripetigre-striscia fracturesfratture crossingattraversamento the southSud polepolo.
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Con le famose fratture a strisce di tigre che ne attraversano il polo sud
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And seenvisto just recentlyrecentemente in latein ritardo 2008,
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E ripresa recentemente nel 2008,
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here is that regionregione again,
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ecco la regione di nuovo,
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now halfmetà in darknessbuio because the southernmeridionale hemisphereemisfero
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in questo momento mezza in ombra perché l'emisfero meridionale
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is experiencingsperimentare the onsetinizio of AugustAgosto
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si trova all'inizio di Agosto
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and eventuallyinfine winterinverno.
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e quindi dell'inverno.
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And I alsoanche reportedsegnalati that we'dsaremmo madefatto this mind-blowingmente-blowing discoveryscoperta --
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Raccontai allora che avevamo fatto questa eccezionale scoperta --
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this once-in-a-lifetimeunica nella vita discoveryscoperta
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un scoperta unica --
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of toweringtorreggianti jetsgetti
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di getti altissimi
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eruptingin eruzione from those fracturesfratture at the southSud polepolo,
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che eruttavano dalle fessure della superficie polare,
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consistingche consiste of tinyminuscolo wateracqua iceghiaccio crystalscristalli
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getti costituiti da piccoli cristalli di acqua ghiacciata
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accompaniedaccompagnato by wateracqua vaporVapor
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mescolata a vapore acqueo
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and simplesemplice organicbiologico compoundscomposti like carboncarbonio dioxidebiossido and methanemetano.
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e semplici composti come CO2 e metano.
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And at that time two yearsanni agofa
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Allora due anni fa
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I mentionedmenzionato that we were speculatingspeculando
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ho accennato al fatto che pensavamo
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that these jetsgetti mightpotrebbe in factfatto be geysersgeyser,
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che questi getti potessero in realtà essere dei geyser
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and eruptingin eruzione from pocketstasche
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che eruttavano da sacche
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or chambersChambers of liquidliquido wateracqua underneathsotto the surfacesuperficie,
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o camere di acqua liquida sotto la superficie.
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but we weren'tnon erano really sure.
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Ma non ne eravamo per niente sicuri.
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HoweverTuttavia, the implicationsimplicazioni of those resultsrisultati --
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Comunque le implicazioni di quella scoperta
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of a possiblepossibile environmentambiente withinentro this moonLuna
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che su questa luna fosse possibile un'atmosfera
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that could supportsupporto prebioticprebiotico chemistrychimica,
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capace di alimentare una chimica pre-vitale,
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and perhapsForse life itselfsi --
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e forse la vita stessa,
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were so excitingemozionante that, in the interveningintervenire two yearsanni,
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erano così eccitanti che nei successivi due anni
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we have focusedfocalizzata more on EnceladusEncelado.
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ci siamo interessati molto di Encelado.
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We'veAbbiamo flownvolato the CassiniCassini SpacecraftVeicolo spaziale
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Abbiamo diretto la sonda Cassini
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by this moonLuna now severalparecchi timesvolte,
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vicino a questa luna diverse volte.
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flyingvolante closerpiù vicino and deeperpiù profondo into these jetsgetti,
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Facendola passare sempre più vicino ed attraverso i getti
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into the denserpiù densa regionsregioni of these jetsgetti,
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nelle regioni più dense dei getti
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so that now we have come away with some
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tanto che adesso abbiamo alcune certezze
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very precisepreciso compositionalcompositivo measurementsmisurazioni.
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sulla composizione e dimensione di questi geyser.
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And we have foundtrovato
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E abbiamo scoperto
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that the organicbiologico compoundscomposti comingvenuta from this moonLuna
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che i composti organici che eruttano dalla luna
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are in factfatto more complexcomplesso than we previouslyin precedenza reportedsegnalati.
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sono infatti più complessi di quello che avevamo precedentemente ipotizzato.
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While they're not aminoamino acidsacidi,
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Anche se non ci sono aminoacidi,
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we're now findingscoperta things like
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abbiamo trovato composti come
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propanepropano and benzenebenzene,
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propano e benzene,
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hydrogenidrogeno cyanidecianuro, and formaldehydeformaldeide.
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acido cianidrico e formaldeide.
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And the tinyminuscolo wateracqua crystalscristalli here
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E i piccoli cristalli di acqua qui
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now look for all the worldmondo
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sono del tutto simili
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like they are frozencongelato dropletsgoccioline of saltysalato wateracqua,
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a piccole gocce di acqua salata ghiacciata.
02:21
whichquale is a discoveryscoperta that suggestssuggerisce
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Il che suggerisce
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that not only do the jetsgetti come from
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che non solo i getti vengono
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pocketstasche of liquidliquido wateracqua,
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da sacche di acqua liquida sotto la superficie,
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but that that liquidliquido wateracqua is in contactcontatto with rockroccia.
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ma che l'acqua liquida è in contatto con rocce.
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And that is a circumstancecircostanza
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E questa circostanza
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that could supplyfornitura the chemicalchimico energyenergia
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potrebbe fornire l'energia chimica
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and the chemicalchimico compoundscomposti needednecessaria to sustainsostenere life.
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ed i composti chimici necessari per sostenere la vita.
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So we are very encouragedha incoraggiato by these resultsrisultati.
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Siamo quindi entusiasti di questi risultati.
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And we are much more confidentfiducioso now than we were two yearsanni agofa
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E siamo molto più sicuri di due anni fa
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that we mightpotrebbe indeedinfatti
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che potremmo infatti
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have on this moonLuna, undersotto the southSud polepolo,
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avere sotto il polo sud di questa luna
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an environmentambiente or a zonezona that is hospitableospitale to livingvita organismsorganismi.
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un ambiente o una zona favorevole per lo sviluppo di organismi viventi.
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WhetherSe or not there are livingvita organismsorganismi there, of coursecorso,
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Che poi ci siano o meno forme di vita, senza dubbio,
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is an entirelyinteramente differentdiverso matterimporta.
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è una cosa del tutto diversa.
02:57
And that will have to awaitvi aspettano the arrivalarrivo,
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E per questo dobbiamo aspettare l'arrivo
02:59
back at EnceladusEncelado,
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su Encelado
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of the spacecraftsnavicelle spaziali, hopefullyfiduciosamente some time in the nearvicino futurefuturo,
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di un astronave, speriamo in un prossimo futuro,
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specificallyspecificamente equippedfornito to addressindirizzo that particularparticolare questiondomanda.
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equipaggiata espressamente per verificare questa ipotesi.
03:09
But in the meantimeintanto I inviteinvitare you to imagineimmaginare the day
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Ma nel frattempo vi invito ad immaginare il giorno
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when we mightpotrebbe journeyviaggio to the SaturnineMinio di ferro systemsistema,
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in cui viaggeremo nel sistema attorno a Saturno,
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and visitvisita the EnceladusEncelado interplanetaryinterplanetario geysergeyser parkparco,
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e visiteremo il sistema di geyser interplanetari di Encelado,
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just because we can.
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semplicemente perché sarà possibile farlo.
03:21
Thank you.
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Grazie
03:23
(ApplauseApplausi)
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(Applausi)
Translated by Paolo Chiti
Reviewed by Fabrizio Testa

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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