ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lucianne Walkowicz - Stellar astronomer
Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares."

Why you should listen

Lucianne Walkowicz is an Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She studies stellar magnetic activity and how stars influence a planet's suitability as a host for alien life. She is also an artist and works in a variety of media, from oil paint to sound. She got her taste for astronomy as an undergrad at Johns Hopkins, testing detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope’s new camera (installed in 2002). She also learned to love the dark stellar denizens of our galaxy, the red dwarfs, which became the topic of her PhD dissertation at University of Washington. Nowadays, she works on NASA’s Kepler mission, studying starspots and the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares to understand stellar magnetic fields. She is particularly interested in how the high energy radiation from stars influences the habitability of planets around alien suns. Lucianne is also a leader in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a new project that will scan the sky every night for 10 years to create a huge cosmic movie of our Universe.

More profile about the speaker
Lucianne Walkowicz | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Lucianne Walkowicz: Finding planets around other stars

Lucianne Walkowicz: Iskanje planetov okoli drugih zvezd

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Kako najdemo planete - celo naseljive planete - okoli drugih zvezd? Iščoč drobcene zatemnitve, ko planet potuje pred svojim soncem, sta članica TED Lucianne Walkowicz in misija Kepler našli okoli 1.200 potencialnih novih planetarnih sistemov. Z novimi tehnikami bodo morda našli celo takšne, ki imajo ustrezne pogoje za življenje.
- Stellar astronomer
Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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PlanetaryPlanetarni systemssistemov outsidezunaj our ownlastno
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Planetarni sistemi zunaj našega
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are like distantoddaljena citiesmesta whosečigar lightsluči we can see twinklingSvetleč,
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so kot oddaljena mesta, katerih luči lahko vidimo migetati,
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but whosečigar streetsulice we can't walkhodi.
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a se ne moremo sprehoditi po njihovih ulicah.
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By studyingŠtudij those twinklingSvetleč lightsluči thoughčeprav,
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S proučevanjem teh migetajočih lučk
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we can learnučiti se about how starszvezde and planetsplanetov interactinterakcijo
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lahko spoznavamo, kako zvezde in planeti medsebojno delujejo,
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to formobrazec theirnjihovi ownlastno ecosystemekosistem
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da oblikujejo svoj ekosistem
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and make habitatshabitate that are amenablepodlage to life.
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in naredijo habitate, ki so primerni za življenje.
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In this imagesliko of the TokyoTokyo skylineskyline,
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Na tej sliki mestnega obzorja Tokia
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I've hiddenskrito datapodatkov
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sem skrila podatke
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from the newestnajnovejši planet-huntingPlanet-lov spaceprostor telescopeteleskop on the blockblok,
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z najnovejšega vesoljskega teleskopa za iskanje planetov,
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the KeplerKepler MissionPoslanstvo.
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misije Kepler.
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Can you see it?
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Jih lahko vidite?
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There we go.
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Tukaj so.
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This is just a tinymajhen partdel of the skynebo the KeplerKepler staresstrmi at,
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To je samo majcen del neba, ki ga Kepler opazuje
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where it searchesiskanja for planetsplanetov
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in v katerem išče planete,
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by measuringmeriti the lightsvetloba from over 150,000 starszvezde,
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in sicer tako, da meri svetlobo več kot 150.000 zvezd,
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all at onceenkrat, everyvsak halfpol houruro,
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vseh naenkrat, vsake pol ure
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and very preciselynatančno.
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in to zelo natančno.
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And what we're looking for
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In kar iščemo,
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is the tinymajhen dimmingzatemnitev of lightsvetloba
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so komaj opazne zatemnitve,
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that is causedpovzročil by a planetplanet passingmimo in frontspredaj of one of these starszvezde
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ki jih povzročijo planeti, ko prečijo ploskev ene od teh zvezd,
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and blockingblokiranje some of that starlightStarlight from gettingpridobivanje to us.
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s tem pa preprečijo delu te zvezdne svetlobe, da pride do nas.
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In just over two yearslet of operationsoperacije,
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V samo dobrih dveh letih delovanja
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we'vesmo foundnajdemo over 1,200
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smo našli več kot 1.200
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potentialpotencial newnovo planetaryplanetarni systemssistemov around other starszvezde.
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potencialnih novih planetarnih sistemov okoli drugih zvezd.
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To give you some perspectiveperspektive,
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Da dobite boljšo predstavo,
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in the previousprejšnji two decadesdesetletja of searchingiskanje,
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v preteklih dveh desetletjih iskanja
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we had only knownznano about 400
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smo jih pred Keplerjem poznali
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priorpredhodno to KeplerKepler.
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samo okoli 400.
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When we see these little dipsseske in the lightsvetloba,
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Ko vidimo te jamice v svetlobi,
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we can determinedoločiti a numberštevilka of things.
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lahko ugotovimo več stvari.
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For one thing, we can determinedoločiti that there's a planetplanet there,
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Za začetek lahko ugotovimo, da je tam planet,
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but alsotudi how bigvelik that planetplanet is
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hkrati pa tudi, kako velik je
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and how fardaleč it is away from its parentstaršev starzvezda.
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in koliko je oddaljen od svoje starševske zvezde.
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That distancerazdalja is really importantpomembno
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Ta razdalja je res pomembna,
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because it tellspove us
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ker nam pove,
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how much lightsvetloba the planetplanet receivesprejme overallsplošno.
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koliko svetlobe planet prejme na splošno.
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And that distancerazdalja and knowingvedeti that amountznesek of lightsvetloba is importantpomembno
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Ta razdalja in informacija o količini svetlobe sta pomembni,
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because it's a little like you or I sittingsedi around a campfirecampfire:
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ker je podobno, kot da bi mi sedeli okoli tabornega ognja.
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You want to be closeblizu enoughdovolj to the campfirecampfire so that you're warmtoplo,
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Hočete biti dovolj blizu ognja, da vam je toplo,
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but not so closeblizu
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vendar ne preblizu,
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that you're too toastypražena popečena rezina kruha and you get burnedspali.
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da se ne opečete.
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HoweverVendar, there's more to know about your parentstaršev starzvezda
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Vendar pa lahko o svoji starševski zvezdi veste več
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than just how much lightsvetloba you receiveprejeti overallsplošno.
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kot le, koliko svetlobe prejmete.
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And I'll tell you why.
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In povedala vam bom, zakaj.
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This is our starzvezda. This is our SunSonce.
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To je naša zvezda. To je naše Sonce.
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It's shownprikazano here in visiblevidno lightsvetloba.
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Tukaj je prikazano v vidni svetlobi.
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That's the lightsvetloba that you can see with your ownlastno humančlovek eyesoči.
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To je svetloba, ki jo lahko vidite s svojimi človeškimi očmi.
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You'llBoste noticeopaziti that it looksizgleda prettylepa much
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Opazili boste, da izgleda precej
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like the iconicikona yellowrumeno ballžoga --
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kot ikonična rumena krogla -
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that SunSonce that we all drawpripravi when we're childrenotroci.
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Sonce, kot smo ga risali vsi kot otroci.
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But you'llboš noticeopaziti something elsedrugače,
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Toda opazili boste še nekaj
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and that's that the faceobraz of the SunSonce
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in to je, da ima obraz Sonca
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has frecklespege.
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pegice.
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These frecklespege are calledpozval sunspotssončne pege,
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Tem pegicam pravimo sončeve pege
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and they are just one of the manifestationsmanifestacije
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in so samo ena od manifestacij
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of the Sun'sSun magneticmagnetno fieldpolje.
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sončevega magnetnega polja.
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They alsotudi causevzrok the lightsvetloba from the starzvezda to varyse razlikujejo.
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Povzročajo tudi, da svetloba z zvezde variira.
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And we can measureukrep this
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In to lahko s Keplerjem merimo
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very, very preciselynatančno with KeplerKepler and tracesled theirnjihovi effectsučinke.
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zelo, zelo natančno in sledimo njihovim posledicam.
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HoweverVendar, these are just the tipnasvet of the icebergledena gora.
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Vseeno pa so te samo vrh ledene gore.
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If we had UVUV eyesoči or X-rayX-ray eyesoči,
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Če bi imeli UV oči ali rentgenske oči,
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we would really see
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bi resnično lahko videli
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the dynamicdinamično and dramaticdramatično effectsučinke
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dinamične in dramatične posledice
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of our Sun'sSun magneticmagnetno activitydejavnost --
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magnetne aktivnosti našega Sonca -
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the kindvrste of thing that happensse zgodi on other starszvezde as well.
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kar se dogaja tudi na ostalih zvezdah.
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Just think, even when it's cloudyoblačno outsidezunaj,
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Samo pomislite, tudi ko je zunaj oblačno,
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these kindvrste of eventsdogodki are happeningdogaja
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se na nebu nad vami
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in the skynebo abovenad you all the time.
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takšne stvari neprenehoma dogajajo.
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So when we want to learnučiti se whetherali a planetplanet is habitablebivalna,
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Ko torej poskušamo ugotoviti, ali je planet naseljiv,
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whetherali it mightmorda be amenablepodlage to life,
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ali bi lahko bil primeren za življenje,
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we want to know not only how much totalskupaj lightsvetloba it receivesprejme
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nočemo vedeti samo, koliko svetlobe prejema
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and how warmtoplo it is,
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in kako topel je,
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but we want to know about its spaceprostor weathervreme --
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ampak želimo poznati tudi njegovo vesoljsko vreme -
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this high-energyvisoke energetske radiationsevanja,
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to visokoenergijsko sevanje,
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the UVUV and the X-raysX-žarki
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ultravijolične in rentgenske žarke,
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that are createdustvarjeno by its starzvezda
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ki jih proizvaja njegova zvezda
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and that bathekopanje it in this bathkopel of high-energyvisoke energetske radiationsevanja.
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in ki ga kopa v tej kopeli visokoenergijskega sevanja.
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And so, we can't really look
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Tako torej planetov okoli drugih zvezd
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at planetsplanetov around other starszvezde
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v resnici ne moremo opazovati
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in the sameenako kindvrste of detailpodrobnosti
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enako podrobno,
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that we can look at planetsplanetov in our ownlastno solarsončna energija systemsistem.
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kot lahko opazujemo planete v svojem sončnem sistemu.
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I'm showingprikazovanje here VenusVenus, EarthZemlja and MarsMars --
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Tukaj prikazujem Venero, Zemljo in Mars -
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threetri planetsplanetov in our ownlastno solarsončna energija systemsistem that are roughlygrobo the sameenako sizevelikost,
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tri planete našega sončnega sistema, ki so čez palec enake velikosti,
03:32
but only one of whichki
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vendar je samo eden od njih
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is really a good placemesto to livev živo.
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resnično dober kraj za življenje.
03:36
But what we can do in the meantimeMedtem
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Kar pa lahko med tem naredimo, je,
03:38
is measureukrep the lightsvetloba from our starszvezde
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da merimo svetlobo z naših zvezd
03:41
and learnučiti se about this relationshiprazmerje
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in spoznavamo odnose
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betweenmed the planetsplanetov and theirnjihovi parentstaršev starszvezde
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med planeti in njihovimi starševskimi zvezdami,
03:45
to susssuss out cluesnamige
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da spoznamo indice o tem,
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about whichki planetsplanetov mightmorda be good placesmesta
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kateri planeti bi lahko bili dobri
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to look for life in the universevesolje.
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za iskanje življenja v vesolju.
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KeplerKepler won'tne bo find a planetplanet
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Kepler ne bo našel planeta
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around everyvsak singlesamski starzvezda it looksizgleda at.
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okoli vsake zvezde, ki jo opazuje.
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But really, everyvsak measurementmerjenje it makesnaredi
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Vendar je v resnici vsaka meritev,
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is preciousdragocen,
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ki jo opravi, dragocena,
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because it's teachingpoučevanje us about the relationshiprazmerje
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ker nas uči o odnosu
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betweenmed starszvezde and planetsplanetov,
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med zvezdami in planeti
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and how it's really the starlightStarlight
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in kako je v resnici zvezdna svetloba
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that setssklopov the stagestopnja
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tista, ki postavi oder
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for the formationoblikovanje of life in the universevesolje.
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za nastanek življenja v vesolju.
04:09
While it's KeplerKepler the telescopeteleskop, the instrumentinstrument that staresstrmi,
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Čeprav je teleskop Kepler instrument, ki strmi,
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it's we, life, who are searchingiskanje.
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smo mi, življenje, tisti, ki iščemo.
04:15
Thank you.
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Hvala.
04:17
(ApplauseAplavz)
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(aplavz)
Translated by Matej Divjak
Reviewed by Klavdija Cernilogar

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lucianne Walkowicz - Stellar astronomer
Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares."

Why you should listen

Lucianne Walkowicz is an Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She studies stellar magnetic activity and how stars influence a planet's suitability as a host for alien life. She is also an artist and works in a variety of media, from oil paint to sound. She got her taste for astronomy as an undergrad at Johns Hopkins, testing detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope’s new camera (installed in 2002). She also learned to love the dark stellar denizens of our galaxy, the red dwarfs, which became the topic of her PhD dissertation at University of Washington. Nowadays, she works on NASA’s Kepler mission, studying starspots and the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares to understand stellar magnetic fields. She is particularly interested in how the high energy radiation from stars influences the habitability of planets around alien suns. Lucianne is also a leader in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a new project that will scan the sky every night for 10 years to create a huge cosmic movie of our Universe.

More profile about the speaker
Lucianne Walkowicz | Speaker | TED.com