We are living in what is truly
a golden age of exploration.
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A time when
extraordinary tools of astronomy
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gaze deeper and more clearly
into space than ever before
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seeking answers to questions
that have endured for as long as
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human eyes have
gazed into the night skies.
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Is there life on other worlds?
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What mysteries
exist among the stars?
00:01:18.46\00:01:22.50
How large is the
universe and where do we
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as human beings fit into it all?
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Three thousand years ago
David the Old Testament poet
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reflected upon these distance
points of light and wrote
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that the heavens
declare the glory of God
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with a voice that goes
out into all the earth.
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Today, that voice
and the message it bears
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is amplified by
spectacular technology.
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As photographs like these
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the crowned jewels
of astronomical study
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unlock new sources
of insight and wonder
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revealing a
creation rich in diversity
00:02:04.54\00:02:07.48
and brilliant in design.
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Join us now on a
remarkable journey of discovery,
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a view of our solar system
and the realms of deep space
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as seen through the most
powerful eyes in all of history
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and as we venture tour the
very edge of the known universe.
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Perhaps, we will
come to understand
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the supreme
message that the heavens
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proclaimed to mankind.
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The message of
God's existence and power
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and the ultimate significance
of every human life.
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Of all the sciences
astronomy is probably the oldest
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for humanity search to
understand the universe
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has continued
throughout recorded history.
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And as countless generations
have looked up into a sky
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filled with lights one star
has always dominated the rest.
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Since the day of its creation
it is turned darkness into dawn
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and the
inhabitance of our planet
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no object in the heavens
approaches its importance.
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Let us then begin our
exploration of the universe
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at the focal point of
our solar system the sun.
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They are among the most
awesome sights in the heavens,
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luminous fountains
of hydrogen and helium
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sometimes leaping a hundred
thousand miles into space.
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To the astronomer there
are known as solar prominences,
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the distinctive signatures
of the sun potential and power.
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Compared to other stars
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the sun is of
average size and brightness
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yet it is still a
creation of amazing proportions.
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Eight hundred and sixty
thousand miles in diameter
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this fiery ball
contains more than 99 percent
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of all the matter
in the solar system.
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If it was hallow a million
spheres the size of the earth
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could easily fit inside.
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Sometimes described
as an immense power plant
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the sun is driven
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by a ten billion
years supply of fuel.
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Deep within its core a nuclear
reaction coverts hydrogen
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into helium
releasing as byproducts
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most of the heat
and light available
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throughout the solar system.
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This process is so efficient
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that each second the
sun emits more energy
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than humanity is
consumed in all of history.
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Once believed by
ancient astronomers
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to be a smooth polished sphere
the sun is actually a cauldron
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seething with constant change.
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Unlike the solid earth which
rotates uniformly on its axis
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this gigantic ball of gas
spins faster at its equator
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than it does at its polls
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causing its surface to
twist and stretch violently.
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The products of this
turmoil are dramatic.
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Enormous sun spots
breaks in the star surface
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as large as the earth
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appear and vanish during
mysterious 11 year intervals
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ragging flayers, the greatest
explosions in the solar system
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often erupting with more force
than a billion hydrogen bombs
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and a powerful solar wind
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blowing a study stream of
electrically charged particles
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to the most distant planets.
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Each second about five
million tons of the sun's mass
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escapes into
space as pure energy.
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That's an amount equal
to the total weight of water
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flowing over Niagara
Falls every ten minutes.
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Yet, despite this tremendous
loss of unreplenished matter
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the sun is so large it
could continue to shine
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at the centre
of the solar system
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for at least the
next five billion years.
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Nothing is so admirable
than the planets motions,
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nothing more
beautiful and there is nothing
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which testifies more evidently
to the wisdom of the creator.
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Four hundred years
ago the German astronomer
00:09:04.56\00:09:07.21
Johannes Kepler
discovered the basic laws
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that govern the
motions of the planet
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as they race around the sun.
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Kepler realized
that the solar system
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operated like a
superbly crafted machine
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with every gear
working in harmony.
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We now know what is
the suns gravitational pull
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that drives the
celestial mechanism
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controlling the path
ways of the nine planets.
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If left to follow its own
momentum each planetary body
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would continually move through
space in a straight line.
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The suns gravity counter
balances this run away action
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first bending then
holding the course of the planet
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as they travel in
their elliptical orbits.
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As with all of His creation
God had designed the suns family
00:10:01.46\00:10:05.30
based upon order
and flawless procession
00:10:05.35\00:10:08.49
where orbits were predictable
00:10:08.54\00:10:10.02
to with in a few
seconds and miles.
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By understanding these movements
the road maps to the planets
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were clearly defined and
all that remained was to go.
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Fueled by the timeless thirst
to explore and the knowledge
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to navigate the depths of space
00:11:02.14\00:11:04.19
journeys once the
domains of science fiction
00:11:04.24\00:11:07.07
were launched
with optimism and hope.
00:11:07.12\00:11:09.31
Early
destinations including Mercury,
00:11:12.92\00:11:15.10
Venus, and Mars
00:11:18.10\00:11:22.87
along with the
Earth they comprise
00:11:25.84\00:11:27.81
the inner planets
of the solar system.
00:11:27.86\00:11:29.78
Each new glimpse of
these rocky terrestrial worlds
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revise centuries of
astronomical thought
00:11:37.66\00:11:40.13
while painting a richer more
complete picture of creation
00:11:40.18\00:11:43.43
than we had ever seen before.
00:11:43.48\00:11:45.31
In March of
1974, after a journey
00:11:52.70\00:11:55.23
of more than 60 million miles
00:11:55.28\00:11:57.76
the spacecraft Mariner 10
00:11:57.81\00:11:59.55
made its initial
encounter with Mercury.
00:11:59.60\00:12:01.80
Though the planet was
obscured from the earth
00:12:05.98\00:12:08.65
by the sun's blinding
layer Mariner's cameras
00:12:08.70\00:12:11.26
suddenly brought it
into brilliant focus.
00:12:11.31\00:12:13.82
Eight thousand high
resolution photographs
00:12:21.13\00:12:23.90
reviled a meteor
scared landscaped
00:12:23.95\00:12:26.03
covered with impact creators.
00:12:26.08\00:12:27.78
The similarities to the far side
of our own moon were numerous.
00:12:30.16\00:12:33.55
Devoid of any
protective atmosphere
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surface temperatures on Mercury
range nearly 1000 degrees
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between the night and
daylight sides of the planet.
00:12:43.86\00:12:46.51
The exploration of Venus
the second planet from the Sun
00:13:09.31\00:13:13.25
would prove even
more challenging.
00:13:13.30\00:13:15.39
Long considered the Earth's twin
00:13:19.73\00:13:21.44
because of its
comparable size and proximity
00:13:21.49\00:13:23.87
about 25 million miles away
00:13:23.92\00:13:25.92
the surface of the planet
00:13:25.97\00:13:27.87
was hidden by a cloud
cover 150 miles thick.
00:13:27.92\00:13:31.46
Utilizing radar
during its three year mission
00:13:35.98\00:13:38.79
the spacecraft Magellan
00:13:38.84\00:13:40.42
effectively
penetrated Venus shroud
00:13:40.47\00:13:44.15
to capture views
of stunning clarity.
00:13:44.20\00:13:47.78
From this data a
computer generated flight
00:13:47.83\00:13:50.36
over the terrene has
helped to expand our knowledge
00:13:50.41\00:13:52.96
of our nearest
planetary neighbor.
00:13:53.01\00:13:54.94
Venus is a forbidding
yet strangely beautiful world
00:14:06.16\00:14:10.63
around dominated by rugged
lava flows and volcanic craters.
00:14:10.68\00:14:14.65
Clusters of circular
lava domes and deep canyons
00:14:19.57\00:14:22.75
walled by jagged cliffs
create dramatic panoramas.
00:14:22.80\00:14:25.93
The landscape is
desolate and sterile
00:14:35.18\00:14:37.42
scorched by
temperatures reaching nearly
00:14:37.47\00:14:39.66
900 degrees Fahrenheit
00:14:39.71\00:14:41.98
the highest of any
planet in the solar system.
00:14:42.03\00:14:44.43
For reason still unknown
Venus rotates in a direction
00:14:53.53\00:14:56.85
opposite the other planets
00:14:56.90\00:14:58.69
slowly turning
east to west on its axis
00:14:58.74\00:15:01.55
once every 240 earth days.
00:15:01.60\00:15:03.78
Requiring only 32
earth weeks to orbit the sun
00:15:06.15\00:15:10.03
a year on Venus is
actually shorter than a day.
00:15:10.08\00:15:13.91
After departing Venus we
approach and pass the Earth
00:15:29.76\00:15:34.84
then another 50
million miles behind our orbit
00:15:34.89\00:15:38.13
and 140 million from
the Sun looms the planet
00:15:38.18\00:15:41.32
that is probably fascinated
us more than any other,
00:15:41.37\00:15:45.86
Mars, the fourth and last
of the solid inner worlds.
00:15:45.91\00:15:50.35
For centuries Mars had
held the greatest promise
00:15:55.56\00:15:58.15
for the existence of
the extraterrestrial life.
00:15:58.20\00:16:00.75
Like the earth it
has seasons and rotates
00:16:05.52\00:16:08.12
at a rate nearly
identical to our own.
00:16:08.17\00:16:10.72
The Martian polar
caps were known to contain
00:16:13.63\00:16:15.95
large amounts of water ice
00:16:16.00\00:16:19.11
and winding channels
believe to be dry river beds
00:16:19.16\00:16:22.09
laced its surface.
00:16:22.14\00:16:23.42
Decades of exploration however
00:16:29.27\00:16:31.16
have revealed an
arid and sterile world
00:16:31.21\00:16:33.78
incapable of sustaining
any form of living organism.
00:16:33.83\00:16:36.87
Yet despite the
absence of life here
00:16:43.84\00:16:46.16
fascination with the red
planet has not diminished.
00:16:46.21\00:16:49.25
For studies of its
geography had proven
00:16:51.58\00:16:53.89
both surprising and spectacular.
00:16:53.94\00:16:56.39
Only about half the
diameter of the Earth,
00:17:03.16\00:17:05.30
Mars is home to some of
the most imposing landforms
00:17:05.35\00:17:08.30
ever discovered.
00:17:08.35\00:17:09.38
As we sore about
its surface canyons,
00:17:16.46\00:17:19.13
craters and volcanoes
stand in awesome proportion.
00:17:19.18\00:17:22.79
Valles Marineris
the largest known canyon
00:17:30.61\00:17:33.53
in the solar system
stretches 2800 miles.
00:17:33.58\00:17:36.45
This spooling rift is 13 times
longer than the Grand Canyon
00:17:42.14\00:17:46.52
and would expand coast to coast
00:17:46.57\00:17:48.25
across the
continental United States.
00:17:48.30\00:17:50.47
Rising 79,000
feet above the desert
00:18:05.49\00:18:08.46
Olympus Mons is the solar
systems most enormous volcano.
00:18:08.51\00:18:14.09
Three times
taller than Mount Everest
00:18:14.14\00:18:16.33
the base of this gigantic
peak would completely engulf
00:18:16.38\00:18:19.68
the state of Washington.
00:18:19.73\00:18:21.10
These missions
to the inner planets
00:18:30.20\00:18:31.94
will tremens accomplishments
00:18:31.99\00:18:33.91
and in many ways I think
they have to rank as some of the
00:18:33.96\00:18:36.10
greatest achievements in
the history of astronomy.
00:18:36.15\00:18:39.22
You have to remember
that for thousands of years
00:18:39.27\00:18:42.28
people try to
study these planets
00:18:42.33\00:18:43.80
and all they had
to work with were
00:18:43.85\00:18:45.22
tiny pin points of
light in the night sky.
00:18:45.27\00:18:48.65
The invention
of telescope helped
00:18:48.70\00:18:50.58
but our observations
were still inconclusive.
00:18:50.63\00:18:53.67
We just
couldn't get close enough
00:18:53.72\00:18:54.99
to see them in any detail.
00:18:55.04\00:18:56.24
Then almost instantly
space probes like the Marineris
00:18:58.28\00:19:01.28
and Magellan allowed
us to see these planets
00:19:01.33\00:19:03.64
as we had never
seen them before.
00:19:03.69\00:19:05.62
Prior to the space
probes we really didn't have
00:19:08.97\00:19:12.22
lot of
information about the surface
00:19:12.27\00:19:14.32
and the
atmospheres of these planets.
00:19:14.37\00:19:16.31
And then when the space
probes went and sent back
00:19:16.36\00:19:18.86
their pictures
and other information
00:19:18.91\00:19:20.49
it was completely revolution.
00:19:20.54\00:19:23.50
It was before we saw
nothing on the surface of Venus
00:19:23.55\00:19:25.99
for instant
suddenly we saw climates,
00:19:26.04\00:19:28.23
we saw atmosphere we had
never been able to study before.
00:19:28.28\00:19:31.67
We saw tremendous
amount of geography
00:19:31.72\00:19:34.48
and many of the ideas we
had had to be thrown away
00:19:34.53\00:19:37.56
and completely replace with
new ideas about these planets
00:19:37.61\00:19:40.29
and it happened
virtually overnight.
00:19:40.34\00:19:42.61
In Old Testament of the Bible
we are encouraged to lift up
00:19:46.25\00:19:49.38
and rise to the heavens
and consider the works of God.
00:19:49.43\00:19:52.51
The more I think about it
00:19:52.56\00:19:54.18
I really believe that
God wants us to search out
00:19:54.23\00:19:55.93
every corner of His creation
and try to learn all that we can
00:19:55.98\00:19:59.04
about the things
that He has made.
00:19:59.09\00:20:00.64
This is exactly
what the expeditions
00:20:04.55\00:20:06.39
to the inner planets
have allowed us to do.
00:20:06.44\00:20:08.51
I supposed that God
could have made a solar system
00:20:19.73\00:20:22.89
with just one planet
and one moon but He didn't
00:20:22.94\00:20:26.01
instead He created something
far more diverse and complex
00:20:26.06\00:20:30.05
and then He
gave us the curiosity
00:20:30.10\00:20:32.19
and the ability to explore it
00:20:32.24\00:20:33.83
and I believe there is a reason.
00:20:33.88\00:20:35.43
I think that is our
knowledge of the planets
00:20:37.26\00:20:39.27
or any other part
of creation increases
00:20:39.32\00:20:41.41
so does our
sense of wonderful God.
00:20:41.46\00:20:43.49
He is an artist and He has
painted a fascinating world
00:20:46.71\00:20:49.90
and filled it with more detailed
than we could ever imagine.
00:20:49.95\00:20:52.94
And I think he
wants us to experience
00:20:52.99\00:20:54.49
and understand as much
of it as we possibly can.
00:20:54.54\00:20:57.49
That's why it's so
exiting to be alive at a time
00:20:57.54\00:21:00.39
when technology gives us
a chance to see the universe
00:21:00.44\00:21:03.15
more clearly than
at any time in history.
00:21:03.20\00:21:05.37
Late in the summer of 1977
00:21:24.37\00:21:26.81
two remarkable journeys
of exportation were launched.
00:21:26.86\00:21:30.99
In many ways they would surpass
any undertaken in human history.
00:21:31.04\00:21:35.56
Twin spacecraft
christened Voyager 1 and 2
00:21:43.82\00:21:47.27
escaped the
earth's gravitational pull
00:21:47.32\00:21:50.66
and spread to the farthest
reaches of the solar system.
00:21:50.71\00:21:53.57
Their mission to
explore the giant outer planets
00:21:57.29\00:22:00.63
at close range
for the first time.
00:22:00.68\00:22:03.12
On earth a global
network of radio telescopes
00:22:06.31\00:22:09.29
control the
flight of Voyager crafts.
00:22:09.34\00:22:12.98
Throughout the mission
these instruments would also
00:22:13.03\00:22:15.50
receive the data
transmitted from space.
00:22:15.55\00:22:18.03
In March of 1979, 18 months and
500 million miles after liftoff
00:22:21.66\00:22:27.60
Voyager 1 made
its closest approach
00:22:27.65\00:22:30.20
to its initial
destination Jupiter,
00:22:30.25\00:22:32.52
the largest planet
in the solar system.
00:22:32.57\00:22:34.79
Jupiter is an immense fear
of hot liquid and hydrogen gas
00:22:39.89\00:22:43.69
large enough to
hold a thousand earths.
00:22:43.74\00:22:48.27
It rotates on its axis
completely in only ten hours
00:22:48.32\00:22:51.55
and is ringed by alternating
bands of jet stream winds
00:22:51.60\00:22:54.78
that travel in
opposite directions.
00:22:54.83\00:22:58.38
These opposing wind currents
00:22:58.43\00:22:59.76
stir up clouds
above the planet's surface
00:22:59.81\00:23:02.95
creating a mural of
swirling abstract art.
00:23:03.00\00:23:06.08
An immense hurricane
twice the size of the earth
00:23:12.12\00:23:15.62
dominates Jupiter's surface.
00:23:15.67\00:23:17.27
Discovered nearly 400 years
ago this colossal storm still
00:23:20.85\00:23:25.07
rages furiously while
rotating once every six days.
00:23:25.12\00:23:28.97
Sixteen known
moons orbit the planet
00:23:34.53\00:23:37.22
four of them
including Europa and lo
00:23:37.27\00:23:39.85
are as large or larger than
the Earth's lunar companion.
00:23:39.90\00:23:42.72
Detailed photographic studies
00:23:53.31\00:23:54.92
revile worlds of
diverse geography
00:23:54.95\00:23:57.33
including a system of
active volcanoes on lo surface.
00:23:57.38\00:24:00.80
Before leaving Jupiter,
Voyager made another discovery
00:24:04.03\00:24:08.02
a thin ring of rocky particles
00:24:08.07\00:24:10.89
that encircle the giant sphere.
00:24:10.94\00:24:13.65
Seen here back
lit against the Sun
00:24:13.70\00:24:16.13
this previously undetected ring
00:24:16.18\00:24:18.51
glows as a halo
against the blackness of space.
00:24:18.56\00:24:21.32
The astonishing
images gathered here
00:24:29.92\00:24:32.14
were only foretaste of what
was to come in the years ahead.
00:24:32.19\00:24:35.58
Catapult into space
for another 18 months
00:24:52.81\00:24:55.44
and five hundred million miles
00:24:55.49\00:24:57.52
Voyager began its
historical counter with Saturn
00:24:57.57\00:25:00.26
in the fall of 1980.
00:25:00.31\00:25:01.73
About half the size of Jupiter,
00:25:11.95\00:25:14.05
Saturn is the
second largest planet
00:25:14.10\00:25:16.09
and its wondrous
system of rings have long been
00:25:16.14\00:25:18.64
the most familiar
objects in the solar system.
00:25:18.69\00:25:21.13
Passing within 40,000 miles
00:25:24.65\00:25:26.98
the Voyagers again sent
back a wealth of information.
00:25:27.03\00:25:30.18
From Earth,
Saturn's rings had appeared
00:25:36.24\00:25:39.21
to consist of
only a few wide bands.
00:25:39.26\00:25:41.64
Voyager reviled
that they were actually
00:25:41.69\00:25:44.02
thousands of narrow ringlets
00:25:44.07\00:25:45.91
each comprised of frozen
chunks of ice mixed with dust.
00:25:45.96\00:25:49.38
These particles ranged in
size from microscopic granules
00:25:52.19\00:25:55.72
to icebergs as large as a house.
00:25:55.75\00:25:57.85
Saturn is orbited
by at least 18 moons.
00:26:17.48\00:26:20.74
Again, Voyager
imagery brought them into
00:26:20.77\00:26:22.99
sharper focus than ever before.
00:26:23.02\00:26:25.16
Titan the largest is the
only moon in the solar system
00:26:28.26\00:26:31.81
with a significant atmosphere.
00:26:31.84\00:26:35.83
While the surface of
Mimas displayed an enormous
00:26:35.86\00:26:38.77
meteor crater 80
miles in diameter.
00:26:38.80\00:26:41.22
There was vital relationship
between Saturn and its moons
00:26:45.75\00:26:49.69
for it is the gravitational pull
exerted by these tiny satellites
00:26:49.72\00:26:53.54
that helps shape and define
some of the planet's rings.
00:26:53.57\00:26:56.56
By August of 1981
00:27:06.65\00:27:08.62
the exploration of
Saturn was complete.
00:27:08.65\00:27:12.47
The decision was then made
00:27:12.50\00:27:13.85
to extend the mission
on to Uranus and Neptune.
00:27:13.88\00:27:16.67
A rare alignment
of the outer planets
00:27:26.41\00:27:28.61
that occurs only
once every 175 years
00:27:28.64\00:27:32.03
would make this grand tour
of the four gas giants possible.
00:27:32.06\00:27:35.62
As the Voyager 1 craft
headed out the solar system
00:27:37.47\00:27:40.71
Voyager 2 was
targeted on a four year
00:27:40.74\00:27:43.03
billion mile course to Uranus
00:27:43.06\00:27:45.10
the seventh planet from the Sun.
00:27:45.13\00:27:46.88
Again, Voyager
imagery fascinated the world
00:27:52.85\00:27:56.05
as its camera focused on
the planet system of rings.
00:27:56.08\00:27:59.06
It found ten dark
bands the color of coal dust
00:28:03.60\00:28:07.17
ranging in width
from three to sixty miles.
00:28:07.20\00:28:10.05
Uranus is truly unique
tipped over on its side
00:28:16.12\00:28:20.14
perhaps the result of
an ancient meteor impact.
00:28:20.17\00:28:22.75
Its polar
regions alternately face
00:28:22.78\00:28:24.74
almost directly into the Sun.
00:28:24.77\00:28:26.76
The final leg of
Voyager's odyssey
00:28:40.92\00:28:43.05
would span yet
another billion miles,
00:28:43.08\00:28:45.46
a distance so great that
clusters of radio telescopes
00:28:48.25\00:28:51.48
were linked together
to receive the spacecrafts
00:28:51.51\00:28:54.04
ever weakening transitions.
00:28:54.07\00:28:55.99
And in August 1989, 12 years
and three and half billion miles
00:28:59.19\00:29:03.80
after its launch
Voyager 2 approached Neptune
00:29:03.83\00:29:07.45
the last of the
giant outer plants.
00:29:07.48\00:29:09.84
Like Uranus, Neptune consists
of a small heavy rock core
00:29:14.74\00:29:18.80
surrounded by hot liquid
and topped by an atmosphere
00:29:18.83\00:29:21.68
rich in hydrogen and
traces of methane gas.
00:29:21.71\00:29:24.68
Extensive
studies of the planet's
00:29:27.85\00:29:29.41
turbulent weather patterns
00:29:29.44\00:29:30.86
yield at unexpected results.
00:29:30.89\00:29:32.77
It now appears that Neptune
00:29:35.96\00:29:37.24
is the windiest
planet in the solar system.
00:29:37.27\00:29:39.64
A giant rotating storm
called the great dark spot
00:29:42.87\00:29:46.14
was photographed on its
surface with violent gales
00:29:46.17\00:29:48.96
reaching speeds of up
to 1500 miles per hour.
00:29:48.99\00:29:52.00
A highlight of the mission
was a close pass by Triton
00:30:02.54\00:30:05.60
the largest of
Neptune's eight known moons.
00:30:05.63\00:30:09.97
Composed of rock and ice Triton
proved to be the coldest object
00:30:10.00\00:30:13.82
yet explored in
the solar system.
00:30:13.85\00:30:15.53
This dramatic look back at
Neptune and its frozen satellite
00:30:22.52\00:30:25.97
mark the end of
Voyager's encounter.
00:30:26.00\00:30:28.24
Its exploration of the
four gas giants now complete
00:30:34.24\00:30:37.77
Voyager 2 bypass Pluto the
smallest and most distant planet
00:30:37.80\00:30:42.17
departing instead
towards the boundless expanse
00:30:42.20\00:30:44.66
of interstellar space.
00:30:44.69\00:30:46.15
As a millennium
ends and another begins
00:31:04.97\00:31:07.92
the future of
planetary exploration
00:31:07.95\00:31:10.14
will ride on the
wings of new dreams
00:31:10.17\00:31:12.62
and the
technologies that they inspire.
00:31:12.65\00:31:14.60
In late 1995 the
spacecraft Galileo
00:31:17.33\00:31:20.64
on an extended mission
to Jupiter sent to probe
00:31:20.67\00:31:23.45
beneath the planets
atmosphere for the first time
00:31:23.48\00:31:25.99
and initiated a study
of its four largest moons
00:31:29.35\00:31:32.03
at closer range
than ever before.
00:31:32.06\00:31:34.01
In similar fashion the
orbiting vessel Cassini
00:31:40.89\00:31:43.86
is schedule to reach
Saturn by the year 2004
00:31:43.89\00:31:47.24
to being a
three year exploration
00:31:47.27\00:31:48.85
of the planets ring
system, atmosphere and moons.
00:31:48.88\00:31:51.75
And as we move
deeper into the 21st century
00:31:54.69\00:31:57.47
even greater challenges arise
00:31:57.50\00:31:59.53
including a
possible encounter with Pluto
00:31:59.56\00:32:02.05
and its large moon Charon.
00:32:02.08\00:32:03.58
And an
endeavored that in the past
00:32:07.82\00:32:09.60
could only be
labeled as science fiction
00:32:09.63\00:32:11.79
a manned mission to Mars.
00:32:14.90\00:32:16.89
With each of these
efforts the time less pursuit
00:32:19.36\00:32:21.87
to understand the solar
system will press forward
00:32:21.90\00:32:25.24
as new knowledge obtained.
00:32:25.27\00:32:26.84
And for those who look
the heavens will continue
00:32:31.95\00:32:34.84
to declare the
miracle of God's glory
00:32:34.87\00:32:37.69
through the
beautiful and mysterious lights
00:32:37.72\00:32:39.87
that orbit the Sun.
00:32:39.90\00:32:41.05
You know these expeditions
throughout the solar system
00:32:48.64\00:32:51.38
have allowed us to
make close encounter with
00:32:51.41\00:32:53.16
eight planets
and dozens of moons
00:32:53.19\00:32:55.71
and a diversity we have seen
00:32:55.74\00:32:57.17
is been far greater
than we ever expected.
00:32:57.20\00:32:59.29
Through the years
space probes have generated
00:33:04.33\00:33:06.32
thousands of
detailed photographs
00:33:06.35\00:33:08.50
showing us planets made of rock
00:33:08.53\00:33:11.87
and other almost totally of gas.
00:33:11.90\00:33:15.55
We have seen
moons made largely wise
00:33:15.58\00:33:19.58
and another with
active volcanoes.
00:33:19.61\00:33:23.01
No two of these
worlds are exactly the same
00:33:23.04\00:33:26.07
and yet although one of them
00:33:26.10\00:33:27.31
shows a very
significant characteristic.
00:33:27.34\00:33:30.92
Except for the
Earth every planet
00:33:30.95\00:33:32.92
and moon that orbits the
Sun appears to be totally dead
00:33:32.95\00:33:35.94
completely devoid
of any form of life.
00:33:35.97\00:33:38.19
You know, it's possible
the most important thing
00:33:42.32\00:33:45.21
we have learned
about the solar system
00:33:45.24\00:33:46.52
is how extraordinarily
special the earth really is.
00:33:46.55\00:33:50.77
The odds of
life could exist here
00:33:50.80\00:33:52.66
or any where for that
matter are incredible low
00:33:52.69\00:33:55.75
especially when you take an
account of all the finely tuned
00:33:55.78\00:33:57.90
conditions and
factors that have to be
00:33:57.93\00:33:59.46
in place for
life to work at all.
00:33:59.49\00:34:00.90
Just consider the Earth's
orbital pathway around the Sun.
00:34:04.33\00:34:07.02
The earth moves in a narrow zone
00:34:12.87\00:34:14.42
at a critical distance
where survival is possible.
00:34:14.45\00:34:16.96
The two planets close to us
00:34:21.05\00:34:22.62
Venus and Mars are
either much too hot
00:34:22.65\00:34:25.73
or too cold to
support any kind of life.
00:34:25.76\00:34:28.36
The same holds true
for the other planets.
00:34:28.39\00:34:31.93
It's been estimated
that only two percent
00:34:31.96\00:34:34.05
of the entire solar
system falls within a range
00:34:34.08\00:34:36.28
where temperatures
are conducive to life.
00:34:36.31\00:34:38.74
Fortunately that's precisely
the region we happen to occupy.
00:34:38.77\00:34:41.98
Now, the fact that we are
located with in the ideal spot
00:34:46.18\00:34:48.39
in the solar system is
only one of the many reasons
00:34:48.42\00:34:50.73
why we survive from day to day.
00:34:50.76\00:34:53.03
You see our Moon is also
93 million miles from the Sun
00:34:53.06\00:34:56.98
and yet its dead
place as Mars or Venus.
00:34:57.01\00:35:01.30
Life on Earth is
possible because many factors
00:35:01.33\00:35:03.96
and properties exist and
work together in combination.
00:35:03.99\00:35:08.18
It's a very complicated puzzle
00:35:08.21\00:35:10.19
and our planet
has all the pieces.
00:35:10.22\00:35:11.76
The earth is the only
planet with liquid water,
00:35:16.59\00:35:20.37
it's also the only
planet with an atmosphere
00:35:20.40\00:35:22.50
based upon nitrogen and oxygen.
00:35:22.53\00:35:24.96
These are components
absolutely essential to life.
00:35:24.99\00:35:27.75
The tilt of the earth's access
is an ideal 23 and half degrees
00:35:31.41\00:35:35.45
when you combine that with our
mode of 24 hour rotation period
00:35:35.48\00:35:39.09
it gives a seasonal
changes and a temperate climate.
00:35:39.12\00:35:42.14
Even the size and distance
of our moon is nearly perfect.
00:35:44.81\00:35:48.10
Its gravitational pull controls
the daily movements of the tides
00:35:48.13\00:35:51.13
so they are strong
enough to cleanse shorelines
00:35:51.16\00:35:53.21
without flooding the continents.
00:35:53.24\00:35:54.87
So when you start comparing
these different factors the
00:36:01.71\00:36:04.31
size of the planet,
the distance from the Sun,
00:36:04.34\00:36:06.69
the tilt of the Earth's
axis, the rotation period,
00:36:06.72\00:36:09.17
the existence of the
Moon, the composition,
00:36:09.20\00:36:11.30
the atmosphere and on
and on the number of things
00:36:11.33\00:36:14.07
that come together
is truly remarkable
00:36:14.10\00:36:16.49
and when you see
that kind of evidence
00:36:16.52\00:36:19.36
then that suggest very strongly
00:36:19.39\00:36:21.12
that it didn't just happen
but it was caused to happen
00:36:21.15\00:36:23.81
again someone designed
or planned it that way.
00:36:23.84\00:36:26.38
I like to think that the
Earth is a finely crafted watch
00:36:30.29\00:36:33.59
you have to have all
the springs all the levers
00:36:33.62\00:36:35.69
all the gears and they
have to be in the right place
00:36:35.72\00:36:38.59
all the right size
doing the right things
00:36:38.62\00:36:41.90
and you could take
a box of watch pieces
00:36:41.93\00:36:44.75
but I don't think if
you shuck it up long enough
00:36:44.78\00:36:46.53
you would end up with a watch
00:36:46.56\00:36:48.09
and nobody would
believe that you would.
00:36:48.12\00:36:50.28
I believe the
situation that the Earth
00:36:50.31\00:36:52.01
is probably far more critical.
00:36:52.04\00:36:54.24
You could take a
number of different planets,
00:36:54.27\00:36:56.52
a number of different
sizes, distances from the Sun
00:36:56.55\00:36:58.82
and try it over and
over and over again randomly
00:36:58.85\00:37:02.29
and just like
the watch would never
00:37:02.32\00:37:03.89
come together
out of those pieces
00:37:03.92\00:37:06.22
you could never get a
planet to just come together
00:37:06.25\00:37:09.68
with all the right factors
in place at the same time
00:37:09.71\00:37:13.16
to give you a
suitable habitat for life.
00:37:13.19\00:37:15.41
So as we looked
through the solar system
00:37:20.21\00:37:21.87
we see that the Earth
is not only a unique place
00:37:21.90\00:37:25.15
but its also a place
where a number of factors
00:37:25.18\00:37:27.28
have come together
working in combination
00:37:27.31\00:37:30.31
so that you have the only place
suitable for life to exist.
00:37:30.34\00:37:35.07
Now many people
look at that and say wow,
00:37:35.10\00:37:37.54
the Earth really had
a lucky break, didn't.
00:37:37.57\00:37:41.12
And I find lot easier
to believe that instead
00:37:41.15\00:37:43.37
the Earth is created that way.
00:37:43.40\00:37:45.29
That there is a
Creator who designed it
00:37:45.32\00:37:47.64
and then when He made the
world He did so with us in mind.
00:37:47.67\00:37:53.65
It's an
explanation for the origin
00:37:53.68\00:37:55.57
and design of the
earth that's consistent
00:37:55.60\00:37:57.70
with what both science and
the word of God had reviled.
00:37:57.73\00:38:00.53
And when you look
throughout the solar system
00:38:03.16\00:38:05.33
its not hard to
come with conclusion
00:38:05.36\00:38:07.15
that is truly
no place like home.
00:38:07.18\00:38:09.30
In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth
00:38:36.27\00:38:40.82
and since that defining moment
our blue jewel of a planet
00:38:40.85\00:38:44.65
has shined with brilliance
unique in the solar system.
00:38:44.68\00:38:47.79
Its design is unparalleled,
00:38:50.40\00:38:53.42
its operation often spectacular
00:38:53.45\00:38:57.05
and its purpose unmatched
00:38:57.08\00:38:59.21
within the boundaries
of current understanding
00:38:59.24\00:39:01.40
to harbor and
sustain the only creation
00:39:03.47\00:39:06.04
capable of exploring its wonders
00:39:06.07\00:39:08.34
and knowing
it's gone human life.
00:39:08.37\00:39:12.78