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Series Code: MBI
Program Code: MBI000001
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00:48 We are living in what is truly a golden age of exploration.
00:57 A time when extraordinary tools of astronomy 01:00 gaze deeper and more clearly into space than ever before 01:04 seeking answers to questions that have endured for as long as 01:08 human eyes have gazed into the night skies. 01:14 Is there life on other worlds? 01:18 What mysteries exist among the stars? 01:22 How large is the universe and where do we 01:26 as human beings fit into it all? 01:33 Three thousand years ago David the Old Testament poet 01:37 reflected upon these distance points of light and wrote 01:40 that the heavens declare the glory of God 01:43 with a voice that goes out into all the earth. 01:47 Today, that voice and the message it bears 01:52 is amplified by spectacular technology. 01:56 As photographs like these 01:58 the crowned jewels of astronomical study 02:01 unlock new sources of insight and wonder 02:04 revealing a creation rich in diversity 02:07 and brilliant in design. 02:22 Join us now on a remarkable journey of discovery, 02:27 a view of our solar system and the realms of deep space 02:34 as seen through the most powerful eyes in all of history 02:37 and as we venture tour the very edge of the known universe. 02:40 Perhaps, we will come to understand 02:42 the supreme message that the heavens 02:44 proclaimed to mankind. 02:46 The message of God's existence and power 02:49 and the ultimate significance of every human life. 03:47 Of all the sciences astronomy is probably the oldest 03:51 for humanity search to understand the universe 03:53 has continued throughout recorded history. 04:00 And as countless generations have looked up into a sky 04:04 filled with lights one star has always dominated the rest. 04:12 Since the day of its creation it is turned darkness into dawn 04:17 and the inhabitance of our planet 04:19 no object in the heavens approaches its importance. 04:24 Let us then begin our exploration of the universe 04:27 at the focal point of our solar system the sun. 04:59 They are among the most awesome sights in the heavens, 05:05 luminous fountains of hydrogen and helium 05:08 sometimes leaping a hundred thousand miles into space. 05:16 To the astronomer there are known as solar prominences, 05:20 the distinctive signatures of the sun potential and power. 05:34 Compared to other stars 05:36 the sun is of average size and brightness 05:39 yet it is still a creation of amazing proportions. 05:46 Eight hundred and sixty thousand miles in diameter 05:50 this fiery ball contains more than 99 percent 05:53 of all the matter in the solar system. 05:58 If it was hallow a million spheres the size of the earth 06:01 could easily fit inside. 06:08 Sometimes described as an immense power plant 06:11 the sun is driven 06:12 by a ten billion years supply of fuel. 06:18 Deep within its core a nuclear reaction coverts hydrogen 06:22 into helium releasing as byproducts 06:24 most of the heat and light available 06:27 throughout the solar system. 06:31 This process is so efficient 06:32 that each second the sun emits more energy 06:35 than humanity is consumed in all of history. 06:43 Once believed by ancient astronomers 06:45 to be a smooth polished sphere the sun is actually a cauldron 06:50 seething with constant change. 06:59 Unlike the solid earth which rotates uniformly on its axis 07:03 this gigantic ball of gas spins faster at its equator 07:07 than it does at its polls 07:09 causing its surface to twist and stretch violently. 07:14 The products of this turmoil are dramatic. 07:21 Enormous sun spots breaks in the star surface 07:25 as large as the earth 07:27 appear and vanish during mysterious 11 year intervals 07:35 ragging flayers, the greatest explosions in the solar system 07:40 often erupting with more force than a billion hydrogen bombs 07:48 and a powerful solar wind 07:51 blowing a study stream of electrically charged particles 07:54 to the most distant planets. 08:00 Each second about five million tons of the sun's mass 08:04 escapes into space as pure energy. 08:11 That's an amount equal to the total weight of water 08:14 flowing over Niagara Falls every ten minutes. 08:25 Yet, despite this tremendous loss of unreplenished matter 08:29 the sun is so large it could continue to shine 08:32 at the centre of the solar system 08:34 for at least the next five billion years. 08:49 Nothing is so admirable than the planets motions, 08:53 nothing more beautiful and there is nothing 08:57 which testifies more evidently to the wisdom of the creator. 09:04 Four hundred years ago the German astronomer 09:07 Johannes Kepler discovered the basic laws 09:09 that govern the motions of the planet 09:11 as they race around the sun. 09:16 Kepler realized that the solar system 09:19 operated like a superbly crafted machine 09:21 with every gear working in harmony. 09:28 We now know what is the suns gravitational pull 09:31 that drives the celestial mechanism 09:34 controlling the path ways of the nine planets. 09:39 If left to follow its own momentum each planetary body 09:43 would continually move through space in a straight line. 09:47 The suns gravity counter balances this run away action 09:51 first bending then holding the course of the planet 09:55 as they travel in their elliptical orbits. 10:01 As with all of His creation God had designed the suns family 10:05 based upon order and flawless procession 10:08 where orbits were predictable 10:10 to with in a few seconds and miles. 10:15 By understanding these movements the road maps to the planets 10:19 were clearly defined and all that remained was to go. 10:58 Fueled by the timeless thirst to explore and the knowledge 11:02 to navigate the depths of space 11:04 journeys once the domains of science fiction 11:07 were launched with optimism and hope. 11:12 Early destinations including Mercury, 11:18 Venus, and Mars 11:25 along with the Earth they comprise 11:27 the inner planets of the solar system. 11:34 Each new glimpse of these rocky terrestrial worlds 11:37 revise centuries of astronomical thought 11:40 while painting a richer more complete picture of creation 11:43 than we had ever seen before. 11:52 In March of 1974, after a journey 11:55 of more than 60 million miles 11:57 the spacecraft Mariner 10 11:59 made its initial encounter with Mercury. 12:05 Though the planet was obscured from the earth 12:08 by the sun's blinding layer Mariner's cameras 12:11 suddenly brought it into brilliant focus. 12:21 Eight thousand high resolution photographs 12:23 reviled a meteor scared landscaped 12:26 covered with impact creators. 12:30 The similarities to the far side of our own moon were numerous. 12:37 Devoid of any protective atmosphere 12:40 surface temperatures on Mercury range nearly 1000 degrees 12:43 between the night and daylight sides of the planet. 13:09 The exploration of Venus the second planet from the Sun 13:13 would prove even more challenging. 13:19 Long considered the Earth's twin 13:21 because of its comparable size and proximity 13:23 about 25 million miles away 13:25 the surface of the planet 13:27 was hidden by a cloud cover 150 miles thick. 13:35 Utilizing radar during its three year mission 13:38 the spacecraft Magellan 13:40 effectively penetrated Venus shroud 13:44 to capture views of stunning clarity. 13:47 From this data a computer generated flight 13:50 over the terrene has helped to expand our knowledge 13:53 of our nearest planetary neighbor. 14:06 Venus is a forbidding yet strangely beautiful world 14:10 around dominated by rugged lava flows and volcanic craters. 14:19 Clusters of circular lava domes and deep canyons 14:22 walled by jagged cliffs create dramatic panoramas. 14:35 The landscape is desolate and sterile 14:37 scorched by temperatures reaching nearly 14:39 900 degrees Fahrenheit 14:42 the highest of any planet in the solar system. 14:53 For reason still unknown Venus rotates in a direction 14:56 opposite the other planets 14:58 slowly turning east to west on its axis 15:01 once every 240 earth days. 15:06 Requiring only 32 earth weeks to orbit the sun 15:10 a year on Venus is actually shorter than a day. 15:29 After departing Venus we approach and pass the Earth 15:34 then another 50 million miles behind our orbit 15:38 and 140 million from the Sun looms the planet 15:41 that is probably fascinated us more than any other, 15:45 Mars, the fourth and last of the solid inner worlds. 15:55 For centuries Mars had held the greatest promise 15:58 for the existence of the extraterrestrial life. 16:05 Like the earth it has seasons and rotates 16:08 at a rate nearly identical to our own. 16:13 The Martian polar caps were known to contain 16:16 large amounts of water ice 16:19 and winding channels believe to be dry river beds 16:22 laced its surface. 16:29 Decades of exploration however 16:31 have revealed an arid and sterile world 16:33 incapable of sustaining any form of living organism. 16:43 Yet despite the absence of life here 16:46 fascination with the red planet has not diminished. 16:51 For studies of its geography had proven 16:53 both surprising and spectacular. 17:03 Only about half the diameter of the Earth, 17:05 Mars is home to some of the most imposing landforms 17:08 ever discovered. 17:16 As we sore about its surface canyons, 17:19 craters and volcanoes stand in awesome proportion. 17:30 Valles Marineris the largest known canyon 17:33 in the solar system stretches 2800 miles. 17:42 This spooling rift is 13 times longer than the Grand Canyon 17:46 and would expand coast to coast 17:48 across the continental United States. 18:05 Rising 79,000 feet above the desert 18:08 Olympus Mons is the solar systems most enormous volcano. 18:14 Three times taller than Mount Everest 18:16 the base of this gigantic peak would completely engulf 18:19 the state of Washington. 18:30 These missions to the inner planets 18:31 will tremens accomplishments 18:33 and in many ways I think they have to rank as some of the 18:36 greatest achievements in the history of astronomy. 18:39 You have to remember that for thousands of years 18:42 people try to study these planets 18:43 and all they had to work with were 18:45 tiny pin points of light in the night sky. 18:48 The invention of telescope helped 18:50 but our observations were still inconclusive. 18:53 We just couldn't get close enough 18:55 to see them in any detail. 18:58 Then almost instantly space probes like the Marineris 19:01 and Magellan allowed us to see these planets 19:03 as we had never seen them before. 19:08 Prior to the space probes we really didn't have 19:12 lot of information about the surface 19:14 and the atmospheres of these planets. 19:16 And then when the space probes went and sent back 19:18 their pictures and other information 19:20 it was completely revolution. 19:23 It was before we saw nothing on the surface of Venus 19:26 for instant suddenly we saw climates, 19:28 we saw atmosphere we had never been able to study before. 19:31 We saw tremendous amount of geography 19:34 and many of the ideas we had had to be thrown away 19:37 and completely replace with new ideas about these planets 19:40 and it happened virtually overnight. 19:46 In Old Testament of the Bible we are encouraged to lift up 19:49 and rise to the heavens and consider the works of God. 19:52 The more I think about it 19:54 I really believe that God wants us to search out 19:55 every corner of His creation and try to learn all that we can 19:59 about the things that He has made. 20:04 This is exactly what the expeditions 20:06 to the inner planets have allowed us to do. 20:19 I supposed that God could have made a solar system 20:22 with just one planet and one moon but He didn't 20:26 instead He created something far more diverse and complex 20:30 and then He gave us the curiosity 20:32 and the ability to explore it 20:33 and I believe there is a reason. 20:37 I think that is our knowledge of the planets 20:39 or any other part of creation increases 20:41 so does our sense of wonderful God. 20:46 He is an artist and He has painted a fascinating world 20:49 and filled it with more detailed than we could ever imagine. 20:52 And I think he wants us to experience 20:54 and understand as much of it as we possibly can. 20:57 That's why it's so exiting to be alive at a time 21:00 when technology gives us a chance to see the universe 21:03 more clearly than at any time in history. 21:24 Late in the summer of 1977 21:26 two remarkable journeys of exportation were launched. 21:31 In many ways they would surpass any undertaken in human history. 21:43 Twin spacecraft christened Voyager 1 and 2 21:47 escaped the earth's gravitational pull 21:50 and spread to the farthest reaches of the solar system. 21:57 Their mission to explore the giant outer planets 22:00 at close range for the first time. 22:06 On earth a global network of radio telescopes 22:09 control the flight of Voyager crafts. 22:13 Throughout the mission these instruments would also 22:15 receive the data transmitted from space. 22:21 In March of 1979, 18 months and 500 million miles after liftoff 22:27 Voyager 1 made its closest approach 22:30 to its initial destination Jupiter, 22:32 the largest planet in the solar system. 22:39 Jupiter is an immense fear of hot liquid and hydrogen gas 22:43 large enough to hold a thousand earths. 22:48 It rotates on its axis completely in only ten hours 22:51 and is ringed by alternating bands of jet stream winds 22:54 that travel in opposite directions. 22:58 These opposing wind currents 22:59 stir up clouds above the planet's surface 23:03 creating a mural of swirling abstract art. 23:12 An immense hurricane twice the size of the earth 23:15 dominates Jupiter's surface. 23:20 Discovered nearly 400 years ago this colossal storm still 23:25 rages furiously while rotating once every six days. 23:34 Sixteen known moons orbit the planet 23:37 four of them including Europa and lo 23:39 are as large or larger than the Earth's lunar companion. 23:53 Detailed photographic studies 23:54 revile worlds of diverse geography 23:57 including a system of active volcanoes on lo surface. 24:04 Before leaving Jupiter, Voyager made another discovery 24:08 a thin ring of rocky particles 24:10 that encircle the giant sphere. 24:13 Seen here back lit against the Sun 24:16 this previously undetected ring 24:18 glows as a halo against the blackness of space. 24:29 The astonishing images gathered here 24:32 were only foretaste of what was to come in the years ahead. 24:52 Catapult into space for another 18 months 24:55 and five hundred million miles 24:57 Voyager began its historical counter with Saturn 25:00 in the fall of 1980. 25:11 About half the size of Jupiter, 25:14 Saturn is the second largest planet 25:16 and its wondrous system of rings have long been 25:18 the most familiar objects in the solar system. 25:24 Passing within 40,000 miles 25:27 the Voyagers again sent back a wealth of information. 25:36 From Earth, Saturn's rings had appeared 25:39 to consist of only a few wide bands. 25:41 Voyager reviled that they were actually 25:44 thousands of narrow ringlets 25:45 each comprised of frozen chunks of ice mixed with dust. 25:52 These particles ranged in size from microscopic granules 25:55 to icebergs as large as a house. 26:17 Saturn is orbited by at least 18 moons. 26:20 Again, Voyager imagery brought them into 26:23 sharper focus than ever before. 26:28 Titan the largest is the only moon in the solar system 26:31 with a significant atmosphere. 26:35 While the surface of Mimas displayed an enormous 26:38 meteor crater 80 miles in diameter. 26:45 There was vital relationship between Saturn and its moons 26:49 for it is the gravitational pull exerted by these tiny satellites 26:53 that helps shape and define some of the planet's rings. 27:06 By August of 1981 27:08 the exploration of Saturn was complete. 27:12 The decision was then made 27:13 to extend the mission on to Uranus and Neptune. 27:26 A rare alignment of the outer planets 27:28 that occurs only once every 175 years 27:32 would make this grand tour of the four gas giants possible. 27:37 As the Voyager 1 craft headed out the solar system 27:40 Voyager 2 was targeted on a four year 27:43 billion mile course to Uranus 27:45 the seventh planet from the Sun. 27:52 Again, Voyager imagery fascinated the world 27:56 as its camera focused on the planet system of rings. 28:03 It found ten dark bands the color of coal dust 28:07 ranging in width from three to sixty miles. 28:16 Uranus is truly unique tipped over on its side 28:20 perhaps the result of an ancient meteor impact. 28:22 Its polar regions alternately face 28:24 almost directly into the Sun. 28:40 The final leg of Voyager's odyssey 28:43 would span yet another billion miles, 28:48 a distance so great that clusters of radio telescopes 28:51 were linked together to receive the spacecrafts 28:54 ever weakening transitions. 28:59 And in August 1989, 12 years and three and half billion miles 29:03 after its launch Voyager 2 approached Neptune 29:07 the last of the giant outer plants. 29:14 Like Uranus, Neptune consists of a small heavy rock core 29:18 surrounded by hot liquid and topped by an atmosphere 29:21 rich in hydrogen and traces of methane gas. 29:27 Extensive studies of the planet's 29:29 turbulent weather patterns 29:30 yield at unexpected results. 29:35 It now appears that Neptune 29:37 is the windiest planet in the solar system. 29:42 A giant rotating storm called the great dark spot 29:46 was photographed on its surface with violent gales 29:48 reaching speeds of up to 1500 miles per hour. 30:02 A highlight of the mission was a close pass by Triton 30:05 the largest of Neptune's eight known moons. 30:10 Composed of rock and ice Triton proved to be the coldest object 30:13 yet explored in the solar system. 30:22 This dramatic look back at Neptune and its frozen satellite 30:26 mark the end of Voyager's encounter. 30:34 Its exploration of the four gas giants now complete 30:37 Voyager 2 bypass Pluto the smallest and most distant planet 30:42 departing instead towards the boundless expanse 30:44 of interstellar space. 31:04 As a millennium ends and another begins 31:07 the future of planetary exploration 31:10 will ride on the wings of new dreams 31:12 and the technologies that they inspire. 31:17 In late 1995 the spacecraft Galileo 31:20 on an extended mission to Jupiter sent to probe 31:23 beneath the planets atmosphere for the first time 31:29 and initiated a study of its four largest moons 31:32 at closer range than ever before. 31:40 In similar fashion the orbiting vessel Cassini 31:43 is schedule to reach Saturn by the year 2004 31:47 to being a three year exploration 31:48 of the planets ring system, atmosphere and moons. 31:54 And as we move deeper into the 21st century 31:57 even greater challenges arise 31:59 including a possible encounter with Pluto 32:02 and its large moon Charon. 32:07 And an endeavored that in the past 32:09 could only be labeled as science fiction 32:14 a manned mission to Mars. 32:19 With each of these efforts the time less pursuit 32:21 to understand the solar system will press forward 32:25 as new knowledge obtained. 32:31 And for those who look the heavens will continue 32:34 to declare the miracle of God's glory 32:37 through the beautiful and mysterious lights 32:39 that orbit the Sun. 32:48 You know these expeditions throughout the solar system 32:51 have allowed us to make close encounter with 32:53 eight planets and dozens of moons 32:55 and a diversity we have seen 32:57 is been far greater than we ever expected. 33:04 Through the years space probes have generated 33:06 thousands of detailed photographs 33:08 showing us planets made of rock 33:11 and other almost totally of gas. 33:15 We have seen moons made largely wise 33:19 and another with active volcanoes. 33:23 No two of these worlds are exactly the same 33:26 and yet although one of them 33:27 shows a very significant characteristic. 33:30 Except for the Earth every planet 33:32 and moon that orbits the Sun appears to be totally dead 33:35 completely devoid of any form of life. 33:42 You know, it's possible the most important thing 33:45 we have learned about the solar system 33:46 is how extraordinarily special the earth really is. 33:50 The odds of life could exist here 33:52 or any where for that matter are incredible low 33:55 especially when you take an account of all the finely tuned 33:57 conditions and factors that have to be 33:59 in place for life to work at all. 34:04 Just consider the Earth's orbital pathway around the Sun. 34:12 The earth moves in a narrow zone 34:14 at a critical distance where survival is possible. 34:21 The two planets close to us 34:22 Venus and Mars are either much too hot 34:25 or too cold to support any kind of life. 34:28 The same holds true for the other planets. 34:31 It's been estimated that only two percent 34:34 of the entire solar system falls within a range 34:36 where temperatures are conducive to life. 34:38 Fortunately that's precisely the region we happen to occupy. 34:46 Now, the fact that we are located with in the ideal spot 34:48 in the solar system is only one of the many reasons 34:50 why we survive from day to day. 34:53 You see our Moon is also 93 million miles from the Sun 34:57 and yet its dead place as Mars or Venus. 35:01 Life on Earth is possible because many factors 35:03 and properties exist and work together in combination. 35:08 It's a very complicated puzzle 35:10 and our planet has all the pieces. 35:16 The earth is the only planet with liquid water, 35:20 it's also the only planet with an atmosphere 35:22 based upon nitrogen and oxygen. 35:24 These are components absolutely essential to life. 35:31 The tilt of the earth's access is an ideal 23 and half degrees 35:35 when you combine that with our mode of 24 hour rotation period 35:39 it gives a seasonal changes and a temperate climate. 35:44 Even the size and distance of our moon is nearly perfect. 35:48 Its gravitational pull controls the daily movements of the tides 35:51 so they are strong enough to cleanse shorelines 35:53 without flooding the continents. 36:01 So when you start comparing these different factors the 36:04 size of the planet, the distance from the Sun, 36:06 the tilt of the Earth's axis, the rotation period, 36:09 the existence of the Moon, the composition, 36:11 the atmosphere and on and on the number of things 36:14 that come together is truly remarkable 36:16 and when you see that kind of evidence 36:19 then that suggest very strongly 36:21 that it didn't just happen but it was caused to happen 36:23 again someone designed or planned it that way. 36:30 I like to think that the Earth is a finely crafted watch 36:33 you have to have all the springs all the levers 36:35 all the gears and they have to be in the right place 36:38 all the right size doing the right things 36:41 and you could take a box of watch pieces 36:44 but I don't think if you shuck it up long enough 36:46 you would end up with a watch 36:48 and nobody would believe that you would. 36:50 I believe the situation that the Earth 36:52 is probably far more critical. 36:54 You could take a number of different planets, 36:56 a number of different sizes, distances from the Sun 36:58 and try it over and over and over again randomly 37:02 and just like the watch would never 37:03 come together out of those pieces 37:06 you could never get a planet to just come together 37:09 with all the right factors in place at the same time 37:13 to give you a suitable habitat for life. 37:20 So as we looked through the solar system 37:21 we see that the Earth is not only a unique place 37:25 but its also a place where a number of factors 37:27 have come together working in combination 37:30 so that you have the only place suitable for life to exist. 37:35 Now many people look at that and say wow, 37:37 the Earth really had a lucky break, didn't. 37:41 And I find lot easier to believe that instead 37:43 the Earth is created that way. 37:45 That there is a Creator who designed it 37:47 and then when He made the world He did so with us in mind. 37:53 It's an explanation for the origin 37:55 and design of the earth that's consistent 37:57 with what both science and the word of God had reviled. 38:03 And when you look throughout the solar system 38:05 its not hard to come with conclusion 38:07 that is truly no place like home. 38:36 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth 38:40 and since that defining moment our blue jewel of a planet 38:44 has shined with brilliance unique in the solar system. 38:50 Its design is unparalleled, 38:53 its operation often spectacular 38:57 and its purpose unmatched 38:59 within the boundaries of current understanding 39:03 to harbor and sustain the only creation 39:06 capable of exploring its wonders 39:08 and knowing it's gone human life. |
Revised 2014-12-17