♪
Narrator: THE GIANT PLANETS JUPITER, SATURN,
URANUS, AND NEPTUNE HAVE MEGASTORMS
ON A SCALE THAT DEFIES BELIEF --
HURRICANES LARGER THAN ENTIRE WORLDS
AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT WOULD LAY WASTE TO THE EARTH.
Oluseyi: WE THINK WE HAVE STORMS ON EARTH.
COMPARE IT TO THE STORMS ON THE GIANT PLANETS,
IT'S ON A WHOLE OTHER SCALE.
Narrator: NOW, ASTRONOMERS ARE USING THESE EPIC STORMS
TO UNLOCK THE SECRETS
OF HOW GIANT PLANETS ACROSS THE GALAXY MIGHT WORK.
Tremblay: GAS GIANTS REMAIN SOME OF THE GREATEST MYSTERIES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, BUT IF YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND
THE WEATHER THAT HAPPENS WITHIN THEM,
YOU CAN START TO UNLOCK THEIR SECRETS.
Narrator: A FLEET OF ADVANCED SPACE PROBES
IS HELPING ASTRONOMERS STUDY THESE STORMS
IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL,
REVEALING ASTONISHING FORCES AT WORK
DEEP WITHIN THE MOST MYSTERIOUS PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE.
Plait: WE HAVE LITERALLY
JUST SCRATCHED THE SURFACE OF THESE PLANETS.
THERE'S SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT THESE THINGS,
AND WE'RE JUST BARELY GETTING STARTED.
Narrator: THE SECRETS OF THE OUTER PLANETS ARE REVEALED
AS WE PLUNGE INTO THE HEART OF SPACE'S MEGASTORMS.
♪
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
♪
IN COUNTLESS SOLAR SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY,
TWO TYPES OF PLANETS EXIST --
PLANETS MADE MOSTLY FROM ROCK, LIKE THE EARTH,
AND GIANT PLANETS MADE MOSTLY FROM GAS.
WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON HOW ROCKY PLANETS WORK
BECAUSE WE LIVE ON THE SURFACE OF ONE,
BUT THE GAS GIANT PLANETS ARE A MYSTERY
BECAUSE THEY HIDE THEIR SECRETS
BELOW THICK, IMPENETRABLE CLOUDS.
TO DECODE THEIR INNER WORKINGS, ASTRONOMERS MUST FIRST UNLOCK
THE MYSTERIES OF THE GAS GIANTS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
TO UNDERSTAND HOW ANY PLANET IN THE UNIVERSE MIGHT WORK,
WE NEED TO FIRST UNDERSTAND HOW OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
AND HOW OUR OWN GAS GIANTS WORK,
AND SO THE ONLY WAY THEY WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND
WHAT LIES BENEATH THESE TOPMOST LAYERS
IS BY STUDYING THE STORMS ON THE PLANET'S SURFACE.
Narrator: CAN THESE MEGACYCLONES
SHED LIGHT ON THE HIDDEN PROCESSES
THAT MAKE ALL GAS GIANT PLANETS TICK?
ASTRONOMERS START WITH
THE CLOSET GAS GIANTS TO THE EARTH --
SATURN AND JUPITER.
THESE PLANETS ARE HUNDREDS OF TIMES MORE MASSIVE
THAN THE EARTH.
HYDROGEN AND HELIUM FILL THEIR ATMOSPHERES,
WHICH ARE THOUSANDS OF MILES THICK.
WHEN YOU COMPARE THE EARTH AND JUPITER,
THEY ARE SO DIFFERENT.
IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THEY'RE BOTH CALLED PLANETS,
THEY'RE SO DIFFERENT, AND OUR WEATHER IS DIFFERENT.
Narrator: PLANETARY SCIENTIST AMY SIMON INVESTIGATES
THIS RADICALLY DIFFERENT WEATHER.
CHASING EPIC STORMS ON PLANETS OVER 400 MILLION MILES AWAY
IS NO SIMPLE TASK.
THE BIGGEST DIFFICULTY IN STUDYING THESE DISTANT OBJECTS
IS THE FACT THAT WE CAN'T MONITOR THEM ALL THE TIME,
SO IF WE LOOK AT JUPITER ONCE A YEAR,
THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO LOOKING AT THE EARTH WEATHER ONCE A MONTH
AND THEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON
ON THE WHOLE PLANET.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS LIKE AMY NOW HAVE A FLEET
OF ADVANCED SPACE PROBES TO HELP --
JUNO AROUND JUPITER
AND CASSINI AROUND SATURN.
♪
SATURN'S WEIRD WEATHER IS THE FIRST UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.
AS CASSINI PASSES OVER ITS NORTH POLE,
THE SPACE PROBE SENDS BACK AN ASTONISHING PICTURE
OF THIS STRANGE STORM.
IT'S UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN ON THE EARTH
AND TRACES OUT THE SHAPE OF A PERFECT 6-SIDED HEXAGON.
ONE OF THE TRULY AMAZING THINGS ABOUT BEING AN ASTRONOMER IS,
SOMETIMES YOU SEE THINGS OUT THERE
THAT ARE COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED,
AND THE HEXAGON STORM ON SATURN WAS JUST THAT.
YOU SEE THIS CLEAR HEXAGON TURNING ALMOST AS A SOLID BODY
AT THE POLE OF SATURN, AND THE FIRST TIME WE SAW THAT,
WE JUST LOOKED AT IT AND SAID, "NO. THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE."
Narrator: HOW COULD
SUCH A PERFECTLY SYMMETRICAL STORM FORM?
IT'S EASY TO ASSUME THAT IT'S A ONE-OFF,
AN OUTRAGEOUS PLANETARY FLUKE.
BUT THEN IN 2017,
JUNO SENDS BACK AN IMAGE OF JUPITER'S NORTH POLE.
THIS IS A PLACE NO ASTRONOMER HAS SEEN BEFORE.
THE IMAGE REVEALS A SECOND BIZARRE WEATHER SYSTEM --
THIS TIME AN 8-SIDED OCTAGON SHAPE.
♪
THIS IS A GEOMETRIC STORM SYSTEM ON A TRULY BREATHTAKING SCALE.
♪
EIGHT MEGACYCLONES SWIRL AROUND A CENTRAL STORM.
WINDS RAGE WITHIN EACH STORM AT ALMOST 200 MILES PER HOUR,
FASTER THAN A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE.
EACH VIOLENT MAELSTROM IS ALMOST 2,500 MILES ACROSS,
STORMS THE SIZE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA,
AND THEY GATHER AN INCREDIBLE 8-SIDED FLOWER
AROUND THE POLE.
Simon: ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING THINGS WE'VE SEEN LATELY
IS ACTUALLY VERY CLOSE VIEWS OF JUPITER'S POLES.
AT THIS POINT, WE'VE SEEN THIS SAME PATTERN FOR ABOUT A YEAR,
SO IT DOES SEEM TO BE STABLE, AND JUST BEING ABLE TO SEE THIS
ON A POLE IS SO MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAVE HERE ON EARTH.
Narrator: HOW CAN SUCH SYMMETRICAL STORM SYSTEMS FORM,
THE HEXAGON ON SATURN AND THE OCTAGON ON JUPITER?
AND WHAT CAN THEY REVEAL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON BELOW?
PHYSICIST PETER READ IS TRYING TO FIND OUT.
HE BELIEVES THAT THE ROTATION OF THE GIANT PLANETS
CREATES THE HEXAGON AND OCTAGON STORMS.
TIGHTEN THAT UP THERE.
Narrator: TO TEST HIS THEORY, PETER IS GOING TO TRY
AND MAKE HIS OWN GEOMETRIC STORM IN HIS LAB.
UNLIKE THE EARTH, THE GAS GIANTS HAVE NO SOLID SURFACE.
INSTEAD, THEY ARE SPINNING BALLS MADE ALMOST ENTIRELY OF GAS
AND HIGH-PRESSURE LIQUID.
PETER USES A TANK OF SPINNING WATER TO REPLICATE
JUPITER AND SATURN'S ATMOSPHERES.
WHEN WE LOOK DOWN ON THIS EXPERIMENT FROM ABOVE,
IT'S AS IF WE WERE SITTING OVER THE NORTH POLE OF SATURN
AND ACTUALLY LOOKING DOWN,
SO THE WATER REPRESENTS THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE CENTER OF THE TANK REPRESENTS
THE POLE OF THE PLANET, AND THE OUTER PART REPRESENTS
A LOWER-LATITUDE PART OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
Narrator: TO TRY AND CREATE A GEOMETRIC STORM,
PETER MAKES THE TANK ROTATE IN THE SAME WAY
AS ONE OF THE GAS GIANTS.
THE CENTRAL DISK ROTATES SLOWLY,
FORCING THE WATER ABOVE IT TO ROTATE SLOWER
THAN THE WATER IN THE OUTER PART OF THE TANK.
THAT MIMICS THE GAS GIANTS WHERE THE REST OF THE PLANET
ROTATES MUCH QUICKER THAN THE POLES.
PETER BELIEVES THAT SECTIONS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
ROTATING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER
CREATE THE GEOMETRIC STORMS.
TO SEE IF HE'S RIGHT,
HE NEEDS TO TRACK THE FLOW OF WATER IN THE TANK.
WHAT WE'RE NOW GOING TO DO IS, WE'RE GOING TO INJECT SOME DYE,
AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE
WHAT KIND OF FLOW WE'VE PRODUCED.
Narrator: WHERE THE QUICK-FLOWING WATER
ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE TANK MEETS THE SLOWER WATER AT THE CENTER,
SOMETHING ASTONISHING HAPPENS.
A STABLE EDGE FORMS THAT TRACES OUT A GEOMETRIC SHAPE.
♪
WELL, YOU CAN ALREADY SEE A STRUCTURE.
IT'S GOT CORNERS IN IT,
BUT IT LOOKS AS THOUGH THIS HAS PRODUCED SOMETHING
MORE LIKE 5-SIDED FIGURE RATHER THAN A 6-SIDED FIGURE.
IT'S ALWAYS A MATTER OF... [ SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ]
TO EXACTLY WHICH PATTERN WILL EMERGE.
Narrator: THIS EXPERIMENTAL RUN CREATES A 5-SIDED PENTAGON.
SUBTLE CHANGES OF THE EXACT CONDITIONS
IN THE TANK DETERMINE WHAT SHAPE FORMS.
BY CHANGING THE ROTATION OF THE DISK,
WE CAN PRODUCE ANYTHING FROM TRIANGLES, SQUARES,
PENTAGONS,
HEXAGONS,
OCTAGONS.
YOU NAME IT.
Narrator: IN SATURN'S CASE,
THE CONDITIONS GIVE RISE TO A STUNNING 6-SIDED HEXAGON.
ON JUPITER, THEY CREATE AN 8-SIDED OCTAGON,
AND IN THIS CASE, EACH SIDE OF THE OCTAGON
HOLDS A GIANT STORM IN PLACE.
SO THE FLOW WOULD EFFECTIVELY BE ACTING A LITTLE BIT
LIKE A KIND OF BARRIER
AGAINST WHICH THE CYCLONES CAN BUMP UP AGAINST,
AND THEN ONCE THEY'VE TAKEN UP THAT POSITION,
THEN THEY'RE BASICALLY HELD IN AN EQUILIBRIUM,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE SEE.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH JUPITER AND SATURN SEEM VERY DIFFERENT,
THESE INCREDIBLE STORMS REVEAL THAT THE SAME FORCES
DRIVE THE WEATHER ON BOTH PLANETS,
AND POTENTIALLY ON ALL OTHER GAS GIANTS ACROSS THE COSMOS.
THERE IS ANOTHER MYSTERY
SURROUNDING THE STORMS ON JUPITER.
ON THE EARTH, THE HEAT FROM THE SUN DRIVES THE WEATHER,
BUT JUPITER IS MUCH FURTHER AWAY
AND ONLY GETS 4% OF THE HEAT THAT FALLS ON THE EARTH.
WHAT DRIVES ITS EXTREME WEATHER PATTERNS?
♪
Narrator: JUPITER IS A TRUE GIANT,
LARGE ENOUGH TO FIT ALL THE OTHER PLANETS
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM WITHIN ITS VAST GLOBE,
YET WE KNOW VERY LITTLE
ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING BENEATH ITS SWIRLING CLOUDS.
UNLOCKING ITS SECRETS IS IMPORTANT
FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AND ALIEN WORLDS THAT ORBIT DISTANT STARS.
BUT WE NOW HAVE COUNTLESS OBSERVATIONS OF GAS GIANTS
ORBITING OTHER STARS.
THEY'RE GIANT JUPITER-LIKE PLANETS NOT LIKE EARTH,
AND SO WE NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
HOW PLANETS LIKE JUPITER WORK IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND
HOW PLANETS BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM WORK.
Narrator: ON THE EARTH,
WE KNOW THAT HEAT FROM THE SUN DRIVES THE WEATHER
BY WARMING THE ATMOSPHERE AND WATER ON THE SURFACE.
SO THE MOST FEROCIOUS STORMS ARE FOUND
WHERE THERE IS THE MOST SUNLIGHT.
Oluseyi: WEATHER ON EARTH IS PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY SUNLIGHT,
AND WHERE THE GROUND AND THE OCEANS ARE HOTTEST,
NEAR THE EQUATOR AND JUST ABOVE AND JUST BELOW,
IS WHERE THE WEATHER GETS REALLY SERIOUS.
WE GET HURRICANES, AND OVER LAND, WE GET TORNADOES.
Narrator: BUT JUPITER ORBITS AROUND 370 MILLION MILES
FURTHER AWAY FROM THE SUN,
SO IT RECEIVES LESS THAN 4% OF THE HEAT
THAT FALLS ON THE EARTH,
YET STORMS COVER ALMOST ITS ENTIRE SURFACE.
WHAT DRIVES SUCH AN EXCESS OF WEATHER ON JUPITER?
THE STORMS THEMSELVES PROVIDE ANOTHER CLUE.
THE SPACE PROBE JUNO DETECTS THAT THE VERY BOTTOM
OF THE STORMS ARE WARMER THAN THE TOP.
HIDDEN INSIDE JUPITER IS THE HEAT SOURCE
THAT POWERS ITS PHENOMENAL WEATHER.
JUPITER'S CORE IS A SEETHING FURNACE,
SIZZLING AT A FEROCIOUS 43,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
IT HEATS THE LAYERS OF GAS ABOVE
AND CREATES TURBULENT SWIRLING PLUMES
THAT PUNCH THEIR WAY UP TOWARDS JUPITER'S SURFACE...
...FORMING POWERFUL STORMS, LIKE THE ONES HELD
IN THE PERFECT OCTAGON AT THE NORTH POLE OF THE PLANET.
♪
WHEN YOU'RE FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN
OUT BY JUPITER OR SATURN,
THE HEAT IS COMING FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE PLANET.
IT'S ALMOST SORT OF LIKE INSIDE-OUT WEATHER.
Narrator: TODAY, ASTRONOMERS USE THE GAS GIANT'S EPIC WEATHER
TO SOLVE ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES --
IF THE SUN ISN'T HEATING JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE,
WHY IS ITS ATMOSPHERE SO HOT?
JUPITER'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE SIZZLES
AT MORE THAN 700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT WARMER
THAN SCIENTISTS EXPECT, AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY.
ASTRONOMER TOM STALLARD HAS A SURPRISING THEORY.
HE BELIEVES JUPITER'S LARGEST STORMS
MAY BE HEATING THE ATMOSPHERE ABOVE THEM.
HE USES NASA'S INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY HERE
ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA, ON HAWAII'S BIG ISLAND,
TO HUNT FOR THE EVIDENCE.
Stallard: IF WE CAN FIND NEW SOURCES OF ENERGY OR THE WAYS
THAT THAT ENERGY IS MOVING AROUND IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE,
IT MIGHT LEAD TO A RESOLUTION FOR THIS MYSTERY
OF WHY THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OF JUPITER IS SO HOT.
Narrator: TOM USES THE TELESCOPE TO LOOK FOR HEAT GIVEN OFF
BY JUPITER'S SEETHING STORMS.
ANYTHING HOT GIVES OFF INFRARED LIGHT.
HUMANS CAN'T SEE THIS TYPE OF LIGHT, BUT THIS TELESCOPE CAN.
THE DIFFICULTY IS THAT EVERYTHING THAT IS HOT
GIVES OFF INFRARED LIGHT, INCLUDING THE TELESCOPE.
Stallard: IF ANYTHING IN THE TELESCOPE IS HOT,
WE'LL JUST SEE THE NOISE FROM THE TELESCOPE,
SO EVERY NIGHT WE HAVE TO PUMP THROUGH MORE LIQUID NITROGEN
TO KEEP THE INSTRUMENTATION COLD.
♪
Narrator: WITH THE TELESCOPE NICELY CHILLED,
TOM SEARCHES FOR ANY HEAT PRODUCED
BY JUPITER'S INCREDIBLE WEATHER.
Stallard: SO HERE IT IS. SO THIS IS JUPITER.
IT'S POSITIONED PRETTY WELL RIGHT NOW,
SO WE'LL START TAKING DATA,
AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAP OUT THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OF JUPITER.
Narrator: IF JUPITER'S STORMS ARE GENERATING HEAT,
AS TOM SUSPECTS,
THERE'S ONE OBVIOUS PLACE TO START THE SEARCH.
Oluseyi: THERE'S A LOT OF STORMS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AT ALL TIMES,
BUT THERE'S ONE STORM THAT'S THE KING OF STORMS,
AND THAT'S JUPITER'S GREAT RED SPOT.
Narrator: IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM'S LARGEST STORM,
THE GREAT RED SPOT,
SUPERHEATING JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE?
AND IF SO, HOW?
THE ANSWERS COULD HELP ASTRONOMERS UNLOCK THE SECRETS
OF THE MYSTERIOUS GAS-SHROUDED PLANETS.
♪
Narrator: JUPITER'S GREAT RED SPOT IS A PLANET-SIZED CYCLONE.
370 MILE PER HOUR WINDS SHAKE THE STORM,
WHICH TOWERS NEARLY 5 MILES ABOVE THE CLOUD LAYER.
TOM STALLARD WANTS TO KNOW IF THIS INCREDIBLE WEATHER
IS SO POWERFUL THAT IT HEATS THE ATMOSPHERE ABOVE IT.
Stallard: WE WANT TO GO TO THE BIGGEST AND BADDEST STORMS,
AND THE GREAT RED SPOT
IS THE LARGEST STORM IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
SO IF IT'S HAPPENING FROM ANYWHERE, IT'S HAPPENING THERE.
WE HAVE MEASUREMENTS FROM POLE TO POLE,
BUT RIGHT ON TOP OF THE GREAT RED SPOT,
IT'S SIGNIFICANTLY BRIGHTER,
AND IT'S BRIGHTER BECAUSE IT'S HOTTER,
SO THAT'S SHOWING US DIRECTLY
THAT THE REGION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
ABOVE THE GREAT RED SPOT IS SUPERHEATED BY SOME PROCESS.
Narrator: TOM HAS COME UP WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY THEORY.
HE THINKS THE SOUND OF THE STORM HEATS THE ATMOSPHERE.
AND IT'S EFFECTIVELY THAT HOWLING THAT YOU HEAR
IN THOSE TERRIBLE VIDEOS OF HURRICANES
WHERE WE CAN HEAR THAT TERRIBLE, EERIE HOWL.
Man: HOLY MACKEREL.
Narrator: TOM BELIEVES THIS THUNDEROUS SOUND
HAS AN ASTONISHING EFFECT TO THE VERY TOP OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE MOST VIOLENT AND LOUDEST PART OF THE GREAT RED SPOT
IS WHERE THE GIANT STORM BUTTS UP
AGAINST THE REST OF JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE.
OUT HERE, AT THE EDGE OF THE STORM,
WINDS ARE AT THEIR FASTEST AND MOST TURBULENT.
THEY SMASH INTO WINDS OUTSIDE THE STORM.
THESE COLLISIONS CREATE POWERFUL SOUND WAVES,
WHICH SPREAD UPWARDS.
AS THESE HIGH-ENERGY SOUND WAVES
REACH THE EDGE OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE,
THEY BECOME UNSTABLE AND FINALLY RELEASE THE ENERGY AS HEAT.
♪
THE GREAT RED SPOT IS NOT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN
ALL OF JUPITER'S EXTRA HEAT,
BUT THE PLANET'S OTHER STORMS MAY LEND A HELPING HAND.
THE THING ABOUT JUPITER IS THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE
JUST ONE CYCLONE.
THE GREAT RED SPOT IS THE BIGGEST,
THE BADDEST, AND THE MOST NOTICEABLE,
BUT THE SURFACE IS COVERED WITH CYCLONES,
SO THE GREAT RED SPOT IS HEATING THE ATMOSPHERE.
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF ALL THESE OTHER CYCLONES GOING ON?
Narrator: IT'S AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY,
THE DEAFENING SOUND OF JUPITER'S GREATEST STORMS
HEATING THE PLANET,
AND IT SHOWS THAT WEATHER IS AN INTRINSIC PART
OF HOW THESE GIANT PLANETS WORK.
Tremblay: THIS OBSERVATION OF THE GREAT RED SPOT ON JUPITER
OPENS A NEW WINDOW INTO OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF HOW A SINGLE MASSIVE STORM CAN AFFECT AN ENTIRE PLANET.
Narrator: THE WILD WEATHER ON THE GAS GIANTS
EXPOSES THEIR INNER WORKINGS,
AND THE GREAT RED SPOT MAY BE ABOUT
TO REVEAL MORE SECRETS ABOUT JUPITER.
IT'S SET TO GO THROUGH
A PARTICULARLY SHOCKING TRANSFORMATION.
ASTRONOMERS ARE WORRIED THAT THE GREAT STORM
MAY BE ABOUT TO DIE.
Howett: THE GREAT RED SPOT IS SO BIG,
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE IT FROM THE EARTH FOR A LONG TIME.
IT'S POSSIBLE, ACTUALLY, OBSERVATIONS MADE IN THE 1600s
WERE VIEWING THE SAME SPOT.
Narrator: THE STORM HAS BEEN OUR CONSTANT COMPANION
FOR NEARLY AS LONG AS WE'VE HAD TELESCOPES,
BUT ASTRONOMER AMY SIMON
IS DETECTING ALARMING CHANGES IN THE GREAT RED SPOT.
SHE STUDIES THE STORM WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.
HUBBLE IS PARTICULARLY SPECIAL TO US BECAUSE OF ITS LONGEVITY.
IT'S NOW BEEN IN ORBIT FOR 28 YEARS,
SO WE CAN START TO PIECE TOGETHER
THIS LONG-TERM PICTURE OF HOW THE GREAT RED SPOT IS CHANGING.
Narrator: THESE HUBBLE IMAGES REVEAL THAT THE GREAT RED SPOT
IS SHRINKING ALARMINGLY AND CHANGING COLOR,
BECOMING MORE INTENSELY ORANGE.
NOW, AMY HAS DISCOVERED A WORRYING NEW DEVELOPMENT
THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE CHANGES
AND THREATEN THE STORM'S EXISTENCE.
BY USING SPECIAL CAMERA FILTERS ON HUBBLE,
WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THAT THE GREAT RED SPOT
IS NOT ONLY GETTING SMALLER, IT'S GETTING TALLER.
EACH YEAR, IT'S GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER.
♪
Narrator: IT'S THIS CHANGE IN HEIGHT
THAT COULD ULTIMATELY SEAL ITS FATE.
140 YEARS AGO,
THE GREAT RED SPOT WAS THREE TIMES WIDER THAN THE EARTH.
TODAY, IT'S LESS THAN HALF THAT SIZE,
AND IT'S GETTING SMALLER.
BUT AS ITS WAISTLINE SHRINKS,
IT'S STRETCHING UPWARDS,
STICKING UP HIGHER INTO THE ATMOSPHERE,
WHERE SUNLIGHT BAKES IT A DEEP ORANGE.
AS IT GROWS TALLER, IT BEGINS TO ENCOUNTER WINDS
IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE.
THESE WINDS COULD TEAR THE STORM APART.
THE GREAT RED SPOT COULD BE DESTROYED FAR SOONER
THAN ANYONE THOUGHT.
IMAGINING JUPITER WITHOUT ITS GREAT RED SPOT IS LIKE
IMAGINING SATURN WITHOUT ITS RINGS.
THAT'S A DAMN SHAME.
♪
Narrator: BUT THE DEATH OF THE GREAT RED SPOT
COULD ALSO REVEAL NEW SECRETS ABOUT THE GIANT PLANET.
PLANETS ARE PLANETS. THEY DO WHAT THEY DO.
THEY'RE DYNAMIC AND CHANGE ALL THE TIME,
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT MAKES THEM INTERESTING.
SO ALTHOUGH ON A PERSONAL LEVEL IT WOULD BE SAD,
IT WOULD BE FANTASTICALLY INTERESTING FOR THE SCIENCE.
Howett: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.
MAYBE IT CONTINUES TO SHRINK AND DIES AWAY.
MAYBE SOMETHING NEW COMES UP AS A RESULT OF THAT,
OR MAYBE IT GROWS AGAIN.
I FEEL A BIT TORN. ON THE ONE HAND,
SAD AT THE LOSS OF ANY ICON, AND THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR,
BUT EXCITED TO SEE WHAT WILL REPLACE IT.
Narrator: EVEN WITHOUT THE GREAT RED SPOT,
JUPITER'S STORMS ARE BRASH, BOLD, AND ALWAYS ON SHOW,
A WINDOW INTO WHAT IS HAPPENING WITHIN THE PLANET.
BUT JUPITER'S NEIGHBOR SATURN APPEARS TO BE VERY DIFFERENT.
SATURN LIES TWICE AS FAR FROM THE SUN AS JUPITER,
OVER 600 MILLION MILES AWAY FROM OUR STAR,
IN THE FROZEN OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM.
AT FIRST GLANCE, SATURN SEEMS INCREDIBLY CALM.
Thaller: COMPARED TO A TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE
LIKE WE SEE ON THE PLANET JUPITER,
SATURN IS VERY CALM, VERY SERENE.
Narrator: BUT ROUGHLY EVERY 30 YEARS,
SOMETHING ASTONISHING HAPPENS --
THE MOTHER OF ALL STORMS ERUPTS, SEEMINGLY OUT OF NOWHERE.
IF YOU LOOK AT AN IMAGE OF SATURN,
IT LOOKS REALLY SMOOTH
WITH THESE REALLY CLEAN BANDS PAINTED AROUND THE PLANET,
BUT THEN, BAM! THIS 30-YEAR STORM POPS UP,
AND IT'S AN INDICATION THAT BENEATH THESE PRISTINE CLOUDS
IS CHAOS BELOW.
Narrator: WHAT CAUSES THESE MASSIVE STORMS
TO RISE UP ON SATURN JUST ONCE EVERY 30 YEARS?
♪
Narrator: ASTRONOMERS ARE USING THE WEATHER ON THE GIANT PLANETS
TO DISCOVER THEIR HIDDEN SECRETS,
BUT FOR MOST OF THE TIME,
SATURN HAS VERY LITTLE WEATHER ON SHOW
UNTIL SUDDENLY, EVERY 30 YEARS OR SO,
A GIANT STORM BREAKS OUT IN THE CLOUD TOPS.
EVERYTHING CHANGES AT THAT MOMENT,
AND STORMS BUBBLE UP FROM DEEP INSIDE THE ATMOSPHERE
AND STREAM ALL THE WAY AROUND THE GIANT PLANET.
Narrator: RECENTLY, ASTRONOMERS SPOTTED
ONE OF SATURN'S INCREDIBLY RARE STORMS.
A TOWERING THUNDERHEAD ERUPTS UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET,
WIDER THAN THE EARTH AND MORE THAN 150 MILES HIGH.
WITHIN ITS BRIGHT WHITE CLOUDS,
WINDS HOWL AT MORE THAN 370 MILES PER HOUR.
DEEP IN THE CLOUDS, BRILLIANT BLUE LIGHTNING CRACKLES,
EACH STRIKE 10,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THOSE ON EARTH.
THE THUNDERHEAD SENDS CLOUDS STREAMING OUT OVER 60,000 MILES
AS THE STORM RAGES FOR MORE THAN 6 MONTHS.
WHAT CAUSES THESE GIANT STORMS TO ERUPT SEEMINGLY
OUT OF NOWHERE, AND WHAT SECRETS CAN THEY REVEAL
ABOUT SATURN'S INTERNAL STRUCTURE?
THE FIRST CLUE IS THAT SATURN MAY NOT BE AS CALM
AS IT INITIALLY LOOKS.
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST SARAH HORST
THINKS SATURN'S STORMS ACTUALLY RAGE 365 DAYS A YEAR,
BUT THEY'RE NORMALLY HIDDEN FROM VIEW.
SHE'S CONVINCED THAT A BLANKET OF TINY SOLID PARTICLES,
A HAZE LAYER, WRAPS AROUND SATURN,
BLOCKING OUR VIEW OF THE RAGING STORMS BELOW.
Horst: WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT THE HAZE PARTICLES
DON'T LET US SEE AS DEEP DOWN IN SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE
AS WE CAN IN JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE.
Narrator: WHERE DO THESE PARTICLES COME FROM?
SARAH BELIEVES SUNLIGHT CREATES THE HAZE LAYER
AT THE VERY TOP OF SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE.
TO TEST HER THEORY,
SHE NEEDS TO MAKE A SAMPLE OF THE PLANET'S CLOUDS.
Horst: IN THE SATURN ATMOSPHERE EXPERIMENT THAT WE'RE RUNNING,
YOU MIX TOGETHER HYDROGEN,
WHICH IS THE MAIN CONSTITUENT IN SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE,
AND HELIUM, WHICH IS THE SECOND MOST ABUNDANT MOLECULE,
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF METHANE AND A LITTLE BIT OF AMMONIA.
Narrator: THE GASES MIX IN A VACUUM CHAMBER.
SARAH THINKS THAT SUNLIGHT BREAKS APART THESE GASES,
WHICH THEN REFORM AS TINY SOLID HAZE PARTICLES.
TO TEST THAT, SHE NEEDS A SOURCE OF ENERGY
TO MIMIC THE EFFECT OF THE SUN.
I CAN'T PUT A STAR IN MY LAB AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO,
SO INSTEAD, WE HAVE TO KIND OF FAKE IT.
THE PLASMA THAT WE'RE USING IS SIMILAR TO
THE MOST ENERGETIC PHOTONS THAT COME FROM THE SUN.
Narrator: HAS SARAH TRANSFORMED SATURN'S GASSY ATMOSPHERE
INTO A SOLID HAZE?
SO IF WE USE THIS FLASHLIGHT, WE CAN LOOK INSIDE AND SEE,
AND IT TURNS OUT WE ALREADY HAVE A BUNCH OF BROWN MATERIAL
THAT HAS STARTED TO COLLECT ON THE WALLS OF THE CHAMBER.
Narrator: THE BACK OF THE CHAMBER IS COVERED
WITH A DARK BROWN SLUDGE.
SARAH REMOVES THE SLUDGE FROM THE VACUUM CHAMBER.
IT'S THIS SUBSTANCE THAT SARAH THINKS FORMS A BLANKET
AROUND THE TOP OF SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE.
TO COMPLETE HER EXPERIMENT, SARAH HAS TO PROVE
THAT THESE PARTICLES CAN BLOCK OUR VIEW OF SATURN'S STORMS.
SO SHE EXAMINES WHAT HAPPENS TO LIGHT
WHEN IT SHINES THROUGH THE PARTICLES.
ACTUALLY, THERE'S A HUGE RANGE OF SUNLIGHT
THAT IS JUST NOT GETTING THROUGH THE HAZE PARTICLES.
Narrator: THE RESULTS SHOW HOW THE HAZE LAYER ABSORBS
AND SCATTERS MOST LIGHT,
MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THE PLANET BELOW.
BUT THE SPACE PROBE CASSINI'S INFRARED CAMERAS
CAN SEE THROUGH THIS HAZE.
IT CAPTURES THESE AMAZING IMAGES
THAT PROVE THAT STORMS CRISSCROSS SATURN.
IT'S NOT THAT SATURN DOESN'T HAVE ALL THESE FEATURES.
IT'S THAT SATURN HAS A HAZE LAYER
THAT BLOCKS OUR VIEW OF THEM.
SO SATURN IS RAGING LIKE JUPITER IS.
WE JUST DON'T SEE IT.
♪
Narrator: WHAT MAKES THESE PLANET-SIZED THUNDERSTORMS
SUDDENLY THRUST UPWARD ALMOST 100 MILES,
PUNCHING THROUGH THE VERY TOP OF THE HAZE LAYER?
♪
ASTRONOMER BRIGETTE HESMAN USES THE CASSINI SPACE PROBE
TO TRY AND UNLOCK THE MYSTERY OF THE 30-YEAR STORMS.
Hesman: WHEN WE LAUNCHED CASSINI, WE HAD NO PLANS
THAT WE WOULD EVER BE ABLE TO STUDY ONE OF THESE STORMS,
BECAUSE THE LAST STORM THAT WE SAW ON SATURN
WAS IN THE 1990s,
WHICH PREDICTED THAT THE NEXT STORM
WE WOULD SEE WOULD BE IN THE 2020s,
AND CASSINI WOULD BE LONG GONE BEFORE THEN.
Narrator: BUT CASSINI IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE
AT THE RIGHT TIME
WHEN THE NEXT GIANT STORM STRIKES EARLY.
♪
BRIGETTE AND THE TEAM SCRAMBLE TO GATHER AS MUCH DATA
AS THEY CAN FROM THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY.
TODAY, SHE WORKS WITH SOUND ENGINEER ED TATRO
TO INVESTIGATE ONE PARTICULAR PIECE OF DATA FROM CASSINI.
[ CRACKLING SOUNDS ]
Hesman: THIS IS THE SOUND OF CRACKLING FROM SATURN,
AND IT'S ACTUALLY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
IN THE WATER CLOUDS.
[ THUNDERCLAP ]
Narrator: THIS CRACKLING IS FROM THE BLUE LIGHTNING
WITHIN THE GIANT STORM.
[ CRACKLING SOUNDS CONTINUE ]
CASSINI CAPTURES THE LIGHTNING AS BURSTS OF RADIO WAVES.
THE SHEER POWER OF THE STORM IS BREATHTAKING.
SLOWED DOWN, IT'S POSSIBLE TO HEAR INDIVIDUAL BURSTS
FROM THE STORM.
[ CRACKLING SOUNDS CONTINUE ]
10 GIANT BOLTS OF LIGHTNING STRIKE EVERY SECOND.
EACH STRIKE IS 10,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY HERE ON EARTH.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FEROCIOUS STORMS
EVER RECORDED IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
THE STORM RAGES FOR 6 MONTHS,
RELEASING A DEVASTATING AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
Hesman: THINK ABOUT THE WORST THUNDER OR LIGHTNING STORM
THAT YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN ON PLANET EARTH.
YOU CAN HEAR THE THUNDER AND LIGHTNING CLAPS,
AND MULTIPLY THAT BY A FACTOR OF 10,000 TIMES,
AND IMAGINE HOW YOU WOULD FEEL THAT YOU HAD
NOWHERE YOU COULD GO THAT WOULD BE SAFE.
WE'D HAVE NOTHING LEFT ON OUR PLANET.
Narrator: BRIGETTE THINKS THESE FEROCIOUS 30-YEAR STORMS
REVEAL THERE MAY BE SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL
ABOUT SATURN'S INTERNAL STRUCTURE.
THE STORMS BEHAVE LIKE A PRESSURE VALVE
TO SUDDENLY RELEASE ENERGY BOTTLED UP INSIDE THE PLANET.
SATURN IS KIND OF LIKE A VOLCANO.
THE PRESSURE BUILDS AND BUILDS AND BUILDS AND BUILDS,
AND THEN IT EXPLODES SPECTACULARLY
INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
Narrator: HIDING BENEATH SATURN'S HAZE LAYER...
...IS THE PLANET'S CHURNING ATMOSPHERE.
HEAT FROM THE CORE WARMS
THE LOWER LEVELS OF THIS STORM LAYER.
THE HOT GASES CAN'T RISE UP TO THE SURFACE,
SO ENERGY BUILDS UP UNTIL EVENTUALLY IT ERUPTS,
SENDING THUNDERCLOUDS RACING UPWARDS ALMOST 100 MILES,
PUNCHING THROUGH THE HAZE LAYER
AND BURSTING OUT ONTO THE SURFACE,
RELEASING 30 YEARS OF PENT-UP ENERGY
IN A SINGLE VIOLENT BURST.
♪
STUDYING THESE EPIC WEATHER EVENTS IS REVOLUTIONIZING
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GIANT PLANETS,
KNOWLEDGE WE COULD APPLY TO THE NEW WORLDS
DISCOVERED OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
EVERY STORM THAT WE OBSERVE GIVES US A CLUE
ABOUT HOW THAT PLANET WORKS,
AND EACH PLANET WORKS DIFFERENTLY.
Narrator: MANY MYSTERIES REMAIN UNSOLVED.
WHAT WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WEATHER LURKS EVEN FURTHER OUT
IN THE REALM OF THE ICE GIANTS URANUS AND NEPTUNE?
AND ON NEPTUNE, ARE GIANT DIAMONDS
CAUSING THE STRONGEST WINDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
♪
Narrator: FAR OUT BEYOND THE GAS GIANT PLANETS
LIES THE FROZEN OUTER REALM OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
THE LAYER OF THE ICE GIANTS URANUS AND NEPTUNE.
TO ME, SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING MYSTERIES
STILL LEFT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM HAVE TO BE URANUS AND NEPTUNE,
THE ICE GIANTS.
Narrator: VOYAGER 2 IS THE ONLY SPACECRAFT
TO EVER VISIT THESE DISTANT PLANETS,
FLASHING PAST IN THE LATE 1980s.
IT SENDS BACK ASTONISHING IMAGES OF THE ICE GIANTS.
ASTRONOMERS EXPECT THERE TO BE LITTLE WEATHER ON SHOW.
Thaller: IT IS VERY, VERY COLD OUT THERE.
YOU WOULD THINK THE WEATHER WOULD BE VERY CALM.
THERE'S NO CONVECTION,
THERE'S NO HEAT, NO ENERGY, REALLY, TO GET ANYTHING GOING.
Narrator: THESE VOYAGER IMAGES OF URANUS DO INDEED
SEEM TO SHOW A FRIGID WORLD WITH NO WEATHER,
BUT NEPTUNE SHOCKS EVERYONE.
VOYAGER SEES A GIANT STORM RAGING ON ITS SURFACE
AND WINDS TEARING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE
AT OVER 1,000 MILES PER HOUR.
IF YOU WERE TO GUESS,
YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE A VERY CALM PLACE.
BUT IN FACT, NEPTUNE HAS THE FASTEST SPEED WINDS
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
Narrator: WHAT DRIVES THESE INCREDIBLE WINDS?
AND WHAT SECRETS CAN THEY REVEAL ABOUT THE INNER WORKINGS
OF THE MOST DISTANT PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?
ASTROPHYSICIST DOMINIK KRAUS BELIEVES THAT NEPTUNE'S WINDS
ARE A TANTALIZING CLUE TO AN ASTONISHING PROCESS
HAPPENING DEEP WITHIN THE PLANET,
A COSMIC ALCHEMY
THAT IS TRANSFORMING NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERE
INTO A PRECIOUS MINERAL, WHICH CREATES EXTRA HEAT.
THE KEY MAY LIE INSIDE NEPTUNE,
SO THEY ARE VERY EXOTIC CONDITIONS,
WHICH MAY DRIVE SOME REALLY INTERESTING CHEMISTRY.
Narrator: TO TEST HIS THEORY, DOMINIK COMES
TO THE NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORY IN CALIFORNIA.
HERE, HE'LL USE POWERFUL LASERS TO RECREATE CONDITIONS
IN THE DEPTHS OF NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERE.
Kraus: DEEP INSIDE THESE PLANETS,
WE HAVE VERY HIGH PRESSURES AND ALSO VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES
WITH PRESSURES LIKE 5 MILLION TIMES
OR EVEN 8 MILLION TIMES THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
WE HAVE HERE IN EARTH.
Narrator: DOMINIK BELIEVES THIS INTENSE HEAT AND PRESSURE
TRANSFORMS THE ATMOSPHERE INTO DIAMONDS.
THESE DIAMONDS THEN INTERACT WITH NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERE,
CREATING HEAT THAT HELPS DRIVE THE PLANET'S CRAZY WINDS.
TO SIMULATE NEPTUNE'S CARBON AND HYDROGEN-RICH ATMOSPHERE,
HE USES A SURPRISING STAND-IN.
Kraus: THIS IS A VERY SIMPLE SAMPLE THAT WE USE.
IT'S JUST PIECE OF PLASTIC, SO IT'S POLYSTYRENE,
SO THIS IS CARBON AND HYDROGEN
AND NOTHING ELSE, AS YOU FIND INSIDE NEPTUNE.
Narrator: IT MAY SOUND STRANGE, BUT PLASTIC IS
THE PERFECT SUBSTITUTE FOR NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERE.
DOMINIK PLACES A TINY SAMPLE OF THE PLASTIC
INSIDE A GIANT REACTION CHAMBER.
Kraus: AND YOU SEE THE GREEN BRIGHT SPOT.
WE PUT OUR SAMPLE HERE.
Narrator: WITHIN THE CHAMBER, POWERFUL LASER BEAMS
WILL RECREATE THE INTENSE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE
FOUND DEEP WITHIN NEPTUNE.
TO MONITOR WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PLASTIC
DURING THE EXPERIMENT,
DOMINIK WILL EXPOSE THE SAMPLE TO A BEAM OF X-RAYS.
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE PLASTIC
SCATTERS THE X-RAYS IN A PARTICULAR WAY.
IT CREATES AN IMAGE
WITH DISTINCT BANDS OF LIGHT ACROSS IT.
IF HIS THEORY IS RIGHT,
AND THE PLASTIC DOES TURN TO DIAMOND,
THIS PATTERN SHOULD CHANGE.
THREE...
TWO...
ONE.
[ BEEP, WHIRS ]
Narrator: THE EXACT MOMENT THE LASER FIRES...
[ BEEP, WHIRS ]
...THE X-RAY PATTERN CHANGES.
IT'S A PHENOMENAL RESULT.
NOW WE DID NOT EXPECT THIS TO HAPPEN,
AND THIS CLARITY HERE, THAT YOU CAN REALLY SEE THIS RING
THAT SHARPLY IS REALLY STUNNING.
SO THIS RING IS A REFLECTION
FROM THE CRYSTAL PLANES IN THE DIAMOND,
SO IT HAS A UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED DIAMOND
AS THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE.
Narrator: PRESSURE TRANSFORMS THE PLASTIC,
CRUSHING THE CARBON TOGETHER...
[ BEEP, WHIR ] ...TO FORM DIAMOND.
♪
DOMINIK'S EXPERIMENT PROVES
THAT DIAMONDS CAN FORM WITHIN NEPTUNE.
BUT HOW DO THOSE DIAMONDS GENERATE HEAT AND ENERGY
TO FUEL THE PLANET'S FEROCIOUS STORMS?
♪
Narrator: AT THE NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORY
IN CALIFORNIA,
ASTROPHYSICIST DOMINIK KRAUS RECREATES THE CONDITIONS
DEEP INSIDE NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERE.
HE IS CONVINCED NEPTUNE'S CARBON-RICH ATMOSPHERE
CREATES DIAMONDS ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE.
BUT HOW DO THEY FUEL THE PLANET'S FEROCIOUS STORMS?
MORE THAN 6,000 MILES BELOW NEPTUNE'S SURFACE STORMS,
WITHIN AN OCEAN OF WATER AND CARBON-RICH SLUSH,
HUMAN-SIZED DIAMONDS SPONTANEOUSLY FORM.
♪
THEY GENERATE HEAT THROUGH FRICTION
AS THEY PLUMMET DOWN THROUGH THE OCEAN...
♪
...BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE PLANET'S CORE
AND RELEASING YET MORE ENERGY.
♪
ALL THAT COMBINED HEAT
COULD HELP SUPERCHARGE NEPTUNE'S WINDS AND WEATHER.
THESE DIAMONDS COULD BE GENERATING HEAT,
ENERGY THAT THEN RISES TO THE SURFACE
AND HELPS POWER THE WEATHER THERE.
Narrator: DIAMOND RAIN
CREATING EPIC WEATHER --
IT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXTRAORDINARY CONCEPT.
BUT DIAMOND RAIN MAY BE INCREDIBLY COMMON,
FALLING IN HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF FROZEN WORLDS
ACROSS THE GALAXY.
Kraus: PLANETS LIKE ICE GIANTS
ARE VERY COMMON IN OUR MILKY WAY GALAXY.
WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THESE PLANETS APPEARING,
SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO UNDERSTAND
HOW THESE PLANETS ARE FORMING, HOW THEY FUNCTION ON THE INSIDE
BECAUSE THEY'RE SO COMMON.
♪
Narrator: DOMINIK'S LAB-BASED EXPERIMENTS ARE CRUCIAL,
AS IT WILL BE MANY YEARS
BEFORE ANY SPACE PROBE REACHES URANUS OR NEPTUNE.
Tremblay: IT'S ABOUT A 5-YEAR CRUISE
FOR OUR FASTEST SPACECRAFT TO GET TO JUPITER
AND MUCH, MUCH LONGER THAN THAT TO GET TO NEPTUNE,
AND SO THESE ARE REALLY GRAND ADVENTURES
THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERTAKE IN ORDER TO VOYAGE
TO THESE SYSTEMS AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THEM
FROM A CLOSE-UP VIEW.
Narrator: BEFORE THEN, ASTRONOMERS WILL GET
A CLOSER LOOK AT THESE DISTANT STORMS
THANKS TO THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE.
THE JAMES WEBB IS THE SUCCESSOR TO HUBBLE,
AND FOR BRIGETTE HESMAN,
THE TELESCOPE PROMISES TO OPEN UP
ONE OF THE LEAST EXPLORED REGIONS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
Hesman: URANUS AND NEPTUNE ARE OUR OBJECTS
THAT REALLY HAVEN'T HAD SPACECRAFT
THAT ARE DEDICATED TO OBSERVATIONS OF THEM.
JAMES WEBB IS A VERY LARGE TELESCOPE,
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE WILL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE THESE OBJECTS
IN WAY THAT WE'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE.
Narrator: BRIGETTE HOPES THIS NEW INSIGHT
WILL HELP ANSWER THE MANY MYSTERIES
THAT STILL SURROUND THESE DISTANT PLANETS.
Hesman: WE STILL HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
HOW WEATHER WORKS ON THEM.
WE DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING
OF THE WIND PATTERNS ON THESE OBJECTS.
THERE'S A LOT LEFT TO UNLOCK.
Narrator: AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE
THE FAR REACHES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
WE DISCOVER EVERMORE EXTRAORDINARY WEATHER,
PHENOMENA THAT ARE SHOCKING IN THEIR SCALE,
FEROCITY, AND STRANGENESS.
Plait: THE SOLAR SYSTEM IS SO VARIED, SO DIVERSE --
GIGANTIC STORMS ON JUPITER,
CLUSTERS OF CYCLONES AT BOTH POLES,
A WEIRD HEXAGON ON SATURN'S POLE,
GIGANTIC STORMS THAT ERUPT OUT
AND THEN WRAP ALL THE WAY AROUND THE PLANET,
NEPTUNE WITH ITS INCREDIBLE WINDS.
I DON'T EXPECT THE OUTER PLANETS TO LOOK LIKE THE EARTH,
BUT THEY'RE SO DIFFERENT.
Narrator: EACH STRANGE STORM WE DISCOVER
TRANSFORMS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE GIANT PLANETS.
EVERY TIME WE LOOK, WE'RE SURPRISED.
WE SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.
SOMETHING CHANGES SUDDENLY THAT WE JUST COULDN'T HAVE PREDICTED.
Thaller: THERE ARE GIANT PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
THAT WE'VE NEVER REALLY BEEN TO.
WHAT MYSTERIES ARE THERE THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN IMAGINED YET?
Narrator: WE HAVE BARELY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE
OF WHAT THESE INCREDIBLE STORMS AND WILD WEATHER CAN REVEAL.
THE ONLY THING WE KNOW FOR SURE
IS THAT THERE ARE MORE SURPRISES TO COME.
♪