1 00:00:03,504 --> 00:00:05,904 Narrator: Nasa's revolutionary juno probe 2 00:00:05,906 --> 00:00:08,007 is on a daring voyage to jupiter. 3 00:00:08,009 --> 00:00:10,943 Its goal -- to reveal the the deepest mysteries 4 00:00:10,945 --> 00:00:14,179 of our solar system. 5 00:00:14,181 --> 00:00:17,016 Everything we see in the solar system today 6 00:00:17,018 --> 00:00:20,786 is affected by jupiter somehow in the past or now, 7 00:00:20,788 --> 00:00:22,821 all the asteroids, all the planets, 8 00:00:22,823 --> 00:00:26,025 the moons, the comets, everything. 9 00:00:26,027 --> 00:00:28,660 So in many ways, juno is actually giving us a view 10 00:00:28,662 --> 00:00:30,629 into the history of our planetary system, 11 00:00:30,631 --> 00:00:33,265 even the history of earth. 12 00:00:33,267 --> 00:00:35,701 Narrator: Juno's mission is risky. 13 00:00:35,703 --> 00:00:39,471 Jupiter could eat the spacecraft like that. 14 00:00:39,473 --> 00:00:41,540 Narrator: But by diving perilously close 15 00:00:41,542 --> 00:00:43,575 to this monstrous world, 16 00:00:43,577 --> 00:00:48,313 juno could change everything we know about our solar system. 17 00:00:48,315 --> 00:00:49,748 If you want to know what's happening, 18 00:00:49,750 --> 00:00:51,583 you got to get up close and personal. 19 00:00:51,585 --> 00:00:53,786 ♪ 20 00:00:53,788 --> 00:00:56,622 [ electricity crackles ] 21 00:00:56,624 --> 00:00:59,625 [ explosion ] 22 00:00:59,627 --> 00:01:02,694 -- captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com 23 00:01:02,696 --> 00:01:05,697 captions paid for by discovery communications 24 00:01:05,699 --> 00:01:07,199 ♪ 25 00:01:07,201 --> 00:01:10,736 narrator: Independence day, 2016-- 26 00:01:10,738 --> 00:01:13,505 juno arrives at jupiter 27 00:01:13,507 --> 00:01:15,774 and gets to work. 28 00:01:15,776 --> 00:01:18,043 The probe angles its high-resolution camera 29 00:01:18,045 --> 00:01:21,213 towards this stormy world. 30 00:01:21,215 --> 00:01:24,683 Juno's snaps do not disappoint. 31 00:01:24,685 --> 00:01:29,088 ♪ 32 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:32,591 the images returned from juno are just beautiful. 33 00:01:32,593 --> 00:01:37,796 ♪ 34 00:01:37,798 --> 00:01:43,135 ♪ 35 00:01:43,137 --> 00:01:45,504 plait: Suddenly you have this magnificent mosaic 36 00:01:45,506 --> 00:01:46,605 of this planet. 37 00:01:46,607 --> 00:01:52,444 ♪ 38 00:01:52,446 --> 00:01:54,813 as a human being, I'm like, "oh, my gosh, look at this. 39 00:01:54,815 --> 00:01:58,317 This is amazing. This is coming back from jupiter." 40 00:01:58,319 --> 00:02:00,619 narrator: These are the closest-ever views 41 00:02:00,621 --> 00:02:04,990 of jupiter, a world 500 million miles away. 42 00:02:04,992 --> 00:02:15,000 ♪ 43 00:02:15,002 --> 00:02:19,238 but we didn't send juno just to take pictures. 44 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,943 One of its main goals is to peer deep into jupiter's dark heart. 45 00:02:24,945 --> 00:02:27,613 One of the big questions we have about jupiter is, 46 00:02:27,615 --> 00:02:29,715 does it have a core? 47 00:02:29,717 --> 00:02:31,316 And you'd think, well, of course it has a core 48 00:02:31,318 --> 00:02:32,718 like every planet has a core. 49 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,320 The earth has a core. Everything does. 50 00:02:35,322 --> 00:02:40,092 Well, it turns out, jupiter might not. 51 00:02:40,094 --> 00:02:42,127 Narrator: Knowing what lies at a planet's core 52 00:02:42,129 --> 00:02:46,165 allows scientists to wind back the clock billions of years 53 00:02:46,167 --> 00:02:50,569 to the formation of the planets. 54 00:02:50,571 --> 00:02:54,239 If juno can reveal what lies deep within jupiter, 55 00:02:54,241 --> 00:02:56,141 it could change our understanding 56 00:02:56,143 --> 00:03:00,479 of how the gas giant formed. 57 00:03:00,481 --> 00:03:03,782 If juno finds a solid core, it could mean 58 00:03:03,784 --> 00:03:07,252 jupiter first formed as a rocky planet like earth 59 00:03:07,254 --> 00:03:09,821 then kept growing, 60 00:03:09,823 --> 00:03:12,791 but if juno finds no core, 61 00:03:12,793 --> 00:03:15,827 it could mean that jupiter skipped the rocky stage 62 00:03:15,829 --> 00:03:18,664 and formed straight from a cloud of gas. 63 00:03:18,666 --> 00:03:20,899 ♪ 64 00:03:20,901 --> 00:03:23,669 answering this question could shine a light 65 00:03:23,671 --> 00:03:26,138 on other mysteries, too. 66 00:03:26,140 --> 00:03:28,340 If we can figure out how jupiter formed, 67 00:03:28,342 --> 00:03:32,010 we can figure out the rest of the story of the solar system. 68 00:03:32,012 --> 00:03:34,479 ♪ 69 00:03:34,481 --> 00:03:37,683 so how do you probe down into the interior of a planet 70 00:03:37,685 --> 00:03:40,752 when all you can really see are the very tops of the clouds? 71 00:03:40,754 --> 00:03:43,455 Well, incredibly, you can use gravity. 72 00:03:43,457 --> 00:03:47,559 As juno orbits jupiter, 73 00:03:47,561 --> 00:03:50,495 it can sense in its orbit 74 00:03:50,497 --> 00:03:52,197 tiny little variations 75 00:03:52,199 --> 00:03:56,201 in the gravitational pull of jupiter. 76 00:03:56,203 --> 00:03:58,337 Narrator: As juno speeds around jupiter, 77 00:03:58,339 --> 00:04:01,573 gravitational spikes tug on the craft. 78 00:04:01,575 --> 00:04:06,612 Turns out, some parts of jupiter are denser than others. 79 00:04:06,614 --> 00:04:10,115 If jupiter were some solid ball, then as juno passes by it, 80 00:04:10,117 --> 00:04:13,051 as it passes very close above its cloud tops, 81 00:04:13,053 --> 00:04:15,821 the orbit, the trajectory would be very smooth, 82 00:04:15,823 --> 00:04:18,523 but in fact, if jupiter has layers, 83 00:04:18,525 --> 00:04:20,792 or places where there is more mass 84 00:04:20,794 --> 00:04:23,962 and places where there's less, then it's gonna pull on juno 85 00:04:23,964 --> 00:04:26,365 a little bit differently. 86 00:04:26,367 --> 00:04:29,301 Narrator: Passing over areas of concentrated mass 87 00:04:29,303 --> 00:04:32,638 gives juno a speed boost. 88 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,173 So what they do is, the engineers back on earth 89 00:04:35,175 --> 00:04:36,408 can basically just say, 90 00:04:36,410 --> 00:04:38,377 "how fast is it moving right now? 91 00:04:38,379 --> 00:04:40,045 How about now? How about now?" 92 00:04:40,047 --> 00:04:44,850 and you build up a map of where the mass is in jupiter 93 00:04:44,852 --> 00:04:50,088 underneath the spacecraft as it passes around. 94 00:04:50,090 --> 00:04:52,324 Narrator: Juno's instruments begin to map out 95 00:04:52,326 --> 00:04:55,027 the heart of gas giant, 96 00:04:55,029 --> 00:04:59,998 revealing the mysterious core for the first time. 97 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,501 What juno found was this amorphous mass, 98 00:05:02,503 --> 00:05:05,037 a fuzzy thing in the center of jupiter. 99 00:05:05,039 --> 00:05:07,806 It's not as solid as we expected 100 00:05:07,808 --> 00:05:10,075 if it were just a metal and rock core, 101 00:05:10,077 --> 00:05:13,879 but there is something there. 102 00:05:13,881 --> 00:05:15,380 Narrator: In the center of the planet, 103 00:05:15,382 --> 00:05:18,317 juno detects hydrogen and rocky material 104 00:05:18,319 --> 00:05:22,087 dissolved and blended together. 105 00:05:22,089 --> 00:05:25,791 It's a type of planetary core we've never seen before. 106 00:05:25,793 --> 00:05:29,428 Astronomers describe it as fuzzy. 107 00:05:29,430 --> 00:05:31,363 We thought we were gonna find an avocado. 108 00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:34,333 Instead, we found a bowl of chili. 109 00:05:34,335 --> 00:05:37,803 It's a hydrogen fluid chili con carne. 110 00:05:37,805 --> 00:05:40,305 ♪ 111 00:05:40,307 --> 00:05:42,808 so none of our models of the interior of jupiter 112 00:05:42,810 --> 00:05:44,276 turned out to be correct. 113 00:05:44,278 --> 00:05:48,347 That means we have to go back to the drawing board. 114 00:05:48,349 --> 00:05:50,115 Narrator: One theory is that jupiter 115 00:05:50,117 --> 00:05:53,185 didn't form from rocks or gas 116 00:05:53,187 --> 00:05:56,421 but from tiny pebbles less than an inch wide strewn 117 00:05:56,423 --> 00:06:02,127 across the early solar system 4.6 billion years ago. 118 00:06:02,129 --> 00:06:03,628 These pebbles came together. 119 00:06:03,630 --> 00:06:06,965 They accreted to form a massive object 120 00:06:06,967 --> 00:06:11,403 that was the sort of seed, the core of jupiter. 121 00:06:11,405 --> 00:06:12,838 Narrator: The swarm of pebbles 122 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:16,274 clumped together to form one giant core 123 00:06:16,276 --> 00:06:18,844 20 times the mass of earth, 124 00:06:18,846 --> 00:06:23,248 but these pebbles can't sustain this growing planet for long. 125 00:06:23,250 --> 00:06:24,483 Eventually, we need to make a jump 126 00:06:24,485 --> 00:06:26,151 from those centimeter-size particles 127 00:06:26,153 --> 00:06:30,021 up to really large things, like 100-kilometer planetesimals, 128 00:06:30,023 --> 00:06:32,858 to really kick-start growth of a planet. 129 00:06:32,860 --> 00:06:35,727 ♪ 130 00:06:35,729 --> 00:06:40,365 narrator: As jupiter grows, its appetite becomes insatiable. 131 00:06:40,367 --> 00:06:42,868 The cores of other would-be planets are drawn in 132 00:06:42,870 --> 00:06:46,671 by its immense pull and absorb on impact, 133 00:06:46,673 --> 00:06:51,143 causing jupiter's core to transform. 134 00:06:51,145 --> 00:06:54,980 Huge chunks of incoming rock are mixed up with gas 135 00:06:54,982 --> 00:06:58,583 and the pebbles that originally built the core. 136 00:06:58,585 --> 00:07:01,887 We think that core material that might've been there is actually 137 00:07:01,889 --> 00:07:05,857 dissolved and mixed in with the rest of the planet. 138 00:07:05,859 --> 00:07:08,860 Narrator: This mix of rock, gas, and pebbles 139 00:07:08,862 --> 00:07:11,630 leaves the core in a strange state 140 00:07:11,632 --> 00:07:14,933 somewhere between solid and liquid 141 00:07:14,935 --> 00:07:17,903 or, in other words, fuzzy. 142 00:07:17,905 --> 00:07:20,439 Once jupiter's core reaches a critical mass, 143 00:07:20,441 --> 00:07:24,943 its gravity pulls in all nearby hydrogen gas, 144 00:07:24,945 --> 00:07:27,813 building the jovian atmosphere 145 00:07:27,815 --> 00:07:30,115 and leaving the fuzzy core 146 00:07:30,117 --> 00:07:34,152 trapped beneath thousands of miles of thick clouds. 147 00:07:34,154 --> 00:07:38,790 And that is what formed jupiter as we know and love it today. 148 00:07:38,792 --> 00:07:41,726 Narrator: Juno's discovery of jupiter's fuzzy core 149 00:07:41,728 --> 00:07:43,195 could rewrite the book on 150 00:07:43,197 --> 00:07:47,799 jupiter's early years, but juno is just getting started. 151 00:07:47,801 --> 00:07:50,168 We haven't even scratched the surface 152 00:07:50,170 --> 00:07:55,006 of the number of mysteries there are. 153 00:07:55,008 --> 00:07:57,409 Narrator: There's more to jupiter than meets the eye 154 00:07:57,411 --> 00:08:01,446 as juno's instruments begin to reveal a darker side 155 00:08:01,448 --> 00:08:03,748 to this giant world. 156 00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:06,818 Jupiter's environment is one of the most vicious 157 00:08:06,820 --> 00:08:09,254 in the solar system, and that's because 158 00:08:09,256 --> 00:08:12,691 of its incredibly strong magnetic field. 159 00:08:12,693 --> 00:08:17,662 Narrator: And juno is caught right in the middle of it. 160 00:08:24,438 --> 00:08:30,342 ♪ 161 00:08:30,344 --> 00:08:31,743 narrator: The gas giant jupiter 162 00:08:31,745 --> 00:08:36,481 holds clues to the mysteries of our solar system, 163 00:08:36,483 --> 00:08:38,183 and in 2011, 164 00:08:38,185 --> 00:08:41,887 nasa launched a billion-dollar mission to uncover them. 165 00:08:41,889 --> 00:08:46,157 Man: Three, two, one, ignition. 166 00:08:46,159 --> 00:08:49,094 And liftoff of the atlas v 167 00:08:49,096 --> 00:08:53,231 with juno on a trek to jupiter. 168 00:08:53,233 --> 00:08:54,566 Narrator: To reach its target, 169 00:08:54,568 --> 00:08:57,235 juno embarks on a five-year journey. 170 00:08:57,237 --> 00:09:00,338 ♪ 171 00:09:00,340 --> 00:09:02,674 sending any spacecraft to another planet 172 00:09:02,676 --> 00:09:05,877 is gonna be tough, but sending one to jupiter 173 00:09:05,879 --> 00:09:10,248 is really pushing things pretty hard. 174 00:09:10,250 --> 00:09:12,651 Narrator: Juno weaves through the solar system 175 00:09:12,653 --> 00:09:15,287 with extreme precision. 176 00:09:15,289 --> 00:09:18,056 The craft battles violent temperature changes 177 00:09:18,058 --> 00:09:21,192 and navigates carefully through the asteroid belt. 178 00:09:21,194 --> 00:09:23,962 If there's a fleck of dust in your path 179 00:09:23,964 --> 00:09:26,031 and that thing slams into your spacecraft, 180 00:09:26,033 --> 00:09:28,767 it could do significant damage. 181 00:09:28,769 --> 00:09:31,803 Narrator: 1.7 billion miles into its mission, 182 00:09:31,805 --> 00:09:36,341 juno finally nears its target, 183 00:09:36,343 --> 00:09:39,744 but the probe is hurtling towards jupiter 184 00:09:39,746 --> 00:09:42,547 at 165,000 miles an hour. 185 00:09:42,549 --> 00:09:44,849 Juno is moving really fast. 186 00:09:44,851 --> 00:09:47,552 It's one of the fastest spacecraft ever. 187 00:09:47,554 --> 00:09:50,021 You need to go fast enough to get there, but then you need 188 00:09:50,023 --> 00:09:52,891 to be slow enough to be captured by the gravity of the planet. 189 00:09:52,893 --> 00:09:55,427 You need to get it just right. 190 00:09:55,429 --> 00:09:56,661 Narrator: Entering orbit around 191 00:09:56,663 --> 00:09:59,464 jupiter is the trickiest part of the mission. 192 00:09:59,466 --> 00:10:02,767 Get it wrong and juno could slam into the planet 193 00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:06,571 or drift out into deep space. 194 00:10:06,573 --> 00:10:09,507 To successfully get juno to enter a stable orbit around 195 00:10:09,509 --> 00:10:12,177 jupiter as almost the same as, say, 196 00:10:12,179 --> 00:10:14,179 shooting a basketball from london 197 00:10:14,181 --> 00:10:16,848 and having it on the land on the front of the rim in new york 198 00:10:16,850 --> 00:10:19,117 and just sitting there balanced. 199 00:10:19,119 --> 00:10:23,421 I could do it, but can nasa do it with juno? 200 00:10:23,423 --> 00:10:27,459 [ laughing ] 201 00:10:27,461 --> 00:10:29,594 narrator: Nasa has a neat game plan. 202 00:10:29,596 --> 00:10:32,330 Juno performs a backflip in space 203 00:10:32,332 --> 00:10:35,467 and fires its thruster towards jupiter. 204 00:10:35,469 --> 00:10:37,102 Everything is going smoothly. 205 00:10:37,104 --> 00:10:41,172 We're continuing to burn and change our velocity. 206 00:10:41,174 --> 00:10:44,709 Narrator: The rocket burns for 35 nail-biting minutes, 207 00:10:44,711 --> 00:10:49,047 reducing the craft's speed by 1,200 miles an hour. 208 00:10:49,049 --> 00:10:53,852 ♪ 209 00:10:53,854 --> 00:10:55,286 [ cheering ] 210 00:10:55,288 --> 00:10:59,024 narrator: Finally, the probe achieves orbit around jupiter. 211 00:10:59,026 --> 00:11:01,426 Bolton: Right on July 4th during the fireworks 212 00:11:01,428 --> 00:11:02,694 we just got into orbit. 213 00:11:02,696 --> 00:11:05,330 In many ways, we're firing a rocket motor. 214 00:11:05,332 --> 00:11:09,834 I mean, it is fireworks. 215 00:11:09,836 --> 00:11:11,002 Narrator: Safe in orbit, 216 00:11:11,004 --> 00:11:13,238 juno turns its instruments to the planet 217 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,674 for a crucial part of the mission -- 218 00:11:15,676 --> 00:11:18,276 investigating jupiter's magnetic field. 219 00:11:18,278 --> 00:11:22,514 ♪ 220 00:11:22,516 --> 00:11:26,317 deep below the stormy surface, liquid metallic hydrogen 221 00:11:26,319 --> 00:11:28,687 flows endlessly around the planet, 222 00:11:28,689 --> 00:11:33,291 producing a huge magnetic field. 223 00:11:33,293 --> 00:11:36,995 This magnetosphere stretches over 600 million miles 224 00:11:36,997 --> 00:11:41,966 beyond the planet, reaching all the way to saturn. 225 00:11:41,968 --> 00:11:45,370 If your eyes could actually see jupiter's magnetosphere 226 00:11:45,372 --> 00:11:48,206 and you tried to look at it while standing on earth, 227 00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:52,410 it would look about as big in the sky as the moon. 228 00:11:52,412 --> 00:11:54,713 Narrator: And within this magnetic field, 229 00:11:54,715 --> 00:11:58,917 juno faces an invisible threat. 230 00:11:58,919 --> 00:12:02,387 Jupiter has an enormous magnetic field. 231 00:12:02,389 --> 00:12:05,490 It is so enormous in terms of space, 232 00:12:05,492 --> 00:12:09,627 but also in terms of power. 233 00:12:09,629 --> 00:12:12,263 Narrator: High-energy particles from the sun 234 00:12:12,265 --> 00:12:14,933 are funneled into deadly radiation belts 235 00:12:14,935 --> 00:12:19,871 guided by the giant planet's magnetic field. 236 00:12:19,873 --> 00:12:24,109 The magnetic field traps charged particles coming from the sun 237 00:12:24,111 --> 00:12:26,945 and circulates them around that system 238 00:12:26,947 --> 00:12:30,215 and just bombards anything in the vicinity, 239 00:12:30,217 --> 00:12:34,586 including our fragile little spacecraft. 240 00:12:34,588 --> 00:12:36,087 Narrator: Closer to the planet, 241 00:12:36,089 --> 00:12:38,723 radiation levels are up to 30 times greater 242 00:12:38,725 --> 00:12:41,426 than they were inside the reactor core room 243 00:12:41,428 --> 00:12:44,095 during the chernobyl disaster. 244 00:12:44,097 --> 00:12:45,864 This is radiation. 245 00:12:45,866 --> 00:12:47,599 This is bad news. 246 00:12:47,601 --> 00:12:49,300 These particles, they would hit you. 247 00:12:49,302 --> 00:12:52,537 They would rupture your dna, rupture your cell structures, 248 00:12:52,539 --> 00:12:55,406 and you would die. 249 00:12:55,408 --> 00:12:57,842 Narrator: This blistering radiation is bad news 250 00:12:57,844 --> 00:13:01,279 for the spacecraft as well. 251 00:13:01,281 --> 00:13:04,382 The charged particles threaten to destroy electronic 252 00:13:04,384 --> 00:13:09,854 and navigational systems, but juno has armored up. 253 00:13:09,856 --> 00:13:13,858 Plait: It's not some delicate, beautiful, gossamer thing 254 00:13:13,860 --> 00:13:16,361 that you are sending to orbit jupiter. 255 00:13:16,363 --> 00:13:18,196 It's more like a tank. 256 00:13:18,198 --> 00:13:20,098 You have to protect this thing or else 257 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:24,035 it's not going to last very long at all. 258 00:13:24,037 --> 00:13:27,172 We've got a couple hundred pounds of titanium 259 00:13:27,174 --> 00:13:29,541 on the spacecraft just trying to shield us 260 00:13:29,543 --> 00:13:31,743 from what jupiter might throw at us, 261 00:13:31,745 --> 00:13:36,080 so it is in a sense we're like an armored tank going into war. 262 00:13:36,082 --> 00:13:40,485 Narrator: Lightweight titanium is tough. 263 00:13:40,487 --> 00:13:44,055 Juno's 1/2-inch-thick shielding blocks 99% 264 00:13:44,057 --> 00:13:48,126 of jupiter's vicious radiation. 265 00:13:48,128 --> 00:13:49,727 But even at this reduced rate, 266 00:13:49,729 --> 00:13:53,464 juno can't survive the bombardment for long, 267 00:13:53,466 --> 00:13:56,801 so the craft sets itself on a unique orbit 268 00:13:56,803 --> 00:13:59,571 around the gas giant. 269 00:13:59,573 --> 00:14:01,973 It actually has a very long orbit 270 00:14:01,975 --> 00:14:04,642 where it spends most of its time far away, 271 00:14:04,644 --> 00:14:07,278 and then every once in a while dives in and goes, 272 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,080 "oh, hot, hot, hot, hot. I zoomed in too much," 273 00:14:09,082 --> 00:14:11,783 and then goes safely away to communicate and process 274 00:14:11,785 --> 00:14:15,520 and then back in again. 275 00:14:15,522 --> 00:14:17,322 Narrator: Juno takes a mighty gamble 276 00:14:17,324 --> 00:14:20,024 diving deep into these radiation belts 277 00:14:20,026 --> 00:14:22,861 to achieve one of its key objectives -- 278 00:14:22,863 --> 00:14:26,831 mapping jupiter's giant magnetic field, 279 00:14:26,833 --> 00:14:29,701 and as juno swoops around the planet, 280 00:14:29,703 --> 00:14:35,473 it reveals something scientists have never seen before. 281 00:14:35,475 --> 00:14:36,641 When you look at the earth, 282 00:14:36,643 --> 00:14:38,910 we have a fairly simple magnetic field. 283 00:14:38,912 --> 00:14:40,845 It's like a giant bar magnet with a north 284 00:14:40,847 --> 00:14:42,881 and south magnetic pole. 285 00:14:42,883 --> 00:14:44,883 Well, jupiter has that as well. 286 00:14:44,885 --> 00:14:46,684 This is called a dipolar field. 287 00:14:46,686 --> 00:14:51,556 It's got two poles, but it also has a third pole. 288 00:14:51,558 --> 00:14:53,891 Narrator: Juno's magnetic field maps 289 00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:56,361 show a north and south pole 290 00:14:56,363 --> 00:15:00,465 and a bizarre magnetic disturbance at the equator. 291 00:15:00,467 --> 00:15:04,068 And it's like jupiter just sprouted a third arm, 292 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:06,871 and that's kind of mysterious. 293 00:15:06,873 --> 00:15:08,406 Narrator: On magnetic field maps, 294 00:15:08,408 --> 00:15:11,976 north poles show up red and south poles blue, 295 00:15:11,978 --> 00:15:15,647 so scientists are calling this second south pole 296 00:15:15,649 --> 00:15:17,882 the great blue spot. 297 00:15:17,884 --> 00:15:20,518 Everyone knows about the great red spot, 298 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,055 but jupiter now has a great blue spot as well. 299 00:15:24,057 --> 00:15:26,257 Narrator: This magnetic disturbance reflects 300 00:15:26,259 --> 00:15:28,726 jupiter's stormy interior. 301 00:15:28,728 --> 00:15:32,497 You have these fast-moving winds blowing on the magnetic field, 302 00:15:32,499 --> 00:15:34,899 and they're actually shearing it apart 303 00:15:34,901 --> 00:15:36,534 and moving the field around. 304 00:15:36,536 --> 00:15:38,036 Bolton: It's not necessarily a storm, 305 00:15:38,038 --> 00:15:39,437 although it could be. 306 00:15:39,439 --> 00:15:41,973 It maybe is better to think of it as a magnetic storm. 307 00:15:41,975 --> 00:15:44,609 ♪ 308 00:15:44,611 --> 00:15:46,811 narrator: Turbulence inside jupiter could be 309 00:15:46,813 --> 00:15:51,349 twisting up the magnetic field to drive the great blue spot 310 00:15:51,351 --> 00:15:56,321 and the deadly radiation belts that juno must navigate through. 311 00:15:56,323 --> 00:16:00,224 Unlike earth, jupiter is not really a solid mass 312 00:16:00,226 --> 00:16:04,295 for the most part, so all of its clouds and gases 313 00:16:04,297 --> 00:16:06,698 are moving at slightly different rates, 314 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:09,233 and that actually makes the magnetic field 315 00:16:09,235 --> 00:16:14,072 that's generated very variable and highly changing. 316 00:16:14,074 --> 00:16:15,606 For us to have a variable magnetic field 317 00:16:15,608 --> 00:16:17,175 like jupiter does, 318 00:16:17,177 --> 00:16:19,344 the entire earth would have to be molten. 319 00:16:19,346 --> 00:16:21,779 We really don't want that to happen. 320 00:16:21,781 --> 00:16:25,116 Narrator: With each orbit, juno unravels more mysteries 321 00:16:25,118 --> 00:16:29,320 of this giant planet, but jupiter's deepest secret 322 00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:32,323 could shine a light on our own origins. 323 00:16:32,325 --> 00:16:33,992 If we want to understand the earth 324 00:16:33,994 --> 00:16:35,660 and our place in the solar system, 325 00:16:35,662 --> 00:16:38,162 juno has found that a lot of those mysteries 326 00:16:38,164 --> 00:16:39,564 are locked up there in jupiter. 327 00:16:39,566 --> 00:16:42,867 ♪ 328 00:16:49,609 --> 00:16:53,611 ♪ 329 00:16:53,613 --> 00:16:55,113 narrator: The juno spacecraft 330 00:16:55,115 --> 00:16:57,815 is uncovering the secrets of jupiter 331 00:16:57,817 --> 00:17:02,353 from its swirling cloud tops to its dark heart, 332 00:17:02,355 --> 00:17:07,158 but juno's discoveries go beyond the gas giant itself. 333 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:12,030 They could also solve mysteries surrounding our own planet. 334 00:17:12,032 --> 00:17:14,465 Jupiter is the key 335 00:17:14,467 --> 00:17:16,801 to the formation of the solar system, 336 00:17:16,803 --> 00:17:18,870 which means it's the key to understanding 337 00:17:18,872 --> 00:17:21,372 how the earth formed. 338 00:17:21,374 --> 00:17:22,974 Juno is actually giving us a view 339 00:17:22,976 --> 00:17:24,942 into the history of our planetary system, 340 00:17:24,944 --> 00:17:28,679 even the history of earth. 341 00:17:28,681 --> 00:17:31,082 Narrator: 4.6 billion years ago, 342 00:17:31,084 --> 00:17:35,153 a cloud of hydrogen gas and cosmic dust collapses, 343 00:17:35,155 --> 00:17:38,723 sparking nuclear fusion. 344 00:17:38,725 --> 00:17:41,192 From the resulting chaos, 345 00:17:41,194 --> 00:17:44,328 one star, four rocky worlds, 346 00:17:44,330 --> 00:17:47,131 and four gassy giants are born 347 00:17:47,133 --> 00:17:52,270 and form our solar system. 348 00:17:52,272 --> 00:17:54,472 There's these distinct zones of the solar system -- 349 00:17:54,474 --> 00:17:56,340 rocky and metallic in the inner part, 350 00:17:56,342 --> 00:17:58,609 gaseous and water-rich in the outer part, 351 00:17:58,611 --> 00:18:01,312 and even without thinking about that too hard, 352 00:18:01,314 --> 00:18:04,382 it kind of makes sense because in close to the sun, 353 00:18:04,384 --> 00:18:05,650 it's warmer. 354 00:18:05,652 --> 00:18:09,120 Out farther away from the sun, it's cooler. 355 00:18:09,122 --> 00:18:12,623 Narrator: But the earth breaks the mold. 356 00:18:12,625 --> 00:18:17,628 Our planet has far more water than theories predict. 357 00:18:17,630 --> 00:18:19,697 The earth formed in a part of the solar system that, 358 00:18:19,699 --> 00:18:21,766 well, you'd think normally should be probably pretty dry 359 00:18:21,768 --> 00:18:24,335 because it was pretty close to the sun. 360 00:18:24,337 --> 00:18:28,039 Narrator: Our planet is just 150 million miles from the sun, 361 00:18:28,041 --> 00:18:33,377 putting us inside what scientists call the snow line. 362 00:18:33,379 --> 00:18:36,314 Inside this line, the sun is powerful enough 363 00:18:36,316 --> 00:18:42,186 to evaporate water during a planet's formation. 364 00:18:42,188 --> 00:18:44,555 Inside the snow line, the temperatures are high, 365 00:18:44,557 --> 00:18:47,492 and there's a lot of energy from the sun nearby. 366 00:18:47,494 --> 00:18:48,926 Too close to the sun, 367 00:18:48,928 --> 00:18:52,296 those gaseous and ice-rich materials just can't exist. 368 00:18:52,298 --> 00:18:55,600 They're evaporate away by the heat of the sun. 369 00:18:55,602 --> 00:19:00,872 Narrator: Our watery world should be a dry rock in space. 370 00:19:00,874 --> 00:19:03,474 Understanding how water got to the earth is so important 371 00:19:03,476 --> 00:19:07,545 because it wouldn't be there in the very, very beginning. 372 00:19:07,547 --> 00:19:11,916 Narrator: But jupiter could hold the answer to this mystery. 373 00:19:11,918 --> 00:19:14,452 To solve the riddle of earth's water, 374 00:19:14,454 --> 00:19:19,423 juno aims to discover where our jupiter was born. 375 00:19:19,425 --> 00:19:21,726 Understanding how and where 376 00:19:21,728 --> 00:19:24,162 and when jupiter formed is critical 377 00:19:24,164 --> 00:19:25,630 because it has really dominated 378 00:19:25,632 --> 00:19:28,466 the entire evolution of the solar system. 379 00:19:28,468 --> 00:19:30,301 It's the biggest planet by far. 380 00:19:30,303 --> 00:19:34,772 It's the biggest thing out there that's moving everything around. 381 00:19:34,774 --> 00:19:36,908 Narrator: Any water in the early solar system 382 00:19:36,910 --> 00:19:40,545 could've been moved around by jupiter's mighty gravity, 383 00:19:40,547 --> 00:19:44,515 so if juno can trace the history of this giant planet, 384 00:19:44,517 --> 00:19:49,320 that could explain why we find h2o where it's least expected. 385 00:19:49,322 --> 00:19:51,989 We know that planets can move closer to the sun 386 00:19:51,991 --> 00:19:53,858 and farther out while they're forming 387 00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:55,660 and even after they form, 388 00:19:55,662 --> 00:19:59,096 so how do we figure out where jupiter formed? 389 00:19:59,098 --> 00:20:01,332 Narrator: The key is how much water is 390 00:20:01,334 --> 00:20:04,035 locked up inside jupiter. 391 00:20:04,037 --> 00:20:09,173 If we can understand how jupiter built a relationship with water, 392 00:20:09,175 --> 00:20:11,676 we can understand how water got distributed 393 00:20:11,678 --> 00:20:17,114 all throughout the solar system, including here on earth. 394 00:20:17,116 --> 00:20:20,451 Narrator: If juno can measure the water content of jupiter, 395 00:20:20,453 --> 00:20:23,854 it will solve a 20-year-old mystery. 396 00:20:23,856 --> 00:20:25,856 ♪ 397 00:20:25,858 --> 00:20:28,459 December 1995 -- 398 00:20:28,461 --> 00:20:32,129 nasa's galileo probe begins a fatal dive 399 00:20:32,131 --> 00:20:35,299 into jupiter's atmosphere. 400 00:20:35,301 --> 00:20:39,503 When it did, it was able to measure the atmosphere around it 401 00:20:39,505 --> 00:20:43,207 and detect water, and the thing is -- it didn't. 402 00:20:43,209 --> 00:20:46,444 It didn't find any, and that's weird. 403 00:20:46,446 --> 00:20:49,547 Everything was bone-dry, so why in the world 404 00:20:49,549 --> 00:20:52,516 did jupiter's atmosphere look dry? 405 00:20:52,518 --> 00:20:55,586 Narrator: If the results from the galileo probe are correct, 406 00:20:55,588 --> 00:20:58,055 then 4.6 billion years ago, 407 00:20:58,057 --> 00:21:02,126 jupiter formed closer to the sun, 408 00:21:02,128 --> 00:21:04,495 but that's not the whole story. 409 00:21:04,497 --> 00:21:10,134 20 years later, nasa sends juno to get a second opinion. 410 00:21:10,136 --> 00:21:13,571 Juno is an orbiter, and so it is loaded with instruments 411 00:21:13,573 --> 00:21:15,706 and detectors to look down on jupiter 412 00:21:15,708 --> 00:21:19,543 and try to figure out everything that's going on. 413 00:21:19,545 --> 00:21:21,212 Narrator: Juno doesn't have to risk 414 00:21:21,214 --> 00:21:24,081 its life to hunt for water. 415 00:21:24,083 --> 00:21:26,951 The craft peers through jupiter's thick clouds 416 00:21:26,953 --> 00:21:32,723 using a microwave radiometer to detect h2o from a safe distance. 417 00:21:32,725 --> 00:21:34,358 Using these microwaves, 418 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:38,462 juno builds up a global map of jupiter's water. 419 00:21:38,464 --> 00:21:39,930 What juno has found is, yeah, 420 00:21:39,932 --> 00:21:42,933 there's plenty of water in jupiter, 421 00:21:42,935 --> 00:21:46,203 it's just that galileo happened to hit a dry spot, 422 00:21:46,205 --> 00:21:49,006 but in fact, if it had come in almost anywhere else, 423 00:21:49,008 --> 00:21:53,010 it would've seen plenty of water. 424 00:21:53,012 --> 00:21:55,579 Narrator: Juno's findings may give a clue 425 00:21:55,581 --> 00:21:59,717 to where jupiter originally formed. 426 00:21:59,719 --> 00:22:02,820 It seems apparent now that jupiter 427 00:22:02,822 --> 00:22:06,857 didn't form in its present location. 428 00:22:06,859 --> 00:22:08,059 Narrator: The leading theory is that 429 00:22:08,061 --> 00:22:10,895 jupiter formed just beyond the snow line, 430 00:22:10,897 --> 00:22:14,165 the boundary between the dry inner solar system 431 00:22:14,167 --> 00:22:16,634 and the wet outer solar system. 432 00:22:16,636 --> 00:22:19,804 But we find jupiter is twice as far away from the sun 433 00:22:19,806 --> 00:22:22,640 as where that original snow line would've been, 434 00:22:22,642 --> 00:22:26,510 so this is telling us something interesting. 435 00:22:26,512 --> 00:22:27,678 Narrator: Jupiter may have wandered from 436 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,547 its original position, 437 00:22:29,549 --> 00:22:33,050 causing unimaginable chaos. 438 00:22:33,052 --> 00:22:35,219 As jupiter moved around, things got hit 439 00:22:35,221 --> 00:22:37,421 and knocked out of the solar system. 440 00:22:37,423 --> 00:22:39,724 Walsh: It essentially scatters everything in its path. 441 00:22:39,726 --> 00:22:42,526 It's the biggest player. It's the biggest planet. 442 00:22:42,528 --> 00:22:44,662 Everything moves for it. 443 00:22:44,664 --> 00:22:48,132 Narrator: As jupiter bulldozes toward the outer solar system, 444 00:22:48,134 --> 00:22:50,234 it slings ice-rich asteroids 445 00:22:50,236 --> 00:22:55,373 and comets in towards the sun and towards the earth. 446 00:22:55,375 --> 00:22:59,910 ♪ 447 00:22:59,912 --> 00:23:01,645 jupiter would literally in some sense 448 00:23:01,647 --> 00:23:04,749 have snowplowed into the inner solar system 449 00:23:04,751 --> 00:23:06,851 a whole wave of water-rich planetesimals 450 00:23:06,853 --> 00:23:11,856 that would've delivered much of our earth's oceans. 451 00:23:11,858 --> 00:23:15,359 Narrator: Juno has helped answer why our earth is habitable 452 00:23:15,361 --> 00:23:17,962 despite being so close to the sun. 453 00:23:17,964 --> 00:23:20,264 So it was worth going all that distance, 454 00:23:20,266 --> 00:23:23,200 sending juno all the way out there to get that closer look. 455 00:23:23,202 --> 00:23:26,737 ♪ 456 00:23:26,739 --> 00:23:28,472 narrator: Juno continues to explore 457 00:23:28,474 --> 00:23:33,077 jupiter's mysteries and its famous features. 458 00:23:33,079 --> 00:23:35,379 There is nothing more iconic about jupiter 459 00:23:35,381 --> 00:23:37,381 than the great red spot. 460 00:23:37,383 --> 00:23:41,652 Narrator: And juno reveals that this 300-year-old cyclone 461 00:23:41,654 --> 00:23:44,688 may soon vanish. 462 00:23:51,431 --> 00:23:57,268 ♪ 463 00:23:57,270 --> 00:23:59,103 narrator: Our solar system plays host 464 00:23:59,105 --> 00:24:01,472 to some epic natural wonders -- 465 00:24:01,474 --> 00:24:03,541 the ice geysers of enceladus, 466 00:24:03,543 --> 00:24:06,677 the giant rings of saturn, 467 00:24:06,679 --> 00:24:10,648 the martian mega volcano olympus mons, 468 00:24:10,650 --> 00:24:13,184 but in July of 2017, 469 00:24:13,186 --> 00:24:17,021 nasa's juno probe skims the surface of jupiter 470 00:24:17,023 --> 00:24:22,193 and photographs the most famous natural wonder -- 471 00:24:22,195 --> 00:24:24,728 a fierce, hurricane-like storm 472 00:24:24,730 --> 00:24:29,033 that's been raging for hundreds of years. 473 00:24:29,035 --> 00:24:30,334 When you think of jupiter, 474 00:24:30,336 --> 00:24:32,636 one of the most visually stunning 475 00:24:32,638 --> 00:24:34,839 and most iconic features of the atmosphere 476 00:24:34,841 --> 00:24:36,841 is that great red spot. 477 00:24:36,843 --> 00:24:38,676 There is nothing like jupiter's red spot 478 00:24:38,678 --> 00:24:42,079 in our entire solar system. 479 00:24:42,081 --> 00:24:45,015 Narrator: As juno soars over the great red spot, 480 00:24:45,017 --> 00:24:49,453 it looks down onto a storm over 10,000 miles across. 481 00:24:49,455 --> 00:24:52,990 ♪ 482 00:24:52,992 --> 00:24:55,025 thaller: This is the most extreme storm. 483 00:24:55,027 --> 00:24:56,727 The winds are blowing continuously 484 00:24:56,729 --> 00:24:59,964 at 400 miles an hour. 485 00:24:59,966 --> 00:25:03,567 Narrator: On earth, the most powerful category 5 hurricanes 486 00:25:03,569 --> 00:25:06,537 can unleash almost total destruction, 487 00:25:06,539 --> 00:25:09,473 but these are less than half as powerful 488 00:25:09,475 --> 00:25:11,775 as the storm on jupiter. 489 00:25:11,777 --> 00:25:14,345 The great red spot is the greatest hurricane 490 00:25:14,347 --> 00:25:16,413 that you've ever imagined. 491 00:25:16,415 --> 00:25:17,882 Narrator: But that's not all. 492 00:25:17,884 --> 00:25:22,419 Juno's microwave radiometer allows scientists to see through 493 00:25:22,421 --> 00:25:26,457 jupiter's cloud layers for the first time. 494 00:25:26,459 --> 00:25:30,160 Juno has instrumentation that's able to look underneath, 495 00:25:30,162 --> 00:25:31,595 so one of the things we did was we looked 496 00:25:31,597 --> 00:25:33,564 at how deep are the roots. 497 00:25:33,566 --> 00:25:35,799 Narrator: Juno peers down into the eye 498 00:25:35,801 --> 00:25:37,535 of this monstrous storm. 499 00:25:37,537 --> 00:25:40,804 It spots temperature changes far below the surface 500 00:25:40,806 --> 00:25:43,474 that follow the storm's iconic shape, 501 00:25:43,476 --> 00:25:46,510 tracing the roots of the great red spot 502 00:25:46,512 --> 00:25:49,179 deep into the jovian atmosphere. 503 00:25:49,181 --> 00:25:50,814 They found out that it goes down over 504 00:25:50,816 --> 00:25:54,351 200 miles deep into the atmosphere. 505 00:25:54,353 --> 00:25:56,253 There's nothing like that on earth. 506 00:25:56,255 --> 00:25:59,557 ♪ 507 00:25:59,559 --> 00:26:02,226 narrator: The greatest cyclones of our own planet 508 00:26:02,228 --> 00:26:05,429 can reach heights of around 10 miles, 509 00:26:05,431 --> 00:26:10,601 but jupiter's great red spot is over 20 times taller. 510 00:26:10,603 --> 00:26:12,670 I think that really brings into perspective 511 00:26:12,672 --> 00:26:14,772 the massive scale of this planet. 512 00:26:14,774 --> 00:26:18,075 ♪ 513 00:26:18,077 --> 00:26:20,611 narrator: Jupiter's vast, turbulent atmosphere 514 00:26:20,613 --> 00:26:24,248 hosts the deepest storm mankind has ever seen, 515 00:26:24,250 --> 00:26:28,385 and juno's discoveries get scientists wondering. 516 00:26:28,387 --> 00:26:31,322 Could the great red spot help explain 517 00:26:31,324 --> 00:26:34,124 another of jupiter's mysteries, 518 00:26:34,126 --> 00:26:39,396 the planet's surprisingly warm atmosphere? 519 00:26:39,398 --> 00:26:42,232 Jupiter looks out in our outer solar system 520 00:26:42,234 --> 00:26:43,701 where everything is very cold. 521 00:26:43,703 --> 00:26:47,371 The sun is very dim when you get that far away. 522 00:26:47,373 --> 00:26:50,441 Jupiter is five times farther from the sun than we are, 523 00:26:50,443 --> 00:26:52,176 so it's only getting 4% 524 00:26:52,178 --> 00:26:54,745 of the amount of energy from the sun that we do. 525 00:26:54,747 --> 00:26:56,013 Thaller: But there's something heating up 526 00:26:56,015 --> 00:26:57,348 the atmosphere of jupiter. 527 00:26:57,350 --> 00:27:00,351 There are parts of it that are many times warmer 528 00:27:00,353 --> 00:27:01,852 than we could explain with sunlight. 529 00:27:01,854 --> 00:27:03,587 The question is, of course, where is that energy 530 00:27:03,589 --> 00:27:06,290 coming from? 531 00:27:06,292 --> 00:27:09,360 Narrator: Juno swoops in for another pass on jupiter, 532 00:27:09,362 --> 00:27:11,629 turning its high-resolution cameras 533 00:27:11,631 --> 00:27:16,266 on the raging storm below. 534 00:27:16,268 --> 00:27:18,535 The storm unleashes vicious turbulence 535 00:27:18,537 --> 00:27:20,437 into the surrounding atmosphere, 536 00:27:20,439 --> 00:27:22,940 giving scientists the clue they need 537 00:27:22,942 --> 00:27:26,243 to explain the planet's high temperature. 538 00:27:26,245 --> 00:27:29,480 The great red spot is a giant hurricane 539 00:27:29,482 --> 00:27:34,018 that's powered by heat deep in the core of jupiter, 540 00:27:34,020 --> 00:27:37,821 but it has such violent and chaotic motion, 541 00:27:37,823 --> 00:27:40,290 it's mixing up the atmosphere around it. 542 00:27:40,292 --> 00:27:43,794 ♪ 543 00:27:43,796 --> 00:27:46,030 the thunderstorms on jupiter are gonna be generating 544 00:27:46,032 --> 00:27:48,032 booming thunder just the same way 545 00:27:48,034 --> 00:27:52,169 that they do here on the earth. 546 00:27:52,171 --> 00:27:54,338 Narrator: Thunderclouds send sound waves 547 00:27:54,340 --> 00:27:58,976 rippling through the storm. 548 00:27:58,978 --> 00:28:03,547 A sound wave is a wave of pressure, 549 00:28:03,549 --> 00:28:06,617 of compression where air molecules 550 00:28:06,619 --> 00:28:09,319 or water molecules get compacted. 551 00:28:09,321 --> 00:28:10,754 They get squeezed together, 552 00:28:10,756 --> 00:28:12,723 and when you squeeze something together, 553 00:28:12,725 --> 00:28:14,024 they're a lot closer together 554 00:28:14,026 --> 00:28:15,459 and they're gonna get pretty hot. 555 00:28:15,461 --> 00:28:18,228 ♪ 556 00:28:18,230 --> 00:28:20,064 narrator: These sounds waves shoot up 557 00:28:20,066 --> 00:28:23,434 500 miles above the storm 558 00:28:23,436 --> 00:28:26,837 where they break, converting sound energy into heat. 559 00:28:26,839 --> 00:28:30,708 These sound waves, they crash together, 560 00:28:30,710 --> 00:28:32,776 creating a tremendous amount of energy 561 00:28:32,778 --> 00:28:36,980 and heating the gases around them. 562 00:28:36,982 --> 00:28:39,583 Narrator: Jupiter's great red spot has helped heat 563 00:28:39,585 --> 00:28:42,486 the jovian atmosphere for hundreds of years, 564 00:28:42,488 --> 00:28:48,292 but new images suggest that this may be about to change. 565 00:28:48,294 --> 00:28:50,194 Jupiter's red spot is so big, 566 00:28:50,196 --> 00:28:53,363 I mean, it's bigger than earth by a long shot. 567 00:28:53,365 --> 00:28:56,400 It seems like it would be an incredibly stable thing. 568 00:28:56,402 --> 00:28:59,803 It's just there and it's always been there and always will be. 569 00:28:59,805 --> 00:29:03,507 Recently, we've seen it changing. 570 00:29:03,509 --> 00:29:05,809 Narrator: When nasa's voyager space probe visited 571 00:29:05,811 --> 00:29:07,945 jupiter in 1979, 572 00:29:07,947 --> 00:29:11,181 it observed a storm twice the diameter of earth. 573 00:29:11,183 --> 00:29:15,686 ♪ 574 00:29:15,688 --> 00:29:20,190 in 2017, juno's images show the great red spot 575 00:29:20,192 --> 00:29:24,628 has lost a third of its width, but that's not all. 576 00:29:24,630 --> 00:29:28,866 Despite the storm shrinking, it's actually getting taller. 577 00:29:28,868 --> 00:29:31,735 The great red spot is being stretched and forced 578 00:29:31,737 --> 00:29:34,805 into jupiter's upper atmosphere. 579 00:29:34,807 --> 00:29:36,373 The storms in the great red spot, 580 00:29:36,375 --> 00:29:39,042 it's kind of like the clay on a potter's wheel, 581 00:29:39,044 --> 00:29:41,178 where as you bring your hands closer together 582 00:29:41,180 --> 00:29:43,914 to draw the clay in, the closer your hands are, 583 00:29:43,916 --> 00:29:47,251 the taller the pottery becomes, and similarly, for the storm, 584 00:29:47,253 --> 00:29:49,620 as it becomes smaller at the base, 585 00:29:49,622 --> 00:29:53,457 it raises taller toward the upper atmosphere. 586 00:29:53,459 --> 00:29:55,325 It's getting taller, and we see storms 587 00:29:55,327 --> 00:29:57,694 do the same thing on earth, and when it does that, 588 00:29:57,696 --> 00:30:00,197 the wind shear will actually take the top of the storm off 589 00:30:00,199 --> 00:30:02,499 and drag it apart, and so we'll be watching it 590 00:30:02,501 --> 00:30:04,034 very intently over the next few years 591 00:30:04,036 --> 00:30:08,572 to see if that's what happens on jupiter as well. 592 00:30:08,574 --> 00:30:10,374 Narrator: It may be only a matter of time 593 00:30:10,376 --> 00:30:13,410 before jupiter's high-altitude winds 594 00:30:13,412 --> 00:30:16,313 tear this iconic storm to shreds. 595 00:30:16,315 --> 00:30:18,515 The most famous storm of the solar system 596 00:30:18,517 --> 00:30:20,484 may soon disappear, 597 00:30:20,486 --> 00:30:23,053 but juno reveals other storms 598 00:30:23,055 --> 00:30:26,790 hidden in the strangest of places. 599 00:30:26,792 --> 00:30:29,159 The storm in the great red spot is one, 600 00:30:29,161 --> 00:30:32,763 but not the only, giant storm that's happening on jupiter. 601 00:30:32,765 --> 00:30:36,667 ♪ 602 00:30:43,442 --> 00:30:49,213 ♪ 603 00:30:49,215 --> 00:30:52,816 narrator: Nasa's juno probe has traveled billions of miles 604 00:30:52,818 --> 00:30:54,551 across the solar system 605 00:30:54,553 --> 00:30:58,488 to reveal the mysteries of gas giant jupiter, 606 00:30:58,490 --> 00:31:00,924 but there's one part of jupiter 607 00:31:00,926 --> 00:31:04,695 that has remained hidden until now. 608 00:31:04,697 --> 00:31:07,497 Before juno, our view of jupiter was very limited. 609 00:31:07,499 --> 00:31:10,367 We'd never actually flown over the poles. 610 00:31:10,369 --> 00:31:12,069 It's something that's very hard to do on jupiter. 611 00:31:12,071 --> 00:31:15,539 We don't have other missions that have done this. 612 00:31:15,541 --> 00:31:19,209 Narrator: In August of 2016, juno's flight plan takes 613 00:31:19,211 --> 00:31:22,579 the spacecraft into unknown territory to reveal 614 00:31:22,581 --> 00:31:27,985 jupiter's mysterious polar regions for the first time. 615 00:31:27,987 --> 00:31:29,620 Well, and the first time we looked at the pole, 616 00:31:29,622 --> 00:31:31,922 it didn't look anything like the jupiter we knew. 617 00:31:31,924 --> 00:31:35,626 ♪ 618 00:31:35,628 --> 00:31:37,327 we never would've guessed that was jupiter 619 00:31:37,329 --> 00:31:38,562 if somebody had shown that to us. 620 00:31:38,564 --> 00:31:42,399 ♪ 621 00:31:42,401 --> 00:31:46,203 narrator: Juno's camera reveals a strange blue expanse 622 00:31:46,205 --> 00:31:49,106 that puzzles scientists. 623 00:31:49,108 --> 00:31:50,274 The electronic color 624 00:31:50,276 --> 00:31:52,943 could be due to chemical changes in the clouds 625 00:31:52,945 --> 00:31:56,880 brought on by a lack of sunlight, 626 00:31:56,882 --> 00:32:00,284 but what juno spots inside the blue clouds 627 00:32:00,286 --> 00:32:03,387 is even stranger -- 628 00:32:03,389 --> 00:32:08,191 giant central cyclones spin around each pole at 200 miles 629 00:32:08,193 --> 00:32:10,460 an hour, with these cyclones 630 00:32:10,462 --> 00:32:14,965 surrounded by eight stormy vortices in the north 631 00:32:14,967 --> 00:32:18,302 and five in the south. 632 00:32:18,304 --> 00:32:21,605 There are these weird cyclones, gigantic swirls, 633 00:32:21,607 --> 00:32:25,575 vortices of gas swirling around jupiter's poles, 634 00:32:25,577 --> 00:32:28,912 and they're clearly forming patterns. 635 00:32:28,914 --> 00:32:30,847 It's hard to get a sense of scale here. 636 00:32:30,849 --> 00:32:32,916 Now the north polar central cyclone, 637 00:32:32,918 --> 00:32:36,820 that one right at the pole, that's 2,500 miles across. 638 00:32:36,822 --> 00:32:40,624 That is almost as big as the continental united states. 639 00:32:40,626 --> 00:32:42,092 What is going on there? 640 00:32:42,094 --> 00:32:44,761 This is nothing like what we see on earth. 641 00:32:44,763 --> 00:32:47,798 ♪ 642 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,835 narrator: On earth, our weather is driven by heat from the sun 643 00:32:51,837 --> 00:32:53,804 that hits our planet at the equator 644 00:32:53,806 --> 00:32:57,207 and flows across the surface. 645 00:32:57,209 --> 00:33:00,477 Powerful cyclones form over tropical waters 646 00:33:00,479 --> 00:33:04,348 and move around the planet, 647 00:33:04,350 --> 00:33:07,517 but the polar regions receive less energy from the sun, 648 00:33:07,519 --> 00:33:11,254 so cyclones can't form at the poles. 649 00:33:11,256 --> 00:33:13,357 We see that if you're at the equator, 650 00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:14,591 it's warmer and it's stormier. 651 00:33:14,593 --> 00:33:15,993 If you're at the poles, 652 00:33:15,995 --> 00:33:20,998 where the sun is slightly harder to see, that activity goes away. 653 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:22,766 Narrator: But the weather on jupiter 654 00:33:22,768 --> 00:33:25,135 couldn't be more different. 655 00:33:25,137 --> 00:33:27,371 We see lightning and convective thunderstorms 656 00:33:27,373 --> 00:33:29,606 at the poles of jupiter but not at the equator, 657 00:33:29,608 --> 00:33:32,376 and that's sort of the opposite of what we see on the earth. 658 00:33:32,378 --> 00:33:36,847 The question is, what's driving jupiter's storms? 659 00:33:36,849 --> 00:33:38,415 Narrator: Jupiter is five times further 660 00:33:38,417 --> 00:33:40,517 away from the sun than the earth 661 00:33:40,519 --> 00:33:44,955 and receives only a fraction of the sun's energy. 662 00:33:44,957 --> 00:33:47,991 Unlike earth, jupiter's polar regions 663 00:33:47,993 --> 00:33:50,594 seem to be where the action is. 664 00:33:50,596 --> 00:33:53,930 Something is driving the planet's weird weather, 665 00:33:53,932 --> 00:33:57,601 and juno's scans of the giant planet's thermal emissions 666 00:33:57,603 --> 00:34:01,705 suggests it could be jupiter itself. 667 00:34:01,707 --> 00:34:04,441 We can actually see the internal heat of jupiter 668 00:34:04,443 --> 00:34:05,809 coming right up through, 669 00:34:05,811 --> 00:34:08,045 and so jupiter will look very bright in areas 670 00:34:08,047 --> 00:34:11,281 where we can see that heat. 671 00:34:11,283 --> 00:34:13,417 Narrator: Juno detects searing heat 672 00:34:13,419 --> 00:34:16,420 beneath jupiter's cloud bands. 673 00:34:16,422 --> 00:34:19,189 Jupiter has so much material, so much mass, 674 00:34:19,191 --> 00:34:22,059 so much gravity that the interior is incredibly dense 675 00:34:22,061 --> 00:34:23,760 and very, very hot. 676 00:34:23,762 --> 00:34:26,730 At the core, it's probably at many thousands of degrees hotter 677 00:34:26,732 --> 00:34:29,633 than the surface of the sun. 678 00:34:29,635 --> 00:34:33,837 Narrator: This fiery inferno buried in jupiter's dark heart 679 00:34:33,839 --> 00:34:37,441 is a relic from its birth billions of years ago. 680 00:34:37,443 --> 00:34:40,210 The violent collisions that formed the planet 681 00:34:40,212 --> 00:34:42,746 left its core seething hot, 682 00:34:42,748 --> 00:34:45,649 a heat that remains to this day, 683 00:34:45,651 --> 00:34:50,120 buried under thousands of miles of insulating gas. 684 00:34:50,122 --> 00:34:52,789 As the heat slowly leaks outward, 685 00:34:52,791 --> 00:34:55,725 jupiter's fast-rotating atmosphere 686 00:34:55,727 --> 00:34:59,463 creates vicious cyclones and thunderstorms. 687 00:34:59,465 --> 00:35:02,232 And that's what's really driving most of the weather. 688 00:35:02,234 --> 00:35:06,269 It's not the sun. It's jupiter itself. 689 00:35:06,271 --> 00:35:08,872 Narrator: And as juno soars over the planet, 690 00:35:08,874 --> 00:35:13,143 it reveals another weather mystery. 691 00:35:13,145 --> 00:35:16,113 The craft detects bursts of radio waves 692 00:35:16,115 --> 00:35:19,850 spiking up to four times a second -- 693 00:35:19,852 --> 00:35:24,855 the telltale sign of ferocious lightning strikes. 694 00:35:24,857 --> 00:35:26,490 Clouds are moving around in the atmosphere 695 00:35:26,492 --> 00:35:28,358 and building up electric charge 696 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:30,894 and causing bolts of lightning to form, 697 00:35:30,896 --> 00:35:35,132 and we've actually seen this with the juno spacecraft. 698 00:35:35,134 --> 00:35:38,201 These are mega storms orders of magnitude bigger 699 00:35:38,203 --> 00:35:39,536 than here on earth. 700 00:35:39,538 --> 00:35:43,507 [ thunder crashes ] 701 00:35:43,509 --> 00:35:46,643 narrator: And juno finds there's more to these thunderclouds 702 00:35:46,645 --> 00:35:50,013 than just flashes of light -- 703 00:35:50,015 --> 00:35:54,317 giant icy hailstones of water and ammonia, 704 00:35:54,319 --> 00:35:57,020 the chemical which gives jupiter's clouds 705 00:35:57,022 --> 00:36:01,725 their orange color. 706 00:36:01,727 --> 00:36:03,360 High up in jupiter's atmosphere, 707 00:36:03,362 --> 00:36:07,030 the ammonia is mixing with the water, 708 00:36:07,032 --> 00:36:09,232 and it becomes a liquid ball 709 00:36:09,234 --> 00:36:11,902 that starts to collect ice around it, 710 00:36:11,904 --> 00:36:17,107 and it will fall like hail does deep into jupiter's atmosphere. 711 00:36:17,109 --> 00:36:20,977 Narrator: On earth, hail falls to the ground and melts, 712 00:36:20,979 --> 00:36:24,681 but on jupiter, there is no ground. 713 00:36:24,683 --> 00:36:26,917 And it gets lifted in the atmosphere 714 00:36:26,919 --> 00:36:29,085 because of an updraft and then more ice, 715 00:36:29,087 --> 00:36:31,321 and it builds bigger, and then it falls down, 716 00:36:31,323 --> 00:36:32,689 and then it gets carried back up, 717 00:36:32,691 --> 00:36:38,061 and so hail is often many layers being built. 718 00:36:38,063 --> 00:36:41,698 Narrator: These ice balls grow layer by layer as they soar up 719 00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:44,734 and down the atmosphere. 720 00:36:44,736 --> 00:36:47,270 If they formed in storms here on earth, 721 00:36:47,272 --> 00:36:50,540 they'd cause some serious damage. 722 00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:52,976 So if you were buzzing around jupiter 723 00:36:52,978 --> 00:36:55,612 and you were near where these storms were, 724 00:36:55,614 --> 00:36:59,983 you might get hit by hail coming up or going down. 725 00:36:59,985 --> 00:37:04,120 This is one of the most violent, energetic atmospheres 726 00:37:04,122 --> 00:37:07,824 in the entire solar system. 727 00:37:07,826 --> 00:37:09,893 Narrator: Juno is revealing the secrets 728 00:37:09,895 --> 00:37:12,662 that jupiter has hidden for decades, 729 00:37:12,664 --> 00:37:17,334 including the mystery of jupiter's northern lights. 730 00:37:17,336 --> 00:37:19,803 When juno studied the lights 731 00:37:19,805 --> 00:37:21,905 coming from the aurora on jupiter, 732 00:37:21,907 --> 00:37:24,908 it found that something really weird is going on. 733 00:37:24,910 --> 00:37:27,944 ♪ 734 00:37:34,786 --> 00:37:42,826 ♪ 735 00:37:42,828 --> 00:37:46,429 narrator: On earth, dazzling auroras light up the skies 736 00:37:46,431 --> 00:37:48,632 as charged particles from the sun 737 00:37:48,634 --> 00:37:51,268 interact with atoms high in the atmosphere. 738 00:37:51,270 --> 00:37:54,638 ♪ 739 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,742 deep in the outer solar system, jupiter is too far from the sun 740 00:37:58,744 --> 00:38:01,811 for strong auroras to form in this way, 741 00:38:01,813 --> 00:38:05,048 but high above the giant planet's poles, 742 00:38:05,050 --> 00:38:09,119 juno spots a seemingly impossible light show. 743 00:38:09,121 --> 00:38:11,354 ♪ 744 00:38:11,356 --> 00:38:14,357 the auroras of jupiter are tremendously larger 745 00:38:14,359 --> 00:38:15,925 than the ones that we find here on earth. 746 00:38:15,927 --> 00:38:17,961 In fact, the auroral rings near the poles 747 00:38:17,963 --> 00:38:20,430 are bigger than our planet itself. 748 00:38:20,432 --> 00:38:21,731 Jupiter's auroras emit 749 00:38:21,733 --> 00:38:24,167 primarily ultraviolet and x-ray light, 750 00:38:24,169 --> 00:38:26,636 so you can't see it with the naked human eye, 751 00:38:26,638 --> 00:38:29,606 but if you could see them and you were at jupiter, 752 00:38:29,608 --> 00:38:32,509 that would be an amazing light show 753 00:38:32,511 --> 00:38:37,647 because those auroras are strong. 754 00:38:37,649 --> 00:38:39,049 Narrator: These glowing displays are 755 00:38:39,051 --> 00:38:41,751 evidence of charged particles 756 00:38:41,753 --> 00:38:45,221 slamming into jupiter's atmosphere. 757 00:38:45,223 --> 00:38:47,624 But if they're not coming from the sun, 758 00:38:47,626 --> 00:38:50,327 where are they coming from? 759 00:38:50,329 --> 00:38:52,862 Narrator: Hunting for an answer, juno snaps an image 760 00:38:52,864 --> 00:38:54,497 of jupiter's southern lights 761 00:38:54,499 --> 00:38:59,469 with its ultraviolet imaging spectrometer. 762 00:38:59,471 --> 00:39:03,873 Inside the aurora, it glimpses something strange. 763 00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:06,276 When juno studied the lights 764 00:39:06,278 --> 00:39:08,345 coming from the aurora on jupiter, 765 00:39:08,347 --> 00:39:11,614 it found that they were even stronger than expected, 766 00:39:11,616 --> 00:39:13,249 and in fact, when you look at 767 00:39:13,251 --> 00:39:15,985 jupiter's poles in wavelengths that our eyes can't see, 768 00:39:15,987 --> 00:39:20,290 for example, ultraviolet, you see a hot spot. 769 00:39:20,292 --> 00:39:22,459 Narrator: This hot spot marks the point 770 00:39:22,461 --> 00:39:25,762 where huge concentrations of charged particles 771 00:39:25,764 --> 00:39:28,765 strike jupiter's atmosphere. 772 00:39:28,767 --> 00:39:31,801 Tracing their trajectory reveals the culprit 773 00:39:31,803 --> 00:39:34,404 of jupiter's dazzling light shows -- 774 00:39:34,406 --> 00:39:36,973 the volcanoes of jupiter's moons. 775 00:39:36,975 --> 00:39:39,709 ♪ 776 00:39:39,711 --> 00:39:42,579 jupiter's moon, io has hundreds of active volcanoes 777 00:39:42,581 --> 00:39:45,115 spewing out materials way out into space, 778 00:39:45,117 --> 00:39:49,386 and many of those get trapped by the magnetic field of jupiter. 779 00:39:49,388 --> 00:39:53,390 Narrator: Io's volcanoes fire out jets of charged particles, 780 00:39:53,392 --> 00:39:57,560 which are swept by the giant planet's magnetic field. 781 00:39:57,562 --> 00:39:59,129 It's funneling those particles down 782 00:39:59,131 --> 00:40:04,167 and slamming into specific spots in jupiter's atmosphere. 783 00:40:04,169 --> 00:40:06,436 Narrator: But io isn't the only moon responsible 784 00:40:06,438 --> 00:40:09,439 for jupiter's polar light show. 785 00:40:09,441 --> 00:40:12,776 If we go further out, europa, ganymede, 786 00:40:12,778 --> 00:40:14,110 callisto, those are more icy. 787 00:40:14,112 --> 00:40:16,913 They don't necessarily have volcanoes. 788 00:40:16,915 --> 00:40:18,915 Narrator: These icy moons twist up 789 00:40:18,917 --> 00:40:22,285 jupiter's magnetic field in their own way. 790 00:40:22,287 --> 00:40:24,854 Some of these moons have magnetic fields that interact 791 00:40:24,856 --> 00:40:26,456 with jupiter's magnetic field, 792 00:40:26,458 --> 00:40:31,761 and that actually intensifies the aurora display on jupiter. 793 00:40:31,763 --> 00:40:33,630 Narrator: Jupiter's moons work together 794 00:40:33,632 --> 00:40:37,934 to energize the greatest auroras in the solar system, 795 00:40:37,936 --> 00:40:40,136 but in these beautiful displays 796 00:40:40,138 --> 00:40:45,141 is a stark reminder of the danger juno faces. 797 00:40:45,143 --> 00:40:47,277 When you look at these pictures of the aurora on jupiter, 798 00:40:47,279 --> 00:40:48,545 and you think, oh, that's beautiful. 799 00:40:48,547 --> 00:40:49,979 Wouldn't it be great to see that in person? 800 00:40:49,981 --> 00:40:52,515 The answer is no, no, it wouldn't 801 00:40:52,517 --> 00:40:54,417 because they will kill you. 802 00:40:54,419 --> 00:40:57,921 What's causing these displays are subatomic particles 803 00:40:57,923 --> 00:41:00,790 accelerated to tremendously high speeds 804 00:41:00,792 --> 00:41:03,526 by the magnetic fields involved. 805 00:41:03,528 --> 00:41:06,629 Narrator: The radiation around jupiter is lethal 806 00:41:06,631 --> 00:41:08,965 and not just for humans. 807 00:41:08,967 --> 00:41:11,534 The lifetime of the juno mission is very limited 808 00:41:11,536 --> 00:41:14,504 by the extreme conditions it has to survive in. 809 00:41:14,506 --> 00:41:15,872 We think that in the future, 810 00:41:15,874 --> 00:41:17,640 a lot of the instruments will be so irradiated, 811 00:41:17,642 --> 00:41:21,277 they won't really work anymore. 812 00:41:21,279 --> 00:41:23,980 Narrator: When juno's titanium armor finally fails, 813 00:41:23,982 --> 00:41:29,652 jupiter's deadly radiation will damage the craft beyond repair, 814 00:41:29,654 --> 00:41:32,722 so the team plan to go out with a bang, 815 00:41:32,724 --> 00:41:36,459 thrusting juno into jupiter's atmosphere, 816 00:41:36,461 --> 00:41:39,562 where the craft will be torn to pieces. 817 00:41:39,564 --> 00:41:42,866 Eventually, it'll be drawn down into jupiter's depths 818 00:41:42,868 --> 00:41:46,002 and become a part of the planet itself. 819 00:41:46,004 --> 00:41:47,604 Narrator: But before then, 820 00:41:47,606 --> 00:41:51,307 juno has many more mysteries to unlock. 821 00:41:51,309 --> 00:41:54,310 We'll answer some questions, and we'll raise some more. 822 00:41:54,312 --> 00:41:56,079 That's what I expect 823 00:41:56,081 --> 00:41:59,616 and we'll get some fantastic images. 824 00:41:59,618 --> 00:42:03,052 Every single thing has turned out to be a surprise. 825 00:42:03,054 --> 00:42:05,522 There are so many things that juno has opened our eyes to that 826 00:42:05,524 --> 00:42:08,491 I can't imagine having not sent it. 827 00:42:08,493 --> 00:42:10,093 So we're in for at least a year 828 00:42:10,095 --> 00:42:13,830 more of the most profound surprises about jupiter. 829 00:42:13,832 --> 00:42:16,799 What we're learning, what we're unlocking, 830 00:42:16,801 --> 00:42:18,301 not just about jupiter, 831 00:42:18,303 --> 00:42:20,270 but the formation of the solar system 832 00:42:20,272 --> 00:42:23,239 and potential formation of life itself 833 00:42:23,241 --> 00:42:24,974 here on earth, 834 00:42:24,976 --> 00:42:26,109 it's mind-blowing. 835 00:42:26,111 --> 00:42:28,478 ♪