All language subtitles for Spaces Deepest Secrets Jupiter Mystery of the Solar System 1080p

[ suspenseful music plays ]
narrator: Jupiter.

The most extreme planet
in the solar system.

If you are looking
for a planet

That is
completely different
than the earth,

Jupiter's where
you're gonna go.

Jupiter is a turbulent world

Of monster
magnetic fields

And endless mega storms.

Jupiter has storms
so large,

They could eat
the earth whole.

Generations of astronomers

Have tried to solve
the mysteries of jupiter.

Finally, nasa's juno probe
is revealing new evidence

That unlocks why
this planet is so savage.

With juno, we're able
to see jupiter

From the inside out.

Jupiter
turned out to be

Nothing like
what we expected.

What mysterious energy drives
jupiter's eternal storms

And what powers
the biggest magnetic field

Of any planet
in the solar system?

We plunge
into jupiter's atmosphere

And reach deep into its core
to reveal how it grew

Into the solar system's
fiercest planet

And investigate whether
this alien mega world

Even unlocks the origins
of life on earth.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

One planet in our solar system
dwarfs all the rest.

Jupiter.

Made almost entirely
of hydrogen and helium,

Jupiter's mass is 1,300 times
greater than earth.

When it comes to the planets
in our solar system,

Really, the story is all
about jupiter.

Add up all the masses, 70% is
in that one planet, alone.

Narrator:
Jupiter isn't just big.

It is also extreme.

Jupiter has a magnetic
field so powerful

That it tears away charged
particles from its moons

To make supersize aurorae
at the poles.

♪♪

The temperature
at the center of the planet

Is 41,000° fahrenheit.

That's hotter than the
surface of the sun.

♪♪

Astronomers have studied
jupiter for centuries,

But its biggest mysteries
still confound them.

Why is jupiter so extreme?

What are the hidden processes

That drive
the planet's ferocity?

♪♪

Man:
Three, two, one.

Ignition and liftoff

Of the atlas v with juno
on a trek to jupiter.

♪♪

Narrator:
In 2011,

Nasa launches mission juno
to unlock these mysteries.

The juno probe carries a suite
of super advanced instruments --

A particle detector,

Infrared and ultraviolet
imaging,

And a magnetometer,

To peer deeper into jupiter
than ever before.

♪♪

Tremblay:
You can only learn so much
about a planet

By looking at it
through a telescope.

Sometimes you just have
to go there.

And so juno is a payload

Of some of the most
advanced instrumentation

That we've ever sent
into the void of space

And it took this epic
journey to jupiter,

This incredibly
distant planet.

[ whirs ]

[ beeping ]

Narrator:
Juno arrives at jupiter
in 2016.

♪♪

The probe's onboard camera
beams back to earth,

Spectacular images of the
surface of this mega planet.

♪♪

Juno gets so close
and sees it in such detail

That I've seen images
of this planet

That I didn't even recognize
as being jupiter.

♪♪

The color palette of jupiter
is beyond belief,

All of these oranges and reds
and deep browns and yellows.

♪♪

I have to sometimes
remind myself

That I'm looking at a planet
because it's just so beautiful.

I've never seen astronomical
images like these before.

♪♪

Narrator:
These swirling bands
look tranquil from orbit.

But it's a different
story up close.

These bands are actually
giant storms,

Their jet streams
many times faster

Than the jet streams
on earth.

And not only that, they're going
in different directions,

One cloud band going
against the other one.

The turbulence that's created
is absolutely spectacular.

Narrator:
The wind speeds
inside these bands

Reach 370 miles an hour.

♪♪

Winds this strong twist
the gas into super cyclones.

[ thunder rumbles ]

♪♪

The largest of jupiter's storms
is the famous great red spot.

♪♪

But a riddle remains
for juno to solve --

What powers the planets
mega winds and super storms?

♪♪

Astronomers believe

That measuring the depth
of the storm bands on jupiter

Could reveal the source

Of the mysterious energy
that drives them.

♪♪

The sun powers the weather
here on earth.

Its radiation penetrates
the earth's atmosphere

And heats the surface
of our planet.

It is this heat that drives the
rains and weather we experience.

♪♪

Traditional telescopes
cannot see

Through the colorful, swirling
bands wrapped around jupiter...

♪♪

...So astronomers cannot tell
exactly what source of energy

Drives jupiter's
extreme weather.

♪♪

[ beeping ]

Juno uses jupiter's
own gravity to measure

Exactly how far the storm bands
reach into the gas giant.

♪♪

The density of the storm bands

Affects jupiter's gravity.

♪♪

This gravity changes
juno's velocity

As it passes over the planet.

♪♪

Denser areas
with stronger gravity

Pull the probe inwards.

Areas of weaker gravity
release it outwards.

♪♪

By plotting the shifts
in juno's orbit,

Scientists build up

A super accurate density map
of jupiter.

♪♪

Scientists can gauge
the true size of storms

Raging through
the planet's atmosphere

By measuring juno's speed.

♪♪

Plait:
As juno moves around jupiter,

We can measure tiny changes
in its velocity

And those depend
on changes of the mass

Of the planet
underneath it.

So, by measuring the speed
of juno as it travels,

We're actually seeing
the different masses

Of the different
storm bands on jupiter.

♪♪

Narrator:
The more massive
a storm band is,

The deeper it extends
into jupiter.

The measurements
that juno takes

Reveal that these bands reach
1,800 miles into the planet.

What juno is showing us
is that these things go

Very, very deep,
surprisingly deep.

♪♪

Narrator:
The huge depth
of the storm bands

Is an important clue
in solving the mystery

Of what drives the extreme
weather on jupiter.

♪♪

Oluseyi:
Here on earth,
the weather is controlled

By energy from the sun.

That's what powers it.

♪♪

Jupiter is five times
farther away

From the sun
than the earth is

And its atmosphere
is super thick,

So it can't be energy
from the sun

That's powering
all these storms.

♪♪

Narrator:
What is the mysterious
source of energy

That powers
jupiter's mega storms?

♪♪

And how does this gas giant

Produce the largest
magnetic field

Of any planet
in the solar system?

♪♪

♪♪

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
Jupiter is the biggest
and most extreme world

In our solar system.

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Nasa's juno probe reveals
that jupiter's mega storms

Stretch 1,800 miles
into the planet.

♪♪

But the sun is too far away

For its energy to power
winds this deep.

♪♪

The immense energy that has

To be powering
these incredible storms

Can't be coming
from outside jupiter.

It has to be coming
from within it.

So what could
that energy source be?

♪♪

[ thunder crashes ]

♪♪

Narrator:
Researchers
in marseilles, France,

Run innovative laboratory
experiments to find out.

♪♪

This tank holds
130 gallons of water

And tens of thousands
of fluorescent plastic beads.

♪♪

These beads
represent the gas

In jupiter's
thick atmosphere.

♪♪

The researchers spin the tank
to mimic jupiter's rotation.

♪♪

Powerful pumps at the bottom
of the tank blast the water.

This simulates energy that
radiates from inside jupiter.

♪♪

A camera tracks the precise
movement of the beads.

♪♪

The beads arrange into
alternately spinning bands.

♪♪

And these bands are very deep,

Just like the real
storm bands on jupiter.

♪♪

The researchers believe
these results show

That a huge concentration
of heat energy inside jupiter

Could be what is driving
the planet's extreme weather.

♪♪

Astronomers think
that the way jupiter forms

Four and a half billion
years ago

Unlocks why the planet
is so hot.

♪♪

A disc of gas and dust

Surrounds the newborn sun
in the early solar system.

This is where
protoplanets form.

♪♪

Gravity brings together
vast amounts of matter...

♪♪

...To form the core
of a proto-jupiter.

♪♪

The young planet captures

Vast amounts
of hydrogen and helium gas.

♪♪

This cranks up
the pressure inside it.

♪♪

The weight of the gas pushes
jupiter's inner pressure

To over 20 million times
that of a car tire.

This pressure superheats
the planet's core.

♪♪

Astronomers believe
this supersized hot core

Unlocks the mystery

Of why the weather
on jupiter is so extreme.

♪♪

Reaching deep inside jupiter

Reveals how the planet's
superheated center

Drives its violent weather.

♪♪

In the core,

Temperatures reach
41,000° fahrenheit.

That's hotter than the
surface of the sun.

♪♪

The heat radiates
to jupiter's outer layers

And vast convection currents.

♪♪

These warm the atmosphere
from the inside out.

They drive roaring winds
in the cloud tops...

♪♪

...And create jupiter's
iconic storm bands.

♪♪

Plait:
The interior of jupiter
is very hot.

This is actually heat
left over

From its formation
4.6 billion years ago.

Because jupiter
is the most massive,

The biggest planet
in the solar system,

It has the most amount
of heat available

To power these
gigantic storms.

♪♪

Narrator:
Jupiter's super hot core
unlocks the mystery

Of what powers the largest
storms in the solar system.

♪♪

But jupiter has more
puzzles to solve.

♪♪

Nasa's pioneering juno probe

Carries a special
infrared camera.

♪♪

It sees parts of jupiter

That are invisible
to other types of camera.

♪♪

It captures this
mysterious image.

The picture shows a huge aurora
at jupiter's south pole.

♪♪

It is larger than the size
of the earth.

♪♪

Plait:
We knew jupiter had aurorae.

We've seen these
using hubble.

What juno showed us
is the size and scale

And power of jupiter's aurorae.

They are far larger
and far more powerful,

Far brighter, than anything
we've ever seen on earth.

♪♪

Narrator:
Aurorae occur on earth

When charged particles
from the sun slam

Into our planet's
magnetic field.

♪♪

Some of these charged
particles, called ions,

Funnel down towards the earth's
north and south poles.

♪♪

The result is
a spectacular light show,

Like the aurora borealis.

♪♪

The sun is too far
away from jupiter

For its ions to create
the aurorae that juno sees.

Instead, the ions come

From jupiter's fiery moon

Io.

Oluseyi:
Io is the most volcanic body

In the solar system

And it's also a small body,
so, when it erupts,

Not all the volcanic material
falls back on io.

Some of it goes into orbit
around jupiter

And some of it actually follows
jupiter's magnetic field lines

And collides with jupiter's
atmosphere at the poles,

Causing aurorae.

♪♪

Jupiter's supersized aurora

Means that the planet must have
a supersized magnetic field.

♪♪

And this creates
a big mystery

For planetary scientists
to solve.

♪♪

Planets like earth

Have a churning ball
of molten metal at their core.

This moving liquid metal
acts like a dynamo.

♪♪

It generates a magnetic field
that stretches out into space.

♪♪

Jupiter is a gas giant made
almost entirely from hydrogen.

♪♪

Scientists believe
that it contains

No vast reservoir
of liquid metal,

So what inside jupiter

Creates the planet's
mega magnetic field?

♪♪

And why does this gas giant

Have, not two poles,
but three?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
Nasa's pioneering juno probe

Confirms that jupiter
has the largest magnetic field

Of any planet
in the solar system.

Jupiter is made almost entirely
of hydrogen gas,

So what inside jupiter
acts like a dynamo

To create the planet's
mega magnetic field?

♪♪

Scientists at the
lawrence livermore
national laboratory

Believe that the huge pressure
deep inside jupiter

Unlocks the mystery.

♪♪

Here, they use
powerful lasers

To simulate how
this pressure changes gases

Into weird,
new states of matter.

♪♪

The scientists trap a sample
of hydrogen in a chamber...

♪♪

...And then focus
their lasers onto it.

♪♪

This creates shock waves

That, for a few billionths
of a second,

Simulate the extreme
pressure inside jupiter.

♪♪

The atoms in the hydrogen are
squeezed together so tightly

That its properties change
beyond recognition.

♪♪

The hydrogen transforms
from a clear gas

Into a substance
that reflects light,

A telltale sign that it
now behaves like a metal.

♪♪

Scientists believe
that a similar

Super pressurized form
of hydrogen

Exists inside jupiter.

♪♪

In the interior of jupiter,

There are incredible forces
pressing everything together,

So, in the case of all
those hydrogen atoms,

They're crushed
so close together,

They begin
to share electrons.

That's the definition
of a metallic bond

And that means it can
conduct electricity.

♪♪

Narrator:
This weird type
of metallic hydrogen

Solves the mystery
of what generates

The planet's supersized
magnetic field.

♪♪

Materials that
conduct electricity

Can generate magnetic fields

And jupiter's massive size
means that it could contain

A vast reservoir of this
bizarre form of hydrogen.

♪♪

Deep inside jupiter

Lies an ocean of shiny,
metallic hydrogen.

♪♪

This form of hydrogen
might make up

As much as 50%
of jupiter's mass.

♪♪

The planet's rotation
spins the metallic hydrogen.

This movement creates
electric currents

And the dynamo that generates

The largest planetary magnetic
field in the solar system.

♪♪

The magnetic field
is so large

That it envelops
jupiter's moons.

♪♪

It pulls charged particles

From these moons
to jupiter's poles.

♪♪

These particles slam
into the planet

To create jupiter's
spectacular aurorae.

♪♪

Jupiter's super powerful
magnetic field

Creates one of the most
stunning light displays

In the solar system.

[ beeping ]

Juno carries a magnetometer

As part of its suite
of super sensitive instruments.

♪♪

The magnetometer creates
the first detailed map

Of jupiter's
massive magnetic field.

♪♪

This data reveals
something extraordinary.

♪♪

Jupiter's supersized
magnetic field is a mess.

We've known for a while
that jupiter has

A tremendously strong
magnetic field,

But, until juno got closer,

We had no idea
how chaotic it is.

♪♪

Narrator:
Juno shows that jupiter's
magnetic field

Points outwards from the
planet's north pole

And inwards
to its south pole.

But a portion of its magnetic
field rejoins jupiter

At a circular spot close
to the giant planet's equator.

♪♪

It looks like jupiter has,
not two poles, but three.

♪♪

Imagine going camping
on jupiter.

How could you use
a compass to get around

When there's three poles?

It just doesn't work.

♪♪

Narrator:
What mysterious process
going on inside jupiter

Creates this weird anomaly?

♪♪

[ beeping ]

The super sensitive instruments
onboard juno reveal a clue.

♪♪

They show that many
of the largest,

Most violent storms
on jupiter

Are near
the planet's equator.

♪♪

Juno has revealed to us
that jupiter has

Many, many storms
going on at all times,

The most famous of which
is the great red spot,

Which has lasted
for centuries.

♪♪

Narrator:
Jupiter's surface spins
fastest at the equator.

♪♪

Juno measures wind speeds
and some equatorial storms

In excess
of 300 miles per hour.

[ beeping ]

Scientists believe that the
winds inside these mega storms

Unlock the mystery
of what produces

Jupiter's weird
magnetic field.

♪♪

1,800 miles beneath the
surface of jupiter...

♪♪

...Is an ocean
of metallic hydrogen.

The winds raging across its
surface are so powerful

That they create fast-moving
currents in the liquid metal.

♪♪

These currents upset the balance
of jupiter's dynamo.

♪♪

They shift and shear

The giant planet's
mega magnetic field...

♪♪

...And create a third magnetic
pole, near the equator.

♪♪

Only on a planet so weird
could super fast winds

Change a magnetic field
the size of the sun.

♪♪

Every planet's magnetic field
is a little strange.

They all have
their little quirks,

But nothing like this
has ever been seen.

♪♪

[ beeping ]

Narrator:
The data from juno

Unlocks the mystery
of jupiter's weird,

Shapeshifting
magnetic field.

Now, the probe turns
to solving more

Of the mega planet's
mysteries.

♪♪

Why is the center of jupiter
a jumbled mix of gas and rock

And how does it
unlock the birth

Of the largest planet
in the solar system?

♪♪

♪♪

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
Jupiter is the largest
and most extreme planet

In the solar system.

Nasa's juno probe is
on a mission

To unlock its secrets.

♪♪

Juno's next objective is
to reveal, for the first time,

What lies at the center
of jupiter.

♪♪

Astronomers believe
that a picture

Of what is happening
at the heart of the planet

Will solve one of its
biggest mysteries --

How was jupiter born?

♪♪

We really don't understand how
gas giants like jupiter formed.

That is one
of the prime mysteries

That juno is designed
to help solve.

♪♪

[ beeping ]

♪♪

Solving this puzzle rests
on astronomers

Finding out if jupiter

Has a core made from rock
or a core made from gas.

♪♪

If the core is rocky,

Then that means that it formed
like the other planets

In the inner solar system
formed, planets like earth,

Smaller objects colliding
together and stuck together

Until you built up
a planetary-sized body.

Narrator:
A core made from gas
will tell

An entirely different story
of jupiter's creation.

♪♪

It will be evidence
that jupiter was born

Through the collapse
of a giant cloud

Of gas and dust
in the early solar system.

In that case,
there really wouldn't be

Anything solid
in the core at all.

It'd be more like the sun.

So, the core was
a big deal.

What was the core like?

Was it going
to be solid?

Was it gonna be gaseous?

[ beeping ]

Narrator:
Instruments onboard juno

Measure the shape and size
of jupiter's magnetic

And gravitational fields
to find out.

♪♪

Astronomers on earth
crunch this data

To build up a detailed image

Of what lies at the heart
of the mega planet.

♪♪

They discover that
the interior of jupiter

Is far stranger than anyone
could have imagined.

♪♪

Jupiter's core is not
exclusively rock, or gas.

It's a weird mixture of both.

♪♪

It seems to have a lot of rocky
stuff and metal stuff,

But it also has
a lot of gassy stuff,

So it's not like
a distinct entity.

It just sort of fades away
with distance from the center.

It's really just
kind of fuzzy.

♪♪

Narrator:
Many astronomers
think this new evidence

Indicates that jupiter
is born as a rocky planet.

It then accumulates
huge quantities of gas

To grow to the size
it is today.

♪♪

But what causes the rock
and gas inside jupiter to mix

And make a fuzzy core?

One theory is that
a young jupiter

Is involved
in a cosmic crash.

We think that there was
once, at least,

A solid mass of rock
and metal in the core,

But something has clearly
stirred it up

Or even destroyed it
and broken it up.

Narrator:
What is the object
that crashes into jupiter

And shatters the core
of this mighty planet?

♪♪

Planetary scientists
have a way to find out.

♪♪

They build models
of the early solar system

Inside supercomputers.

♪♪

They then smash objects
into virtual jupiters,

To test what type
of collision

Produces the fuzzy core
that juno sees.

The researchers discover
that just one scenario results

In the weird mix
of rock and gas

At the center
of the mega planet.

♪♪

Four and a half billion
years ago,

A rocky planet 10 times
more massive than earth

Heads straight for jupiter.

[ explosion ]

The planet collides head-on.

♪♪

It plows through the atmosphere
towards the heart of jupiter.

[ explosions ]

And smashes the rocky core
at the center of the gas giant

Into billions of pieces.

♪♪

These fragments mix

With the surrounding
metallic hydrogen...

♪♪

...To make the weird,
fuzzy core that juno detects.

♪♪

So the most likely culprit is
a direct collision with jupiter.

Some other planet, carrying
an enormous amount of energy,

Strikes the core of jupiter
like a bullet

And injects that energy

Into the core
of the planet itself.

It deposits that energy
and breaks up the core,

And that might be causing
the so-called fuzziness

That we see in the data.

[ explosions ]

♪♪

Narrator:
The theory works
inside a computer simulation,

But how is it possible,
in reality,

For jupiter to collide
with another planet?

♪♪

The answer could lie
with alien worlds

Light-years away from earth.

Astronomers call them
exoplanets.

♪♪

In 2017,

Astronomers discover
a super strange exoplanet

Orbiting the star kelt-9,

670 light-years
away from earth.

♪♪

Thaller:
There was something
truly extraordinary

About the star kelt-9.

Kelt-9 had a dip in brightness
every one and a half days.

There was a planet close
enough to the star,

It went around every one
and a half days.

Not only that,
it was a giant planet,

Over two times
the mass of jupiter.

Narrator:
Astronomers name
this weird world kelt-9b.

♪♪

Kelt-9 is a gas giant,
like jupiter.

But, it is 11 times closer
to its star

Than mercury is to our sun.

Astronomers call these types
of planets hot jupiters.

Kelt-9b is
a super extreme planet.

This is one
of the hottest exoplanets

That we've ever found.

The atmosphere
of that planet is hotter

Than the surface
of most stars.

[ beeping ]
narrator: Measurements

From the spitzer
space telescope reveal

That this extreme heat
is ripping apart kelt-9b.

[ beeping ]

Plait:
The heat from its star
is blowing

Its atmosphere away
like a comet.

It's losing
its atmosphere over time,

Which means that, eventually,
it's all going to go away

And, at some point
in the future,

All that's gonna be left is
whatever core this planet has.

♪♪

Narrator:
Kelt-9b and other
hot jupiters are enigmas.

♪♪

The science says
that these huge planets

Can't form this close
to a star.

♪♪

To form a gas giant
like jupiter,

You need really cold conditions,
far from the host star,

Where icy materials
can glue themselves together

And accrete gas
as the planet grows.

So, when we see these
really hot jupiters

Really, really close to the
stars that they're orbiting,

We know they
can't have formed there.

♪♪

Narrator:
Kelt-9b must have moved
towards its star

After it forms in a colder
region of space.

♪♪

How does this characteristic
of hot jupiters

Reveal why our jupiter
collides with another planet?

♪♪

And can an epic journey
across the solar system

Solve the mystery
of how earth got its oceans?

[ explosion ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ suspenseful music plays ]
[ beeping ]

Narrator:
Nasa's juno probe

Discovers that
the center of jupiter

Is a weird mixture
of rock and gas.

♪♪

Astronomers believe
that a collision

With another planet could
explain this fuzzy core.

[ explosions ]

Telescope observations reveal
that jupiter-like worlds

In other parts of the galaxy
move towards their stars.

♪♪

These journeys
could solve the mystery

Of how our jupiter collides
with another planet.

♪♪

Four and a half billion
years ago,

Jupiter forms
in a disc of gas and dust

That surrounds
the newborn sun.

♪♪

It forms early,
in a solar system

That is a mess of rocks
and planetary embryos.

♪♪

The gravity of the disc
itself gradually,

Over a few million years,

Pulls jupiter
towards the sun.

♪♪

Jupiter advances towards its
star with every new orbit.

♪♪

As it moves inwards,

Jupiter is a wrecking ball
for everything in its path.

♪♪

When you look at the
wonderfully stable

Solar system
that we see today,

It's almost impossible
to imagine

How violent and dramatic
it was in the beginning.

At this time,
there were collisions

Left, right, and center.

The solar system was very much
a work in progress.

♪♪

Narrator:
Jupiter is on the fast track
to becoming a hot jupiter.

♪♪

One theory is that another
planet comes to the rescue.

♪♪

So it seems now
as if our solar system

Was headed towards some kind
of unsalvageable disaster,

Jupiter moving closer
and closer in,

Disrupting orbits
of planets as it went.

♪♪

Farther out in the disc,
more giant planets began to form

And, specifically, saturn.

Every time
it orbited around,

It gave jupiter a little
gravitational tug back

Into the outer parts
of the solar system.

♪♪

The jupiter we have today
almost didn't exist,

But, luckily for it,

Saturn formed
close enough to it

And its gravitational
attraction slowed it down,

So it saved it from the fate

Of moving in closer to the sun
than mercury even is

And then getting boiled away.

♪♪

Narrator:
Many astronomers believe
that jupiter's journey towards,

And then away from the sun,

Stirs up the protoplanets
in our solar system.

♪♪

Some of them change places
and switch orbits.

♪♪

The mayhem
that jupiter unleashes

Could explain
how one such planet

Ends up on a collision course
with the gas giant.

♪♪

Our early solar system
was a chaotic and messy place

And jupiter moving through it
was a really big target.

So there's a surprisingly
high chance

For jupiter,
in the early solar system,

To collide
with a massive body.

♪♪

Narrator:
Data from juno
unlocks the mysteries

Of jupiter's early history.

♪♪

Scientists now think
that jupiter's migration

Is a defining event
for our solar system.

♪♪

When you have a planet
as massive as jupiter

Moving through our
early solar system,

It's gonna have
some wild effects.

♪♪

Narrator:
How does jupiter's journey

Shape the solar system
that we know today?

♪♪

Plait:
Jupiter is the largest,
the most massive planet

In the solar system.

Clearly, it has
profoundly affected

Everything else around it.

The mystery is, how?

In detail, specifically,
what did it do?

[ explosion ]

Narrator:
A fuzzy core is evidence

That jupiter collides
with a giant planet

During an epic migration
across the solar system.

♪♪

[ explosion ]
the gravity of saturn

Pulls jupiter back

And saves the mega planet
from becoming a hot jupiter.

♪♪

Scientists think
that this journey

Might unlock one of earth's
biggest mysteries --

How did oceans form
on our planet?

♪♪

Tremblay:
Water is essential
for all life on earth.

It covers 70%
of our planet's surface

And, yet, it actually has
no business being here.

♪♪

Narrator:
The young earth
is born dry

Around four and a half
billion years ago.

♪♪

It's close proximity
to the sun

Means that lighter
ingredients, like water,

Evaporate into space.

♪♪

If the earth formed
in its present location

In the solar system,

It was way too hot
for all of this water

To actually be part
of the original planet,

It had to come
from somewhere else.

Narrator:
Astronomers think that
the source of water on earth

Lies in a frozen region of space
farther away from the sun.

♪♪

When the sun ignites,

Its heat creates
a water-free zone around it.

♪♪

The earth forms dry in this
barren region of space.

♪♪

Further out, near jupiter,
orbit millions of asteroids.

♪♪

Here, it is cold enough
for water to exist, as ice.

♪♪

Water freezes
inside the asteroids.

♪♪

They smash together
to make bigger space rocks,

That contain vast
amounts of water...

♪♪

...Enough to fill
entire oceans,

If they were to hit earth.

♪♪

But what sends them flying
through space

Towards our planet?

♪♪

And is it possible
that these rocks

Also contain the building
blocks of life?

[ explosion ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
Astronomers believe
that a bombardment

Of water-rich asteroids
billions of years ago

Seeds earth's oceans.

♪♪

But what sends
these space rocks flying

Towards our planet?

♪♪

A clue is locked
inside meteorites.

♪♪

Meteorites are fragments
of larger asteroids in space

That break away
and fall to earth.

♪♪

The tiny grains of dust
inside meteorites

Tell astronomers where
in the solar system

Their parent asteroids
are born.

♪♪

Thaller:
Scientists have known
for a while

There are two different
types of meteorites,

Two families
that had to form

In different parts
of the solar system.

Some meteorites are very rich
in minerals that contain water.

Others are much more dry.

♪♪

Narrator:
Astronomers find both wet
and dry meteorites on earth.

♪♪

If these two types of space
rocks form inside asteroids

In different areas
of the solar system,

Then it is evidence
that something in the past

Jumbles them together.

♪♪

Scientists believe only one
object in the solar system

Is powerful enough
to mix together

Entire asteroid fields --

Jupiter.

♪♪

As jupiter migrated,

Objects were thrown
to higher orbits, lower orbits,

Into the sun,
out of the solar system.

It really mixed things up.

Narrator:
Around four and a half
billion years ago,

Jupiter is
on its return journey,

Away from the sun.

♪♪

The planet passes
through separate regions

Of dry and wet asteroids.

♪♪

Jupiter's huge gravity

Flings these space rocks
across the solar system.

♪♪

The mix of asteroids
bombard the young earth.

[ explosions ]

♪♪

It's possible
that these frozen rocks

Bring with them the water
that forms our planet's oceans.

There was a time
in the history of earth

When millions upon millions
of asteroids

Rained down on the surface.

Before, we didn't
really understand

Why that would have happened.

Now, we look back
to jupiter

And think that maybe
jupiter is responsible.

♪♪

[ explosion ]

Narrator:
Scientists think
it is possible

[ explosion ]
that the asteroids
that jupiter flings at earth

Bring more than just water.

In 2015,

Nasa's new horizons probe
visits a strange body

Way out in the farthest
reaches of our solar system.

♪♪

The cameras on the probe
send back photos of arrokoth,

A misshapen object
in the kuiper belt,

A ring of billions
of space rocks

Beyond the orbit of neptune.

♪♪

Some of the images reveal

That a strange, red,
tar-like substance

Covers parts of the surface
of the frozen object.

♪♪

Analysis reveals
that these red areas contain

Organic chemistry.

♪♪

These chemicals are
the raw materials

For making amino acids,
the building blocks of dna.

♪♪

[ explosions ]
some scientists think

That the frozen water locked
inside the asteroids

That bombard the young earth
contain these seeds of life.

♪♪

Given all that jupiter did
to the solar system

And its destructive power,

It's quite a surprise
to find that

It may be what delivered
the goods to earth

That were necessary for life
to get started on our planet.

♪♪

[ beeping ]

Narrator:
Nasa's juno probe
is unlocking the mysteries

Of the largest and most extreme
planet in the solar system.

♪♪

The mission reveals that jupiter
is more alien and more powerful

Than astronomers
ever thought possible.

♪♪

And that this gas mega planet

Plays a leading role in shaping
the solar system we see today.

♪♪

We always knew
that jupiter was extreme,

But now, with juno flying
above its beautiful clouds

And peering deep
into its heart,

We have an idea of what
makes this guy tick.

♪♪

Jupiter used to be just
an interesting, beautiful,

Giant planet
in the outer solar system.

Now, we understand
that it might've influenced

The beginning
of life on earth.

♪♪

Narrator:
From its super massive,
ever-changing magnetic field...

♪♪

...To its super powerful
mega storms

That reach deep
into the atmosphere...

♪♪

...And it's fuzzy core,

The echo of an ancient collision
with a giant planet...

♪♪

[ beeping ]
...Thanks to juno,

Jupiter is finally
giving up its secrets.

♪♪