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>> FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

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MANKIND HAS WONDERED

3
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"ARE THERE PLANETS AROUND

4
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OTHER STARS?

5
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IS THERE LIFE OUT THERE?"

6
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BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW.

7
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WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE

8
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ANY PLANETS AROUND OTHER STARS.

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>> ZERO AND LIFTOFF

10
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OF THE DELTA TWO ROCKET

11
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WITH KEPLER, ON A SEARCH

12
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FOR PLANETS IN SOME WAY

13
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LIKE OUR OWN.

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>> BEFORE THE LAUNCH OF KEPLER,

15
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MOST OF THE PLANETS

16
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WE KNEW ABOUT WERE REALLY

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BIG PLANETS, LIKE JUPITER.

18
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BUT KEPLER WAS SO SENSITIVE,

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THAT WE STARTED FINDING

20
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SMALLER AND SMALLER PLANETS.

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>> WE DISCOVERED PLANETS

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SMALLER THAN HAD EVER

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BEEN DISCOVERED BEFORE

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AND JUST, MANY OF THEM.

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INDICATING THAT THE GALAXY

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IS FULL OF PLANETS.

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CRAZY WORLDS THAT WE

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DIDN'T PREDICT, THINGS

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THAT WE HADN'T IMAGINED.

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WE FIND PLANETS ORBITING

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SO CLOSE TO THEIR PARENT STAR

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THAT THE STAR-FACING SIDE

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HAS TEMPERATURES IN EXCESS

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OF THAT REQUIRED TO MELT IRON.

35
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THESE PLANETS HAVE

36
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AN ENTIRE HEMISPHERE

37
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THAT'S LIKE A LIQUID OCEAN.

38
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BUT IT'S NOT AN OCEAN OF WATER.

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IT'S AN OCEAN OF MOLTEN ROCK.

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WE SEE PLANETS THAT ARE

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ORBITING NOT ONE BUT TWO STARS.

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THAT IS, IF YOU LOOK IN

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THE EAST YOU WOULD SEE

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NOT ONE STAR RISE BUT TWO.

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>> ALMOST ALL THE ASTRONOMERS

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THAT I KNOW GREW UP

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READING SCIENCE FICTION.

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THAT'S WHY A LOT OF THEM

49
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GOT INTO THE BUSINESS OF

50
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LOOKING FOR PLANETS

51
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IN THE FIRST PLACE.

52
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TO FIND OUT IF ANY OF

53
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THIS, YOU KNOW, FANTASTIC

54
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SPECULATION THAT INSPIRED US,

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COULD BE TRUE.

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AND NOW WE FIND OUT THAT,

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YEAH, IT COULD BE TRUE.

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>> WE LEARNED FROM KEPLER

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THAT THE MOST COMMON TYPES

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OF PLANETS IN THE GALAXY

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ARE UNLIKE THE PLANETS

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IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.

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THESE WORLDS ARE

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INTERMEDIATE IN SIZE

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BETWEEN THE EARTH AND NEPTUNE,

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BUT WE'RE NOT EXACTLY SURE

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WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF.

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>> WHAT ARE THE THINGS

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THAT WE KNOW NOW,

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THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW THEN?

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I MEAN, THINGS LIKE PLANETS

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ARE UBIQUITOUS.

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PLANETS ARE DIVERSE.

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THE STARS THAT WE FIND

75
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PLANETS AROUND ARE DIVERSE.

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THE SYSTEMS THAT PLANETS

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LIVE IN VARY WIDELY.

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>> IT WAS BREATH-TAKING TO SEE

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ALL THE PLANETS COME ROLLING IN

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FROM THIS EXQUISITE DATA

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OVER THE YEARS THAT

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WE WERE COLLECTING DATA

83
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WITH KEPLER.

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IN THE END, WE FOUND

85
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DOZENS OF SMALL, POTENTIALLY

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ROCKY WORLDS ORBITING IN

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THE "GOLDILOCKS ZONE"

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OF THEIR STARS.

89
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THAT DISTANCE AT WHICH YOU

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COULD HAVE LIQUID WATER POOLING

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ON THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET,

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CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING

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LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

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>> THE SCIENCE VALUE OF

95
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THE COLLECTED DATA SPANS

96
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ALMOST EVERY FIELD OF ASTRONOMY

97
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AND PLANETARY SCIENCE.

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IT REVOLUTIONIZED NOT JUST

99
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EXOPLANETS, NOT JUST STARS,

100
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BUT A LARGE NUMBER OF

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THE SCIENTIFIC FIELDS

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OF ASTRONOMY TODAY.

103
00:02:49,302 --> 00:02:50,203
>> THERE WAS ONE SUMMER WHERE

104
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I WORKED AT AN OBSERVATORY

105
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AND I WOULD GO OUTSIDE AT NIGHT

106
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AND LOOK UP AT THE STARS

107
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AND JUST BE BLOWN AWAY

108
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AT HOW VAST SPACE WAS.

109
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AND I ACTUALLY FELT

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A LITTLE LONELY.

111
00:03:02,315 --> 00:03:03,516
AND WHEN I GO OUT AND I LOOK

112
00:03:03,516 --> 00:03:05,385
AT THE NIGHT SKY NOW,

113
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RATHER THAN BEING AWESTRUCK

114
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BY THE VASTNESS, I'M AWESTRUCK

115
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BY THE POSSIBILITY.

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>> THERE AREN'T THAT

117
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MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN LIFE

118
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WHERE YOU GET TO PARTICIPATE

119
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IN A PROJECT AS IMPORTANT

120
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AS KEPLER IS THAT ANSWERS

121
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SUCH A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION

122
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THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKING

123
00:03:20,633 --> 00:03:22,969
OURSELVES FOR SO LONG.

124
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NOW WE KNOW WHEN WE LOOK UP

125
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INTO THE NIGHT SKY

126
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THAT EVERY STAR WE SEE HAS,

127
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ON AVERAGE, AT LEAST ONE PLANET.

128
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AND THAT MANY OF THOSE PLANETS

129
00:03:30,243 --> 00:03:32,412
ARE SIMILAR IN SIZE TO THE EARTH

130
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AND A CHANCE FOR LIFE

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AS WE KNOW IT ELSEWHERE.

132
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>> SEARCHING FOR LIFE ELSEWHERE

133
00:03:37,083 --> 00:03:38,785
IS ONE OF THE KEY THEMES

134
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THAT DRIVE OUR SCIENCE PORTFOLIO

135
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AND AT THE CENTER OF THAT

136
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IS KEPLER.

137
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NEW MISSIONS LIKE

138
00:03:46,593 --> 00:03:47,727
THE TRANSITING EXOPLANET

139
00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:49,896
SURVEY SATELLITE, TESS,

140
00:03:49,896 --> 00:03:51,097
AND THE JAMES WEBB SPACE

141
00:03:51,097 --> 00:03:52,665
TELESCOPE WILL BUILD ON

142
00:03:52,665 --> 00:03:54,400
KEPLER'S SUCCESS AND TAKE

143
00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:56,069
OUR SEARCH FOR LIFE

144
00:03:56,069 --> 00:03:58,905
TO NEW HEIGHTS.

145
00:03:58,905 --> 00:03:59,906
>> IT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY

146
00:03:59,906 --> 00:04:02,342
GRATIFYING TO SEE THE DATA

147
00:04:02,342 --> 00:04:04,243
COME BACK FROM THE MISSION

148
00:04:04,243 --> 00:04:06,379
AND SHOW WHAT WE WANTED TO KNOW,

149
00:04:06,379 --> 00:04:07,847
GIVE US THE ANSWER.

150
00:04:07,847 --> 00:04:10,316
MANY STARS HAVE PLANETS,

151
00:04:10,316 --> 00:04:11,584
A LOT OF THESE PLANETS

152
00:04:11,584 --> 00:04:13,519
ARE EARTH-SIZED.

153
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THAT'S KEPLER'S LEGACY.

154
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THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE