[rocket rumbling]
[dramatic music]
>> HEY, FOLKS. WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M AMBER WHALEN.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED.
SO A CURFEW, THAT'S A BOUNDARY.
IN FACT, PARENTS TEND TO GIVE LOTS OF BOUNDARIES, DON'T THEY?
BUT WHAT OBJECTS CAN HAVE BOUNDARIES TOO?
LIKE THE DESK YOU'RE SITTING AT, IT HAS TO END EVENTUALLY.
EARTH HAS BOUNDARIES.
THERE IS A POINT WHERE EARTH ENDS AND SPACE BEGINS.
BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?
WHERE DOES OUR SOLAR SYSTEM END AND EVERYTHING ELSE BEGIN?
GOOD QUESTION.
UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, NOT A SIMPLE ANSWER.
THE LIMITS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
ARE ACTUALLY CONTROLLED BY OUR SUN.
NOW, I KNOW THIS MIGHT SOUND PRETTY ODD.
HOW CAN OUR SUN, WHICH SITS DIRECTLY IN THE CENTER
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
BE THE CAUSE OF ITS BOUNDARIES?
ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION,
ONLY THIS ONE HAS AN EASIER ANSWER.
OUR SUN IS A SOURCE OF LOTS OF ENERGY.
SOLAR WINDS EJECTED FROM THE SUN
RACE OUTWARDS IN ALL DIRECTIONS THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
THIS CREATES AN ENORMOUS BUBBLE-LIKE REGION.
WE CALL THIS THE HELIOSPHERE.
SO WHAT'S BEYOND THE HELIOSPHERE?
IT'S CALLED THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM.
BASICALLY, THIS IS THE NAME
GIVEN TO ALL THAT "STUFF" THAT'S IN SPACE BETWEEN STARS.
IT'S MADE UP MAINLY OF GASES LIKE HYDROGEN AND HELIUM.
OKAY, SO LET'S STOP BEING
SO SOLAR-SYSTEM-CENTRIC ABOUT THIS
AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE HELIOSPHERE
FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUBBLE.
OUR SPIRALED MILKY WAY GALAXY
IS HOME TO OVER 100 BILLION STARS.
THIS INCLUDES OUR MOST FAVORITE, THE SUN.
THE SPACE BETWEEN ALL THESE STARS,
OR THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM,
IS FILLED WITH DANGEROUS COSMIC RAYS.
SO AS THE SUN AND ALL ITS PLANETS
MOVE THROUGH THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM,
THE HELIOSPHERE ACTS AS THE BUFFER
AND WARDS OFF MOST OF THE HARMFUL COSMIC RAYS.
SCIENTISTS HAVE GOOD EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THESE IDEAS,
BUT THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS,
SUCH AS, WHERE EXACTLY ARE THESE BOUNDARIES LOCATED?
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL SHAPE OF THIS BUBBLE THAT SURROUNDS US?
DOES THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM AFFECT THE HELIOSPHERE
DIFFERENTLY IN VARIOUS PLACES?
TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE,
SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
BUILT THE INTERSTELLAR BOUNDARY EXPLORER, OR IBEX.
ITS MAIN JOB WILL BE TO MAP OUT
THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
STUDYING THE ORIGINATING LOCATION OF THESE PARTICLES
WILL HELP SCIENTISTS
GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR HELIOSPHERE.
SO IBEX WAS LAUNCHED ON OCTOBER 19, 2008,
BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING PRETTY DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS LAUNCH.
YOU'VE ALL SEEN SHUTTLE LAUNCHES BEFORE
OR A ROCKET LAUNCH, RIGHT?
PRETTY AMAZING STUFF, BUT VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE.
IBEX, BEING THE SIZE OF A BUS TIRE,
WAS A SMALL ENOUGH SPACECRAFT
TO BE LAUNCHED ON A PEGASUS ROCKET.
ENGINEERS DEVELOPED THIS ROCKET
TO LAUNCH FROM 40,000 FEET IN THE AIR.
IT DETACHES FROM AN AIRPLANE,
FREE-FALLS FOR ABOUT FIVE SECONDS,
AND THEN TAKES OFF TOWARDS LOWER-EARTH ORBIT.
FROM THERE, THE IBEX TEAM USED AN ADDITIONAL ROCKET
MOUNTED TO THE BOTTOM OF THEIR SPACECRAFT
TO BOOST THE ORBIT NEARLY ALL THE WAY TO THE MOON.
I MUST SAY, TECHNOLOGY IS TOTALLY AMAZING.
IT BLOWS MY MIND THAT SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS CAN BUILD A TOOL
THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO STUDY SOMETHING
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES AWAY FROM US.
GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY MAKE THE BIG BUCKS.
WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.
I'M AMBER WHALEN.
THANKS FOR WATCHING "NASA LAUNCHPAD."