WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.838 align:middle line:90%
[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

00:00:02.838 --> 00:00:07.580 align:middle line:90%


00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:09.770 align:middle line:84%
Since the first astronomers
pointed telescopes

00:00:09.770 --> 00:00:14.750 align:middle line:84%
at the heavens, they have
sought to see more, see farther,

00:00:14.750 --> 00:00:15.455 align:middle line:90%
see deeper.

00:00:15.455 --> 00:00:18.060 align:middle line:90%


00:00:18.060 --> 00:00:21.240 align:middle line:84%
Space astronomy changed
on April 24, 1990,

00:00:21.240 --> 00:00:24.000 align:middle line:84%
with the launch of the
Space Shuttle Discovery,

00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.230 align:middle line:84%
carrying aboard it the
Hubble Space Telescope.

00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:31.360 align:middle line:84%
A lot of people think we
launched Hubble into space

00:00:31.360 --> 00:00:34.120 align:middle line:84%
to put it closer to the
stars, but the real reason

00:00:34.120 --> 00:00:37.240 align:middle line:84%
lies in that old children's
song, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little

00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:38.440 align:middle line:90%
Star."

00:00:38.440 --> 00:00:41.320 align:middle line:84%
We all know that song, and
it describes a very real

00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:42.700 align:middle line:90%
phenomenon.

00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:45.610 align:middle line:84%
The Earth's atmosphere
both distorts and blocks

00:00:45.610 --> 00:00:48.220 align:middle line:90%
light coming in from space.

00:00:48.220 --> 00:00:53.080 align:middle line:84%
In space, beyond the atmosphere,
the stars don't twinkle,

00:00:53.080 --> 00:00:55.270 align:middle line:84%
they shine steady,
and that allows

00:00:55.270 --> 00:00:56.890 align:middle line:84%
you to get the
stunning images we've

00:00:56.890 --> 00:01:00.460 align:middle line:84%
become accustomed to
seeing from Hubble.

00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:02.540 align:middle line:84%
But that wasn't
Hubble's only benefit.

00:01:02.540 --> 00:01:05.740 align:middle line:84%
It's also one of NASA's
great observatories.

00:01:05.740 --> 00:01:07.510 align:middle line:84%
These are general
purpose telescopes

00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:09.730 align:middle line:84%
designed to be able
to observe anything

00:01:09.730 --> 00:01:12.610 align:middle line:90%
and everything in the cosmos.

00:01:12.610 --> 00:01:15.340 align:middle line:84%
There are a lot of observatories
in space, but most of them

00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:18.950 align:middle line:84%
are designed to answer one
or two specific questions.

00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:22.430 align:middle line:84%
Hubble was built to be
as inclusive as possible.

00:01:22.430 --> 00:01:24.620 align:middle line:84%
It was supposed to
answer as many questions

00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:26.900 align:middle line:84%
as you could think
to ask, at least as

00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:30.000 align:middle line:90%
far as its design allowed.

00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.930 align:middle line:84%
And Hubble succeeded
splendidly at that.

00:01:33.930 --> 00:01:38.010 align:middle line:84%
We've seen planet-wide
dust storms on Mars.

00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:41.250 align:middle line:84%
We've seen the astonishingly
strong and surprisingly

00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:44.430 align:middle line:90%
variable auroras of Saturn.

00:01:44.430 --> 00:01:47.280 align:middle line:84%
We've looked deep into dense
star clusters containing

00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.695 align:middle line:84%
tens of thousands to
millions of stars.

00:01:49.695 --> 00:01:52.130 align:middle line:90%


00:01:52.130 --> 00:01:53.880 align:middle line:84%
We've examined the
birth of these clusters

00:01:53.880 --> 00:01:58.170 align:middle line:84%
as they emerge from the
interstellar clouds.

00:01:58.170 --> 00:02:01.380 align:middle line:84%
And we've watched stars
die, some releasing

00:02:01.380 --> 00:02:03.540 align:middle line:84%
their outer layers
gently into space

00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:11.790 align:middle line:84%
like smoke rings, others
forming cosmic butterflies,

00:02:11.790 --> 00:02:14.580 align:middle line:84%
some expiring in
tremendous explosions

00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:18.060 align:middle line:84%
that blast their material
across the cosmos,

00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:20.820 align:middle line:84%
expanding for tens of
thousands of light years

00:02:20.820 --> 00:02:25.440 align:middle line:84%
until their remnants
ultimately fade away.

00:02:25.440 --> 00:02:27.600 align:middle line:84%
We've explored the
varieties of galaxies,

00:02:27.600 --> 00:02:31.860 align:middle line:84%
some with beautiful
spiral shapes

00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:35.280 align:middle line:84%
and some with vast ellipsoidal
collections of hundreds

00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:39.780 align:middle line:84%
of billions of stars,
and we've seen galaxies

00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:43.590 align:middle line:84%
in massive clusters of thousands
arrayed through space and time.

00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:47.150 align:middle line:90%


00:02:47.150 --> 00:02:49.310 align:middle line:84%
This is perhaps the
most important image

00:02:49.310 --> 00:02:54.140 align:middle line:84%
Hubble has ever taken, the
Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

00:02:54.140 --> 00:02:56.330 align:middle line:84%
It shows us galaxies
stretched all the way

00:02:56.330 --> 00:02:57.830 align:middle line:90%
across the universe--

00:02:57.830 --> 00:03:02.400 align:middle line:84%
5, 6, 10 billion
light years away.

00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:04.400 align:middle line:84%
This is light that's
taken billions of years

00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:06.770 align:middle line:84%
to reach us in our
corner of the universe

00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:10.080 align:middle line:84%
so we see these galaxies
not as they are today

00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:12.440 align:middle line:84%
but as they were when
the light left them,

00:03:12.440 --> 00:03:15.020 align:middle line:84%
like getting a postcard in
the mail that's been traveling

00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:19.070 align:middle line:90%
for a very, very long time.

00:03:19.070 --> 00:03:24.600 align:middle line:90%
And in the end, we see nothing.

00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:27.060 align:middle line:84%
Is that because we've reached
the end of the universe?

00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:28.110 align:middle line:90%
No.

00:03:28.110 --> 00:03:31.290 align:middle line:84%
What we've reached is the
limit of Hubble's vision.

00:03:31.290 --> 00:03:33.690 align:middle line:84%
As amazing as Hubble
has been, we've

00:03:33.690 --> 00:03:35.640 align:middle line:84%
come up against the
immutable reality

00:03:35.640 --> 00:03:40.940 align:middle line:84%
that Hubble can't, in
fact, see everything.

00:03:40.940 --> 00:03:44.060 align:middle line:84%
To carry us farther,
to step beyond Hubble,

00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:47.360 align:middle line:84%
we need the James
Webb Space Telescope.

00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.750 align:middle line:84%
Like Hubble, Webb is a
general-purpose observatory.

00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:53.420 align:middle line:84%
And like Hubble, Webb
will orbit in space,

00:03:53.420 --> 00:03:55.340 align:middle line:84%
giving it the clarity
that comes from being

00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:57.950 align:middle line:90%
beyond Earth's atmosphere.

00:03:57.950 --> 00:04:00.110 align:middle line:84%
The Webb telescope
sees infrared light,

00:04:00.110 --> 00:04:02.030 align:middle line:84%
which is visible
to the human eye,

00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:05.780 align:middle line:84%
though we still
perceive it as heat.

00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:08.120 align:middle line:84%
Putting an infrared
telescope like Webb in space

00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:13.570 align:middle line:84%
is going to open entirely new
regions of the universe to us.

00:04:13.570 --> 00:04:16.899 align:middle line:84%
To understand this, you need a
little astronomical background.

00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:20.110 align:middle line:84%
You've probably all heard that
our universe is expanding,

00:04:20.110 --> 00:04:22.840 align:middle line:84%
but what you may not know
is that, as it expands,

00:04:22.840 --> 00:04:26.590 align:middle line:84%
the light traveling through the
universe also gets stretched.

00:04:26.590 --> 00:04:29.860 align:middle line:84%
So what started out as visible
light and ultraviolet light,

00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:31.450 align:middle line:84%
the two types of
light the earliest

00:04:31.450 --> 00:04:35.410 align:middle line:84%
objects in the universe emitted
most strongly, is changed.

00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:37.780 align:middle line:84%
It's stretched into
another wavelength--

00:04:37.780 --> 00:04:40.060 align:middle line:90%
infrared light.

00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:43.210 align:middle line:84%
If we want to see the earliest
objects in the universe,

00:04:43.210 --> 00:04:47.710 align:middle line:84%
we have to see that
faint infrared glow.

00:04:47.710 --> 00:04:49.960 align:middle line:84%
So why haven't we
done this before?

00:04:49.960 --> 00:04:51.480 align:middle line:90%
Well, we have.

00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:53.980 align:middle line:84%
We launched the Spitzer
Space Telescope,

00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:55.570 align:middle line:84%
which isn't as well
known as Hubble,

00:04:55.570 --> 00:04:57.940 align:middle line:84%
but has made incredible
discoveries of its own

00:04:57.940 --> 00:05:02.590 align:middle line:84%
with the infrared
capabilities Hubble lacks.

00:05:02.590 --> 00:05:05.380 align:middle line:84%
But when it comes to
resolution, Spitzer's images

00:05:05.380 --> 00:05:07.210 align:middle line:84%
are a lot more
like ground images

00:05:07.210 --> 00:05:10.180 align:middle line:84%
than they are like
Hubble images.

00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:13.270 align:middle line:84%
To get Hubble-quality
images in infrared light,

00:05:13.270 --> 00:05:15.220 align:middle line:90%
we need something more.

00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:19.430 align:middle line:90%
We need a giant mirror.

00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:22.940 align:middle line:84%
Spitzer's mirror is just
over 2 and 1/2 feet across.

00:05:22.940 --> 00:05:25.440 align:middle line:84%
Hubble's mirror is
about eight feet across.

00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:29.000 align:middle line:84%
So that's about a bit
taller than a human being.

00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:33.110 align:middle line:84%
And Webb's mirror uses 18
hexagonal mirror segments

00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:37.550 align:middle line:84%
to create a reflective surface
more than 21 feet across,

00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:41.140 align:middle line:90%
almost two stories tall.

00:05:41.140 --> 00:05:43.100 align:middle line:90%
Clearly that's pretty big.

00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:45.790 align:middle line:84%
How do we get something
that size into space?

00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:49.280 align:middle line:84%
Obviously we can't
ship it like this.

00:05:49.280 --> 00:05:51.310 align:middle line:90%
The answer is origami.

00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:54.040 align:middle line:84%
We are going to fold Webb
up inside the rocket that

00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:55.960 align:middle line:90%
launches it into orbit.

00:05:55.960 --> 00:05:59.260 align:middle line:84%
Once it's in space,
it starts to unfold.

00:05:59.260 --> 00:06:01.510 align:middle line:90%
The massive mirror opens up.

00:06:01.510 --> 00:06:03.760 align:middle line:84%
Its tennis-court-size
sun shield,

00:06:03.760 --> 00:06:06.160 align:middle line:84%
which will protect it from
unwanted infrared emissions

00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:10.330 align:middle line:84%
from the Sun, Earth,
and Moon stretches out,

00:06:10.330 --> 00:06:13.330 align:middle line:84%
and all this happens while it
travels approximately a million

00:06:13.330 --> 00:06:17.480 align:middle line:84%
miles away, to a point farther
away from our planet than even

00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:17.980 align:middle line:90%
the Moon.

00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.730 align:middle line:90%


00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:23.135 align:middle line:84%
So what are we going to
get for all this effort?

00:06:23.135 --> 00:06:25.760 align:middle line:90%


00:06:25.760 --> 00:06:29.036 align:middle line:90%
[STIRRING ORCHESTRAL THEME]

00:06:29.036 --> 00:06:30.440 align:middle line:90%


00:06:30.440 --> 00:06:33.290 align:middle line:84%
We are going to be able to
see past all these galaxies

00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:35.660 align:middle line:90%
in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

00:06:35.660 --> 00:06:37.850 align:middle line:84%
We're going to be able to
see beyond even the most

00:06:37.850 --> 00:06:39.950 align:middle line:84%
distant red dots
in these images,

00:06:39.950 --> 00:06:43.980 align:middle line:84%
the tiny, newly-formed galaxies
at the very edges of Hubble's

00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:44.480 align:middle line:90%
vision.

00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.100 align:middle line:90%


00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:50.070 align:middle line:84%
We're going to see the most
distant and earliest galaxies

00:06:50.070 --> 00:06:52.620 align:middle line:84%
in the universe, the
first stars and galaxies

00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:55.050 align:middle line:90%
to form after the Big Bang.

00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:58.215 align:middle line:84%
We call these objects the
universe's first light.

00:06:58.215 --> 00:07:06.160 align:middle line:90%


00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:09.610 align:middle line:84%
Hubble has been able to observe,
the adult, teenage and child

00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:11.800 align:middle line:90%
galaxies of the universe.

00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.560 align:middle line:84%
Webb will see the
toddlers and infants,

00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.560 align:middle line:84%
filling in our story of
galaxy formation and evolution

00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.890 align:middle line:84%
as surely as adding missing
photos into a family album

00:07:20.890 --> 00:07:24.590 align:middle line:84%
reveals how humans grow
and change over time.

00:07:24.590 --> 00:07:26.110 align:middle line:84%
But this isn't the
only area where

00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:30.690 align:middle line:84%
we know where we'll
provide breakthroughs.

00:07:30.690 --> 00:07:32.610 align:middle line:84%
This is Hubble's
image of the Eagle

00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:37.200 align:middle line:84%
Nebula, the famous
Pillars of Creation photo.

00:07:37.200 --> 00:07:41.490 align:middle line:84%
Inside these pillars of gas and
dust, new stars are forming,

00:07:41.490 --> 00:07:45.670 align:middle line:84%
but we can't see them because
the dust blocks visible light.

00:07:45.670 --> 00:07:49.300 align:middle line:84%
But it doesn't block infrared
anywhere near as well.

00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:51.780 align:middle line:84%
Infrared light can beam
through the nebula,

00:07:51.780 --> 00:07:56.940 align:middle line:84%
and if we can see it, we can see
the newly-formed stars within.

00:07:56.940 --> 00:07:58.590 align:middle line:84%
Hubble's view of
the Orion Nebula

00:07:58.590 --> 00:08:01.440 align:middle line:84%
shows hundreds of newborn
stars only a couple

00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:05.770 align:middle line:84%
million years old,
but if we zoom in

00:08:05.770 --> 00:08:08.860 align:middle line:84%
on Spitzer's infrared
image, we see thousands more

00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:11.130 align:middle line:90%
hidden inside.

00:08:11.130 --> 00:08:13.800 align:middle line:84%
Orion is a place where we
get the best view of not just

00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.880 align:middle line:84%
star formation, but also of
the new solar systems forming

00:08:17.880 --> 00:08:20.040 align:middle line:90%
around those stars.

00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:23.880 align:middle line:84%
We know that planets,
new earths, new Saturns,

00:08:23.880 --> 00:08:28.230 align:middle line:84%
new Jupiters, are forming inside
these dark dust rings, what

00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:30.780 align:middle line:90%
we call interplanetary disks.

00:08:30.780 --> 00:08:32.038 align:middle line:90%
But we can't see them.

00:08:32.038 --> 00:08:33.330 align:middle line:90%
They're hidden behind the dust.

00:08:33.330 --> 00:08:36.630 align:middle line:90%


00:08:36.630 --> 00:08:38.340 align:middle line:84%
Webb's infrared
vision will allow

00:08:38.340 --> 00:08:40.169 align:middle line:84%
us to see through
these opaque clouds

00:08:40.169 --> 00:08:42.720 align:middle line:84%
so we can discover how
solar systems like our own

00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.070 align:middle line:90%
came into being.

00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:46.410 align:middle line:84%
We will be able to see what
our own solar system would

00:08:46.410 --> 00:08:48.450 align:middle line:84%
have looked like after
the sun had formed

00:08:48.450 --> 00:08:49.800 align:middle line:90%
but before Earth existed.

00:08:49.800 --> 00:08:53.260 align:middle line:90%


00:08:53.260 --> 00:08:55.450 align:middle line:84%
And Webb's vision is
going to take us even

00:08:55.450 --> 00:08:58.390 align:middle line:84%
farther than that to
individual planets

00:08:58.390 --> 00:09:01.180 align:middle line:90%
beyond our solar system.

00:09:01.180 --> 00:09:03.390 align:middle line:84%
This isn't one of Hubble's
most dazzling images,

00:09:03.390 --> 00:09:04.980 align:middle line:90%
but it is an important one.

00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.470 align:middle line:84%
Several planets are
orbiting around this star,

00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:11.760 align:middle line:84%
but their light is lost in
the bright glare of their sun.

00:09:11.760 --> 00:09:13.470 align:middle line:84%
If we can remove
the star's light,

00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:19.070 align:middle line:84%
we can see the planets, these
bright dots you see here.

00:09:19.070 --> 00:09:21.860 align:middle line:90%
This is an infrared observation.

00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:24.380 align:middle line:84%
Planets which don't shine
with their own visible light

00:09:24.380 --> 00:09:27.020 align:middle line:84%
are usually brightest
in infrared.

00:09:27.020 --> 00:09:28.790 align:middle line:84%
The best way to
observe planets is

00:09:28.790 --> 00:09:32.270 align:middle line:84%
with a high-resolution
infrared Space Telescope,

00:09:32.270 --> 00:09:36.920 align:middle line:84%
but Webb will be able to take
even that another step further.

00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:39.620 align:middle line:84%
Some extrasolar planets,
from our point of view,

00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:41.750 align:middle line:90%
pass in front of their stars.

00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:44.180 align:middle line:84%
When that happens, some
of the star's light

00:09:44.180 --> 00:09:46.520 align:middle line:84%
passes through the
planet's atmosphere.

00:09:46.520 --> 00:09:48.800 align:middle line:84%
We can analyze that
light and measure things

00:09:48.800 --> 00:09:52.260 align:middle line:84%
about the atmosphere
of that distant world.

00:09:52.260 --> 00:09:54.420 align:middle line:90%
So what does that mean for us?

00:09:54.420 --> 00:09:56.540 align:middle line:84%
Well, here is the
plotted infrared light

00:09:56.540 --> 00:09:58.400 align:middle line:90%
of three different planets.

00:09:58.400 --> 00:10:00.380 align:middle line:84%
You're seeing the
differences in those planets

00:10:00.380 --> 00:10:03.500 align:middle line:84%
that indicate the presence
of carbon dioxide, ozone,

00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:05.310 align:middle line:90%
and water.

00:10:05.310 --> 00:10:06.920 align:middle line:84%
These are the
telltale differences

00:10:06.920 --> 00:10:12.200 align:middle line:90%
between Venus, Mars, and Earth.

00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:14.270 align:middle line:84%
The first signs of life
elsewhere in the universe

00:10:14.270 --> 00:10:17.210 align:middle line:84%
will not be photographs of
civilizations or a visit

00:10:17.210 --> 00:10:20.000 align:middle line:84%
by little green men,
it will be features

00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.850 align:middle line:84%
in the atmospheric spectrum
of an extrasolar planet

00:10:22.850 --> 00:10:25.640 align:middle line:90%
that show biological activity.

00:10:25.640 --> 00:10:27.740 align:middle line:84%
And that's what Webb
has the potential

00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:30.950 align:middle line:84%
to give us, that tremendously
exciting discovery.

00:10:30.950 --> 00:10:32.510 align:middle line:90%
[HOUSE MUSIC]

00:10:32.510 --> 00:10:35.000 align:middle line:84%
So when is all this
going to happen?

00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.860 align:middle line:84%
Webb is scheduled to launch
in 2018, just six years away.

00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.900 align:middle line:84%
An enormous amount of
the work on the telescope

00:10:41.900 --> 00:10:44.640 align:middle line:90%
has already been completed.

00:10:44.640 --> 00:10:48.530 align:middle line:84%
All of Webb's 18 segments
have been ground, polished,

00:10:48.530 --> 00:10:51.260 align:middle line:90%
coated, and tested.

00:10:51.260 --> 00:10:52.670 align:middle line:84%
Its cameras and
other instruments

00:10:52.670 --> 00:10:57.410 align:middle line:84%
are nearing completion
or in their final stages.

00:10:57.410 --> 00:10:59.990 align:middle line:84%
But since Webb will be
located a million miles away,

00:10:59.990 --> 00:11:02.480 align:middle line:84%
it has to be perfect
before it launches,

00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.000 align:middle line:90%
so we're testing everything.

00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.180 align:middle line:84%
The pieces get tested
separately, then together,

00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:10.970 align:middle line:84%
then as part of the
actual telescope.

00:11:10.970 --> 00:11:13.730 align:middle line:84%
They're tested to make sure they
work in the extremes of space

00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:17.340 align:middle line:84%
and that they can survive
the violence of launch.

00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:20.070 align:middle line:84%
When it's time to test them as
part of the entire telescope,

00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:22.960 align:middle line:84%
they're brought to NASA's
largest test chamber,

00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.080 align:middle line:84%
this cavern-like thermal
vacuum chamber at Johnson Space

00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.612 align:middle line:84%
Center which is being
refitted especially for Webb.

00:11:30.612 --> 00:11:32.320 align:middle line:84%
If it looks familiar,
that's because it's

00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:37.460 align:middle line:84%
famous for being used to test
the Apollo space vehicles.

00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:39.790 align:middle line:84%
It seems fitting that
that chamber used

00:11:39.790 --> 00:11:42.250 align:middle line:84%
to prepare humanity for
its first true exposure

00:11:42.250 --> 00:11:46.000 align:middle line:84%
to the heavens is also where
NASA's next great space

00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:47.365 align:middle line:90%
observatory is coming together.

00:11:47.365 --> 00:11:51.230 align:middle line:90%


00:11:51.230 --> 00:11:53.210 align:middle line:84%
Every decade,
astronomers conduct

00:11:53.210 --> 00:11:55.400 align:middle line:84%
a survey to determine
the astronomy community's

00:11:55.400 --> 00:11:57.500 align:middle line:90%
top priorities.

00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:01.080 align:middle line:84%
Webb is their
number one priority.

00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:06.130 align:middle line:84%
This is the observatory they
want above everything else.

00:12:06.130 --> 00:12:09.220 align:middle line:84%
We've already explored some
of the reasons why, but not

00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:11.530 align:middle line:90%
the most important reason.

00:12:11.530 --> 00:12:14.920 align:middle line:84%
If Hubble is any guide, Webb's
most important contributions

00:12:14.920 --> 00:12:16.720 align:middle line:84%
to our understanding
of the universe

00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.850 align:middle line:90%
will probably surprise us.

00:12:18.850 --> 00:12:21.580 align:middle line:84%
Because it was designed as a
general-purpose observatory

00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:24.970 align:middle line:84%
that is extremely versatile,
the Webb Space Telescope

00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:27.460 align:middle line:84%
will be able to answer
the questions we have

00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:29.830 align:middle line:84%
and then move on to
questions that we haven't yet

00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.090 align:middle line:90%
thought to ask.

00:12:32.090 --> 00:12:34.430 align:middle line:84%
For example, before
Hubble, we thought

00:12:34.430 --> 00:12:37.100 align:middle line:84%
the expansion of the
universe was slowing down,

00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:38.870 align:middle line:84%
but Hubble made
crucial discoveries

00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:41.540 align:middle line:84%
to confirm that, actually,
it's speeding up,

00:12:41.540 --> 00:12:43.280 align:middle line:84%
and for that to
happen, there may

00:12:43.280 --> 00:12:47.210 align:middle line:84%
exist some form of
strange dark energy.

00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:50.030 align:middle line:84%
This discovery won its
scientist the Nobel Prize

00:12:50.030 --> 00:12:53.140 align:middle line:90%
in physics this year.

00:12:53.140 --> 00:12:55.840 align:middle line:84%
The universe doesn't always
work the way we think it does.

00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.685 align:middle line:90%
It surprises us again and again.

00:12:58.685 --> 00:13:00.810 align:middle line:84%
We've only begun to chip
away at the mysteries that

00:13:00.810 --> 00:13:05.180 align:middle line:84%
are out there, and Webb, because
it's designed for this purpose,

00:13:05.180 --> 00:13:08.120 align:middle line:84%
will be able to explore,
confirm, or deny

00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.724 align:middle line:90%
these discoveries as they arise.

00:13:10.724 --> 00:13:13.040 align:middle line:90%
[STIRRING PIANO MUSIC]

00:13:13.040 --> 00:13:16.070 align:middle line:84%
And that is the
true power of Webb--

00:13:16.070 --> 00:13:19.370 align:middle line:84%
its potential for unbounded
discovery, its ability

00:13:19.370 --> 00:13:23.450 align:middle line:84%
to reveal wonders we
didn't even know existed.

00:13:23.450 --> 00:13:26.990 align:middle line:84%
That capability perhaps
more than anything else

00:13:26.990 --> 00:13:31.090 align:middle line:84%
makes Webb the future
of space astronomy.

00:13:31.090 --> 00:14:03.000 align:middle line:90%