Carl Sagan Christmas lecture 2 - The Outer Solar System and Life
Ғылым және технология
From ancient organisms to the plants and animals we see today, our planet showcases a spectacular array of life. But beneath such diversity lies an underlying unity. All life on Earth is based on two molecules (the proteins and the nucleic acids) and the origin of these molecules in the early stages of our planet’s development is inextricably linked to the origin of life.
In his second CHRISTMAS LECTURES, Carl Sagan travels beyond Earth to explore the possibility of life in outer space.
To find the answer, he looks back to the early stages of the development of our atmosphere. The hydrogen from this atmosphere has since escaped to space from Earth, but not from bigger planets like Jupiter. When the hydrogen-rich gases of the early Earth are mixed together and supplied with energy, the essential molecular building blocks of the proteins and nucleic acids are formed.
As Carl suggests, although this process no longer occurs on Earth, such organic chemistry should be occurring in the outer solar system on Jupiter, and Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The NASA twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2, launched a few months prior to these Lectures in 1977, were sent to space to explore this hypothesis.
Source: www.rigb.org/explore-science/...
About the 1977 CHRISTMAS LECTURES
What exists beyond Earth? Over six Lectures presented in 1977, American astronomer and cosmologist Carl Sagan explores the vast expanse of space that surrounds the third planet from the Sun.
Life on Earth
Where at first we could only discern the size of our planet and some knowledge of its atmosphere and configuration, the evolution of planetary exploration has revealed not only intricate details of Earth’s climate and geology, but a multitude of stars and planets besides our own.
Beginning with a closer look at the world we inhabit, Carl explores of the diversity of life on our own planet and the building blocks behind it, before questioning whether the same organic chemistry is occurring on planets in the outer solar system.
The Red Planet
In Lecture three onwards, Carl takes a closer look at our neighbouring planet, Mars. From early interpretations of terrestrial life on its surface to the surprising discoveries made by NASA’s Viking Program, the Red Planet has become the focus of efforts to discern whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.
When Carl delivered his Lectures in the late 1970s, NASA had only just begun its Voyager program to the furthest planets in our solar system and no extra-solar planets were known to exist. Now, over three decades later, astronomers are looking at planets that lie beyond our solar system to ask the very same question we pondered over Mars: is there life out there?
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I'm 80 yrs old. I've followed Carl Sagan's career, read his books, gained much of my initial knowledge of the universe and been inspired by him. If he were alive today he would be 87 yrs old. If I could talk to him now I would tell him about Voyagers 1 and 2; tell him they have left our solar system and are now beginning to traverse our Milky Way. But, that's just the beginning of the adventure! Our sun and the earth will be gone and the Voyagers will spend several billion more years before they reach the end of our galaxy. Oh how I wish I could talk to him, to hear his thoughts about the universe and the momentary nature of our existence. I would gladly give the the rest of my life to have just a few hours of conversation with him. Oh hell, I'm greedy. Since I'm dreaming anyway, let me have that conversation when the Voyagers reach their destination. Hmmm. . . if they don't make it, let me know just before that happens. Ok, I'm done.
@mikasa3356
Жыл бұрын
That's really inspiring sir I'm 20 yr old girl i recently know about Carl Sagan and it's one of the best thing happened with me i will look forward to his all the book available and extra things When I see people like u i feel inspired honestly saying buz where I live here people are not curious they don't wanna know anything new and try to avoid when I told them about our universe how big it is but anyway it's there choose but i wanna be like sir Sagan . ✨
@alesscav99
Жыл бұрын
Science unifys generation and fill the gaps between them. I am 22 and I met Carl about 3 years ago due to Neil. I can definitely put it that way that it was life-changing. I love he had existed and still influences generations after his death. He lives on withing us, Carl Sagan lives on.
@bishwajeetpal2323
Жыл бұрын
Bill, I see your interest and excitement to meet Carl Sagan.
@sebastiankorosec8791
Жыл бұрын
Bravo, dear sir. I share your admiration for Carl Sagan and I believe that the world is a much better, kinder and curious place, because of the time he has traveled with us and innuendo he has so eloquently expressed. I sometimes feel genuine gratitude for him having existed. Have a good life.
@Henahanir
Жыл бұрын
@@alesscav99 you sure you met him
We need 100,000 more Carl Sagan - sorely missed.
@westyavro
Жыл бұрын
We need more Carl Sagan's and a lot less politicians.
Sagan was a genius for communicating science. He made his talks accessible and enjoyable for younger audiences, but he didn't hold back on the details.
2-15-23. He WAS, IS, and ALWAYS WILL BE FANTASTIC!!!! Cheers to all good people
@TX_BoomSlang
Жыл бұрын
Cheers! The way he dances along with the children is great. Many people, much fewer scientists wouldn't ever do that.
This guy was a gift to humanity.
@CeciliaAbreuTeixeira
Жыл бұрын
yes it gift from God
@gehtkeinenwasan8087
Жыл бұрын
@@CeciliaAbreuTeixeira what god? Thor Zeus Odin? the Jewich cristian alah? Quetzaquatle? Ra? Horus? Anubis? pick one and prove it...
@meat96
Жыл бұрын
@@gehtkeinenwasan8087 Nothingness is immortal.
@globextradingsystemsllc1740
Жыл бұрын
In denial on UAPs.
@aquaflow1264
Жыл бұрын
Believe hlf what u hear and none what u see
Interesting to see how much science has progressed since this lecture, particularly with planetary imaging.
His accent is quite lovely. One of the best humans ever born.
He explains the complex subjects into simpler terms where anybody can understand
He teaches Simple but he was extraordinary incredible unbelievable person 🇺🇸👌👍👏👏👏👏
I love that he mentions Galileo satellite, which launched the year I was born, in 1989, over a decade earlier. Shows how long it takes to develop these incredibly technically challenging space programs.
If all humans were like him we would have a better world and go beyond limits of the universe.
@publiozinj4882
Жыл бұрын
It would take million of years at the speed of light to even reach Andromeda and 87000 just to go across our galaxy.
@CeciliaAbreuTeixeira
6 ай бұрын
I am
great pleasure for humanity to have teachers like Carl sagan wish him all times company amen
There will never be another one like Dr Carl Sagan. Personally miss him so much. 🔭📡🚀🛰️👽🛸
Looking from Ireland ☘️
These lectures are current to the Artemis generation, it is worth restoring the video quality to something worthy of the timeless information.
Carl Sagan: Such an intriguingly, ahead of time and a stepping stone as now we live-
Like all genius’s of their time CS is on top and the best teacher. He makes the listener to want more and ask questions!!! We all mis his one of a kind personality. CS spoke his mind on his observation that man is killing man. He spoke out on the subject of NASA lack of funding; makes every tax payer think about that problem of man kind!!!
"(...)the universe is red (...) a chemical, not a political remark"...💥😂👏🏼 Witty, as usual. I just love it!
The guy was an awesome speaker.
Simply brilliant.
Such an amazing teacher!
Great scientist and teacher Carl Sagan 🇺🇸👌👍🇮🇳👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
The great Carl Sagan!
Wonderful to be able to see this now. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this.
Big love from Japan
Great video. So much, and not so much has changed since then.
The protein dance 🤣❤️
I wonder what he would make of what's going on now. What a guy.
@BryonBlackArtistOnTheLoose
2 жыл бұрын
He's famous (in part) for very accurately predicting what's going on now.
@markragus7030
Жыл бұрын
I’m an oak tree and my pronouns are lumber and bark.
@danielovercash1093
Жыл бұрын
4K resolution and the James Webb telescope among other things, I think he would be filled with excitement and I'm sure a bit of disappointment
@damiengriffiths8934
Жыл бұрын
Enthralled by the technological advancement….not so enthralled with some human effort
@jdkhaos4983
Жыл бұрын
@@markragus7030 I think he'd be more concerned with the rampant Christian white nationalism.
Incredible!
All Saturns images are illustrative mainly, let’s hope we can get something more accurate nowadays. Great videos! Love them
@ilokivi
Жыл бұрын
The Cassini mission has provided many more detailed images, and a library of data besides. As Carl Sagan once said, science is an intergenerational collaboration to explore, understand, explain and predict the cosmos. Sometimes there are giants involved, often there are ordinary people standing on their shoulders to see a little further.
Listening from the ukwales❤️
Yes. Listen to what he says. Let's DO something. Anything. Now. Not. ....oh I'll get around to it.... NOW.😊
All the love from Florida!
I miss him so much
Not just life.... a million variations of it. We are flooded with life on this planet.
I used to love these Christmas lectures every year 😭 lol Carl Sagan was of course a favourite of mine. While a more modern lecturer I enjoyed doing the lectures was Brian Cox.
Was this a Royal Institution Christmas lecture ?
All those grinning kids are now in their 50’s and 60’s. I wonder if they still remember the protein dance…
Just occurred to me how similar Carls voice was to Mr Smith in The Matrix
@danielovercash1093
Жыл бұрын
Also Jeff goldblum
@rachelmarie8841
Жыл бұрын
kzread.info/dash/bejne/dKCk26mhcaW-gqQ.html 😁😁😁
love!!!
Wow-although this talk was mainly for children, this geezer actually learned something! The Universe is mostly RED! I never really thought about that, but I suppose it's true. Here's what I don't think Carl actually said: The night sky looks almost entirely white when you look at it on a very dark night. But that's only because, at very low light levels, your eyes do not see color. Everything LOOKS white. But raise the levels to daytime values, and you would see it's almost all red. Yeah, the East is red. And so is the West, North, and South.
So cool he rips on Christianity in a Christmas lecture. So clever. So cool he did it in front of children. Sorely missed. I’m crying. I wish he were my professor. Sorely missed.
@24:45 reeeeeeeee😂😂😂
How did the rabbit appear?😮
@roberth721
2 ай бұрын
Rather coyly with a wink over one shoulder.
@roberth721
2 ай бұрын
Rather coyly with a wink over one shoulder.
How about those bees knees
We, human beings, are the least important beings on our planet.
Damn 1977 is the year i was born. Gotta stop watching. Starting to feel old
NGL that rabbit's cute AF>
Sorely missed
45:33 if there is a surface its far below' its funny he didnt knew at that time but jupiter doesnt have a solid surface its a gas ball
audio ok,visual es awful
Where does the “sense” comes at all levels: Cosmic, Planetary, Micro or Nano. How come the two creatures displaced in time and space “affect” each other ?
What would a Game Warden, do, Game Boy?
When you realize that he was probably stoned as hell doing these lectures it makes you wonder how he wasn’t cracking up all the time.
@ryan59480
2 жыл бұрын
You could presume that about anyone, ever?
@alexanderwinegarden2801
2 жыл бұрын
@@ryan59480 Carla Sagan was a big time pot smoker, well known
@harrietharlow9929
Жыл бұрын
How did you come to that conclusion? He doesn't look stoned to me.
@jack0cat
Жыл бұрын
@@harrietharlow9929 He was an admitted heavy dope smoker
@harrietharlow9929
Жыл бұрын
@@jack0cat Doesn't mean he was stoned when giving hius lectures.
I have NEVER seen any evidence of a whirling, twirling, hurling, hurtling, wibbling, wobbling, zipping and zooming, spinning space ball, "planet" earth and NEITHER HAVE YOU.
@roberth721
2 ай бұрын
I've never seen evidence of you.
@TheRealNewWhirledOrder
2 ай бұрын
@@roberth721 We are told that the deepest anyone has ever drilled into the surface of the earth is roughly eleven kilometres (6.35 miles) down yet we are also told that the core of the earth is twenty nine hundred kilometres down. Earthquakes are measured with a seismograph up to a depth of only seven hundred kilometres. Ground penetrating radar can only reach a maximum depth of one hundred feet (or thirty meters) in dry, low conductivity, materials and that is in the best of conditions. It's usually much less. Try to find some evidence that verifies that the core of the earth is made of and doing what they tell us that it is made of and doing.
@TheRealNewWhirledOrder
2 ай бұрын
@@roberth721 How are they able to tell us what supposed planets and stars that are supposedly millions and billions of supposed light years away are composed of right down to their supposed cores?
@TheRealNewWhirledOrder
2 ай бұрын
@@roberth721 Gravity is unevidenced.
@TheRealNewWhirledOrder
2 ай бұрын
@@roberth721 If you melt a magnet, it loses its magnetic properties. Try to find some evidence of molten metal (of any type) generating a magnetic field.
The origin of life isn't at all easy, nor is it at all possible.
@whirledpeas3477
11 ай бұрын
I knew one of you would pop up.