Aomawa Shields: How we'll find life on other planets | TED

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Milenka Okuka

I am in search of another planet in the universe where life exists.

U potrazi sam za drugom planetom u univerzumu gde postoji život.

I can't see this planet with my naked eyes

Ovu planetu ne mogu videti golim okom

or even with the most powerful telescopes

ili čak najjačim teleskopima

we currently possess.

koje imamo trenutno.

But I know that it's there.

Ali znam da postoji.

And understanding contradictions that occur in nature

Razumevanje protivrečnosti koje se dešavaju u prirodi

will help us find it.

pomoći će nam da je pronađemo.

On our planet,

Na našoj planeti,

where there's water, there's life.

gde ima vode, ima i života.

So we look for planets that orbit at just the right distance

Tako tražimo planete koje kruže na tačno određenoj udaljenosti

from their stars.

od svojih zvezda.

At this distance,

Na ovoj udaljenosti,

shown in blue on this diagram for stars of different temperatures,

prikazanoj u plavom na ovom crzežu za zvezde na različtim temperaturama,

planets could be warm enough for water to flow on their surfaces

planete mogu biti dovoljno tople da na njihovim površinama teče voda

as lakes and oceans

u vidu jezera i okeana

where life might reside.

gde može biti života.

Some astronomers focus their time and energy on finding planets

Neki astronomi troše svoje vreme i energiju tražeći planete

at these distances from their stars.

na ovoj udaljenosti od svojih zvezda.

What I do picks up where their job ends.

Ono što ja radim počinje tamo gde se njihov posao završava.

I model the possible climates of exoplanets.

Pravim moguće klimatske uslove egzoplaneta.

And here's why that's important:

Evo zašto je to bitno:

there are many factors besides distance from its star

postoji mnogo faktora, pored udaljenosti od zvezde,

that control whether a planet can support life.

koji kontrolišu to da li planeta može da podrži život.

Take the planet Venus.

Uzmimo planetu Veneru.

It's named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty,

Ime je dobila po rimskoj boginji ljubavi i lepote,

because of its benign, ethereal appearance in the sky.

zbog svoje benigne, eterične pojave.

But spacecraft measurements revealed a different story.

Ali merenja svemirskih letelica otkrila su drugačiju priču.

The surface temperature is close to 900 degrees Fahrenheit,

Površinska temperatura iznosi blizu 900 stepeni farenhajta,

500 Celsius.

odnosno 500 celzijusa.

That's hot enough to melt lead.

To je dovoljno vrelo da istopi olovo.

Its thick atmosphere, not its distance from the sun, is the reason.

Razlog se nalazi u gustoj atmosferi, a ne u njenoj udaljenosti od Sunca.

It causes a greenhouse effect on steroids,

Dobija se pojačan efekat staklene bašte,

trapping heat from the sun and scorching the planet's surface.

toplota od Sunca se zarobljava i žari po površini planete.

The reality totally contradicted initial perceptions of this planet.

Stvarnost je bila potpuno drugačija od prvog utiska o ovoj planeti.

From these lessons from our own solar system,

Iz ovih lekcija iz našeg Sunčevog sistema,

we've learned that a planet's atmosphere

naučili smo da je atmosfera planete

is crucial to its climate and potential to host life.

ključna za njene klimatske uslove i mogućnost održavanja života.

We don't know what the atmospheres of these planets are like

Ne znamo kakve su atmosfere ovih planeta

because the planets are so small and dim compared to their stars

jer su planete tako male i slabe svetlosti u odnosu na svoje zvezde

and so far away from us.

i toliko su daleko od nas.

For example, one of the closest planets that could support surface water --

Na primer, jedna od najbližih planeta koje bi mogle da imaju vodu na površini -

it's called Gliese 667 Cc --

zove se Glise 667 Cc -

such a glamorous name, right, nice phone number for a name --

baš spektakularno ime, zar ne, broj telefona umesto imena -

it's 23 light years away.

udaljena je 23 svetlosne godine.

So that's more than 100 trillion miles.

To je više od 160 triliona kilometara.

Trying to measure the atmospheric composition

Kada biste pokušali da izmerite atmosferski sastav egzoplanete

of an exoplanet passing in front of its host star is hard.

koja prolazi ispred svoje zvezde domaćina, to bi bilo veoma teško,

kao kada biste pokušavali da vidite voćnu mušicu

It's like trying to see a fruit fly

passing in front of a car's headlight.

kako prolazi ispred svetala automobila.

OK, now imagine that car is 100 trillion miles away,

OK, sada zamislite da je taj automobil udaljen 160 triliona kilometara

and you want to know the precise color of that fly.

i želite da znate tačnu boju te voćne mušice.

So I use computer models

Stoga koristim kompjuterske modele

to calculate the kind of atmosphere a planet would need

da izračunam kakva bi atmosfera bila potrebna planeti

to have a suitable climate for water and life.

da ima povoljne klimatske uslove za vodu i život.

Here's an artist's concept of the planet Kepler-62f,

Evo umetničkog koncepta planete Kepler-62f,

with the Earth for reference.

gde je Zemlja referentna tačka.

It's 1,200 light years away,

Udaljena je 1200 svetlostnih godina

and just 40 percent larger than Earth.

i samo 40% je veća od Zemlje.

U našem radu koji je finansirala Nacionalna fondacija za nauku otkrili smo

Our NSF-funded work found that it could be warm enough for open water

da bi mogla da bude dovoljno topla za otvorenu vodu

from many types of atmospheres and orientations of its orbit.

iz mnogih tipova atmosfera i orijentacije njene orbite.

So I'd like future telescopes to follow up on this planet

Volela bih da teleskopi u budućnosti prate ovu planetu

to look for signs of life.

i traže znakove života.

Ice on a planet's surface is also important for climate.

Led na površini planete takođe je bitan za klimu.

Ice absorbs longer, redder wavelengths of light,

Led upija duže, crvenije talasne dužine svetlosti

and reflects shorter, bluer light.

i odbija kraću, plavlju svetlost.

That's why the iceberg in this photo looks so blue.

Zato ledeni breg na ovoj slici izgleda tako plavo.

The redder light from the sun is absorbed on its way through the ice.

Crvenije svetlo od sunca upije se na putu do leda.

Only the blue light makes it all the way to the bottom.

Samo plava svetlost dopire do dna.

Then it gets reflected back to up to our eyes

Onda se odbija sve do naših očiju

and we see blue ice.

i vidimo plavi led.

My models show that planets orbiting cooler stars

Moj model pokazuje da planete koje kruže oko hladnijih zvezda

could actually be warmer than planets orbiting hotter stars.

zapravo mogu biti toplije od planeta koje kruže oko toplijih zvezda.

There's another contradiction --

Postoji još jedna kontradikcija -

that ice absorbs the longer wavelength light from cooler stars,

taj led upija svetlost dužih talasnih dužina od hladnijih zvezda,

and that light, that energy, heats the ice.

i ta svetlost, ta energija zagreva led.

Using climate models to explore

Korišćenje klimatskih modela za istraživanje toga

how these contradictions can affect planetary climate

kako ove kontradikcije utiču na klimatske uslove planete

is vital to the search for life elsewhere.

ključno je za potragu života tamo negde.

And it's no surprise that this is my specialty.

Nije čudno da sam stručna u ovome.

I'm an African-American female astronomer

Ja sam Afro-amerikanka astronom

and a classically trained actor

i glumica sa klasičnim obrazovanjem

who loves to wear makeup and read fashion magazines,

koja voli da se šminka i čita modne časopise

so I am uniquely positioned to appreciate contradictions in nature --

tako da imam jedinstvenu poziciju gde cenim kontradikcije u prirodi -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

... and how they can inform our search for the next planet where life exists.

i kako mogu da pomognu našoj potrazi za sledećom planetom gde postoji život.

My organization, Rising Stargirls,

Moja organizacija, Rising Stargirls,

teaches astronomy to middle-school girls of color,

predajemo astronomiju obojenim devojčicama viših razreda osnovne škole

using theater, writing and visual art.

koristeći pozorište, pisanu reč i vizuelnu umetnost.

That's another contradiction -- science and art don't often go together,

To je druga kontradikcija - nauka i umetnost često ne idu zajedno,

but interweaving them can help these girls bring their whole selves

ali njihovo kombinovanje može pomoći ovim devojčicama da se potpuno posvete

to what they learn,

tome što uče

and maybe one day join the ranks of astronomers

i možda se jednog dana pridruže astronomima

who are full of contradictions,

koji su puni kontradikcija

and use their backgrounds to discover, once and for all,

i koriste svoje poreklo da otkriju, jednom za svagda,

that we are truly not alone in the universe.

da zaista nismo sami u univerzumu.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)