(narrator) WHEN HE FIRST CAME TO THE HIGH DESERT,
GENE SHOEMAKER WONDERED IF HE WAS TOO LATE.
WAS THE WEST ALL EXPLORED?
THE BATTLES FOUGHT?
MYSTERIES SOLVED?
BUT GEOLOGISTS ARE TAUGHT
THAT TRUTH LIES IN THE ROCKS AND DIRT UNDERFOOT.
STEP BY STEP,
HE PRESSED THE EARTH FOR ITS SECRETS.
WHAT GENE SHOEMAKER FOUND
HAS MADE THE GROUND ITSELF LESS FIRM,
PLANET EARTH NOT NEARLY AS SAFE AS WE ALWAYS ASSUMED.
(Shoemaker) IT'S LIKE BEING IN A HAIL OF BULLETS
GOING BY ALL THE TIME.
THEY ARE BULLETS.
THEY'RE BULLETS OUT THERE IN SPACE.
THESE THINGS HAVE HIT THE EARTH IN THE PAST.
THEY WILL HIT THE EARTH IN THE FUTURE.
IT WILL PRODUCE A CATASTROPHE
THAT EXCEEDS ALL OTHER KNOWN NATURAL DISASTERS
BY A LARGE MEASURE.
(narrator) BEFORE GENE SHOEMAKER,
FEW PEOPLE GAVE IT MUCH THOUGHT.
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL FORCES IN THE MAKING OF OUR PLANET
AND PERHAPS THE DEADLIEST HAZARD WE FACE...
THIS IS THE STORY OF IMPACT.
(narrator) MARCH 23, 1993-
GREAT TELESCOPES AROUND THE WORLD
AIMED THEIR SIGHTS DEEP INTO THE NIGHT.
THEY WERE PEERING FAR INTO SPACE,
SEARCHING FOR TRACES OF THE BIG BANG
AT THE OUTERMOST REACHES OF THE UNIVERSE.
BUT AT ONE TINY TELESCOPE
ON A LONESOME PEAK IN CALIFORNIA,
THREE OLD FRIENDS WERE RUMMAGING IN A PART OF SPACE
MUCH CLOSER TO HOME.
(man) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... OPEN.
(man) I'M ON.
(narrator) GENE SHOEMAKER, GEOLOGIST,
WAS LOOKING FOR ROCKS-
NOT ON THE GROUND, BUT IN THE SKY.
THAT NIGHT, HE AND HIS TEAM FOUND SOMETHING ASTOUNDING-
A PORTENT OF ANOTHER KIND OF BIG BANG.
COMET SHOEMAKER LEVY 9
FIRST APPEARED AS A FAINT SMUDGE IN SPACE.
IT GREW INTO A BLAZING STREAK OF LIGHT.
BY THE TIME IT SMASHED INTO JUPITER,
EVERY MAJOR TELESCOPE IN THE WORLD WAS WATCHING.
THE IMPACT UNLEASHED FIERY PLUMES
LARGE ENOUGH TO INCINERATE THE EARTH,
AND IT RAISED A TERRIFYING QUESTION:
COULD IT HAPPEN HERE?
AND WHAT IF IT DID?
(Shoemaker) WHEN WE GET TO SOMETHING IN THE BALL PARK
OF A MILE IN DIAMETER HITTING THE EARTH,
IT WILL PRODUCE A CATASTROPHE
THAT EXCEEDS ALL OTHER KNOWN NATURAL DISASTERS
BY A LARGE MEASURE.
IN FACT, THE ENERGY DELIVERED
WOULD BE LIKE TAKING ALL OF THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS,
PUTTING THEM ALL IN ONE PILE,
AND SETTING THEM ALL OFF AT ONCE.
ACTUALLY, IT WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ENERGY THAN THAT.
(narrator) ONCE SCIENTISTS HAD SAID IT COULD NEVER HAPPEN.
NOW MANY WERE SHOCKED.
SOME TALKED ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD.
IF SOMETHING SNEAKS UP ON US,
THEN THERE'S VERY LITTLE WE CAN DO.
IN FACT, TODAY, THE MOST LIKELY SITUATION
IS ZERO WARNING.
THE NEXT IMPACT OF A MILE-SIZED OBJECT
WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN
WITHOUT ANY PRIOR DISCOVERY OF IT AT ALL.
THE FIRST THING YOU WILL KNOW
IS WHEN YOU FEEL THE GROUND SHAKE
AND SEE THE PLUME OF FIRE COMING UP OVER THE HORIZON.
(narrator) HE'D BEEN TAUGHT
COSMIC COLLISIONS ARE INCONCEIVABLE...
BUT GENE SHOEMAKER LIKES TO MAKE UP HIS MIND FOR HIMSELF.
(Shoemaker) IT WAS A PATH THAT I PERSONALLY TRAVELED IN SMALL STEPS.
I HAD TO TEACH MYSELF THAT, IN FACT,
IF ONE REALLY PURSUES THE OBSERVATIONS,
THE WORLD IS TELLING US
THAT BIG THINGS DO FALL OUT OF THE SKY.
(narrator) WHAT THE WORLD TOLD GENE
IT SAID MOST ELOQUENTLY AT METEOR CRATER.
THE GAPING HOLE IN THE ARIZONA DESERT,
NEARLY A MILE WIDE,
SPOKE OF SUDDEN DISASTER-
CATASTROPHE FALLING FROM THE SKY
WITH DEADLY IMPACT.
THERE WERE SIMILAR CRATERS IN OTHER PLACES,
BUT MOST GEOLOGISTS SAID THEY WERE THE REMNANTS
OF ANCIENT VOLCANOS, FORMED OVER EONS OF TIME
BY CONSTANT, PREDICTABLE FORCES.
NOTHING THIS BIG HAPPENED QUICKLY OR SUDDENLY.
FIERY ROCKS FALLING FROM THE SKY HAVE LONG BEEN BELIEVED
TO PREDICT DISASTER, NOT CAUSE IT.
METEORITES HAVE BEEN FEARED AS OMENS
AND CHERISHED AS RELICS AROUND THE WORLD.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
THEY WERE OUR ONLY WAY OF TOUCHING THE SKY-
MYSTERIOUS MESSENGERS FROM SPACE.
THE INTRIGUE THEY HELD FOR ANCIENT ORACLES
STILL CAPTIVATES MODERN SCIENTISTS.
IT WAS INSIDE A METEORITE-
A MARTIAN ROCK THAT LANDED IN ANTARCTICA-
THAT RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED
THE MOST COMPELLING INTIMATION EVER
OF LIFE BEYOND THE EARTH.
METEORITES ARE CHUNKS BROKEN OFF LARGER CELESTIAL BODIES.
WHEN THEY CRASH THROUGH EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE,
MOST LOSE SPEED AND POWER.
SO EVEN BIG ONES MEASURING UP TO 10 FEET ACROSS
USUALLY DON'T CAUSE DAMAGE ON A LARGE SCALE.
STILL,
IF YOU OR YOUR HOUSE HAPPEN TO STAND IN THE PATH
OF A STONE FROM SPACE,
REPAIRS WILL BE NECESSARY.
TONS OF METEORITES RAIN ON THE EARTH EVERY DAY-
MOST SMALLER THAN A PEA-
BUT THAT'S ENOUGH TO LIGHT UP THE NIGHT.
THIS FIREBALL WAS SEEN BY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD IN 1992.
MANY WERE ATTENDING HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES,
AND SOME HAD BROUGHT THEIR VIDEO CAMERAS.
A PIECE OF THE METEORITE
TOUCHED DOWN IN PEEKSKILL, NEW YORK,
AND CRATERED MICHELLE KNAPP'S 1980 CHEVY MALIBU.
I WAS SITTING IN MY HOUSE WATCHING TV,
AND I HEARD THIS LOUD NOISE.
IT SOUNDED LIKE A CAR ACCIDENT.
(narrator) IT WAS A CHUNK OF STONE SPECKLED WITH IRON,
ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL.
THEY TOLD ME THE ROCK WAS ESTIMATED
AT 4 BILLION YEARS OLD,
WHICH IS ABOUT AS OLD AS THE EARTH ITSELF.
AND THAT'S EXCITING.
(narrator) THE PEEKSKILL METEORITE DID MAKE THE LOCAL NEWS,
BUT LIKE MOST METEORITES, ITS IMPACT WAS MINIMAL.
IN 1972,
A ROCK THE SIZE OF A BUS BLAZED SO BRIGHTLY,
IT WAS SEEN IN DAYLIGHT
AND WAS FILMED BY A TOURIST NEAR THE GRAND TETONS.
THERE WAS NO IMPACT,
CONFIRMING WHAT MOST SCIENTISTS THOUGHT-
THAT EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
WOULD INCINERATE EVEN GIANT BOULDERS
OR BREAK THEM INTO RELATIVELY HARMLESS PIECES.
WHAT WAS IT THEN THAT VIOLENTLY SHOOK THE EARTH
ON JUNE 30, 1908?
A BLINDING FIREBALL EXPLODED OVER A REMOTE PART OF SIBERIA.
AS FAR AWAY AS ENGLAND, AN EERIE GLOW LIT UP THE SKY.
TWO DECADES PASSED
BEFORE SCIENTISTS COULD MOUNT AN EXPEDITION
TO FIND THE SITE WHERE THE BLAST OCCURRED.
IT WAS AN ARDUOUS TRIP TO AN UNCERTAIN DESTINATION,
BUT THE SCIENTISTS KNEW THEY HAD ARRIVED
WHEN THEY SAW THE STAGGERING DEVASTATION
ON THE BANKS OF THE TUNGUSKA RIVER.
OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES,
THE FOREST LAY FLATTENED IN VAST CONCENTRIC CIRCLES.
THE SCIENTISTS SUSPECTED
THE DESTRUCTION HAD BEEN CAUSED BY A HUGE METEORITE-
AN ASTEROID.
THEY SET OUT TO UNEARTH IT.
LONG MONTHS SPENT DRAINING THE SWAMPS
AND DIGGING INTO THE WASTED LAND
YIELDED NOTHING.
FOR YEARS TO COME, TUNGUSKA WOULD REMAIN
ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE EARTH.
AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE,
A SIMILAR MYSTERY HAUNTED THIS GIANT BOWL
IN THE ARIZONA DESERT.
IN THE EARLY 1900s,
DANIEL BARRINGER, A MINING ENGINEER,
FOUND LITTLE CHUNKS OF METEORITE AROUND THE CRATER.
HE DRILLED THE CRATER FLOOR IN SEARCH OF AN ASTEROID,
BUT CAME UP EMPTY-HANDED AND DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED.
GEOLOGISTS WEREN'T SURPRISED,
BUT YEARS LATER,
A YOUNG GENE SHOEMAKER WAS INTRIGUED.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE?
IT DID SEEM LIKE A GIANT WOUND IN THE EARTH.
IT APPEARED AS THOUGH THE GROUND HAD BEEN DEALT
A DEVASTATING BLOW.
MASSIVE BEDS OF ROCK THAT ONCE LAY FLAT
WERE BROKEN AND THRUST VIOLENTLY INTO THE AIR.
THE RIM WAS STREWN WITH GIANT LIMESTONE BOULDERS
THAT COULD ONLY HAVE COME FROM DEEP BENEATH THE SURFACE,
FLYING HUNDREDS OF FEET IN THE AIR.
BUT LIKE ALL GEOLOGISTS, GENE HAD BEEN TAUGHT
THAT EVEN THE MOST DRAMATIC LANDSCAPES
TOOK SHAPE AT A CREEPING PACE.
METEOR CRATER
COULD NOT IN FACT BE A METEOR CRATER.
(Shoemaker) PEOPLE SAY,
"YES, METEORITES FALL OUT OF THE SKY.
A CHUNK THAT BIG-
I ACCEPT THAT THAT FALLS OUT OF THE SKY."
BUT IT WAS AN INTELLECTUAL LEAP
TO GO FROM A FIST-SIZED STONE TO A MOUNTAIN
AND HAVE A MOUNTAIN COME DOWN OUT OF THE SKY.
AS AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT,
I DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT IMPACT.
IT WASN'T PART OF GEOLOGY AT THAT TIME.
GEOLOGISTS ARE THE KIND OF FOLK THAT LIKE TO SAY,
"I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE PROCESS IS.
I'D LIKE TO SEE IT HAPPEN.
THEN I'D BELIEVE THAT IT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST."
(narrator) GENE SHOEMAKER WAS ONE GEOLOGIST WHO SAW SOMETHING HAPPEN
THAT WOULD LEAD HIM TO QUESTION
THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF HIS PROFESSION.
HE WAS IN HIS TWENTIES WHEN HE TOOK ON A JOB
AT THE TOP-SECRET NEVADA TEST SITE.
HERE HE WITNESSED A NEW MECHANISM
BY WHICH CRATERS COULD BE MADE.
(Shoemaker) IT ALL TAKES PLACE IN UTTER SILENCE,
UNTIL FINALLY... THE SHOCKWAVE.
BAM!
AND THEN IT'S FOLLOWED WITH ROILING THUNDER.
IT'S THROBBING.
YOU CAN FEEL THE SOUND IN YOUR WHOLE BODY.
THAT'S A VERY DRAMATIC THING TO WATCH, TOO.
(narrator) NEVER BEFORE HAD SO MUCH ENERGY
BEEN HARNESSED OR RELEASED.
COULD NATURE DO THE SAME?
THIS CRATER HAD NOT TAKEN SHAPE OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
IT WAS CREATED IN AN INSTANT.
AND IT REMINDED GENE OF ANOTHER PLACE HE'D SEEN.
(Shoemaker) IT WAS THE LARGEST CRATER, AT THE TIME,
FORMED BY A SHALLOW, UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION.
AND SO I COULD GO DIRECTLY FROM THIS
TO MOTHER NATURE'S CRATER.
MY HUNCH WAS THAT I WOULD GO HAVE A LOOK AT METEOR CRATER
AND SEE WHAT THE STRUCTURE WAS,
BECAUSE IT HAD NEVER BEEN THOROUGHLY MAPPED AND DESCRIBED.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE STRUCTURE WAS UNTIL I WENT.
BY HAVING MAPPED THIS FIRST,
I WENT TO METEOR CRATER, AND VOILA!
I WAS ASTOUNDED THAT ALL THE PARTS OF THE CRATER
THAT I COULD SEE IN THE LITTLE NUCLEAR CRATER
WERE REPRODUCED HERE ON A GIANT SCALE,
RIGHT DOWN TO THE PIECES OF MELTED MATERIAL.
(narrator) AROUND THE CRATER,
GENE FOUND TINY BEADS OF GLASS-
ROCK THAT HAD BEEN MELTED AND SPRAYED OUT.
HE'D SEEN THESE TOO IN NEVADA.
SOME ROCKS WOULD REVEAL A NEWLY DISCOVERED MINERAL:
COESITE-
AN INTENSELY SQUEEZED FORM OF QUARTZ
THAT NO VOLCANO IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO PRODUCE.
IN THIS MICROSCOPIC SAMPLE
WAS ENCODED A STORY OF VIOLENT DEVASTATION-
WROUGHT BY A 100-FOOT ASTEROID,
HURTLING SO FAST,
THE ATMOSPHERE COULD NOT SLOW IT DOWN.
GENE SHOEMAKER HAD FOUND THE FINGERPRINT OF IMPACT.
IT WAS THE FIRST CONCLUSIVE PROOF
OF AN IMPACT CRATER ON EARTH...
AN AFFRONT TO CENTURIES OF SCIENTIFIC CONVICTION
AND A CHALLENGE
EVEN TO THE PROFESSOR'S DEVOTED STUDENTS.
DR. SUSAN KIEFFER ONCE STUDIED WITH GENE IN GRADUATE SCHOOL.
(Kieffer) ONE DAY, GENE SAID,
"I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT AN IMPACT IS."
SO HE GRABBED A FAIRLY LARGE RIFLE, AND WE...
THIS IS MY FAVORITE RIFLE!
I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS RIFLE AGAIN
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY!
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS, SUE?
(Kieffer) AND THEN GENE TOLD ME TO SHOOT THE ROCK,
WHICH I DID.
THE RIFLE CAME BACK AND HIT ME IN THE NOSE
AND BROKE MY GLASSES,
AND HE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID,
"HAVEN'T YOU EVER FIRED A GUN BEFORE?"
AND I SAID "NO!"
HERE'S ANNIE OAKLEY...
WITH HER NEMESIS.
THE IDEAS THAT GENE WAS PROPOSING
NOT ONLY MADE INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE,
BUT AT A GUT LEVEL,
WHOLE SCHOOLS OF ACADEMIC THINKING.
THAT WAS THE BATTLE THAT HAD TO BE FOUGHT AGAINST.
AND HE, I FEEL, REALLY DID THAT ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY.
THAT'S A NICE LOOKIN' CRATER!
(narrator) SUE'S LESSON WAS SIMPLE BUT REVOLUTIONARY:
A RELATIVELY SMALL OBJECT TRAVELING AT GREAT SPEED
WILL BLAST A HUGE HOLE UPON IMPACT,
AND AT THE SAME TIME, ALMOST COMPLETELY DISINTEGRATE.
THE MYSTERIES OF TUNGUSKA AND METEOR CRATER WERE SOLVED.
IT CAME FROM OVER THERE,
FROM THAT DIRECTION.
WE LOOK UP IN THE SKY,
AND WE SEE A BRILLIANT FIREBALL
THAT'S BEING MADE BY THE ASTEROID OR METEORITE
AS IT'S COMING IN,
AND IT GETS BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER.
(narrator) GENE'S EXPLANATION OF METEOR CRATER
WAS CONTROVERSIAL,
BUT THE REASON HE STUDIED CRATERS IN THE FIRST PLACE
SEEMED DOWNRIGHT CRAZY.
WHEN HE WAS 20 YEARS OLD-
MORE THAN A DECADE BEFORE THE SPACE PROGRAM-
GENE HAD A HUNCH
AMERICA WOULD SOON GO TO THE MOON.
(Shoemaker) AND WHY WOULD YOU GO TO THE MOON?
TO STUDY THE MOON.
AND WHO DO YOU SEND TO STUDY THE MOON?
YOU SEND A GEOLOGIST, RIGHT?
I WAS GOING TO DO WHATEVER I COULD DO
TO STAND AT THE HEAD OF THE LINE WHEN THE TIME CAME,
TO BE THE GEOLOGIST CHOSEN TO GO TO THE MOON.
CAN YOU IMAGINE ANY GREATER ADVENTURE?
I COULDN'T.
I THOUGHT, "WELL I BETTER LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT CRATERS."
OH, GENE, LOOK.
OH, LOOK AT THAT. I'M READY!
(narrator) GENE DARED CONFIDE HIS DREAM ONLY TO ONE PERSON.
(Shoemaker) THIS WAS 1951.
WHEN WE FIRST MET,
I JUST THOUGHT THAT SHE WAS THE NEATEST GAL I HAD EVER MET.
(narrator) HIS WIFE CAROLYN
WOULD BECOME HIS LIFELONG ACCOMPLICE
IN DREAMING AND SCHEMING.
(Carolyn) WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO YOU?
I THINK IT'S YOUR ENTHUSIASM ABOUT THINGS.
HE GETS THIS BIG SMILE,
AND YOU KNOW HE'S JUST FULL OF JOY AND ENTHUSIASM
FOR WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.
GENE HAS A WAY OF GETTING WHAT HE WANTS.
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON.
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOO
(narrator) IN THE EARLY SIXTIES,
IT SEEMED GENE MIGHT ACTUALLY GET WHAT HE WANTED MOST.
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON IN THIS DE
AND DO THE OTHER THINGS, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE EAS
(narrator) AMERICA WAS GOING TO THE MOON,
AND HE WAS ALREADY AN EXPERT ON CRATERS.
THERE WERE MANY THOUSANDS OF THEM
ON THE NEAR SIDE OF THE MOON ALONE.
GENE BELIEVED THEY COULD YIELD TREMENDOUS KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT THE ROLE OF IMPACT IN SHAPING NOT ONLY THE MOON,
BUT THE EARTH AS WELL.
(Shoemaker) THE MOON IS THIS SLATE THAT NOBODY'S BEEN ERASING.
THE RECORD THAT WE'RE SEEING OF BOMBARDMENT-
ALL OF THOSE CRATERS THAT WE SEE ON THE MOON
ARE A RECORD OF THE FLUX,
OF THE HAIL OF BULLETS COMING BY,
THAT'S HITTING BOTH THE EARTH AND THE MOON.
IF WE WANT TO SEE WHAT A VERY FRESH, BIG-IMPACT CRATER
LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT'S FIRST FORMED,
WE LOOK AT THE MOON-
THAT GUY UP THERE.
(narrator) THE PEOPLE WHO RAN THE SPACE PROGRAM
DIDN'T LOOK AT THE MOON THAT WAY.
THEY WERE PITTED IN A FURIOUS RACE.
WHAT MATTERED TO THEM WAS GETTING THERE,
NOT WHAT COULD BE LEARNED ONCE WE ARRIVED.
THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT NASA MANAGERS,
NASA ENGINEERS, AND INDEED THE ASTRONAUTS THEMSELVES
WERE NOT PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN DOING SCIENCE IN SPACE.
THAT WAS NOT THEIR MISSION.
THEY HAD SIGNED UP TO BEAT THE RUSSIANS TO THE MOON,
AND THE FARTHEST THING FROM ANYBODY'S MIND
WAS ACTUALLY DOING SOME SCIENCE
AND COLLECTING SOME SAMPLES.
BUT NEVERTHELESS,
EVEN THOUGH HE WAS CONSIDERED PROBABLY A WEIRDO
BY SOME IN THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY,
GENE DID NOT GIVE UP IN TRYING TO PUSH THIS IDEA
THAT DOING GEOLOGY ON THE MOON WAS IMPORTANT.
(narrator) BUT GEOLOGY ON THE MOON WAS A HARD SELL.
FEW SCIENTISTS THOUGHT GENE WAS RIGHT
ABOUT THE EFFECT OF IMPACT ON THE EARTH,
MUCH LESS THE MOON.
MANY BELIEVED LUNAR CRATERS, TOO, WERE OLD VOLCANOS.
BEFORE GENE GOT TO RIDE A ROCKET,
HE TOOK A FATEFUL TRIP IN A MORE MODEST VEHICLE.
THE SHOEMAKERS WERE ON VACATION IN SOUTHERN GERMANY.
GENE WAS EAGER TO COME HERE TO VISIT THE RIES BASIN-
A 15-MILE-WIDE DEPRESSION
THAT WAS UNIVERSALLY BELIEVED TO BE AN ANCIENT VOLCANO.
(bell tolling)
GENE AND CAROLYN WENT STROLLING
THROUGH THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF NORDLINGEN,
IN THE HEART OF THE CRATER.
AND THERE, GENE CAME UPON THE LARGEST GEOLOGIC SAMPLE
HE'D EVER FOUND.
ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, 500 YEARS OLD,
WAS BUILT OF LOCAL STONE.
(Shoemaker) JUST LOOKING AT THE ROCK
MADE ME STOP AND SAY, "WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE.
WHAT'S THIS?
I THINK I KNOW WHAT THIS IS
BECAUSE I'VE SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT BEFORE."
(narrator) THE WALLS WERE RIDDLED WITH GLASS
FORMED FROM SHOCKED AND MELTED ROCK.
GENE DIDN'T NEED A MICROSCOPE TO KNOW THEY CONTAINED COESITE.
(Carolyn) HE WAS THRILLED BEYOND WORDS,
AND I WAS FOR HIM.
(Shoemaker) JUST TO GO ALONG
AND JUST ADMIRE ALL OF THIS EVIDENCE FOR IMPACT
AND THE FORMATION OF A GIANT CRATER,
AND HERE IT IS INCORPORATED INTO THE CATHEDRAL,
AND IT WAS JUST A VERY STRANGE AND INTERESTING FEELING,
AND SAYING, "AH, YES. WE KNOW WHAT THIS IS NOW!"
(narrator) THE RIES IS NEARLY 20 TIMES AS BIG
AS METEOR CRATER.
(Shoemaker) IT WAS THE FIRST BIG-IMPACT CRATER ON THE EARTH
WHICH WE COULD PROVE WAS AN IMPACT CRATER,
AND THAT JUST CHANGED THE WHOLE BALL GAME.
(narrator) THIS WAS IMPACT ON AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCALE,
BROUGHT ON BY A MILE-WIDE BOULDER
THAT DRASTICALLY CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE
15 MILLION YEARS AGO.
SUDDENLY, GIANT CIRCULAR SCARS OF IMPACT
WERE RECOGNIZED ALL OVER THE GLOBE.
SOME WERE 200 MILES WIDE.
(Shoemaker) NOW WE REALLY UNDERSTOOD
THERE WERE BIG CRATERS MADE ON THE EARTH,
AND THAT MEANT THOSE BIG CRATERS WE SAW ON THE MOON-
WHICH I WAS ALSO PRETTY SURE WERE OF IMPACT ORIGIN-
NOW WE HAD A WAY OF SAYING,
"YES, IT'S HAPPENED ON THE EARTH.
THE PROOF IS HERE. BUT THEY'RE ALSO ON THE MOON."
(narrator) GENE HAD FINALLY EARNED THE CREDIBILITY
TO CONVINCE NASA AND THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM
AIMED AT DOING GEOLOGY ON THE MOON.
GENE WAS APPOINTED TO RUN IT.
DR. SHOEMAKER,
AS THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE ASTROGEOL PROG
WHAT ARE YOU TELL
THE ASTRONAUTS TO LOOK
WHEN THEY START EXPLORING THE MO
SMALL FEATURES OF THE M
THAT WILL BE CLOSE BY, AROUND THE LANDING S
AND, OF COURSE, WE ALSO WANT THEM TO BRING B
A LARGE NUMBER OF SAMPL
(narrator) GENE BROUGHT THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS
TO HIS FAVORITE HOLE IN THE GROUND
TO TEACH THEM GEOLOGY.
(Shoemaker) THIS SEEMED TO ME
LIKE A NATURAL PLACE TO TRAIN ASTRONAUTS
WHO WERE GOING TO GO TO THE MOON AND LOOK AT CRATERS-
IN FACT, THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR IT.
YOU REALLY GET A FEEL OF WHAT A CRATER'S LIKE,
AND EVERY ONE OF THEM WANTED TO GET ON THE MOON,
SO THEY WANTED TO HAVE A GOOD IDEA
OF WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO GET INTO.
(narrator) FOR ADDED REALISM,
GENE'S TEAM BLASTED A REPLICA OF A LUNAR CRATER FIELD
NOT FAR FROM HIS HOME.
THERE HE PARTICIPATED IN THE DESIGN AND TESTING
OF MANY OF THE VEHICLES AND TOOLS USED ON THE MOON.
GENE'S YOUTHFUL DREAM WAS BECOMING A REALITY.
HIS VINDICATION AS A SCIENTIST AND HIS GREATEST ADVENTURE
WOULD SOON BE WON.
17 SECONDS AND COUNTING... GUIDANCE INTERNA
15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10,
WE HAVE IGNITION SEQUENCE...
ENGINES ON. 5, 4, 3, 2
ALL ENGINES RUNNING.
LAUNCH COMMENCE... LIFT O
WE HAVE LIFT OFF 49 MINUTES PAST THE HO
17 HOUSTON, YOU ARE GO FOR ORB
GO FOR ORBIT.
(Shoemaker) NO, I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE MOON.
JUST AT THE CRITICAL TIME
WHEN I COULD HAVE BEEN STANDING AT THE HEAD OF THE LINE
TO GO TO THE MOON,
MY ADRENAL CORTEX,
MY ADRENAL GLANDS STOPPED FUNCTIONING,
AND I KNEW THAT THAT WOULD JUST KNOCK ME OUT OF THE RUNNING,
MEDICALLY.
WHEN YOU HAD THAT IDEA IN YOUR HEAD FOR 15 YEARS,
IT DOESN'T GO AWAY RIGHT AWAY.
(narrator) GENE REMAINED WITH THE LUNAR PROGRAM
AS ONE OF ITS CHIEF SCIENTISTS.
HIS DREAM OF DOING GEOLOGY ON THE MOON
CAME TRUE VICARIOUSLY.
HIS FRIEND AND PROTEGE, DR. JACK SCHMITT,
FLEW ABOARD APOLLO 17.
AS GENE WATCHED,
HIS THEORIES ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF IMPACT ON THE MOON
WERE CONFIRMED LIVE ON TV.
(Schmitt) EVERY ROCK YOU LOOKED AT-
YOU PICKED UP A ROCK OR LOOKED AT A LARGE BOULDER,
AND THERE'S A LITTLE PIT THERE
THAT'S CAUSED BY A MICROMETEOR IMPACT.
IT BECAME CLEAR
THAT THE DOMINANT GEOLOGICAL PROCESS ON THE MOON
WAS METEOR AND COMETARY IMPACT.
(Shoemaker) I WAS IMMENSELY PLEASED
AND PROUD OF JACK,
BUT, OF COURSE, I WAS WISTFUL, TOO.
I COULDN'T HELP FEELING THAT THERE,
BUT FOR THAT FAILED ADRENAL GLAND, GO I.
I'M PUTTING IT IN YOUR
YOU GOT IT?
I USED TO HAVE DREAMS THAT I GOT THERE-
I GOT TO THE MOON, I WAS THERE DOING GEOLOGY-
EVEN AFTER, YOU KNOW, FOR A LONG TIME.
I HAD TO GO DO OTHER THINGS.
(narrator) HIS FEET WOULD NEVER LEAVE THE GROUND,
BUT GENE WAS INTENT ON MAKING HIS OWN WAY INTO SPACE.
HE'D FOUND THE SCARS OF IMPACTS
THAT HAPPENED IN THE DISTANT PAST.
NOW HE'D BE ONE OF THE VERY FIRST
TO FIND OUT IF THERE WERE BULLETS OUT THERE
THAT MIGHT STRIKE THE EARTH IN THE FUTURE.
IT WAS AN OBSCURE, LONESOME EFFORT
AND INVOLVED FREQUENT NIGHT-LONG DRIVES
TO AN OBSERVATORY FAR FROM HOME.
BUT IN TIME,
GENE FOUND A NEW COLLABORATOR AND COMPANION FOR THE ROAD-
A HOUSEWIFE WHO DECIDED SHE TOO WOULD BECOME AN ASTRONOMER.
FOR GENE, IT WAS A JOURNEY FROM DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT
TO NEW DREAMS AND ADVENTURES.
(Carolyn) I HAD SOME REAL MISGIVINGS
BECAUSE I THOUGHT, "THIS MEANS THAT I'M GOING TO GO TO PALOMAR,
AND I'LL HAVE TO STAY AWAKE ALL NIGHT LONG
AND OBSERVE,"
BECAUSE I'D NEVER STAYED AWAKE ALL NIGHT IN MY LIFE.
IT WAS KIND OF A SURPRISE TO ME
TO DISCOVER THAT I REALLY LOVED THE OBSERVING.
I COULD, IF I WAS VERY BUSY, STAY AWAKE ALL NIGHT.
(narrator) IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS,
THE SHOEMAKERS WOULD WEND THEIR WAY
UP PALOMAR MOUNTAIN,
HOME TO WHAT WAS THEN
THE MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPE IN THE WORLD.
THE 200-INCH HALE
WAS THE TEMPLE OF DEEP SPACE ASTRONOMY.
IT WAS CALLED "THE BIG EYE"
AND WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR OBSERVING ASTEROIDS.
IN FACT, BEFORE GENE CAME ALONG,
NO ONE HERE OR ANYWHERE ELSE
HAD EVER SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED FOR ASTEROIDS
THAT COULD HIT THE EARTH.
DOWN THE SLOPE FROM THE BIG EYE
WAS A TINY TELESCOPE THAT WAS VIRTUALLY UNUSED.
THE LITTLE EYE WAS JUST WHAT GENE NEEDED.
(Shoemaker) THIS IS KIND OF SUITED TO OUR STYLE.
WE CALL IT "OUR MOM AND POP OPERATION,"
AND THAT'S BASICALLY THE WAY WE'VE DONE IT.
IT TURNED OUT TO BE A PERFECT INSTRUMENT
FOR OUR PURPOSES.
(narrator) COMPARED WITH THE GIANT UP THE SLOPE,
THE LITTLE EYE DID NOT LOOK FAR, BUT IT LOOKED VERY WIDE.
IT WAS IDEAL FOR PATROLLING THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM
FOR STRAY BULLETS.
MOST ASTRONOMERS SAW THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AS A HARMONIOUS ARRANGEMENT OF PLANETS
ORBITING THE SUN.
THEY PAID LITTLE ATTENTION
TO THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ASTEROIDS-
CHUNKS OF IRON AND ROCK
LEFT OVER FROM THE FORMATION OF THE MAJOR PLANETS.
MOST OF THEM ORBIT HARMLESSLY BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER-
THE ASTEROID BELT.
BUT IF AN ASTEROID VEERED OUT OF ITS NORMAL ORBIT
INTO ONE THAT CUTS ACROSS THE PATH OF THE EARTH,
IT WOULD BE ANYTHING BUT HARMLESS.
MOST SCIENTISTS BELIEVED THAT ASTEROIDS
ALMOST NEVER BECAME EARTH-CROSSERS.
WERE THE SHOEMAKERS SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING
THAT WASN'T EVEN THERE?
THE ANSWER WOULD NOT COME EASILY.
ASTEROIDS LOOK SO SMALL ON FILM,
THAT CAROLYN HAD TO LOOK FOR THEM WITH A MICROSCOPE.
EVEN THEN,
THEY WOULD BE ALMOST INVISIBLE AMID THE STARS.
BUT SLOWLY, THEY EMERGED FROM THE DARK-
TINY, DIM BLURS.
SINCE THEY'RE SO MUCH CLOSER TO EARTH THAN THE STARS,
THEY SEEMED TO STREAK THROUGH THE SKY.
IN 1989, OTHER ASTRONOMERS CAPTURED
THE FIRST-EVER CLOSE-UP OF AN ASTEROID,
USING A GIANT RADAR DISH.
THIS HUGE ROCK WAS MORE THAN A MILE ACROSS.
LATER RADAR IMAGES SHOWED EVEN MORE OMINOUS ASTEROIDS-
MOUNTAINS TUMBLING THROUGH SPACE.
TOUTATIS-
A GIANT BOULDER DOING 70,000 MILES AN HOUR-
REGULARLY CUTS ACROSS THE PATH OF THE EARTH.
951 GASPARA-
FIRST OF ONLY TWO ASTEROIDS
EVER TO BE ACTUALLY PHOTOGRAPHED-
IS AS LARGE AS THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN.
243 IDA IS MORE THAN TWICE AS LARGE.
LIKE GASPARA, IT ISN'T AN EARTH-CROSSER.
BUT IF IT WERE,
IT COULD BLAST A HOLE AS WIDE AS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
GENE DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE MOON,
BUT TOGETHER WITH CAROLYN,
HE'S DISCOVERED SCORES OF NEW CELESTIAL BODIES.
BETWEEN THEM, THEY'VE FOUND HUNDREDS OF ASTEROIDS
AND DOZENS OF COMETS
AND HELPED TRANSFORM THE MAP OF THE SKY.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM WOULD NEVER AGAIN SEEM STABLE
OR PREDICTABLE.
THE HARMONY OF THE PLANETS
TURNED INTO A THREATENING CACOPHONY.
(Shoemaker) WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW,
USING THIS GOOD OLD TELESCOPE RIGHT HERE,
AND BY CONCENTRATING
ON SURVEYING A NEAR REGION AROUND THE EARTH,
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW
THAT THE EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THE SUN
IN ITS OWN SWARM OF ASTEROIDS.
THESE THINGS WILL HIT THE EARTH IN THE FUTURE.
THEY HAVE HIT THE EARTH IN THE PAST.
THESE ARE THE EARTH-CROSSING ASTEROIDS.
(narrator) IN THE 1980s, NEW EVIDENCE EMERGED
OF THE TERRIBLE THREAT IMPACT POSES TO LIFE ON EARTH.
DEEP BENEATH MEXICO'S YUCATAN PENINSULA
IS A 190-MILE-WIDE CRATER,
MADE BY A 100-MILLION-MEGATON IMPACT.
IT DATES TO THE TIME, 65 MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN TWO-THIRDS OF ALL LIVING SPECIES,
INCLUDING THE DINOSAURS,
DISAPPEARED FROM THE FACE OF THE PLANET.
ON MARCH 22, 1989,
AN ASTEROID CAME WITHIN SIX HOURS OF STRIKING THE EARTH,
BUT WAS NOT DETECTED UNTIL MUCH LATER.
OTHER ASTEROIDS HAVE COME EVEN CLOSER.
ONE WOULD HAVE HIT THE EARTH
IF IT HAD COME JUST FOUR HOURS SOONER.
I DON'T THINK THAT PEOPLE
TOOK THE NOTION OF THE HAZARD OF IMPACT SERIOUSLY
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR WORK HERE.
FIRST OF ALL, IT TOOK A WHILE FOR THE NEWS TO GET OUT.
(narrator) THE NEWS THAT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
BEGAN TO BREAK ON THE NIGHT OF MARCH 23, 1993.
THE SHOEMAKERS
AND THEIR COLLABORATOR, DAVID LEVY,
DECIDED TO TAKE SOME PICTURES OF THE SKY
DESPITE PERSISTENT CLOUDS.
THIS WAS NOT A GOOD NIGHT FOR OBSERVING,
MUCH LESS FOR MAKING HISTORIC DISCOVERIES.
(Shoemaker) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... OPEN.
I'M ON.
(Levy) I COULD HARDLY SEE THE STAR I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOLLOWING,
BECAUSE JUPITER WAS SO CLOSE,
THAT THE GLARE OF THE BIG PLANET
WAS SWAMPING THE EYE PIECE.
(Levy) O.K.
PLUS 37, 59.
O.K.
(Carolyn) I STARTED TO EXAMINE THE FILM,
LOOKING AT ALL THE THINGS THAT I KNEW WOULD BE THERE-
THE GHOST IMAGE OF JUPITER
AND THE SPIKES THAT WE SEE ON THE FILMS
WHEN WE'VE GOT A VERY BRIGHT STAR
OR A BRIGHT PLANET.
AND THEN I STARTED TO GO BY SOMETHING,
AND I THOUGHT, "THAT'S A GALAXY.
NO, THAT'S NOT A GALAXY."
AND HERE WAS THIS MOST UNUSUAL LOOKING OBJECT.
AND I THOUGHT, "IT LOOKS LIKE A COMET!"
(Shoemaker) IT LOOKED LIKE A COMET, ALL RIGHT,
EXCEPT IT WAS A COMET THAT WAS STRETCHED OUT.
OUR FILMS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOLUTION
TO REALLY SEE WHAT THE DETAILS ARE
BECAUSE WE'RE COVERING A BIG AREA OF THE SKY.
THE COMET'S ACTUALLY QUITE TINY.
(narrator) THE TEAM CALLED THEIR FRIEND, ASTRONOMER JIM SCOTTI,
WHO WAS MANNING A MORE POWERFUL TELESCOPE,
AND ASKED HIM TO CHECK THEIR FINDING.
HE PROMISED TO CALL BACK
AS SOON AS HIS TELESCOPE COULD BE REPOSITIONED.
BY NOW, IT'S ABOUT TWO HOURS THAT HAS GONE BY,
AND THEN I DECIDED THE TIME HAD COME.
JIM HAD HAD ENOUGH TIME TO TAKE A LOOK,
AND I CALLED JIM SCOTTI,
AND HE ANSWERED THE PHONE IN A VOICE
THAT I HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE,
AND I SAID, "JIM, ARE YOU O.K.?"
AND HE SAYS, "UH... YES.
DAVID, THE SOUND YOU HEARD
IS ME TRYING TO PICK MY JAW OFF THE FLOOR."
AND I SAID, "DO WE HAVE A COMET?"
AND HE SAID, "BOY, DO YOU HAVE A COMET!"
AND HE STARTED DESCRIBING WHAT HE SAW,
AND I WAS REPEATING EVERYTHING TO THE TWO OF YOU,
AND EVERY SENTENCE- IT HAD THESE FIVE TAILS,
AT LEAST FIVE DISCRETE NUCLEl.
BUT HE SAID, "I THINK THERE'S MORE."
IN THE MEANTIME, THAT MUSIC-
WE WE HAD JUST HAD BEETHOVEN'S FIRST SYMPHONY PLAYING IN OUR ROOM-
JUST HAPPENED TO BE ON,
AND THE FOURTH MOVEMENT STARTED,
AND IT STARTS WITH THIS VERY SLOW, LITTLE INTRODUCTION.
(Beethoven's First Symphony playing)
JUST AS JIM SAID, "BOY, DO YOU HAVE A COMET!"
THEN THE SYMPHONY WENT INTO ITS FULL MOTION.
(humming tune of symphony)
AND THEN, RIGHT AT THAT POINT,
JIM SAYS, "BOY, DO YOU HAVE A COMET!"
(narrator) THE COMET-
ESSENTIALLY AN ASTEROID
WITH A LONG TAIL OF DUST AND GAS-
HAD BEEN TORN INTO SEVERAL PIECES
BY JUPITER'S GRAVITY.
(Shoemaker) OF COURSE, THE BIG KICKER,
THE BIG NEWS THAT IT WAS GOING TO HIT JUPITER
DIDN'T ARRIVE UNTIL ABOUT SIX WEEKS LATER.
(Levy) HERE IS THIS MAN, LOOKING AT A COMPUTER SCREEN,
AND IT'S SAYING, "YOUR COMET WITH YOUR NAME ON IT
IS GOING TO COLLIDE WITH JUPITER IN 14 MONTHS."
GENE WAS SITTING THERE, AND HE WAS LOOKING AT IT.
HE WAS SHAKING HIS HEAD, AND HE SAID,
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT.
I'M GOING TO SEE AN IMPACT IN MY LIFETIME.
I JUST DON'T BELIEVE THIS."
NOW THE QUESTION IS, WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?
WERE WE GOING TO HAVE A BIG SHOW,
OR WAS IT GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT NO ONE COULD SEE?
(narrator) EVEN AS SHOEMAKER LEVY 9 APPROACHED JUPITER,
SOME EMINENT SCIENTISTS REMAINED SKEPTICAL
IT WOULD MAKE MUCH OF AN IMPACT.
MANY ASTRONOMERS BELIEVED THE GIANT PLANET
WOULD SWALLOW THE COMET INTO ITS VAPOROUS DEPTHS.
ON JULY 16, 1994,
WHEN THE COMET'S LEADING FRAGMENT
WAS DUE TO CROSS JUPITER'S PATH,
SCIENTISTS AND REPORTERS
GATHERED AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.
GENE FOUND AN EMPTY OFFICE TO CALL FOR NEWS
FROM DISTANT GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES.
WE HAVE HEARD
THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME OBSERVATIONS FROM SPAIN...
IN WHICH...
I WANT TO HEAR THIS.
(Shoemaker) THE QUESTION IS...
HOW SOON WILL BRIAN BE...
(narrator) THERE WOULD BE NO RELIABLE DATA UNTIL THE HUBBLE TEAM
DOWNLOADED THE DAY'S FIRST IMAGES OF JUPITER.
(woman) THERE'S NOTHING IN THE SKY...
(Shoemaker) AND THEY DID, IN FACT, DETECT THE PLUME...
(narrator) IN THE AUDITORIUM,
GENE HAD LITTLE MORE INFORMATION THAN THE GATHERED REPORTERS.
(Shoemaker) WE SHOULD ALL TAKE THESE REPORTS
VERY CAREFULLY AND CAUTIOUSLY AT THIS TIME.
THEY NEED TO BE CONFIRMED.
(woman) LOOK!
OH, MY GOD!
LOOK AT THAT!
(narrator) THE TINY SPOT ON JUPITER WAS IN FACT A FIERY PLUME
ABOUT HALF THE SIZE OF THE EARTH.
(cheering and clapping)
(announcer) I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE DR. HEIDI HAMMEL.
(Hammel) WE JUST DOWNLOADED THE FIRST TWO ORBITS,
WHICH I HAVE A RAW LASER PRINTER OUTPUT.
THIS IS AS RAW AS IT GETS.
WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE IMPACT SITE ITSELF.
AND I'LL REMIND YOU, THIS IS FOR A, THE FIRST ONE,
NOT THE BRIGHTEST ONE,
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A REALLY EXCITING WEEK.
(Shoemaker) I THINK WE'RE VERY, VERY PRIVILEGED TONIGHT
TO SEE AN EVENT THAT'S NOT ONCE IN A LIFETIME;
IT'S ONCE IN A MILLENNIUM.
(narrator) GENE'S VINDICATION WAS A LONG TIME COMING.
NOW IT ARRIVED WITH A MILLION MEGATON BANG.
FEW SCIENTISTS HAVE SEEN THEIR IDEAS
DEMONSTRATED ON THIS MAGNIFICENT SCALE.
THAT WAS ONE GREAT MOMENT IN OUR LIVES.
IT VINDICATED WHAT GENE HAD BEEN TRYING TO TELL EVERYBODY
ALL THESE YEARS,
AND THE SL 9 IMPACTS
SPELLED IT OUT IN BLACK AND WHITE
THAT, "GENE, YOU GOT IT RIGHT."
(narrator) OVER THE NEXT WEEK,
SOME 20 SEPARATE PIECES OF THE COMET
RAINED SPECTACULAR DEVASTATION ON JUPITER.
IF ANYONE HAD ANY LINGERING DOUBTS
THAT COLLISIONS TAKE PLACE
AND THAT THEY CAN HAVE FRIGHTENING CONSEQUENCES,
WATCHING THOSE EVENTS ON JUPITER CONVINCED US.
TO ACTUALLY FINALLY SEE AN IMPACT ON A PLANET
WAS CROSSING A THRESHOLD.
THAT EVENT FINALLY CONVINCED MOST OF MY GEOLOGICAL COLLEAGUES
THAT, YES, THERE REALLY ARE LARGE IMPACTS,
NOT JUST ON JUPITER,
BUT ON THE EARTH, AS WELL.
COULD YOU IMAGINE WHAT SL 9 WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE,
IN ITS 21 PIECES,
IF THEY HAD BEEN NEAR THE EARTH?
HAD ANY ONE OF THE FRAGMENTS OF SL 9
HIT THE EARTH-
ONE OF THE BIGGER FRAGMENTS-
WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE HAD A DARK CLOUD
COVERING THE WHOLE EARTH
IN THE TIME OF AN ORDER OF AN HOUR AND A HALF.
AND WE SAW THAT THE CLOUDS ON JUPITER
LASTED FOR MONTHS, AS FAIRLY DARK CLOUDS.
WHAT ABOUT EVEN BEFORE THE CLOUD?
WHAT ABOUT THE RISING TEMPERATURES
WITH THE IN-FALLING MATERIAL?
WHAT ABOUT BEFORE THAT?
IF PEOPLE KNEW THAT A FRAGMENT
WAS GOING TO HIT THE EARTH,
I WONDER ABOUT THE MASS HYSTERIA
THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED.
WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
PEOPLE WOULD SAY, "WHERE CAN WE HIDE?
WHAT CAN WE DO?"
(Shoemaker) YOU WOULD FEEL AS THOUGH YOU WERE IN AN OVEN
TURNED ON TO BROIL.
AN ENORMOUS HOLE HAS BEEN GOUGED IN THE EARTH,
THEN FINALLY THE SKY WILL JUST TURN BLACK-
ABSOLUTELY, COMPLETELY BLACK,
EVERYWHERE, ALL OVER THE WORLD.
IMPACTS TODAY ARE A RISK.
THEY'RE A HAZARD.
THEY'RE SOMETHING WE NEED TO PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST.
IF WE DON'T LEARN HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST IMPACTS,
THEN ON THE LONG TERM,
WE ARE LIKELY TO BE WIPED OUT BY IMPACTS.
IF IT HAPPENED TO THE DINOSAURS,
IT COULD HAPPEN TO US.
(narrator) IN SL 9's WAKE,
SCIENTISTS AND WEAPONS EXPERTS
FROM RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES
MET AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY.
(man) YOU'VE GOT FIRES...
YOU'VE GOT MASSIVE TIDAL WAVES...
(narrator) THE TOPIC WAS THE END OF THE WORLD.
(speaker) MULTIPLE MECHANISMS TO PRODUCE EXTINCTION...
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE EVERYTHING BURN DOWN AROUND YOU...
(narrator) ASTEROIDS BIG ENOUGH TO KILL
A QUARTER OF THE WORLD'S HUMAN POPULATION
COLLIDE WITH THE EARTH ABOUT TWICE IN A MILLION YEARS.
SMALLER BODIES,
CAPABLE OF WIPING OUT A MAJOR CITY,
COULD HIT ONCE EVERY TWO TO THREE CENTURIES.
(speaker) IT'S GOING TO GLOW FOR ABOUT A HALF AN HOUR
AND SET EVERYTHING ON FIRE AROUND YOU.
THEN IT'S GOING TO BE PITCH BLACK.
ONE THING THAT MAKES
THE COMET AND ASTEROID IMPACT HAZARD
SO IMPORTANT, RELATIVE TO OTHER HAZARDS,
IS THAT IT IS THE ONE HAZARD
THAT IS CAPABLE OF KILLING BILLIONS OF PEOPLE,
OF PUTTING AT RISK OUR ENTIRE CIVILIZATION.
WE COULD HAVE ANY NUMBER
OF STORMS OR EARTHQUAKES OR VOLCANOS,
AND THEY CAN DO TERRIBLE DAMAGE LOCALLY,
BUT THEY DO NOT PUT THE ENTIRE PLANET AT RISK
THE WAY AN IMPACT DOES.
(narrator) INCREDIBLY,
IMPACT IS THE ONE GREAT NATURAL DISASTER
WHICH WE MAY BE ABLE TO PREVENT.
MANY OF THOSE GATHERED AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE
WERE VETERANS OF THE COLD WAR
AND ALREADY KNEW SOMETHING
ABOUT CONFRONTING ASSAULT FROM THE SKY.
(speaker) KINETIC ENERGY IS CHARACTERISTICALLY
ABOUT A HUNDRED TIMES THEIR MASS...
(speaker) IN THIS CASE... A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION,
YOU BLOW OFF SOME MATERIAL,
YOU GET A REACTION...
WHICH HERE I'VE SHOWN
AS BEING PERPENDICULAR TO...
(narrator) IF AN APPROACHING ASTEROID OR COMET
IS DETECTED IN THE NEAR FUTURE,
THE SCENARIO MIGHT INVOLVE
THE MOST POWERFUL LONG-RANGE ROCKET IN THE WORLD-
THE RUSSIAN ENERGIA.
TIPPED WITH AN ACCURATE AMERICAN WARHEAD,
THE ROCKET WOULD BE DETONATED OFF THE SURFACE OF THE ASTEROID,
NUDGING IT OUT OF ITS EARTH-APPROACHING ORBIT.
BUT BEFORE YOU LAUNCH A MISSILE,
YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE TO AIM.
ONLY A FRACTION OF LARGE EARTH-CROSSING ASTEROIDS
HAVE BEEN LOCATED.
THIS MAY PROVE TO BE THE GREATEST OVERSIGHT
IN HUMAN HISTORY.
(Morrison) I CAN TELL YOU WITH CONFIDENCE
THAT FOR THE 10% OF THE BIG ONES THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED,
THERE IS NO DANGER,
BUT I CAN TELL YOU NOTHING
ABOUT THE 90% THAT WE HAVE NOT YET DISCOVERED.
SO, YES, WE UNDERSTAND THE GENERAL NATURE OF THE RISK,
BUT WE HAVE NOT YET TAKEN ANY REAL CONCRETE EFFORTS
TO PROTECT OURSELVES OR EVEN TO LOOK AND SEE
IF THERE'S ANYTHING HEADED OUR WAY.
(narrator) MORE TELESCOPES HAVE JOINED THE SEARCH.
EVEN THE U.S. AIR FORCE
HAS CONTRIBUTED TECHNOLOGY AND EXPERTISE.
BIG SCIENCE HAS TAKEN UP THE HUNT FOR ASTEROIDS.
STILL, THE MOST EXPERIENCED TEAM IN THE BUSINESS
IS LEADING THE CHARGE FROM A TINY NEW TELESCOPE
IN THEIR BACKYARD.
(Shoemaker) BOTH CAROLYN AND I, WE'RE EYEBALL SCIENTISTS.
(Carolyn) WE LIKE TO LOOK AT THE SKY.
(Shoemaker) IT'S KIND OF AN OLD-FASHIONED BRAND OF SCIENCE-
EYEBALL SCIENCE, EYEBALL OBSERVATIONS.
BUT THERE'S STILL A WINDOW THERE,
FOR THE EYEBALL SCIENTIST WHO'S GOT THE RIGHT IDEA,
TO GO AND MAKE WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES.
(narrator) GENE AND CAROLYN SHOEMAKER SHOULD KNOW.
IT'S THE STORY OF THEIR LIVES.
NOW THEY AWAIT WITH ALL OF US
THE NEXT MESSENGER FROM THE STARS.
THE QUESTION IS NOT IF,
BUT WHEN?
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