1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000 This is the ESOcast! 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,000 the European Southern Observatory, 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:17,000 exploring the ultimate frontier with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Hello and welcome to this special episode of the ESOcast. 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,500 Leading up to ESO’s 50th anniversary in October 2012 7 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:30,000 we will showcase eight special features 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,000 portraying ESO’s first 50 years of exploring the southern sky. 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Looking up 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:53,000 167,000 years ago, a star exploded in a small galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. 11 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,500 At the time of the distant explosion, 12 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:02,000 Homo sapiens just started to roam the African savannah. 13 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,000 But no one could have noticed the cosmic fireworks, 14 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,000 as the blast of light had only just embarked on its long journey towards Earth. 15 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,500 By the time light from the supernova had completed 98% of its journey, 16 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:24,500 Greek philosophers had just started to think about the nature of the cosmos. 17 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Just before the light reached Earth, 18 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Galileo Galilei trained his first primitive telescopes on the heavens. 19 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,000 And on 24 February 1987, 20 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,500 when photons from the explosion finally rained down on our planet, 21 00:01:45,500 --> 00:01:50,000 astronomers were ready to observe the supernova in great detail. 22 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,000 Supernova 1987A 23 00:01:54,770 --> 00:01:56,460 flared up in the southern sky – 24 00:01:56,460 --> 00:01:59,440 unobservable from Europe or the United States. 25 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 But by this time, ESO had built its first big telescopes in Chile, 26 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 providing astronomers with a front-row seat to this cosmic spectacle. 27 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,500 The telescope is of course the central tool 28 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:18,000 that allows us to unravel the secrets of the Universe. 29 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Telescopes collect far more light than the unaided human eye, 30 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,000 so they reveal fainter stars and let us peer deeper into space. 31 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Like magnifying glasses, they also show finer detail. 32 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 And, when equipped with sensitive cameras and spectrographs, 33 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,000 they provide us with a wealth of information about planets, stars and galaxies. 34 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000 ESO’s first telescopes on La Silla were a mixed bunch. 35 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,000 They ranged from small national instruments 36 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,000 to large astrographs and wide-field cameras. 37 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 The 2.2-metre telescope – now almost 30 years old – 38 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,000 is still producing some of the most dramatic views of the cosmos. 39 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,000 At the highest point of Cerro La Silla 40 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,000 lies the biggest achievement of ESO’s early years - the 3.6-metre telescope. 41 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:14,000 Aged 35, it now leads a second life as a planet hunter. 42 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,500 Also, Swedish astronomers built a shiny dish fifteen metres across 43 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:25,000 to study microwaves from cool cosmic clouds. 44 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Together, these telescopes have helped to unveil the Universe in which we live. 45 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Earth is just one of eight planets in the Solar System. 46 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,000 From tiny Mercury to giant Jupiter, 47 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:03,500 these rocky spheres and gaseous balls are the leftovers from the formation of the Sun. 48 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,000 The Sun, in turn, is a middle-of-the-road star in the Milky Way galaxy. 49 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 One pinprick of light amidst hundreds of billions of similar stars — 50 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,000 as well as bloated red giants, imploded white dwarfs, 51 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 and rapidly spinning neutron stars. 52 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:34,000 The spiral arms of the Milky Way are sprinkled with glowing nebulae, 53 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000 spawning bright clusters of newborn stars, 54 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:42,000 while old globular clusters slowly swarm about the galaxy. 55 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,500 And the Milky Way is just one of countless galaxies in a vast Universe, 56 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:57,000 which has been expanding ever since the Big Bang, almost fourteen billion years ago. 57 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:10,000 Over the past fifty years, ESO has helped to uncover our place in the Universe. 58 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 And by looking up, we have also discovered our own origins. 59 00:06:14,500 --> 00:06:20,500 We are part of the big cosmic story. Without stars, we wouldn’t be here. 60 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,000 The Universe started out with hydrogen and helium, the two lightest elements. 61 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:34,000 But stars are nuclear ovens, turning light elements into heavier ones. 62 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,000 And supernovae like 1987A 63 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,000 seed the Universe with the products of this stellar alchemy. 64 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,000 When the Solar System formed, some 4.6 billion years ago, 65 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,000 it contained trace amounts of these heavier elements. 66 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,000 Metals and silicates, but also carbon and oxygen. 67 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:06,000 The carbon in our muscles, the iron in our blood, and the calcium in our bones, 68 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 were all forged in an earlier generation of stars. 69 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,000 You and I were literally made in heaven. 70 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,000 But answers always lead to new questions. 71 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,000 The more we learn, the deeper the mysteries become. 72 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,000 What is the origin and ultimate fate of galaxies? 73 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:36,000 Are there other solar systems out there, and could there be life on alien worlds? 74 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:49,000 And what lurks in the dark heart of our Milky Way galaxy? 75 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Astronomers were clearly in need of more powerful telescopes. 76 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 And ESO provided them with revolutionary new tools. 77 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 This is Dr J, signing off from this special episode of the ESOcast. 78 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,000 Join me again next time for another cosmic adventure. 79 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,000 ESOcast is produced by ESO, 80 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,000 the European Southern Observatory. 81 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:31,000 ESO, the European Southern Observatory, 82 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy, 83 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,000 designing, constructing and operating the world’s most advanced ground-based telescopes. 84 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:45,000 Transcription by ESO; translation by — 85 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Now that you've caught up with ESO, 86 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,000 head 'out of this world' with Hubble. 87 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,000 The Hubblecast highlights the latest discoveries 88 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,000 of the world´s most recognized and prized space observatory, 89 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,000 The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.