Narrator: NASA's MISSION
IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN. Man: THERE IS MORE THAT WE
DON'T KNOW THAN WE DO KNOW. THAT'S JUST THE NATURE
OF THE UNIVERSE. Narrator:
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS, IT LAUNCHES SCIENTISTS
INTO SPACE, AND CRAFT BEYOND THE EDGE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Man: TAKING RISK IS PART
OF MAKING DISCOVERIES. SPACE EXPLORATION IS LIKE
LIGHTING A MATCH... [ BURSTING ] AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT
LURKS IN THE SHADOWS. THERE COULD BE
ANYTHING OUT THERE. Narrator: ENIGMATIC
FLYING SAUCERS FROM SECRET
GOVERNMENT PROJECTS. [ CRACKLE, BEEP ] MEGA HEXES ON SATURN. SPACE SQUID NEAR THE MOON. AND ALIEN POWER PLANTS
ON DISTANT WORLDS. NASA's MISSIONS UNCOVER
DISTURBING EVIDENCE... <i> Man: OKAY, WE'RE SEEING
THREE OR FOUR OBJECTS.</i> <i> Man: YEAH, THERE ARE, UH,
THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS.</i> ...THAT CONTINUES TO PERPLEX
OUR FINEST SCIENTIFIC MINDS. THIS IS
"NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES." --<font color="#FFFF00"> Captions by VITAC --</font><font color="#00FFFF">
www.vitac.com</font> CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS [ SCI-FI THEME PLAYING ] IT BEGAN ON THE BANKS
OF A DRY LAKE BED... UH, RIGHT ON CHINA LAKE,
I BELIEVE IT WAS. ...WITH A SIGHTING THAT IS
OUT OF THIS WORLD. A TOP NASA ASTRONAUT BELIEVES
THAT FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL. SOMEHOW, HE MUST CONVINCE
A DISBELIEVING WORLD. BUT FOR HIM, THE MYSTERY
HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST
CONVINCING STORIES TOLD BY ONE OF THE MOST
CREDIBLE WITNESSES ABOUT AN ABSOLUTELY
UNWORLDLY EVENT. Narrator: IT WAS AN ORDINARY DAY
AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE. EDWARDS
CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF. BUT AT EDWARDS,
NO DAY IS TRULY ORDINARY. EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
IS A PLACE WHERE ALL SORTS OF TOP-SECRET
PROJECTS ARE GOING ON. [ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] Narrator: CAPTAIN GORDON COOPER
IS AN ACE TEST PILOT. HE FLIES AIRCRAFT AT THE CUTTING
EDGE OF AERONAUTICAL DESIGN. HE WAS ONE OF THOSE TYPES
THAT WANTS TO BE OUT THERE PUSHING THE LIMITS,
AND WANTS TO BE OUT THERE FLYING AS FAST AS YOU CAN FLY. Narrator: COOPER IS PREPARING
TO TEST A REVOLUTIONARY
NEW LANDING SYSTEM IN A LAKE BED NEAR
THE CALIFORNIA DESERT. HE SENDS TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS,
JAMES BITTICK AND JACK GETTYS, TO SET UP RECORDING EQUIPMENT
BY THE SHORES OF THE LAKE. BUT AS BITTICK AND GETTYS ARE
SETTING UP THEIR EQUIPMENT, SOMETHING CATCHES THEIR EYE. THEY SPOT AN UNUSUAL FLYING
CRAFT APPROACHING THEM ACROSS THE LAKE BED. [ CLICKING ] THEY BEGIN FILMING IT BECAUSE
THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE IT. [ WHIRRING ] [ CLICKS ] THE CRAFT EXTENDS THE TRIPOD LANDING GEAR, HOVERS, AND THEN DESCENDS,
LANDING ON THE LAKE BED WHILE THE CAMERAMEN ARE
OBSERVING AND PHOTOGRAPHING. [ SHUTTER CLICKS ] [ CRAFT WHIRRING ] THEY APPROACH IT ON FOOT. [ WHIRRING ] IT TAKES OFF,
RETRACTS THE LANDING GEAR, AND DISAPPEARS OVER THE HORIZON. [ CAMERAS WHIRRING ] [ SHUTTERS CLICKING ] Narrator: BITTICK AND GETTYS
CAPTURE IMAGES OF THE SAUCER, AND HURRY BACK TO REPORT THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SIGHTING
TO COOPER. [ WHIRRING ] Pope: THESE ARE TOUGH GUYS. THEY DON'T SCARE EASILY.
SOMETHING DEFINITELY HAPPENED. SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. Narrator:
INITIALLY SKEPTICAL, COOPER IS CONVINCED WHEN
HE LOOKS AT THE NEGATIVES. HE SENDS THEM TO WASHINGTON, ALONG WITH A FULL REPORT
IN A LOCKED COURIER BOX, AND THE FOOTAGE
IS NEVER SEEN AGAIN. THERE ARE TWO QUESTIONS HERE. FIRSTLY, WHAT IS IT THAT THESE
PEOPLE ARE SEEING? SECONDLY, WHERE'S THE FOOTAGE? Narrator: NASA's JIM OBERG
HAS SEEN THE REPORT OF THE ENCOUNTER
IN PROJECT BLUE BOOK... ...THE U.S. AIR FORCE RECORD
OF MORE THAN 12,000 U.F.O. SIGHTINGS. [ TYPING ] Oberg: THE REPORT
HAS A BLUE BOOK CASE NUMBER. IT'S THAT DATE, IT'S THAT EVENT,
IT'S THOSE WITNESSES. AND IT'S ON RECORD, AND YOU CAN
GET A COPY OF IT ON MICROFICHE FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. Narrator: THOUGH THE BLUE BOOK
IS ON FILE, COOPER'S REPORT, AND ANY
FILMED FOOTAGE FILED WITH IT, IS MYSTERIOUSLY MISSING. ALL THAT REMAINS ARE
A FEW FUZZY PHOTOGRAPHS. YET THE STORY COOPER AND HIS
PHOTOGRAPHERS TOLD LATER REMAINS CLEAR. GORDON COOPER'S ACCOUNT OF THAT
EVENT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR. IT WAS A U.F.O., IT LANDED,
PHOTOGRAPHERS TOOK SOME FILM, STRANGE PEOPLE -- INTELLIGENCE OFFICER CAME
AND TOOK THE FILM, AND EVERYBODY WAS ADVISED --<i>
THREATENED --</i> NEVER TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN. Narrator: IF THAT'S TRUE, WHAT COULD PROVOKE
SUCH A SEVERE REACTION? SOME BELIEVE THAT COOPER'S
MEN SPOTTED AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
SO SECRET, ALL REFERENCE TO IT
WAS CLASSIFIED. THE IRONY HERE IS THAT
THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ARE ACTUALLY DEVELOPING A KIND
OF REAL-LIFE FLYING SAUCER. <i> Man: WIND TUNNEL TESTS WERE
PERFORMED TO DETERMINE</i> <i> AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS
DURING TAKEOFF, HOVERING,</i> <i> TRANSITION AND FORWARD FLIGHT.</i> <i> THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF
THE AVROCAR IS LOCATED...</i> Narrator: THE AVROCAR WAS UNLIKE
ANY AIRCRAFT PREVIOUSLY FLOWN. Benkert: THE AVROCAR WAS
A FAN, BASICALLY, WITH LIKE A -- A --
UH, A ROUND OBJECT AROUND IT. Oberg:
YOU WOULDN'T SEE ANY WINGS. UH, IT WOULDN'T EVEN SEE --
UH, ANY BLADES. THEY'RE ALL INTERNAL. SO, THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT SEE, UH, THE FIRST --
THE FIRST GUESS IS GONNA BE THAT THE I HAD ACTUALLY
ENCOUNTERED A U.F.O. Narrator: THE AVROCAR BEARS
A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
SAW THAT DAY. IT COULD PROVIDE THE MOST
PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION. BUT THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT
THE AVROCAR -- DOES IT REALLY WORK? Benkert:
THE AVROCAR NEVER WORKED. IT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A,
UH, HOVERCRAFT, REALLY. I MEAN, AND IT HOVERED MAYBE TWO
OR FOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND. IT WAS REALLY UNCONTROLLABLE. Birnes: FROM WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT THE AVROCAR, IT DID NOT HAVE THE
ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN THAT KIND OF FLIGHT
TO GO THAT DISTANCE. IN FACT, THE WHOLE DEVICE
WAS TECHNOLOGICALLY UNWORKABLE AND WAS ABANDONED IN THE 1950s. Narrator: SO THE AVROCAR WAS
NEVER CAPABLE OF THE BEHAVIOR BITTICK AND GETTYS DESCRIBED. BUT OBERG BELIEVES
THEIR DESCRIPTION HAS BEEN DISTORTED
IN THE YEARS SINCE THE SIGHTING. THE STORY HAS BEEN EVOLVING. OVER THE YEARS,
THE STORY HAS BEEN IMPROVING WITH EACH RETELLING. THOSE STORIES HAVE BEEN
TOLD SO OFTEN, AND HAVE BEEN IMPROVED SO
MUCH TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE AND TO PLEASE THE TELLER,
THAT THEY HAVE DEPARTED, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY
AND SOMETIMES IRREVOCABLY, FROM REALITY. Narrator: BASED ON THE BLUE BOOK
REPORT, OBERG THINKS THAT BITTICK AND GETTYS
SPOTTED A WEATHER BALLOON DRIFTING OVER THE HORIZON. THE ACCOUNTS AT THE TIME WERE
CLEAR THAT THIS WAS AN OBJECT DRIFTING WITH THE WIND,
AND IT WAS SEEN A FEW MINUTES AFTER A BALLOON HAD BEEN
RELEASED, IN PREPARATION
FOR A MORNING FLIGHT TEST. NOW, THE TWO MEN WHO SAW IT
ABSOLUTELY REJECTED THAT EXPLANATION. Narrator: BUT FOR SOME,
THE WEATHER BALLOON EXPLANATION IS JUST TOO CONVENIENT. YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE
TO TAKE GORDON COOPER'S, UH, TESTIMONY SERIOUSLY. A MAN OF HIS STATUS,
WHO'S AN INCREDIBLE PILOT AND AN ASTRONAUT, OKAY? HE KNEW WHAT HE SAW THAT DAY,
AND HE -- THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN HIS MIND
IT WAS NOT FROM THIS WORLD. I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO CONTACT
ONE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS, A MAN NAMED GETTYS,
WHO AGREED TOTALLY THAT COOPER
HAD NEVER BEEN INVOLVED, THAT HE WAS NOT EVEN ON BASE
AT THE TIME. ALTHOUGH HE WAS ON BASE, HE WAS NOT WORKING
WITH THIS CREW AT ALL. COOPER LATER ON ADDED HIMSELF
INTO A STORY THAT HE'D HEARD ABOUT. Narrator: THAT DOESN'T
ALTER THE FACT THAT GETTYS STILL SAW SOMETHING
HE COULD NOT EXPLAIN. Birnes: UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT
COMES FORWARD, AND BY THE GOVERNMENT,
I MEAN THE AIR FORCE, AND ADMITS THERE WAS A LANDING
OF AN OTHERWORLDLY OBJECT AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, ADMITS THERE WAS FILM,
AND PRODUCES THE REPORT, I THINK WE'LL NEVER GET TO
THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY. Narrator: COMING NEXT... WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS
ON ANY OTHER PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Narrator: A MASSIVE HEXAGONAL
SHAPE ON TOP OF SATURN LINGERS THERE FOR 30 YEARS. NOW WE START THINKING, THIS FEELS MORE LIKE
AN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE THAN A RANDOM WEATHER PATTERN. Narrator: SOMETHING WEIRD IS
HAPPENING ON TOP OF SATURN. WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS
ON ANY OTHER PLANET, UH, IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Narrator: A FORMATION
OF INTENTIONAL DESIGN? COULD THERE BE SOME KIND
OF INTELLIGENCE BEHIND IT? Narrator:
WHAT IS SATURN'S MEGA HEX? SOMETHING IS ORGANIZING IT,
SOMETHING'S KEEPING THIS THING TOGETHER, AND WE DON'T
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS. Narrator: ON ITS JOURNEY
OUT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, NASA's SPACECRAFT VOYAGER
REACHES ITS NEXT TARGET -- SATURN. BUT ITS CAMERAS CAN ONLY SEE
THE RINGED PLANET'S SIDE. THE VOYAGER SPACECRAFT
WAS JUST TAKING LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS
AS IT -- AS IT FLEW PAST SATURN. [ SHUTTER CLICKING ] Narrator: WHEN A SCIENTIST
STITCHES THE IMAGES TOGETHER, CREATING A PICTURE
OF THE PLANET'S POLE, THE RESULT IS COMPLETELY
UNEXPECTED. HE SAW A SIX-SIDED
SHAPE ON THE TOP OF SATURN. [ SHUTTER CLICKS ] Narrator: A PERFECT HEXAGON
ENGULFS SATURN'S NORTH POLE. IT ALMOST LOOKS TOO REGULAR
TO BE NATURAL. WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS
ON ANY OTHER PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Narrator: BUT NASA DOWNPLAYS
THE DISCOVERY. THE EXPLANATION WAS SIMPLE.
THIS IS JUST A WEATHER PATTERN. Read: THIS WAS A CURIOSITY
AT THE TIME, BUT WE WERE NOT ABLE
TO FOLLOW THIS UP WITH ANY OTHER OBSERVATION,
SO INTEREST IN IT WANED. Narrator: SATURN'S SECRET IS
FORGOTTEN -- BUT NOT FOREVER. JUNE 2004. <i> ALL SYSTEMS GO.</i> [ WHOOSHING ] [ BEEPING ] THE CASSINI SPACE PROBE
ARRIVES AT SATURN. IT CAN LOOK WHERE VOYAGER
COULD NOT, DIRECTLY INTO THE DARK SIDE
OF SATURN'S NORTH POLE. [ BEEP ] CASSINI CAN GO UP TO THE POLES
AND LOOK DOWN FROM THE POLES, WHICH NO OTHER SPACECRAFT HAS
BEEN ABLE TO DO UP UNTIL NOW. Narrator: AND WHAT
ITS INFRARED CAMERA SEES ASTONISHES NASA SCIENTISTS. THE GIGANTIC HEXAGON STILL
DOMINATES SATURN. Baines: IT'S STILL THERE. HASN'T BUDGED
MUCH AT ALL IN 30 YEARS. I MEAN, THIS THING SHOULD BE
UNSTABLE. IT JUST CAN'T
KEEP ITS FORM LIKE THAT. Narrator:
THE ANOMALY IS MASSIVE, LARGE ENOUGH TO CONSUME
FOUR PLANET EARTHS. [ BEEPING ] BUT THE HEX IS ALSO DOING
WEIRD THINGS. Baines:
THE CLOUD FOLLOWS THE HEXAGON AS IF IT'S A RACE TRACK. SO WE HAD THESE CLOUDS THAT
GO INTO STRAIGHT LINES, AND THEN THEY TURN THE CORNERS, AND THEN THEY GO INTO
THE NEXT STRAIGHT LINE. IT'S REALLY BIZARRE. SOMETHING IS ORGANIZING IT, SOMETHING IS KEEPING
THIS THING TOGETHER, AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND
WHAT IT IS. WHENEVER YOU SEE THESE
LINEAR FEATURES, THERE'S THE TEMPTATION
TO THINK, COULD THERE BE SOME KIND OF
INTELLIGENCE BEHIND IT? Capps: NOW WE START THINKING, THIS FEELS MORE LIKE
AN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE THAN A RANDOM WEATHER PATTERN. Narrator: FOR SOME OBSERVERS,
A COLOSSAL STRUCTURE LIKE THIS COULD BE USED TO EXPLOIT
THE GAS GIANT'S NATURAL RESOURCES,
CRITICAL FOR SPACE TRAVEL. WHEN TRAVELING
AT INTERSTELLAR DISTANCES, WHAT YOU NEED IS PROPELLANT. AND SATURN IS A PERFECT
PLACE TO PICK UP FUEL. Narrator: 75% OF SATURN'S
ATMOSPHERE IS HYDROGEN GAS, THE SAME FUEL THAT GOT US
TO THE MOON. [ STATIC BLIPS ] THE ATMOSPHERE
ALSO CONTAINS HELIUM-3, WHICH COULD BE THE GAS
OF THE FUTURE. WHAT IF THE GAS GIANT IS IN FACT
A GIANT GAS STATION? IT'S HARD FOR US TO FATHOM
HOW IT CAN BE DONE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN
IT CAN'T BE DONE BY A CIVILIZATION
MORE ADVANCED THAN OURS. [ STATIC BLIPS ] Narrator:
SCIENTISTS ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT A HUGE GAS REFINERY
IS BEHIND SATURN'S MEGA HEX. NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE TRIED
TO SAY THIS IS AN ALIEN FEATURE OF SOME TYPE ON SATURN,
BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE NATURAL EXPLANATIONS FOR IT. Narrator:
AND PROFESSOR PETER READ COULD HAVE THAT EXPLANATION. USING A MODEL OF SATURN'S
ATMOSPHERE, HE INVESTIGATES THE ANOMALY. THE TANK HERE REPRESENTS THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE OF SATURN, UH, WITH THE POLE AT THE CENTER. AT THE REGION
WHERE THE HEXAGON OCCURS, THERE'S A STRONG JET STREAM
ON SATURN. Narrator:
A DISK SPINNING AT THE CENTER CREATES A FASTER FLOW OF FLUID,
A JET STREAM. WHERE THE TWO FLOWS MEET,
THE HEXAGON SHOULD FORM. SO WE CAN ILLUSTRATE THIS
BY ADDING SOME GREEN DYE TO THE TANK. [ BEEP ] [ WHOOSHING ] THE DYE MOVES AROUND THE TANK, PICKING OUT THE SIX SIDES
OF THE HEXAGON. Narrator: REID'S APPARATUS HAS
SUMMONED SATURN'S MEGA HEX. BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM
WITH THE RESULT. IN THE EXPERIMENT,
WHIRLPOOL VORTICES HOLD THE SIDES
OF THE HEXAGON STRAIGHT. SATURN -- WE'VE LOOKED
AND LOOKED AND LOOKED, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN
ANY OF THOSE VORTICES ON ANY OF THOSE STRAIGHT-LINE
SEGMENTS. Narrator: WITHOUT
THESE VORTICES, THE HEX OUGHT TO COLLAPSE... BUT IT DOESN'T. IT'S A REAL MYSTERY,
WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY. Narrator: THE CAUSE OF SATURN'S
MEGA HEX REMAINS UNEXPLAINED. [ WHOOSHING ] Brin: A TINY PORTION OF
THE BRAIN SHOULD BE SAYING, "OOH, WHAT'S THAT?" JUST IN CASE IT REALLY
IS SOMETHING WEIRD. Narrator: STILL TO COME... THINGS DIDN'T GO EXACTLY
THE WAY WE PLANNED THEM. WHEN APOLLO 14 NEARLY
CRASHES ON THE MOON... THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY
FLYING BLIND. ...PEOPLE START ASKING
QUESTIONS. WAS THERE OUTSIDE
INTERFERENCE TELLING US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS,
"STOP GOING TO THE MOON"? [ BEEPING, ALARM WAILING ] Narrator: MULTIPLE DISASTERS
IN MOON ORBIT... WHY ARE THESE SUCCESSIVE
NEAR-CATASTROPHES HAPPENING TO THIS MISSION? ...FOLLOWED BY STRANGE
HOVERING BLUE LIGHTS. WHAT IS THAT BLUE STREAK
JUST ABOVE THE HORIZON? [ BEEP ] THIS COULD BE
A DISASTER FOR NASA. Narrator: APOLLO 14 ASTRONAUTS
ALAN SHEPARD AND EDGAR MITCHELL ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. AS THEY PREPARE FOR A MOON
LANDING ON FEBRUARY 5, 1971, THE LUNAR MODULE COMPUTER
MALFUNCTIONS. WE KNEW WHAT
WE WERE GETTING INTO. NOW OF COURSE, THINGS DIDN'T GO
EXACTLY THE WAY WE PLANNED THEM. [ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] THEY FIRED THE DESCENT ENGINE,
THEY START GETTING 1,200 SERIES ALARMS
ONTO THE COMPUTER. THEY CAN'T PROCEED DOWN
WITH THESE ALARMS BECAUSE THE DANGER IS, IS THAT
IF THEY HAVE THAT ALARM, THE SYSTEM WILL ABORT
WHEN THEY MAKE THE FINAL DESCENT DOWN TO THE LUNAR SURFACE. Narrator: IF THE SYSTEM ABORTS, THE COMPUTER WILL AUTOMATICALLY
SEND THE MODULE BACK INTO ORBIT. [ RADIO STATIC ] FOLLOWING VERY CLOSE ON
THE HEELS OF APOLLO 13, THIS COULD BE
A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER. SO THE GROUND CONTROLLERS
AT MISSION CONTROL AND MIT, THEY COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.
IT'S A WORK-AROUND. IT WILL BYPASS THE ALARMS. AND THEY SEND THAT UP TO
AL AND ED UP IN THE SPACECRAFT. Narrator: THE MISSION NOW
HANGS ON MITCHELL'S ABILITY TO CARRY OUT
THE PROCEDURE PERFECTLY. Mitchell:
FAILURE IN THE SYSTEM. AND SO WE HAD TO DISABLE
PART OF THAT SYSTEM ON THE LAST PASS
BEFORE WE LANDED. Orwoll: ED HAS TO ENTER
ON THE DISPLAY KEYBOARD ABOUT 80-PLUS STROKES
UH, INTO THAT. AND IF HE MISSES ONE ENTRY
INTO THAT, THE SYSTEM WILL ABORT AND WILL
FIRE THE ASCENT ENGINES. WE HAD TRAINED AND TRAINED
AND TRAINED, SO IT WAS A MATTER OF DOING
EXACTLY WHAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING,
AND FOLLOWING OUR CHECKLIST. Narrator: ON INSTRUCTIONS
FROM MISSION CONTROL, MITCHELL RESETS THE COMPUTER JUST MOMENTS BEFORE
AUTOMATIC ABORT. [ CHEERING ] BUT THE MISSION FACES YET
ANOTHER UNEXPECTED SETBACK. NOW THEY'RE PROCEEDING DOWN
TO THE LUNAR SURFACE, AND AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH
TO HAVE THE FIRST PROBLEM, NOW THEY'RE HAVING A SECOND
PROBLEM WITH THE LANDING RADAR. Narrator: A SECOND CRITICAL
SYSTEM GOES OFFLINE. Orwoll: THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY
FLYING BLIND. THEY HAVE NO INDICATION
OF ALTITUDE, AND THERE'S THE FEAR OF RUNNING
INTO A MOUNTAIN ON THE LUNAR SURFACE. [ ALARM WAILING ] Narrator: DESCENDING
AT 500 FEET PER SECOND, THE LUNAR MODULE IS ON A
COLLISION COURSE WITH THE MOON. Mitchell:
THAT WAS A NO-GO SITUATION. HAD WE NOT BEEN ABLE TO
GET THE LANDING RADAR ON, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AN ABORT SITUATION. Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS RESET
ONE OF THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS, AND THE RADAR KICKS INTO LIFE. [ WHOOSHING ] THEY RESET THE SYSTEM AND
EVENTUALLY IT DOES COME BACK, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T KNOW
THE CAUSE AT THE TIME. Narrator: THIS IS NOT
THE FIRST TIME THAT APOLLO HAS RUN INTO TROUBLE
ON THIS PART OF THE MOON. THE ILL-FATED APOLLO 13 MISSION
WAS SLATED TO LAND IN EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT. WAS THERE OUTSIDE
INTERFERENCE TELLING US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS,
"STOP GOING TO THE MOON"? NASA WILL NEVER SAY THAT. Narrator:
THE IDEA OF SOME UNKNOWN FORCE INTERFERING WITH THE LANDING
MIGHT SEEM FAR-FETCHED, BUT MISSION PHOTOS DEVELOPED ONCE THE ASTRONAUTS RETURNED
TO EARTH RAISE SUSPICIONS. ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT WE NOTICE IN THE IMAGES IS THESE BLUE STREAKS
THAT APPEAR IN THE SKYLINE, ALMOST HOVERING. Narrator: UNSEEN BY
THE ASTRONAUTS DURING MORE THAN 33 HOURS
ON THE LUNAR SURFACE, THESE STRANGE BLUE LIGHTS
APPEAR ON A SERIES OF PHOTOS TAKEN DURING THE MISSION. SO THE KEY QUESTION
EVERYBODY'S ASKING IS, IS, "WHAT IS THAT IMAGE?" WHAT IS THAT BLUE STREAK
JUST ABOVE THE HORIZON?" Narrator: NASA BELIEVES
THIS IS FILM DAMAGE CAUSED BY COSMIC RAYS
IN THE NEAR-VACUUM OF SPACE. COSMIC RAYS, X-RAYS, ARE VERY
HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES, HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION. THE PHOTOS THAT WERE TAKEN
ON THE MOON WERE DEPOSITED IN FILM CANS. BUT, ON THE MOON THERE'S NO
PROTECTION FROM COSMIC RAYS, OR -- OR GAMMA RAYS,
OR OTHER TYPES OF RADIATION. SO THESE CANS COULD HAVE
ENDED UP GETTING FOGGED BY COSMIC RAY BOMBARDMENT. NASA LIKES COSMIC RAYS
AS AN EXPLANATION BECAUSE THEY'RE
INHERENTLY MYSTERIOUS. IT'S A HANDY WAY OUT,
I'M AFRAID. Birnes:
I DON'T THINK IT'S COSMIC RAYS. WHY WASN'T ALL THE FILM EXPOSED? IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE TO FOLLOW
THE NASA EXPLANATION. Narrator: SUBSEQUENT MOON
MISSIONS FAILED TO DETECT FURTHER EVIDENCE OF
THESE MYSTERIOUS BLUE LIGHTS. WHATEVER THEY WERE,
THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN AGAIN. STILL TO COME... WE'RE LOOKING
FOR ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. IN THE SEARCH
FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE, WE GO LOOKING FOR THE UNIVERSE'S
LARGEST POWER PLANT. GRABBING ALL OF THE LIGHT FROM
THE SUN AND USING ALL OF IT. AND HAVE WE RECEIVED A MESSAGE
FROM E.T.? I JUST KNEW THAT THIS
MAY BE THE SIGNAL, MAYBE THE FIRST ONE DETECTED,
AND WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS. Narrator: A SERIES OF ENCOUNTERS
PLAGUES THE SHUTTLE PROGRAM. IS THIS NATURAL PHENOMENON,
OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE? Narrator: UNEXPLAINED OBJECTS
DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSICS. THE QUESTION IS, WHERE DO THESE
OBJECTS COME FROM? Narrator: AND RAISE
UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT SENIOR OFFICIALS
MAY KNOW. ARE THESE ACCIDENTS, OR ARE WE
BEING TOLD SOMETHING? Narrator: MARCH 2001. SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY
DISENGAGES FOLLOWING A TEXTBOOK MISSION TO
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. STS102 IS RESUPPLYING
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. UH, IT'S ALSO CHANGING OUT
THE CREW -- EXPEDITION ONE
AND EXPEDITION TWO. IN THE CONTEXT OF SPACE
OPERATIONS, IT'S KIND OF ABOUT AS ROUTINE
AS YOU CAN GET. Narrator: BUT AS COMMANDER
JAMES D. WETHERBEE AND HIS CREW PREPARE FOR THE RETURN TO EARTH, THE SHUTTLE'S EXTERNAL CAMERAS
DETECT SOMETHING UNSEEN BY ANYONE ON BOARD. SUDDENLY,
THEY SEE SOMETHING ELSE. Narrator: OBJECTS APPEAR
TO FLY PAST THE SHUTTLE ON MULTIPLE TRAJECTORIES. WHAT MAKES THIS SIGHTING
INTERESTING IS THAT THESE OBJECTS APPEAR TO CHANGE
DIRECTION. THEY SEEM TO BE MOVING
INDEPENDENTLY, UH, STARTING, STOPPING, MOVING AROUND
IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. Narrator: THERE'S NO OFFICIAL
EXPLANATION FOR THE SIGHTING, AND THE BEHAVIOR
OF THESE STRANGE OBJECTS PROMPTS SOME TO DRAW COMPARISONS
WITH A PRIOR SHUTTLE ENCOUNTER. THIS EVENT UNCANNILY MIRRORS
AN INCIDENT THAT TOOK PLACE 10 YEARS BEFORE
ON A PREVIOUS SHUTTLE MISSION. Narrator: IN 1991,
AN OBJECT SEEN DURING DISCOVERY MISSION
STS-48 ALSO APPEARS TO CHANGE DIRECTION RAPIDLY. YOU HAVE AN OBJECT COMING IN
FROM THE RIGHT-HAND CORNER OF THE FRAME OF THE CAMERA. SUDDENLY, THE OBJECT
SEEMS TO MAKE A U-TURN. NORMALLY AN OBJECT WOULDN'T
CHANGE DIRECTION, UNLESS IT WAS
UNDER INTELLIGENT CONTROL. SO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? NASA ANALYST JIM OBERG BELIEVES
THAT, IN BOTH CASES, THE OBJECTS ARE SIMPLY PIECES
OF SPACE DEBRIS BEING PROPELLED AWAY FROM
THE SHUTTLE BY ITS THRUSTERS. BECAUSE THE SPACE SHUTTLE
IS SO BIG -- IT'S THE SIZE OF A SMALL
AIRLINER -- THERE ARE DIFFERENT PIECES
COMING ALL AT DIFFERENT PLACES, AND THAT WILL PUSH
THESE TINY SNOWFLAKES INTO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. AND NOT ALWAYS THE DIRECTIONS
YOU THINK, BECAUSE THE PLUME ITSELF BOUNCES OFF OTHER PARTS
OF THE SHUTTLE, LIKE THE WING OR
THE BACK END OF IT, AND COMES BACK IN DIFFERENT
DIRECTIONS. IT'S A VERY DYNAMIC
AND A VERY SURPRISING CREATOR OF STRANGE VIDEOS. Narrator: IN JUNE 2005, FOLLOWING A FREEDOM
OF INFORMATION REQUEST, NASA RELEASES DATA LISTING
THE EXACT TIMINGS OF THE THRUSTER BURNS ON THE DAY
THE OBJECTS WERE SPOTTED. WHEN THE DATA IS ANALYZED,
THE TIMINGS APPEAR TO CORRELATE WITH
THE MOVEMENT OF THE OBJECTS. BUT FOR SOME, THE FOOTAGE
FROM BOTH THESE SIGHTINGS RAISES DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. DID WE FIRE A WEAPON
AT THIS PARTICULAR OBJECT, SENDING IT AWAY? THE OBJECT MAKING A U-TURN
AND HEADING INTO SPACE, AVOIDING THIS LIGHT
COMING AFTER IT, SEEMS TO BE A REAL CASE OF
AN ATTEMPTED U.F.O. SHOOT-DOWN WHICH WAS AVOIDED BY THE U.F.O. Narrator: THERE IS
NO CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT NASA HAS EVER MOUNTED
WEAPONS ON THE SHUTTLE. FURTHER OUT IN DEEP SPACE, AN UNKNOWN PRESENCE
BEAMS A SIGNAL TO EARTH. COULD THIS HAVE BEEN ALIEN
INTELLIGENCE OUT THERE? IS THIS A DIRECT LINE
TO A DISTANT WORLD? I JUST KNEW WE HAD SOMETHING
AMAZING HERE. IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE GENUINE, THESE PEOPLE WILL GO DOWN
IN HISTORY. Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE
CONSTANTLY SCANNING THE STARS FOR RADIO TRANSMISSIONS THAT
MIGHT ONE DAY CONNECT US TO INTELLIGENT ALIEN LIFE. PICKING UP A SIGNAL LIKE THIS
ON A RADIO TELESCOPE IS THE SINGLE MOST LIKELY WAY
THAT WE'LL FIND EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE. Narrator:
AND ON AUGUST 19, 1977, RADIO ASTRONOMERS THINK
THEY'VE DONE JUST THAT. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY HAS THIS
BIG ANTENNA RADIO TELESCOPE. IT'S BIGGER
THAN A FOOTBALL FIELD. AND THEY'RE JUST USING IT
TO SCAN THE SKY EVERY DAY AUTOMATICALLY. Narrator: WHEN RADIO ASTRONOMER
JERRY EHMANN PICKS UP A SIGNAL FROM THE CONSTELLATION
SAGITTARIUS... [ BEEPING ] ...5,000 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH, HE THINKS HE'S HIT THE JACKPOT. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO CONVEY
THAT EMOTION, OTHER THAN I WAS AMAZED. Narrator: THE SIGNAL IS
BROADCAST AT 1420 MEGAHERTZ, A FREQUENCY NOT GENERATED
BY ANY KNOWN NATURAL FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE. IT'S AS IF A DISTANT WHALE SONG
HAD STARTED HUMMING THE THEME TO "STAR TREK." I JUST KNEW THAT THIS MAY BE
THE SIGNAL, MAYBE THE FIRST ONE DETECTED,
AND WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS. Narrator: EHMANN IMMEDIATELY
CALLS HIS COLLEAGUES TO VERIFY THE DATA. Pope:
THEY PICK UP THIS SIGNAL. IT'S UNLIKE ANYTHING
THEY'VE SEEN BEFORE. ALL THEY CAN DO IS WRITE IN THE
MARGIN THE SINGLE WORD, "WOW." IT DIDN'T TAKE ME LONG
TO WRITE THE WORD "WOW" IN THE COMPUTER PRINTOUT. Narrator: AS WORD SPREADS
OF THE SO-CALLED "WOW!" SIGNAL, SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
ATTEMPT TO FIND OTHER EXPLANATIONS
FOR ITS ORIGIN. Ehmann: OF COURSE WE THOUGHT,
YEAH, THIS IS A POSSIBLE EXTRATERRESTRIAL SIGNAL,
BUT WE COULDN'T BE SURE. Brin: YOU HAVE TO TRY TO SEE
IF THERE'S A HUMAN SOURCE. COULD IT BE THIS RADIO STATION,
THIS SATELLITE PASSING OVERHEAD? Narrator: BUT 1420 MEGAHERTZ
IS OFF-LIMITS TO ALL EARTH-BASED RADIO TRAFFIC
FOR EXACTLY THIS REASON. NO HUMAN SATELLITE TRANSMITS
ON THIS PROTECTED BAND. I HAD TO GET BACK ON
CONCENTRATING FOR OTHER SIGNALS TO SEE IF THAT SAME SIGNAL
OCCURRED AGAIN. Narrator: EFFORTS TO PICK UP
THE SIGNAL AGAIN FAIL. AFTER THEY RECEIVE THIS
FANTASTIC SIGNAL, NOTHING. Narrator: IT APPEARS THE LINE
HAS GONE DEAD. IT WASN'T SEEN A MINUTE LATER,
IT WASN'T SEEN YEARS LATER. IT'S NEVER BEEN SEEN AGAIN. Narrator: NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS HAVE
BEEN MADE TO FIND THE SIGNAL IN THE YEARS SINCE
EHMANN'S DISCOVERY. BUT IT APPEARS THAT THIS
LONG-DISTANCE CALL WAS A ONE-TIME EVENT. [ BEEPING ] Brin: THOSE ALIENS MIGHT HAVE
PINGED US IN 1977, AND WE MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT
ANOTHER 50, 60 YEARS FOR THEM TO PING US AGAIN. Shostak:
YOU CAN'T SAY THAT IT WAS E.T. IF YOU ONLY SEE IT ONCE,
ALL YOU CAN SAY IS, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS." Brin: IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN,
WE'LL KNOW THAT SOMEONE WAS KNOCKING ON OUR
DOOR, SAYING, "IS SOMEONE HOME?" [ BEEPING ] COMING UP -- A SQUID-LIKE CREATURE
FLOATS ABOVE THE MOON. MAYBE IT'S SOME KIND
OF ALIEN SPACECRAFT. AND WEIRD LIGHTS IN THE SKY
TOWER OVER THUNDERSTORMS. WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE
CAUSED THIS THING? YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK
IT'S A U.F.O. Narrator: SPACE CREATURES
APPEAR TO BE STALKING THE FIRST MANNED NASA CRAFT
TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE MOON. [ STATIC BLIPS ] APOLLO 8 SEES AN OBJECT
THAT LOOKS LIKE A SQUID. IT LOOKS ALIEN. THINGS THAT WE SEE UP THERE
THAT WE CAN'T IDENTIFY OR READILY EXPLAIN. WHAT IS IT?
WHY IS IT? AND DID WE EVER GET
AN EXPLANATION FROM NASA THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE? Narrator: DECEMBER 1968. AT THE HEIGHT OF THE SPACE RACE, APOLLO 8'S MISSION IS TO
FLY TO THE MOON AND COME BACK WITH
HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHY OF POTENTIAL LANDING SITES. THE MISSION APPEARS TO BE
A SUCCESS. <i> Man: AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE.</i> NASA REMAINS CONFIDENT THEY CAN
BEAT THE SOVIET UNION TO THE MOON. [ CROWD CHEERING ] BUT AS NASA DEVELOPS
THE APOLLO 8 FILM, IT APPEARS TO SHOW
SOMETHING STRANGE. Orwoll: APOLLO 8, THEY'RE TAKING
LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS DURING THE MISSION, BUT THEY
DON'T SEE THOSE PHOTOS LIKE WE DO THESE DAYS
WHEN WE TAKE A DIGITAL SHOT. THEY DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL
THEY GET BACK TO EARTH AND PROCESS THEM,
AND THEY START TO SEE SOMETHING IN THE PHOTOS
THAT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND. Oberg: WHEN YOU'RE SEEING
THESE PICTURES, YOU'RE CERTAINLY THINKING
YOU'RE SEEING SOME TRAILER FOR SOME "STAR TREK" EPISODE. SOMETHING IS COMING DOWN,
UH, REACHING OUT WITH TENDRILS, READY TO ENVELOP AND SUCK
YOUR BRAIN OUT, OR SOMETHING. BECAUSE IT LOOKS ALIEN. Narrator: THE PICTURES SEEM
TO PORTRAY A SQUID-LIKE CREATURE
FLOATING IN SPACE. Birnes: IT'S BEEN CALLED
THE SPACE SQUID. WHAT'S A SPACE SQUID? HOW COULD A SQUID LIVE IN SPACE? ARE THERE CREATURES
THAT CAN LIVE IN AN OXYGEN-FREE
ENVIRONMENT? Narrator: NO KNOWN CREATURE
CAN THRIVE IN THE FREEZING, AIRLESS VACUUM OF SPACE. BUT ASTROBIOLOGIST CHRIS McKAY
SUSPECTS THE SPACE SQUID MAY NOT BE A LIVING ORGANISM. [ STATIC CRACKLES ] MY BEST GUESS WOULD BE
THAT IT IS SOME KIND OF ALIEN SPACECRAFT. IT'S GENERATIONS AHEAD
OF OUR SPACECRAFT, AND IT'S DESIGNED
TO SURVIVE IN SPACE. IT'S DESIGNED
TO NEED ONLY ENERGY. IF THE SQUID IS A SPACECRAFT, PERHAPS THE TENTACLES ARE PART
OF AN EXOTIC POWER DRIVE SPEWING A WEB OF ENERGY
BEHIND THE CRAFT. WHAT MIGHT ALIENS USE TO TRANSPORT THEMSELVES
ACROSS THE STARS? WELL, THERE'S SOME CLEVER TRICKS
YOU CAN PULL. USING FUSION-POWERED ROCKETS,
OR LIGHT SAILS PROPELLED BY LASER BEAMS. AND YOU MIGHT WANNA USE ELECTRON
BEAMS INSTEAD OF LASERS. Narrator: PERHAPS APOLLO 8's
PHOTOGRAPH CAPTURED THE TRACES OF SOME SORT OF ELECTRON DRIVE. BUT NASA's JIM OBERG
IS NOT CONVINCED THAT IT'S A SPACECRAFT. I THINK PEOPLE CAN JUMP TO
FANTASTIC INTERPRETATIONS OF THESE IMAGES FOR A NUMBER
OF COMPLETELY REASONABLE AND RATIONAL WAYS. IF YOU JUST SIMPLY USE YOUR OWN
INSTINCTIVE INTERPRETATION PROCESSES, SOME OF THESE IDEAS
MAKE SENSE. Narrator: OBERG BELIEVES THAT
THE APOLLO 8 SPACE SQUID IS THE RESULT
OF ELECTROSTATIC CHARGES OVEREXPOSING SMALL PATCHES
OF THE PROCESSED FILM NEGATIVE, CREATING SQUID-LIKE PATTERNS. [ STATIC BLIPS ] Oberg: IT'S DIM. YOU HAVE TO ENHANCE
THE BRIGHTNESS TO EVEN SHOW IT, WHICH SUGGESTS
THERE'S A FILM EMULSION FLAW. YOU DON'T NEED TO GO
TO FURTHER EXPLANATIONS. IF YOU KEPT SEEING THE SAME
PATTERN AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEN YOU PAY ATTENTION. WHEN WE FIND ALIENS,
THEY'RE GONNA BE SO DIFFERENT FROM HOW WE EXPECT, WE'LL PROBABLY KNOW
THEY'RE REAL PICTURES. Narrator: PERHAPS AN ALIEN
WOULDN'T LOOK LIKE LIFE AT ALL. IT WOULD DEVELOP ALONG
A WHOLE DIFFERENT PATH, AND IT WOULD MAYBE LOOK
VERY DIFFERENT. AND IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T
BE SOMETHING WE'D UNDERSTAND. Narrator: WHEN NASA ASTRONAUTS
SEE STRANGE LIGHTS STREAKING INTO
SPACE FROM EARTH... LOOKED LIKE GIANT RED JELLYFISH
IN THE SKY. Gibson: YOU LOOKED AT IT
AND YOU SAID TO YOURSELF, "DID I JUST SEE WHAT I --
WHAT I THINK I SAW?" Narrator: THEY START ASKING
UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS. WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE
CAUSED THIS THING? YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK
IT'S A U.F.O. HOLY SMOKES. Narrator: OCTOBER 1989. THE SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS
FILMS THUNDERSTORMS ON EARTH FOR THE MESOSCALE
LIGHTING EXPERIMENT. WHEN THE TAPES MAKE IT
BACK TO EARTH, THEY'RE REVIEWED BY ATMOSPHERIC
SCIENTIST SKEET VAUGHAN. [ CLICKS ] WHAT HE SEES
DEFIES EXPLANATION. Vaughan: IT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT,
BIG, RED JELLYFISH WITH TENTACLES HANGING DOWN. YOU TENDED TO SAY TO YOURSELF, "DID I JUST SEE
WHAT I THOUGHT I SAW?" AND THE ANSWER WAS, "YES, I DID -- I DID JUST SEE
WHAT I THOUGHT I SAW," WHICH WAS THIS PHENOMENA THAT'S
KNOWN AS SPACE SPRITES, OR SPACE ANGELS. Narrator: SPACE SPRITES,
OR SPACE ANGELS, APPEAR TO BE HUGE DISCHARGES
OF ELECTRICITY WHICH TAKE PLACE
ABOVE THE CLOUDS. Vaughan:
WHEN I SAW THE FIRST FLASH, THAT WAS THE MOST EXCITING PART
OF THE WHOLE THING. YOU NOTICE ONE,
AND YOU SAY, "WOW." I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING
YOU DIDN'T EXPECT AT ALL. I COULD ACTUALLY CALCULATE
THE HEIGHT OF THE FLASH. IT WENT UP TO ABOUT 35 MILES. AND THEN YOU SAY,
"WELL, WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS THING?" Dwyer: TO ME,
IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING THAT YOU CAN HAVE
SUCH INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS. THESE ARE GIANT DISCHARGES,
MILES AND MILES ACROSS. [ RUMBLING, STATIC ] Narrator: WHEN FOOTAGE
OF THE ANGELS GOES ONLINE, IT BECOMES A SOCIAL MEDIA
PHENOMENON. Narrator: OTHERS SUSPECT
THE LIGHTS ARE BEACONS FOR INTERGALACTIC TRAVELERS. [ WHOOSHING ] HOW DO YOU TELL THE MOTHERSHIP
WHERE YOU ARE? PUTTING A BOLT OF LIGHTNING
ABOVE THE ATMOSPHERE WHERE IT CAN'T BE SEEN
FROM BELOW, MAYBE. RENDEZVOUS
AT A CERTAIN LOCATION. "HERE'S WHERE WE ARE." Narrator: SCIENTISTS LIKE
NINGYU LIU KNOW THAT A SPRITE FIRES
INTO SPACE EVERY TWO MINUTES. LIU THINKS THEY ARE CAUSED BY
HUGE ELECTRICAL FIELDS THAT BUILD UP
ABOVE STORM CLOUDS. [ RUMBLING ] WHEN THE CHARGE GETS TOO STRONG,
IT DISCHARGES ABOVE THE CLOUD. BUT DESPITE YEARS OF STUDY,
HE CAN'T UNLOCK THE SPACE ANGELS' SECRETS. Narrator:
FOR REASONS STILL UNKNOWN, ONE IN TEN LIGHTNING BOLTS
CARRIES A POSITIVE, INSTEAD OF A NEGATIVE,
CHARGE TO THE GROUND. [ WHOOSHING ] THESE POSITIVE DISCHARGES ARE
THOUGHT TO GENERATE THE SPRITES, AS HIGH AS 50 MILES UP
ON THE EDGE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. THERE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT THUNDERSTORMS AND LIGHTNING
THAT WE KNOW. IN FACT, WE'RE PRETTY GOOD
AT SAYING WHAT THEY DO, BUT THE PROBLEM IS, WE'RE NOT SO
GOOD AT SAYING HOW THEY DO IT. Narrator: NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY
HOW OR WHY SPRITES SO VIVIDLY RESEMBLE GIANT
ELECTRIFIED JELLYFISH, EITHER. WE KNOW LESS ABOUT
THE, UH, DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN THAN WE DO THE DARK SIDE
OF THE MOON. IT TURNS OUT THAT THE SAME THING
IS TRUE FOR OUR OWN ATMOSPHERE. [ STATIC WHINING ] THERE ARE STILL MYSTERIES.
WE DON'T KNOW IT ALL YET. [ RUMBLING, CRACKLING ] Narrator: COMING UP -- ONE SCIENTIST HUNTS
FOR ALIEN POWER STATIONS. WHEN YOU'RE OUT LOOKING
FOR THESE THINGS, YOU NEED SOMETHING
THAT'S PLANET-SCALE. EVEN STAR-SCALE
WOULD BE BETTER. Narrator:
A LONG-FORGOTTEN SPACE PROBE PICKS UP TRACES OF WHAT COULD BE
AN ALIEN POWER SOURCE. THE ENERGY THAT CAN BE
COLLECTED IS A TRILLION TIMES
MORE THAN THE TOTAL ENERGY THAT THE EARTH RECEIVES
FROM THE SUN. Narrator: IT'S SO MASSIVE,
IT CAN ENGULF AN ENTIRE STAR. Brin: WHEN WE LOOK OUT
INTO THE COSMOS, WE SEE A LOT OF PHENOMENA
THAT ARE CLEARLY NATURAL. AND OCCASIONALLY, PHENOMENA
THAT MAKE US WONDER, "COULD THIS HAVE
AN ARTIFICIAL SOURCE?" [ CRACKLING ] Narrator: IN 1983, NASA LAUNCHES
THE WORLD'S FIRST-EVER INFRARED SATELLITE, IRAS. IT SPENDS 10 MONTHS
SCANNING THE UNIVERSE FOR INFRARED SIGNALS,
JUST TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE. THAT SATELLITE SAW SOMETHING
LIKE 250,000 STAR-LIKE THINGS. Narrator: MORE THAN
20 YEARS LATER, PHYSICIST DICK CARRIGAN DECIDES
TO SCOUR THE IRAS MISSION DATA FOR SIGNS OF THE LARGEST
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT EVER CONCEIVED. HE'S LOOKING
FOR A DYSON SPHERE. Carrigan: DYSON SPHERE IS,
UM, UH, A POWER STATION TO HARVEST ALL THE LIGHT
OF A STAR. IF YOU'RE REALLY
AN ADVANCED SOCIETY, YOU'RE NOT GONNA WORRY ABOUT
DIGGING UP COAL AND BURNING IT. WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IS
YOU'RE GONNA PUT SOLAR PANELS ALL AROUND YOUR STAR,
TURN SUNLIGHT INTO ENERGY, THEN YOU USE IT TO POWER WHATEVER IT IS
YOU NEED TO POWER. Brin: IN EFFECT,
SURROUNDING THE SUN WITH A SPHERE, GRABBING
ALL OF THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN, AND USING ALL OF IT. Narrator: IT WAS NAMED
AFTER VISIONARY SCIENTIST FREEMAN DYSON, WHO PROPOSED
THE IDEA IN THE 1960s. THE TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD
ONE OF THESE MEGASTRUCTURES IS WAY BEYOND HUMANITY'S
CAPABILITIES. TO MAKE A DYSON SPHERE, YOU WOULD FIRST BREAK UP
AN UNWANTED PLANET... ...FIT THE MILLIONS OF FRAGMENTS WITH ENERGY-GRABBING
SOLAR PANELS, ASSEMBLE THEM AROUND
A BLISTERING-HOT SUN. THE SHEER SCALE
OF THE ENTERPRISE IS WHAT MAKES IT
WORTH LOOKING FOR. WHEN YOU'RE OUT LOOKING
FOR THESE THINGS, YOU'RE -- YOU WANT AN EFFECT
THAT'S PRETTY LARGE. A SPACESHIP FLYING BY
A ZILLION MILES AWAY IS NOT GONNA MAKE ANY CHANGE. YOU NEED SOMETHING
THAT'S PLANET-SCALE, EVEN STAR-SCALE
WOULD BE BETTER. SO THE QUESTION IS, COULD WE
DETECT A DYSON SPHERE? [ BEEPING ] Narrator: DYSON SPHERES DON'T SHINE BRIGHTLY
LIKE NORMAL STARS. IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE OF IT,
YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN. BUT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE
INFRARED RADIATION, BECAUSE THE SHELL IS BEING
HEATED BY THE SUN. AND SO YOU WOULD SEE THAT
AS A BIG SOURCE OF INFRARED RADIATION. Narrator: WHICH IS WHY CARRIGAN
HAS TURNED TO THE IRAS DATA. Carrigan:
WHEN WE STARTED THIS SEARCH, WE HAD 250,000
POSSIBLE INFRARED, UH, OBJECTS. WE WINNOWED THIS DOWN TO
SOMETHING LIKE A HANDFUL OF SOURCES. [ CLICKING ] WE FOUND SOME CANDIDATES, BUT NOTHING THAT YOU'D BET
YOUR iPHONE ON. [ LAUGHS ] Narrator: ASTRONOMERS
ARE NOW USING EVEN MORE POWERFUL TELESCOPES
TO LOOK FOR DYSON SPHERES. [ WHIRRING ] IT MAY BE ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY SPOT
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY. [ WHIRRING ] WHAT IF
THERE'S A GALAXY OUT THERE WHERE THE CIVILIZATION
IS SO ADVANCED THAT THEY'VE DYSON-SPHERED
ALL THEIR STARS? WOULD BE SCREAMING ACROSS
THE HEAVENS IN INFRARED, "WE'RE ADVANCED. WE'RE THE BEST." [ RUMBLING ] [ CRACKLING ] Narrator: THE DEEPER NASA
LOOKS INTO SPACE, THE MORE ASTONISHING
OUR COSMOS BECOMES. COME ON, IT'S A BLACK HOLE,
AND BLACK HOLES ARE COOL ENOUGH. I MEAN, THERE'S ONE AT THE
CENTER OF OUR GALAXY KEEPING US SPINNING, RIGHT?
IT'S JUST AMAZING. Narrator: EVERY MISSION
POSES NEW QUESTIONS. IT'S LIKE SOMEONE HAD PUT
AN "X" IN THE SKY AND SAID, "LOOK HERE. SOMETHING
INTERESTING IS GOING ON." Narrator: AND THE ANSWERS
ARE STRANGER THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE. Woman:
I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND I SAY, "WE THINK WE'RE SEEING
AN ATMOSPHERE AT ENCELADUS. ENCELADUS IS ALIVE." Narrator: ONE THING
IS CERTAIN -- WE HAVE ONLY BEGUN
TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF A UNIVERSE
PACKED WITH MYSTERIES. I FIND IT EXHILARATING THAT
YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN EVERYTHING
THAT YOU SEE IN SPACE. THAT'S QUITE FRANKLY THE REASON
WE GO THERE, TO LEARN MORE. AND EVERY TIME WE SEND A PROBE
FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO THE UNIVERSE,
WE FIND EXOTIC THINGS THAT NOBODY EVEN
ENVISIONED BEFORE. [ RUMBLING ] THAT'S PRETTY COOL.
International mirror?
ALIENS!
The narrator sounds like trevor Moore from TWKUK