NOVA: ORIGINS SERIES
I’ve recently got a chance to watch two episodes of the four-part mini series “Nova: Origins” and I must admit it left me wanting more. And, obviously, I cannot wait to see the other two… The series is simply amazing, and while I am not a science person (or at least I’ve never thought of myself that way), I was absolutely engrossed in it and didn’t want to miss a single word uttered.
The series deals with the origins of life in the universe. The first episode explained the Big Bang theory and how it was proven. It also revealed that everywhere in the universe, there are chemical elements present which are the “givers” of life, such as carbon. These elements are created inside the stars and released when a star explodes. A process that is caused by producing too much iron inside the star itself, which cannot sustain that much iron, leading to a supernova explosion and releasing all these organic elements into the universe. And it begs a question: Is there life outside of Earth in the universe? That would be a logical conclusion, considering the fact that all these chemical elements necessary for any life to begin are present in all galaxies. Scientist even discovered that some galaxies were already created while our sun was just being formed…
So is there alien life in the universe? That is the topic of the second episode, which is trying to prove that life is not only plausible but likely somewhere else in the universe. Intelligent life is another matter. For intelligent life requires certain conditions to take place for it to establish itself, for instance humans evolved because an asteroid fell into the Earth some billions of years ago. This resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs that ruled the Earth before. Small mammals survived and thrived and through years of evolution humans came about (in a very short and simplified version). Another important thing that allows life on Earth is a fact that there is another planet in our solar system, namely Jupiter that sort of shields the Earth from all the debris flying around in the universe. Its gravity attracts such debris, e.g. asteroids and therefore prevents them from hitting our planet. So the scientists are currently trying to find other planets similar to earth as far as size, density and its own Jupiter. There are other solar systems with its planets already discovered but not one like ours. Yet…
So I am waiting impatiently for the next two episodes wondering what else is there that we (the average people) don’t quite know. And for someone that has never been interested in science, I find myself totally taken with it.