on February 17 of the year 1600
Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake
for affirming among other things that the sun
it was just one more star and that should
have innumerable worlds in our
galaxy populated by beings like us
I was probably not the only one
I thought like that but there were others
they kept their opinion I do not know if those
others were wise but what is certain
that they would be ready
fortunately our mentality has
evolved a lot now we have a
more open mind
we are able to admit other opinions
we can fantasize about the existence of
other worlds of other beings without us
burned at the stake as giordano bruno
and probably all of us have done it
some dark night when he has looked at the
sky and we found it plagued by
thousands of twinkling lights, I’m going to
give good news is not only
our mentality which has
evolved also our
technology a lot very much that
we are already able to discover those
worlds that bruno giordano was just
able to imagine
we do not know how they are do not trust
these beautiful images that I’m going to
put or those that can see in the press
or the news we do not know how they are
but we know they are there
we call them exoplanets or planets
extrasolar are planets that orbit in
around stars that are not our sun
weapons similar to our planet
let’s go exo land and have you ever
made roof lands are in what is
called habitability zone the distance
adequate orbital or very close and very
away from your star so that you can
have so that the planet has been tempered
and there may be liquid water in your
surface
those are the exoplanets that we
they interest why then because it seems
be that today the condition
necessary for it to be developed
life is precisely that the
existence of liquid water life at
less as they are
good the exoplanets a discovery
relatively new the first one
discovered in 1992 only 25 years ago and
since then there is a real fever
for this reason in this race he will play
is playing has already played a role
fundamental an astronomical instrument
called cármenes
carmen is that good is a reference to
world level in the search for
exoplanets and more specifically exo
lands in the habitability zone a
world reference
you then wisconsin where are
those things on the coast in wisconsin
it’s in china not that they have the greatest
radio telescope of the world the largest dam
what I read
Wikipedia is not in China
germany japan or maybe surprise if
I tell him that meats is less than
half an hour from here in the observatory
of setting high in the sierra de los
filabres and not only that but it has been
designed and developed largely
at the Astrophysics Institute of
andalusia of the csic in granada but as
how to look for exoplanets
you do not do this
they think it’s enough to point our
large telescopes at a star and
see if it has planets orbiting true
unfortunately that is not so simple
it is not possible because the stars
they are very very very far more than
that we can imagine and planets like
they know they do not have their own light, so
unless very specific cases can not be
see directly or you have to use
what are called indirect techniques
there are several but the most important ones are
two the first is the technique of
transits is to calculate in see
the decrease of light in a star
when an exoplanet the same orbit
that the light of a lantern decreases when
a moth passes in front
the second one is called the technique of
radial velocity which is
uses meat and to understand we are going to
do a relaxation exercise
astronomical please close your eyes
moment
[Music]
imagine a giant ball of gases
as hydrogen me where are they
producing fusion reactions
nuclear to produce energy with that
is a star a star that is
still majestic mind stop at the
universe in space while a
planet revolves around you have it what
they have
Well, you have to go back because
that image is more false than a euro
Australian
yes it is true has said I am still
It was a cheating exercise
No, it’s not a lie
that image is false because the star
it is not much less stop
the star is technically said
that due to the force of gravitation
among other objects
the star the exoplanet both are
orbiting around the center of masses
of the local group that speak of a
Christian means that the star
also moves also has a
circular movement although smaller
that the one on the smallest planet but what
enough to be detected with
high precision instruments like
carmen is so this movement
We can study it com
because it gives me a double effect
agree the doppler effect that of the
ambulance that did not apply in the
Institute
that the siren of the ambulance
it sounded sharper when it came towards
us that when he walked away then the
doppler effect occurs for all
areas including waves
electromagnetic as light
so what the first thing we do
in cármenes is to divide the light
decompose the light into the components
that the way to find your spectrum
those lines that look there and calculate
the movement of the spectrum with which
we can calculate the movement of the
star
good but I told you before that there is
have already discovered more than July 30
in guilt I can open my eyes
I have seen the Lord here is what we have
said that they have already discovered more than
3 thousand 500 exoplanets with others
instruments some based on
ground telescopes like hartz other
they are spatial instruments like corot or
what then is special for
me because it is a world reference
well for carmen is a reference
global because it is the first instrument
in the world that was designed
specifically to detect exo
lands in habitability zone in a
special type of concrete stars
stars
m the stars m are stars
small relatively small
compared to the sun there we see a
graphic a next comparison
centauri the closest star to
we with the sun are small and
the truth that they are small and in fact
it is also called have more m
I think that is unconstitutional and
there is a popular clamor in society
you know him or that so sir
chief scientist not the one who puts you
name to things please take note
from this the stars fill me with acm
we are with you dwarfs m
they are small and apart from being small
they are cold they are much colder than
Sun
that means that the zone of
habitability in this graph we can
see that green strip is much more
near the star that in the case by
example of the sun and that burned is good
because to say that to find a
planet that is in that area of
habitability is much simpler
because the gravitational influence between
the two between the star and the planet
it is stronger
hence his interest and how everything is done
this are you talking about instrument
astronomical era but checks is or not
a deformation violin instrument was
a piano
let’s see what it takes first thing a
telescope we have it three meters
and a half
the observatory of high
the telescopes do not know if they know it
measure by the diameter of your mirror
main so this one
has nothing more and nothing less than a
mirror of three and a half meters the large
if the great way and can not see
compared to some people who in the
large banister and yet no
there are large medium or because the medium
because there are already six telescope
eight and up to ten meters and you’re
building one gives nothing less than 39
meters ie a diameter mirror
as a block of 13 plants no but that
it’s not good for what we’re going to
cheat because the scientists are very
that size matters not so that
they want big telescope not me
who always telescope data
big so they are going to use that and
they leave us a lot of observation time
in this that is ideal for what
we want to do
we continue with an instrument in one’s own
telescope we have designed and
developed an adaptation piece
to convert light to the way that
we want that light takes
using optical fibers to the instrument
properly said that they are actually
two instruments that clearly
observe in two bands of the spectrum in
the infrared and visible and infrared
near and in the visible and that have
done two
different is that we want here is the
near infrared which is what we have
done at the astrophysics institute
of andalusia in granada that is the most
difficult the truth
the other made the Germans but this one
is in an empty tank as they can
see here you have to do the vacuum what
we make using pumps valves
sensors you have to do the vacuum to
that dust particles or other
kind do not interfere in the light is
important to do that inside the tank
of the party and instrument protected by
a multilayer thermal blankets because
stability is very important
thermal in fact in instruments of
infrared has to operate at
cryogenic temperatures below zero
that we had to develop a
cooling cryogenics system
specified that it has been one of the
more complicated parts to maintain the
temperature with the stability of a
hundredth of a degree that he saw a
fixed temperature of 134.2 degrees
centigrade below zero and that’s inside
good inside is the optics that is
the heart of the optics system are
a series of elements such as lenses
cameras on the right can see the
dispersing element that is what
converts the light of the telescope into its
spectrum
and all this whole process is
controls through a series of elements
electronic systems
electronic that is concentrated at the end
on a touch control screen that
It is selling to all this
do missing
a team of optical engineers
electronic mechanical software that
with these challenges
We enjoy more than if you will not leave a
night nor that has been mounted what you think
you all this so that in the end that
we have then in the end we have the
spectrum of the star registered in
a ccd camera similar to the one they have
you in your mole but a lot more
sensible of course well this comes to
be an astronomical instrument they thought
a pharmacy on the look out for the
tube and write it result in a
good notepad that a long time ago
it stopped being like this now the work of
astronomer is much less romantic
but much more efficient in fact not
we have finished yet because with that
aspect you have to keep doing the
things you have to process it improve it
clean it through programs
computer to get to the end
understand the movement of the lines
spectral
from that movement you can
understand the movement of the star and
calculate if that movement can be
due to the presence of one or several
made planets
and see if anyone is in their area
habitability so that it could
house liquid water that with a little
of luck I could make it
will develop life and with a little more
of luck even intelligent life
that’s what we look for nothing more and nothing
less is looking for life we are
looking for planets that may harbor
lifetime
but the ones that is not all so nice for
what are we going to cheat because
we look for that we look for planets that
they can hold life but there are people
who believes that the choice of
stars are measured acm for as object
study
it’s not a good idea why then
because they present some problems that
they do that according to them they are
incompatible with life
the first problem would be the
Docking by Mary
that means
being the habitability zone so
near a planet that was in that
region would end up synchronizing its
rotation movement with the
translation movement is to say a
hard day would do the same as a year
as it happens with our moon then it
would always offer the same face to the
star so that on that face at
temperatures would be scorching
while the face hides the
temperature would be like a desert
frozen or it must be said that it is not very
favorable for the development of devida
true
not to mention that every day
It would be New Year’s Eve and if there is no body that
hold it
however those who think those who
we think that yes it is possible that
develop life on planets that
orbiting stars m counterattack
we say that that does not always have because
so be it
there may be another type of coupling
as it happens in mercury the first
planet of our solar system that gives
three turns on itself for each
two turns around the sun which
It makes the distribution of
temperature
the team keeps counterattacking by saying
that for that the eccentricity of the
orbit would have to be very large what
which would bring other problems the team
m
Strikes back defines itself by saying
that if I had 12 on the planet I would have
deep oceans and dense atmospheres
could distribute homogeneously the
temperature and that in any case in
a narrow strip the day line and
night temperatures would not be so
extreme
the team has tells me that in the end that
it does not matter because the m stars d m
They are characterized by their high level of
figurations and magnetic activity
so that is incompatible with life
the team m comes back to defend
counterattacking by saying that those seem
happen only the first million of
years of life and if this star is
characterized precisely by its great
longevity and finally exposes his argument
more overwhelming the enormous abundance of
stars m of this type the 75th
cent the star in our galaxy
they are stars m which increases
exponentially the possibilities of
that there are planets with the conditions
so that life develops
[Applause]
if this was a football game
reale tell me I not awarded a
penalty
the athletic one would say that the second
goal was offside
fortunately, this is not a beach bar
gamers this is a scientific debate
the scientific arguments are not based
in the visceral feeling in a
fanaticism are based on the reason so
the conclusions of both the team and
of equipment still has are the same
we must continue studying and in it
we are in it we are with instruments
with meats cármenes that has been operating
in the observatory of calar alto from
last year since 2016
for the time being he has done studies
preliminaries has made observations of
objects already known to characterize
the instrument will be released shortly
published the first articles with
scientific results with the first
planets discovered or confirmed by
license
It must be said that the science of
exoplanets now faces a
paradigm shift
20 years ago it was thought that
planets was a weird thing a
exception
then it was seen that they do not seem to be the
norm that almost all the stars
they have planetary systems orbiting
now we are almost convinced that
besides those planets almost if those
systems are almost always multiple
the average number of planets seem to be
greater than 21 of the systems
discovered
surely you have heard of him in
the press the travis system has nothing
less than seven rocky exoplanets three
of which at least seem to be in
habitability zone
in short we do not face a change of
paradigm because the big planets
the most obvious the detection is more
evident have already been made with others
instruments that is that now you have to
start looking for smaller planets
which are more complicated because
signals they give are weaker
At the same time, it is beginning to
characterize those exoplanets
discovered and they are starting to
search for biomarkers substances
compounds like oxygen love or not
the methane that could be indicated
of the presence of life so in a
joint effort of the community
scientific with instruments like this one
like carmen is that we have so close
We are starting to know how it is
our neighborhood
so if in many years
when technology allows us
undertake interstellar travel
we will remember these years these moments
like those where you started
draw the map of our galaxy or the
less than our galaxy near the
same way as 500 years ago
the explorers began to replace
the text terra incognita by name
of the rivers of the coasts of the
mountains that were discovering as
that were advancing we are starting to
program the gps that will guide us through the
travel interstellar travel and
cármenes will be one of the voices that we
tell what exit from the roundabout
we have to take is possible is possible
that we are close
it is even possible that we had
already found our second home a
planet that we can give ourselves and inside
of many centuries or millennia we have to
abandon our beloved land despite
of the transcendence of this that I tell you
we are talking about a second house to
despite the transcendence I think that
is not the most important thing today
because I think the transcendence of everything
what I have told you is above all
philosophical
because it is true it is true that we have
evolved a lot our mentality has
evolved a lot no longer burn us for
express our opinions as to
giordano bruno is true almost all
we are almost convinced that the
universe is too big to
that we are alone and that surely there
other worlds other beings out there such
maybe similar to us maybe
completely different maybe those
beings are looking right now our
sun and they are doing the same
questions but until we do not
unconsciously find the being
human will continue to think that it is the
Center of the universe
so the discovery of a
exoplanet food would be one of the
greatest milestones in the history of the
humanity
an achievement that would never make us better
said the feet on the ground
the feet on the ground yes but the view
the look
by the stars thank you very much
[Applause]
”
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