21:44: SPACE, THE BIG HISTORY OF US. 00:02: >> TWO ALIEN WARSHIPS BATTLE IT 00:04: OUT IN A FLOODED METEOR CRATER. 00:12: THIS ISN'T SCIENCE FICTION. 00:15: >> FIRE! 00:16: [cannon blast] 00:17: >> IT'S THE BEGINNING OF A NEW 00:18: KIND OF WARFARE HERE ON EARTH... 00:26: WITH A SECRET WEAPON HIDDEN IN 00:28: BIG HISTORY. 00:30: [explosion] 00:32: WE THINK OF HISTORY AS A 00:33: TIMELINE, A SERIES OF EVENTS 00:35: STRETCHING A FEW THOUSAND 00:37: YEARS INTO THE PAST. 00:39: IT'S TIME TO THINK BIGGER. 00:42: INSTEAD OF A LINE, IMAGINE A WEB 00:45: OF INFINITE CONNECTIONS, 00:46: INTERACTING OVER BILLIONS OF 00:48: YEARS, LINKED TOGETHER TO CREATE 00:51: EVERYTHING WE'VE EVER KNOWN--OUR 00:53: UNIVERSE, OUR PLANET, AND US. 00:57: HISTORY AS WE KNOW IT IS ABOUT 00:59: TO GET BIG. 01:02: [cannon blasts] 01:05: THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 01:07: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE 01:09: HISTORY OF MANKIND, TWO SHIPS... 01:12: >> FIRE! 01:13: >> MADE NOT OF WOOD BUT OF 01:14: IRON... 01:15: >> FIRE! 01:16: >> MEET IN BATTLE, THE MONITOR 01:21: AND THE MERRIMACK. 01:22: WHILE TRADITIONAL HISTORY TELLS 01:24: US THAT THE FIRST CLASH OF 01:25: IRONCLADS USHERS IN A NEW ERA OF 01:28: NAVAL WARFARE, BIG HISTORY 01:32: REVEALS AN EVEN BIGGER STORY-- 01:36: HOW THIS PIVOTAL MOMENT IN HUMAN 01:38: HISTORY CONNECTS TO THE CHAOS OF 01:43: THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM... 01:50: AND THE VIOLENT IMPACTS FROM 01:51: METEORS, ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS 01:57: THAT SHAPE THE EARTH AS WE KNOW 01:58: IT AND GIVE US THE TOOLS TO 02:04: SURVIVE. 02:07: BIG HISTORY LINKS BACK 02:09: 35 MILLION YEARS. 02:32: THIS GIANT METEOR, MORE THAN 02:35: THREE MILES WIDE, IS ON A 02:37: COLLISION COURSE WITH EARTH. 02:43: WHEN IT CRASHES, IT WILL HELP TO 02:45: SHAPE AMERICA. 02:52: THE METEOR SLAMS INTO THE 02:53: ATLANTIC OCEAN WITH ENOUGH FORCE 02:57: TO BLAST AN UNDERWATER CRATER 02:59: MORE THAN 50 MILES WIDE AND AS 03:03: DEEP AS THE GRAND CANYON. 03:11: OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, THE 03:13: COASTLINE SHIFTS. 03:17: WATERS RECEDE, LEAVING BEHIND A 03:20: BAY DEEP ENOUGH TO HARBOR 03:22: LARGE SHIPS, THE CHESAPEAKE. 03:27: >> THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ITSELF IS 03:29: A GIGANTIC IMPACT CRATER. 03:32: >> AN IMPACT IN JUST THE RIGHT 03:34: LOCATION TO MAKE THE CHESAPEAKE 03:37: A CRITICAL HUB OF AMERICAN 03:39: HISTORY. 03:47: THE CHESAPEAKE BAY SITS MIDWAY 03:49: DOWN THE EASTERN COASTLINE AT 03:52: THE INTERSECTION OF FIVE MAJOR 03:53: RIVERS, A SAFE HARBOR THAT'S 03:57: IDEAL FOR BUILDING COLONIES AND 04:00: COMMERCE. 04:04: THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLERS TO 04:05: PUT DOWN PERMANENT ROOTS IN 04:07: AMERICA DO SO HERE, IN 04:10: JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA. 04:17: AND BECAUSE THE BAY IS A GATEWAY 04:18: TO AMERICA, THE POWER TO CONTROL 04:23: IT IS A PRIZE WORTH FIGHTING 04:25: FOR. 04:31: DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 04:34: BOTH SIDES SEE THE CHESAPEAKE AS 04:37: THE KEY TO VICTORY. 04:39: [gunfire] 04:42: IN 1781, THE AMERICANS SURROUND 04:45: THE BRITISH AT YORKTOWN, FORCING 04:50: A SURRENDER AND WINNING THE WAR. 04:58: 30 YEARS LATER, IN THE WAR OF 05:01: 1812, THE BRITISH INVADE UP THE 05:04: CHESAPEAKE BAY AND MARCH ON TO 05:10: BURN WASHINGTON, D.C. 05:21: AND AS NORTH BATTLES SOUTH IN 05:23: THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR... 05:25: >> FIRE! 05:27: >> THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMACK 05:29: FIGHT TO A DRAW ON THE WATERS 05:32: OF THE CHESAPEAKE IMPACT CRATER. 05:44: IT'S A PREHISTORIC SCAR, RIPPED 05:47: INTO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH. 05:53: BUT THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IS JUST 05:54: ONE OF ALMOST 200 KNOWN LARGE 05:57: IMPACT SITES AROUND THE PLANET. 06:01: AT 186 MILES WIDE, THE 06:04: VREDEFORT CRATER IN SOUTH 06:06: AFRICA IS EVIDENCE OF THE 06:09: LARGEST ASTEROID EVER TO STRIKE 06:11: THE EARTH. 06:14: MANY MORE IMPACT ZONES HAVE BEEN 06:16: ERASED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS BY 06:18: WEATHER AND EROSION. 06:22: >> ONE OF THE FRIGHTENING 06:23: THINGS, ONCE YOU ZOOM OUT AND 06:23: LOOK AT A BIG HISTORY POINT OF 06:24: VIEW, IS JUST HOW OFTEN THE 06:26: EARTH HAS BEEN POUNDED BY ROCKS. 06:31: >> THESE IMPACTS DON'T JUST 06:33: CREATE THE CONTOURS OF OUR MAP. 06:36: METEORS CREATE THE ENTIRE 06:40: PLANET. 06:51: THIS IS THE BIRTH OF OUR SOLAR 06:53: SYSTEM. 06:56: THE SUN SITS AT THE CENTER OF A 06:58: DEBRIS FIELD. 07:05: OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, THE 07:06: DEBRIS CLUSTERS TOGETHER INTO 07:10: SPACE ROCKS THAT WE CALL METEORS 07:15: AND ICE CHUNKS CALLED COMETS. 07:28: IN THE CHAOS OF SPACE, THEY 07:30: CRASH INTO EACH OTHER, MERGING 07:34: AND GROWING INTO LARGER 07:35: CLUSTERS. 07:42: >> AS ONE OBJECT HITS ANOTHER, 07:43: THE LARGER OBJECT WILL HAVE 07:44: SUFFICIENT GRAVITY TO ATTRACT 07:46: THE SMALLER OBJECT TO IT. 07:48: LIKE A SNOWBALL, ALL THIS 07:49: MATERIAL IS BROUGHT TOGETHER, 07:51: ALL RIGHT, INTO THESE LARGER AND 07:52: LARGER OBJECTS. 07:55: >> LARGE OBJECTS, LIKE PLANET 07:57: EARTH. 08:01: ONCE THE PLANET FORMS, MORE 08:04: ROCKS CRASH IN WITH ALIEN 08:06: ELEMENTS THAT TAKE HOLD AND 08:10: THREATEN TO TAKE OVER. 08:29: >> BIG HISTORY IS A NEW WAY TO 08:31: SEE THE WORLD. 08:35: IT CONNECTS THE CHAOS OF THE 08:36: EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM... 08:42: TO THE BIRTH OF OUR PLANET... 08:49: AND REVEALS HOW THE SCARS ON 08:51: THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH THAT 08:53: SHAPE OUR STORY ARE THE RESULTS 08:59: OF VIOLENT IMPACTS... 09:07: IMPACTS WITH THE POWER TO 09:08: TRANSFORM THE GROUND BENEATH OUR 09:10: FEET INTO THE ELEMENTS WE CRAVE 09:14: MOST. 09:23: AS A METEOR HURTLES TO EARTH, 09:26: EACH TON OF ROCK CARRIES THE 09:28: ENERGY OF 100 TONS OF TNT. 09:32: >> METEOR COLLISIONS ARE VERY 09:34: SERIOUS EVENTS INDEED BECAUSE OF 09:35: THE SIZE AND POWER AND EXPLOSIVE 09:38: SORT OF POTENTIAL OF THESE 09:39: COLLISIONS. 09:42: >> LARGE IMPACTS HAVE ENOUGH 09:44: POWER TO CHANGE THE EARTH'S 09:46: CHEMISTRY. 09:50: IN SIBERIA, WHERE SHOCK PRESSURE 09:54: FROM AN ANCIENT METEOR CREATES 09:57: THE LARGEST DEPOSIT OF DIAMONDS 10:00: IN THE WORLD... 10:03: AND IN OKLAHOMA, WHERE AMES 10:07: CRATER NOW SITS ATOP 25 MILLION 10:10: BARRELS OF OIL BECAUSE OF 10:13: CONDITIONS CREATED BY A METEOR 10:15: EXPLOSION. 10:18: BUT METEORS DON'T JUST CREATE 10:20: VALUABLE RESOURCES. 10:22: THEY ALSO DELIVER THEM. 10:25: BIG HISTORY CONNECTS BACK... 10:40: TO THE CHESAPEAKE METEOR CRATER 10:46: AND THE BATTLE OF THE MONITOR 10:48: AND MERRIMACK. 10:51: IT'S THE CLASH OF THE IRONCLADS, 10:53: AND IT CHANGES THE WAY WE FIGHT. 10:57: >> IT WAS THE END OF THE WOODEN 11:00: SHIPS OF THE LINE. 11:01: IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF WHAT THE 11:03: WORLD NOW RECOGNIZES AS A 11:04: WARSHIP. 11:06: IT WAS A SIGNIFICANT TURNING 11:09: POINT IN MILITARY HISTORY. 11:14: >> THE BATTLE KICK-STARTS A 11:15: WORLDWIDE RACE TO BUILD THE 11:18: BIGGEST, MOST POWERFUL FLEET OF 11:21: IRON SHIPS. 11:24: BUT THERE'S A SECRET WEAPON THAT 11:25: MAKES MODERN WARFARE POSSIBLE. 11:31: BIG HISTORY CONNECTS THE 11:32: IRONCLADS... 11:45: TO A 4-BILLION-YEAR-OLD RAIN 11:46: OF IRON FROM THE SKY. 11:51: THIS MOLTEN MASS IS THE 11:52: NEWLY-FORMED PLANET EARTH. 11:55: IT'S FILLED WITH METALS LIKE 11:56: IRON AND NICKEL--METALS SO HEAVY 12:00: THEY SINK DOWN INTO THE CORE, 12:02: FAR OUT OF REACH. 12:06: BUT AS THE EARTH COOLS, A SOLID 12:09: CRUST FORMS A THICK SKIN AROUND 12:11: THE PLANET THAT ABSORBS THE 12:14: IMPACT OF EVEN MORE METEORS-- 12:18: METEORS FILLED WITH METALS. 12:21: >> AND WHEN THEY STARTED 12:22: BOMBARDING THE EARLY EARTH, THEY 12:24: BROUGHT THOSE METALS WITH THEM, 12:26: DEPOSITED THEM. 12:28: AND THE REASON WE HAVE THOSE 12:29: METALS EVEN AROUND US TODAY IS 12:31: THANKS TO METEORS AND ASTEROIDS. 12:37: >> WITHOUT THESE METALS FROM 12:38: SPACE, HUMANITY WOULD BE STUCK 12:41: IN THE STONE AGE. 12:45: INSTEAD, WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO 12:48: EXTRACT AND MASTER THEM TO 12:51: BUILD OUR CIVILIZATION BIGGER 12:55: AND STRONGER, TO MAKE TOOLS AND 13:03: MACHINES LIKE THE FIRST MODERN 13:06: WARSHIPS. 13:12: SO IF METALS THAT HITCH A RIDE 13:14: ON METEORS CAN SURVIVE THE 13:16: JOURNEY THROUGH DEEP SPACE AND 13:18: OUR ATMOSPHERE, THEN A MYSTERY 13:22: REMAINS. 13:24: WHAT ELSE DO METEORS BRING US? 13:38: THE SAME BARRAGE FROM SPACE THAT 13:40: DELIVERED OUR METALS MAY ALSO 13:43: HAVE DELIVERED THE MOST 13:44: IMPORTANT ONE-TWO PUNCH IN 13:46: HISTORY... 13:51: WATER. 13:54: TRILLIONS OF COMETS AND 13:55: ASTEROIDS CARRY ENOUGH TO FILL 13:58: THE OCEANS, CREATING AN 14:00: ENVIRONMENT THAT CAN SUPPORT 14:02: WHAT METEORS BRING NEXT: LIFE. 14:05: DNA, OR EVEN OUR EARLIEST 14:10: SINGLE-CELLED ANCESTORS MAY HAVE 14:13: ARRIVED ON EARTH WITH A BANG. 14:22: >> THE IDEA IS THAT LIFE ON 14:23: EARTH ACTUALLY ORIGINATED WITH 14:26: MICROBES THAT HITCHED A RIDE ON 14:27: A METEOR, TRAVELED THROUGH OUR 14:30: SOLAR SYSTEM, LANDED ON EARTH, 14:33: AND GAVE RISE TO EVERYTHING WE 14:35: HAVE TODAY. 14:39: >> SO THEY MAY HAVE PLAYED A 14:40: CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE EARLY 14:41: HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH. 14:49: >> BUT WHILE METEORS AND COMETS 14:50: MAY HAVE BROUGHT LIFE, THEY MAY 14:53: ALSO BRING OUR ULTIMATE 14:55: DESTRUCTION. 15:17: >> BIG HISTORY HAS SHOWN THAT 15:20: METEORS AND COMETS ARE EARTH'S 15:22: SECRET SUPPLIER OF METAL... 15:30: WATER... 15:37: AND PERHAPS EVEN LIFE. 15:46: THEY CARRY SO MUCH ENERGY THAT 15:48: EVEN A SMALL IMPACT LEAVES A BIG 15:50: MARK. 15:53: THE METEOR THAT EXPLODES OVER 15:55: RUSSIA IN 2013 IS ONLY 55 FEET 15:58: WIDE. 16:01: [boom] 16:03: BUT IT UNLEASHES 30 TIMES THE 16:05: ENERGY OF THE HIROSHIMA ATOMIC 16:07: BOMB INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. 16:13: SO WHEN A METEOR THAT'S 16:15: 600 TIMES BIGGER MAKES CONTACT, 16:17: IT'S CATASTROPHIC. 16:22: BIG HISTORY LINKS BACK 16:23: 65 MILLION YEARS. 16:45: THIS IS EARTH IN THE LAST DAYS 16:48: OF THE DINOSAURS. 16:54: AN ASTEROID SIX MILES WIDE IS 17:03: ABOUT TO OVERTURN THE BALANCE OF 17:05: POWER ON THE PLANET. 17:12: >> IT SMASHES INTO THE GULF OF 17:14: MEXICO SOMEWHERE NEAR THE 17:15: YUCATAN PENINSULA. 17:19: >> THE RESULTS WERE JUST 17:21: CATASTROPHIC. 17:23: FIRST, THERE'S THIS MASSIVE 17:25: IMPACT, WHICH IS, LIKE, ALL THE 17:28: WORLD'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS GOING 17:29: OFF SIMULTANEOUSLY. 17:35: ENORMOUS EARTHQUAKES. 17:37: ENORMOUS TSUNAMIS. 17:41: HUGE FIRES. 17:44: THEN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF STUFF 17:46: GOING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHICH 17:49: BLOCKS SUNLIGHT. 17:56: >> THE EARTH DESCENDS INTO 17:58: DARKNESS. 17:59: IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF A NUCLEAR 18:01: WINTER THAT DOOMS THE DINOSAURS 18:04: AND 75% OF ALL ANIMAL SPECIES. 18:15: AN IMPACT OF THIS MAGNITUDE ONLY 18:18: HAPPENS ABOUT EVERY 100 MILLION 18:20: YEARS. 18:29: AND ONE SPECIES' CATASTROPHE IS 18:33: ANOTHER'S OPPORTUNITY. 18:36: >> A GOOD WAY TO PUT IT IS THAT 18:37: EVERY EXTINCTION DOES RESHUFFLE 18:39: THE DECK. 18:40: YOU JUST TAKE ALL OF THE PLAYING 18:41: CARDS, PUT 'EM BACK, MIX IT UP, 18:42: AND DEAL YOURSELF A NEW HAND. 18:49: >> IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 18:50: DINOSAUR DIE-OFF, OUR EARLIEST 18:52: ANCESTORS EMERGE FROM THE 18:55: SHADOWS. 19:00: >> IF THERE HAD BEEN NO ASTEROID 19:02: COLLISION 65 MILLION YEARS AGO, 19:04: WOULD THE HUMAN SPECIES EVEN 19:05: EXIST? 19:06: PROBABLY NOT. 19:23: >> SO IT'S INTERESTING TO 19:24: CONSIDER THAT A GIGANTIC IMPACT 19:27: LED TO THE DEMISE OF THE 19:28: DINOSAURS THAT ULTIMATELY 19:29: ALLOWED US TO COME INTO 19:31: EXISTENCE. 19:33: BUT, IN THE SAME WAY, ANOTHER 19:35: SUCH IMPACT COULD LEAD TO OUR 19:38: EVENTUAL DESTRUCTION. 19:51: >> MANY LARGE COMETS AND 19:52: ASTEROIDS ARE OUT THERE. 19:56: AND SOME ARE HEADING TOWARD 19:57: EARTH. 20:00: SO FAR, WE'VE IDENTIFIED MORE 20:03: THAN 800 NEARBY THAT MEASURE 20:05: MORE THAN A 1/2 MILE WIDE. 20:08: BUT EVEN MORE DANGEROUS ARE THE 20:11: OBJECTS WE CAN'T SEE. 20:14: >> THE ORBITS OF ASTEROIDS CAN 20:15: BE TRACKED. 20:16: WE CAN WATCH THEM CIRCLING THE 20:17: SUN, AND WE CAN TELL WHERE 20:18: THEY'RE GOING AND WHERE THEY 20:20: WILL END UP. 20:21: COMETS ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT 20:23: TO DEAL WITH. 20:24: WE CAN'T SEE THESE COMETS UNTIL 20:27: THEY APPROACH THE SUN FOR THE 20:29: FIRST TIME. 20:30: SO COMETS ARE ACTUALLY MORE 20:32: DANGEROUS THAN ASTEROIDS. 20:35: >> THE METEORS AND COMETS THAT 20:36: CREATE... 20:40: AND SCULPT... 20:45: AND SUPPLY OUR PLANET... 20:51: MAY ULTIMATELY DESTROY US IN ONE 20:54: FINAL COLOSSAL IMPACT. 20:59: BUT WHAT BRINGS DOWN MANKIND 21:01: COULD PAVE THE WAY FOR SOMETHING 21:04: ELSE. 21:05: >> IRONICALLY, IT COULD BE A 21:07: METEOR THAT EVENTUALLY 21:08: EXTINGUISHES HUMAN LIFE ON THIS 21:10: PLANET. 21:11: THAT'S THE SORT OF PERSPECTIVE I 21:12: THINK THAT BIG HISTORY BRINGS TO 21:14: HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. 21:19: >> BUT THE STORY OF METEORS AND 21:20: COMETS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. 21:23: THERE'S A MUCH BIGGER PUZZLE 21:24: HIDDEN IN BIG HISTORY. 21:26: EACH EPISODE UNLOCKS A CLUE. 21:28: EVERYDAY THINGS LIKE THE SUN, 21:33: WATER, AND BEEF HOLD THE KEY. 21:37: WATCH THEM ALL, AND YOU'LL SEE 21:39: THIS GRAND MYSTERY REVEALED, 21:42: THE BIG HISTORY OF TIME, OF 21:43: SPACE.

Cookie Policy

Deadly Meteors - H2