The speaker discusses the Voyager 1 space probe's journey to Saturn and its subsequent mission to photograph all the planets in the solar system. The speaker emphasizes the risky nature of the idea, as the probe was pointing close to the Sun while taking photos, which could have potentially damaged the camera's sensor.
However, the speaker, likely Carl Sagan, convinced NASA to turn the probe around and take the photos. The resulting image, known as the "Family Portrait of the Solar System," became famous. The speaker mentions a controversy within NASA over the use of the camera, and how Sagan's idea turned into a big mess within the organization.
The speaker then mentions a book called "The Pale Blue Dot," which is not an astronomy book but a philosophy book, and talks about the famous image of Earth from space. The speaker concludes by mentioning that the book is available for purchase and that it is a very current book, with chapters that seem to be happening right now.
1. The text discusses a camera that could potentially work where a buoy is located.
2. The camera could potentially see something, but the question is whether it would register anything.
3. NASA decided to turn off most of the instruments to avoid potential problems.
4. The camera was eventually turned off, and it was decided to turn off as many instruments as possible.
5. The text mentions a date, February 14, 1990, when a probe arrived at Saturn.
6. The text mentions a person named Cal Sagan who had a brilliant idea.
7. The camera was turned around and began taking photos of all the planets in the solar system.
8. One of the photos taken by the camera is famous and is known as the "family portrait of the solar system."
9. The text discusses the risks associated with taking photos close to the Sun, as it could potentially damage the camera sensor.
10. The text mentions a book called "The Pale Blue Dot," which is a vision of the future of humanity in space.
11. The text mentions a voice actor named Guilherme Briggs who read a text about the solar system.
12. The text discusses the importance of the camera being able to send data back to Earth, given that its signal is very weak.