01x03 - Round and Round/The Plant From Bortron 7

[bunniefuu]

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ He'll rocket to fame ♪

♪ When he arrived, he created a buzz ♪

♪ 'Cause there was no house ♪

♪ And then there was, he said ♪

- ♪ People of Earth! You ain't seen nothing yet! ♪

♪ I'm from Bortron , and my name is Jet! ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ He looks like us ♪

♪ But he isn't the same ♪

- ♪ I'm a space tripper and a galaxy crosser ♪

♪ My parents brought me here in a flying saucer ♪

- ♪ And just to prove it was a fact ♪

♪ He flew them out to space and back ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[spaceship whirring]

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ He showed up, and now it's a blast ♪

♪ Looks like the future really got here fast ♪

- ♪ Nice to meet you, human race ♪

♪ Tell me all about the place ♪

- Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

all: Ready! Jet! Go!

[upbeat music]

- Whoa!

- Hello, hello!

Please meet my latest model of your solar system!

Solar system, Sean.

Sean, solar system.

- Nice to meet you, solar system.

Wow, this is awesome, you guys.

- Hi, Sean.

Jet and Sydney, remember to tell him that I helped.

I helped a lot.

And I'm the Sun.

- All right, Queen Sun, are you ready for your planets to orbit?

Venus, orbit the Sun!

You too, Mars! Orbit on, Uranus!

- Wait. What is orbiting again?

- "Orbit" means "to go around and around."

- Sean, there are a lot of planets to spin.

Want to help?

- Yes!

- Hey, Sunspot! Little help!

[playful music]

♪ ♪

[whooshing]

All right! Finally!

All eight planets are orbiting the Sun!

- You mean Queen Sun.

So how come they're all going around me, Jet?

- Because that's how the solar system works!

Everything rotates around the sun's ginormous gravity.

- Yes, it's all about me!

Queen Sun!

- And get this: not only do the planets all orbit the Sun;

they also rotate at the same time!

- They what?

- Huh.

Maybe Face can show us better than I can explain it.

- Face is Jet's computer friend.

[electronic beeping]

- Hi, Face.

- Hello, Jet. Hello, everyone.

So the subject is rotating, right?

all: Right!

- The planets orbit around the sun, and at the same time,

each planet rotates on its own axis.

- Amazing!

Planets orbit and rotate?

- It is amazing!

Outer space is like a big dance that works perfectly.

Thanks, Face. - Certainly, Jet.

I'll just rotate out of here.

Whoa!

- Okay, you saw the movie.

Now let's get this rotating party restarted!

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Whoa... whoa...

Oof!

both: Whoa!

Whoa!

- Phew.

♪ ♪

- [squeaks]

- Ow!

- [laughs]

- Well, that didn't go so hot.

- Are you kidding? That was fantastic!

We almost had a perfect solar system model

going there for a minute!

- Jet, do all the real planets have wires

that attach them to the Sun?

Is that how they orbit?

- Uh, no, they don't have wires.

- I think maybe they do.

- Hmm.

If only we had some kind of way to go out into outer space

and check if the planets are on wires or not...

- Oh-h*-h*, I think I heard someone say

they want to take a spin around the rotating planets.

The wagon's all waxed and ready to go!

both: Yes!

- Um, we don't actually have to go into outer space.

We already know that the planets all rotate, right?

- Yes, but do they all rotate in the same direction?

- Um...don't they?

- Let's go find out!

- Don't be too long, Celery. We'll eat in Earth minutes!

I'm making pancakes, or jack flaps,

or gut gaskets, or whatever Earthies call them.

Got the Earth meal covered!

Question: uh, is this a frying pan,

or is this a frying pan?

- I think-- - Why not try both, Dad?

- Yeah, see which works better, hon!

- [chuckles] Will do. Thank you!

Have a great trip!

- My mom says I can't go anywhere past Jet's yard,

and I have to practice my jujitsu.

- [laughs] Bye, Mindy.

We'll be back soon.

- Sunspot! Car trip!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Ready?

- I actually think all the planets rotate the same way,

so I'm not sure this trip is really necessary.

- ♪ , , , , ♪

♪ Doors are shut, engines on ♪

♪ Everybody in their place? ♪

♪ Let's go into outer space! ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

[Sean screaming]

[spaceship whirring]

[adventurous music]

[all cheering]

- [shudders]

[gulps]

[warbling tone]

[spaceship whooshes and brakes screech]

- Well, there it is, everybody. That's your solar system!

- Wow! - Cool!

- It is, isn't it?

From here, you should be able to see all eight planets

orbiting the Sun.

- Um, actually, we can't see any of the planets.

♪ ♪

- Hmm, you're right.

We're too far away to see anything.

Not to worry.

You see, the Sun keeps all the planets going around

in the same direction.

- That is so cool! Sean, you should come see this.

- Nah, thanks. I'm fine over here.

- Ooh!

Can we get closer and see what direction

the planets actually rotate?

- Best idea in over million years!

both: Excelsior!

[jet engines whirring]

[funky music]

♪ ♪

- Okay, first planet is Mercury.

Hmm, we're closer,

but I can't actually see which direction it's spinning.

- Perhaps I can help, Jet.

If I speed it up,

you can see that Mercury rotates counterclockwise.

That's the opposite way the hands of a clock rotate.

Now, most planets rotate this way.

- Not all?

- [laughs] Why don't we find out?

Let's take a look at Venus.

[jet engines whirring]

[relaxed music]

- [squeaks]

[squeaking]

[grunts]

- Look closely.

Do you notice anything different about the way Venus is rotating?

- [trills]

- Sunspot says Venus rotates the other way from Mercury.

- Yeah, clockwise, like the way a clock moves.

- Excellent observing, Sydney!

- Thanks.

I love how Venus does her own thing.

Way to go, Venus!

- Couldn't agree more.

Let's check out the rest of the planets.

[jet engines whirring]

[funky music]

♪ ♪

- Ah. Planet Earth.

That's my stop!

And it's rotating just like Mercury--

counterclockwise!

So, okay, we're done, right?

- [chuckles] Are you kidding?

Earth is only planet number three.

Next up, Mars!

[funky music]

[jet engines whooshing]

- Feeling space-sick, Sean?

- Nah, I'm good, thanks.

I am!

- And Mars is good too!

Rotating counterclockwise.

- Check. To Jupiter!

- Yes!

all: Excelsior!

[jet engines whooshing]

[funky music]

- Jupiter!

It's big and gassy and rotating counterclockwise.

Just like Grandpa Propulsion after dinner.

[all laughing]

- Next up is Saturn?

- I do like Saturn.

- Great! Saturn, here we come!

- Whoa!

[jet engines whirring]

- Saturn!

Coolest counterclockwise rotating planet...

[together] Ever!

- Wow! Look at those rings!

They're orbiting around Saturn

like the planets orbit around the Sun.

- You're right, Commander Sydney!

Okay, two more planets left.

- I bet they rotate counterclockwise,

so we can just head back to Earth, right?

- Oh-h*-h*, do they rotate the same way?

Let's go take a look.

- Whoa!

[funky music]

- Whoa! Check out Uranus!

It's not rotating left or right!

- Uranus is rotating top to bottom!

- That is completely nuts.

- [squeaking]

- Yes! Exactly, Sunspot!

- I like Uranus.

It plays by its own rules.

But why is it turned sideways?

- Most likely, a long, long time ago,

another planet bumped into Uranus, tilting it over,

and it has stayed that way.

- Amazing!

So much to think about in one day.

So time to head home now?

- But, Sean, there's just Neptune left.

You can hang on. You don't look sick.

How're you feeling?

- I'm fine, but I have homework,

and Mindy is waiting for us,

and I bet Sunspot is getting hungry.

- [trills]

- Sean, we'll just say howdy to Neptune,

then home sweet Earth home!

[jet engines whirring]

[warbling tone]

Hey, Neptune, what do you say?

You're rotating the counterclockwise way!

Whoo-hoo! [electronic blare and chime]

- Hi, space travelers!

Earth dinner is ready,

and the frying pan worked out great.

Uh, my golf game is off, though.

- Ooh, looks delish, hon! We'll see you soon.

Hang on to your hats, kids.

Next stop: Boxwood Terrace!

[jet engines whirring]

[all cheering]

[dramatic music]

[wheels squealing]

[light music]

- [grunts]

[inhales and sighs]

- Okay.

So did the real planets have wires attached to them?

- No wires, Mindy.

But it was so cool!

Let me show you how all the planets actually rotate.

- Remember to make sure Venus rotates the other way.

Sean, keep that planet Uranus rotating up and down.

- Planet Uranus is, Mindy-- I mean Queen Sun.

- Now we have an accurate solar system right here in my yard!

Perfecto!

[all cheering and laughing]

Yeah!

- Great job, everybody! [laughter]

- Have you ever heard the rhyme,

"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by its toe"?

Hi, I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer.

Instead of catching a tiger by its toe,

we actually caught a comet by its tail.

[light music]

The Stardust mission,

which was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

did just that.

♪ ♪

It actually flew through the tail of Comet Wild ,

and it used a strange substance called aerogel

to pick up pieces of the comet's tail.

♪ ♪

Aerogel is .% air.

It weighs practically nothing.

It's almost like solidified smoke.

I have a few pieces of it here,

and you can see there's just about nothing to it.

Aerogel's got a density sort of like cotton candy,

except it's cotton candy that you can't eat.

Aerogel looks blue for the same reason the sky looks blue.

Blue light scatters more,

and that's what gives it this unusual, bluish tint.

Scientists and engineers used a piece of aerogel,

just like this one,

to capture pieces of the comet's tail.

Stardust collected more than a million particles of dust

from the comet's tail, and after seven years,

the pod containing the aerogel

and all those incredible samples

came back to the Earth.

And that allowed us to see what comets are made of.

So the next time you hear, "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,"

instead of catching a tiger, think about catching a comet.

- See?

I planted sunflower seeds a week ago, and look at them now!

all: Whoa!

- Pretty cool, Sydney.

- Pretty cool? Amazingly cool!

I can't believe how things grow here on Earth.

I've got to try it too.

- Sure, that'd be great, Jet.

- Yes!

I've got to make--

I'm not sure if there's a word for it--

an organized space in the dirt

where you plant things in rows and they grow...

- You mean a garden?

- Ha! A garden!

What a great Earth word!

[laughs]

I'm going to make a garden,

and I've got just the thing.

Come on!

[rustling and clattering]

[grunts Where are they?

Nope. Nope.

A three-day-old lunch bag? [sniffs]

Ugh! Nope.

[rustling and clattering]

Ooh, some pieces of a comet!

Hmm, they must have melted.

[liquid gurgling]

Ooh! Aha!

Found them! - Found what?

- Bortronian seeds!

I brought these from home, way across the galaxy.

all: Bortronian seeds.

- And you're gonna plant them? In a garden?

- Exactly!

I've grown seeds

under my Bortronian sun simulator before,

but I want to try to grow them outside,

under your amazing yellow Sun!

Can't wait to see what happens!

- Do you think a Bortronian seed can even grow in Earth soil?

- I don't know, Sydney, and I'm so excited to find out!

[playful music]

Since I don't know what'll happen,

I thought I'd start my garden small

and test it with one seed.

- Good idea!

We should be scientific. It's an experimental garden.

- "Experimental," ooh, good word!

♪ ♪

Okay, I planted the seed.

Sun...check!

I need to bring it some water.

I think there's an Earth bucket in the garage.

♪ ♪

- [trills]

- I'll stay here with Sunspot and guard the seed

[water rushing]

- [humming]

[all gasp]

- Look what happened while you guys were gone!

- I can't believe it! This is great!

I've never seen a plant grow this fast anywhere on Bortron .

- I don't think this happens anywhere on Earth either.

- Yeah, I wonder if you should even water a plant

that's already grown feet in a minute.

I mean, do you really want to encourage it?

- Well, it makes sense.

It's a plant, so it needs water.

- Sean has a good point, Jet.

A plant that grows this fast is really strange.

Maybe you should ask your parents what the deal is.

- Uh, they're out running errands in town.

Dad really loves to shop for Earth groceries.

We can ask Face , though.

He's in the garage. Come on!

[mysterious music]

- If you watch really close,

you can actually see it getting bigger.

- [sniffing]

[plant creaking]

[squeals]

[adventurous musical flourish]

- Hiya, Face!

I was wondering why my Bortronian seed

just grew into a -foot-tall plant in an Earth minute.

- Hmm. That is unusual.

Is the seed growing under your usual Bortronian sunlight?

- Nope, I planted it outside.

- Oh, outside!

So it must be the light of Earth's Sun

that's making it grow so fast.

- I don't get it.

- Yeah, the Sun doesn't have that effect

on the ordinary Earth plants.

- I believe the problem is that this plant is from Bortron

and normally grows under the dim, red light

of our red dwarf star Bortron.

Your star that you call the Sun is a yellow dwarf,

which gives off a lot more bright, yellow-green light.

Your green Earth plants love it.

[shimmering tone]

Therefore, Jet, this stronger yellow-green sunlight

seems to be making your plant grow bigger and faster

than it ever would on Bortron .

- So exactly how much bigger is your plant going to get?

- Have you checked on it lately?

[foreboding music]

[all gasp]

♪ ♪

all: Wow!

- That yellow-green light of your Sun

really makes plants grow!

- Yeah, but maybe this is too much of a good thing, Jet.

- Yeah, it's so tall. This isn't right.

- Look. It seems to have some sort of head.

Maybe it can think. We should try and talk to it.

- Come on. Plants don't think.

We should get big clippers and snip it.

- [gasps] Snip it?

No!

- We should talk to it!

- No, we should snip it!

[plant shrieks]

[creaking and scraping]

[shattering]

[dramatic music]

- [gasps] Sean!

[plant boinging]

[screech]

- Maybe the plant heard that you were going to snip it.

- How would I know it understands English?

- Hey! Giant plant!

Come back!

You're supposed to be my experimental Earth garden!

- We better go catch it!

- Okay, bye!

Good luck catching the million-foot-high plant!

- Following a giant plant's footprints

with my Earth friends-- this is so fun!

- Jet, this is serious.

We can't let anyone in Boxwood Terrace

see a giant, runaway Bortronian plant!

- Why not?

- Because you'd have way too much explaining to do,

and then your secret alien identity will be out!

- Ah, right, I keep forgetting that.

[upbeat music]

[electronic alarm and chime]

Oh, hey, that's Dad.

Hey, Daddy-o! What's shaking?

- Jet, you haven't seen a giant Bortronian houseplant

running through the neighborhood, have you?

- No, I haven't. Have you?

Ooh! I mean, where is it?

- We just saw it run past the supermarket

as we were coming out!

- Oh, I almost dropped my Swiss chard!

- Okay, I can explain.

I tried to use Bortronian seeds to plant a "garden."

- Ooh-ooh, you mean an organized space in the dirt

where you plant things in rows and they grow?

- Exactly. - Garden.

[laughs]

What a hilarious Earth word!

[all laughing]

- Um, you guys,

we have to catch that plant

before everybody in Boxwood Terrace sees it!

- Sydney's right, Jet.

As visiting Bortronian travel writers,

we are guests on the planet

and are not supposed to interfere

with the Earth environment.

- And letting a Bortronian plant run loose

is definitely interfering!

- Okay, Mom and Dad,

I promise that Sydney and Sean and I will catch it

and bring it home.

[plant boinging]

[screaming and horns honking]

- This way! Come on!

♪ ♪

[engine revving and tires squealing]

[plant boinging]

all: There it is!

- Easy, you guys. Don't scare it.

- Hey, giant plant! Come to papa!

[whimsical music]

♪ ♪

[screeching]

[plant boinging]

[screeching]

♪ ♪

[all grunt] - Ow!

[footsteps tapping]

♪ ♪

- Okay, that didn't go so hot.

- Sure it did!

We've had a really fun day so far!

We grew a giant plant, got a lot of running in--

- Jet, focus!

We've got to catch that plant, remember?

- Oh! Yeah, right, right.

- Let's be scientific about this.

Start by asking a question.

Why did the plant run away?

- Because...it had grown too big for its pot?

- Yes!

So maybe it's looking for some deep enough soil to grow in!

- Exactly!

Good scientific thinking, Sydney!

Now, where would the deepest soil be?

- Wherever the biggest things grow?

- Yeah! Like big trees!

To the woods! There's not a moment to lose!

I've always wanted to say that.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Let's do it!

[all panting]

- [gasps] There it is!

- We're gaining on it! We're gonna catch it!

- Ha! Excelsior!

[plant boinging]

- Good. We've got it cornered now!

- [gasps and shrieks]

Wait! Sunspot!

- [squeaks and trills]

- It's got Sunspot!

♪ ♪

- If we could just get the plant back inside my garage,

I can put it under my Grow Light, set it to shrink...

[plant shrieking and chittering]

And shrink it down to normal size again!

- [trilling]

[upbeat music]

[trills]

[creaking]

[plant neighing]

- [gasps] - Wow!

♪ ♪

I guess that driving runaway plants

is another one of Sunspot's many skills!

[ding]

[plant boinging]

- Oh, good. Here they come.

- Oh, we're ready, Jet! Look!

We bought the biggest tools used in an Earth garden we can find.

- Mom! Dad!

Don't frighten the plant!

Just let Sunspot drive it into the garage!

- Really? Why?

- I'll explain later.

Meanwhile, we have a giant plant to shrink!

[lamp whirring]

There. I set it to shrink.

Here you go, Sunspot.

Hold it over the plant.

Do your stuff, Bortronian sunlight!

- Smart thinking, Jet.

- Thanks. I just hope it works.

- Is it-- is it shrinking?

- I think it is!

- Now that's a proper-sized Bortronian plant.

- How you doing, buddy?

Are you okay being a houseplant?

[all sighing]

Well done, Sunspot!

- [chitters]

[purring]

- Wow! What a relief!

- Yeah, we got the plant back safely,

and no one found out Jet's secret alien identity!

- See? I told you.

It's all under control, and nothing bad happened!

- Guess what!

I just planted the rest of Jet's seeds

in my brand-new garden!

[footsteps thudding]

[all screaming]

- I bet the last time you went on a road trip

with your parents, you probably asked,

"Are we there yet?"

Well, just imagine being stuck in a space this small

for a road trip that lasts days and days.

I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer,

and today we're talking about space capsules

at the California Science Center.

A capsule, launched on top of a rocket,

was the very first way we got humans into space.

This capsule is Gemini ,

and it flew in space for about three days,

starting in September of .

About four years after the Mercury capsules launched,

this was America's second step

towards sending people to the moon.

This Gemini capsule's big enough to hold two astronauts,

unlike the Mercury capsule,

which could only fly one person.

That's why they called it Gemini

after the constellation Gemini, which is the twins.

Gemini carried Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon into space.

They circled the entire Earth times

and set a new record for highest human orbit

at miles above the Earth.

You can see here that it's a lot bigger than Mercury,

although it's still really small.

It's still so small, they can't even unbend their knees.

The astronauts would have had to put on a space suit

and open the hatch if they wanted to stand up.

And they did!

But only one time each.

But what a view!

So the next time you go on a road trip,

just be glad that you can actually get out

and take a break.

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Jet Propulsion! - Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!