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- From the solar winds
to the mystical auroras,

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science is a way of knowing,

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a way to help us understand
the world around us.

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But, how do we learn
about the things we see,

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and how do we make sense of
the things we don't understand?

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Find out next on Real World.

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[dynamic music]

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♪ ♪

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As humans,

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we're all really curious

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about the world around us.

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Science is a way of knowing,

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but what does science
really look like?

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Let's drop in on
some NASA researchers

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who are currently working
from home.

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Dr. Nicholeen Viall
studies the Sun and solar winds

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by analyzing data
from spacecraft

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like NASA's Solar Dynamics
Observatory.

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Dr. Marilia Samara

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studies charged particles
in space

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by sending rockets
into the auroras.

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And Amber Verstynen
is an undergraduate student

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majoring
in atmospheric science.

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Amber's internship at NASA

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helped put her on the path
to a career in science.

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Dr. Viall,
can you help us learn

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more about
the nature of science?

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- Science is about

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understanding
the natural world around us.

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Science is about finding
new information,

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which inherently comes with

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being wrong a lot of the time.

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By definition,
you're exploring space

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and questions
that nobody has really...

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thought through before.

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- Dr. Samara,
how do these questions

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drive the study of science?

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- We ask questions,
we try and figure out

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what experiment might help us
answer those questions.

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We go for it.

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Usually,
we don't figure out enough.

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We try again.

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We had no idea
how the aurora was created,

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but people would notice
that when they had a compass

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and there was aurora going on,

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funny things would happen.

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So they knew it had something
to do with the magnetic field.

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- Scientists use different
methods and tools

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to gather a variety
of mathematical data.

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Data may include images,
numbers, patterns,

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shapes, and calculations

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that help model and describe
the world around us.

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- So think of images
just with like a camera--

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that's a remote data set.

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You can do it
in optical light--

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the light that we can see
with our eye--

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just like with
a regular camera,

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but we can also look at
the Sun in other wavelengths,

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other types of light
like X-ray light,

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ultraviolet light,

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infrared light,
and so those give you

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other types of information
about the Sun.

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The other type of information

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that we can get
is called in situ,

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and that means measuring
directly where you are.

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- In the case of aurora,

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we're trying to launch
and go over the aurora

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in what we call the apogee,

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which is the highest
point from the ground,

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and make measurements there.

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By concentrating
on the apogee,

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is we effectively
get a snapshot

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of how the environment--

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that space plasma
environment--

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looks at that particular time,

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at that particular altitude.

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It's surprising
how much science

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is in just a couple of minutes
of these measurements.

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- When we look at data

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for a long enough
period of time,

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we can understand patterns
in those data

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and really make sure

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we're not just answering one
little question about the Sun

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but that we're really

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pulling all of
the information together

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and making sure
the big picture

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still makes sense of how
we think the Sun works.

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When good science
is being done,

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it leaves room for us
to change our mind,

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to realize we were wrong about
how something is working

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as we get new information,

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and we have to
refine our ideas

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about how the natural world
is working.

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- Scientists do their best
to understand observations

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with the knowledge

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and tools they have,

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but sometimes scientific
explanations change.

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- So I think of science
as basically a puzzle.

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We have tiny pieces
of the big puzzle.

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Every time
we have a new piece

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that actually connects,
our image changes.

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- We do our best
to describe what we see

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and what we're observing,

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and then we figure out

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which parts
still aren't making sense.

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Sometimes
a model will make sense

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and explain
all of the observations

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that we have today,

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and then tomorrow

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the Sun will do something
totally different

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and we'll have
new observations.

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And it's not even necessarily
that the model was wrong.

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It's just that the model
was incomplete.

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- It's important for all of us

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to understand
the nature of science

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because we can all be
scientists,

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asking questions
and gathering data.

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Amber, you've had a chance
to collect data

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during
your internship at NASA.

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What were you studying?

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- When I was in high school,

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my first project
was studying ozone

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and how it affected plants

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by working on an ozone garden.

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That was at
the Virginia Living Museum.

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An ozone garden is a garden
that consists of

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different types of plants,

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some that react to ozone
and some that don't.

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So some of the tools we used

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was the meter stick to measure
the heights of the plants.

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We used a rain gauge
to measure

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how much rain all of
the plants were getting.

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We used a thermometer to
measure the air temperature

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that the plants
were growing in,

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and we used a psychrometer
to measure

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the relative humidity
of the garden each day.

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The ozone garden research
was really important

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because it shows
how different plants

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grow more efficiently
in different climates,

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and how ozone has such
a big effect on plant growth.

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This is really important
to understand

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with our changing climate.

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- A new fact is really like

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a new piece
in a science puzzle.

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As more pieces are added,

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the big picture becomes
clearer and clearer,

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but it's important
not to try to force

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any pieces that don't fit.

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- It's important
when we do science

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to do our best
to overcome our biases.

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Everybody has biases.

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It's important to be ready
to be proved wrong.

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- Science is a human endeavor,

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and our understanding of
science is constantly changing.

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Men and women from
all cultures and backgrounds

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choose careers as scientists

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and work in teams to answer
the questions we have

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about the world around us.

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So how can you get involved?

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- So don't just sit there.

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Ask a question.
Make an observation.

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Use all the tools you have
to collect evidence.

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You can do
a citizen science project.

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You could even do
an internship,

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maybe even at NASA.

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- So what are you
waiting for?

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Science is
an amazing way to use math

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to help uncover
grand mysteries

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in the natural
and material world.

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Special thanks
to Dr. Nicholeen Viall

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and Dr. Marilia Samara

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for helping us understand

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more about
the nature of science.

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And thank you, Amber,

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for helping us
see ourselves as scientists.

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I'm Sarah, and see you
next time on Real World.