When it comes to telescopes, bigger is better. That's why we're investing billions of dollars into a new generation of "extremely large telescopes", such as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). But is 30 meters truly extreme? Could it be possible to ever build a telescope on the scale of a planet? In a new research paper by our very own Professor David Kipping, a solution for turning the Earth into a "Terrascope" is presented. Join us on a journey though the history of telescope inventions as well David's own personal journey to devising this new radical approach to the telescope. Written and Presented by Professor David Kipping This video is based on research conducted at the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University, New York. You can now support our research program directly here: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support The Terrascope paper can be found at: ► Kipping, David (2019), "The Terrascope: On the Possibility of Using the Earth as an Atmospheric Lens", PASP, accepted for publication: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu/terrascope.pdf Chapters 0:00 - Prologue 0:43 - Telescopes through Time 7:48 - Natural Lensing 14:02 - The Green Flash 18:55 - The Terrascope 26:42 - Dreams of Our Youth Video materials and graphics used: ► JWST timelapse from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12145 ► GTC footage by Gianluca Lombardi: https://youtu.be/K7padkb0-n8 ► ELT animation by ESO & Herbert Zodet: https://www.eso.org/public/usa/videos/elttrailer-notext/ ► GMT mirror casting by University of Arizona Steward Observatory Mirror Lab: https://youtu.be/uWHkoU2EqyM ► Water lensing clips by Spa Nederland: https://youtu.be/yPhLTjjIHJc ► NASA/International Space Station footage of the Earth ► Green Flash footage by Mila Zinkova: https://youtu.be/t9hpvdHb7ZM ► Earth timelapse taken by EPIC onboard NOAA's DSCOVR satellite, video by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Kayvon Sharghi: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12312 ► WFIRST animatio