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It's Okay to Be Smart: What If We Could See Nature in Infrared?

8 minutes 51 seconds

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Why are trees and other plants green? Seems like a simple question, but the answer is full of surprises. Using a special camera that can pick up light just beyond the visible range, into the near-infrared, viewers get to see trees like never before. These otherworldly images can reveal not only why trees are green on Earth, but what color photosynthetic life on other planets might be. Part of the "It's Okay to Be Smart" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 8 minutes 51 seconds

Many hot air balloons taking off into the sky.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 3 / Ep 10
5 minutes 55 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 10
Still image from: It's Okay to Be Smart: The Most Extreme Life Forms on Earth…And Beyond?
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 5 / Ep 13
5 minutes 23 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Different math equations and graphs are drawn, with a butterfly as the backdrop.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 7
9 minutes 17 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Sixteen eyeballs, each with different eye color. Caption: Martin-Schultz scale.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 9
5 minutes 37 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 12
A group of animals, a gorilla, a rhino, a lemur cat, and a scaled lizard.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 10
5 minutes 55 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 12
Seven different butterflies, where four are placed at the corners facing the butterfly at the center and two at either side of the central butterfly.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 11
11 minutes 12 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
An animal with the body of a lion, an extra goat head on its back, and a snake instead of a tail. Caption: Chimera.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 14
9 minutes 43 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A view of Moon in the dark sky. Caption: Maria, Latin for seas, and Sea of Tranquility, Mare Tranquillitatis.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 15
10 minutes 31 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A star filled night sky. Caption: P B S.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 16
10 minutes 26 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Sunlight is shining through in a forest with large number of trees.
It's Okay to Be Smart
Season 7 / Ep 17
5 minutes 27 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
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