The best episodes of How the Universe Works
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
NASA's Juno spacecraft is part of a cutting-edge mission to explore the mysteries of Jupiter, and as this mighty probe is pummeled with deadly radiation, it gathers new data that could change everything we know about the solar system's biggest planet.
- 02
An explosion in the discovery of exoplanets is challenging everything we know about our universe; experts use cutting-edge astronomy to investigate these mysterious alien worlds and how they defy the laws of physics.
- 03
Cosmic rays capable of destroying human DNA are hurtling through outer space like subatomic bullets, causing space crews radiation damage.
- 04
The latest discoveries suggest that we might be on the verge of discovering life beyond our planet, and scientists are investigating if earth's life began elsewhere in the universe, and whether we need to evolve to know for sure.
- 05
The Rosetta mission with its lander, Philae, is a groundbreaking expedition to land on a comet (Comet 67P) for the very first time; special access reveals what this cutting-edge journey discovers and how these mysterious objects help create life on Earth.
- 06
Supernovas are the violent death of giant stars, and new discoveries reveal that these cataclysmic events create the elements that are essential to all life in the universe.
- 07
Neutrinos are the most mysterious particles in the universe, and they power some of the most explosive events in the cosmos; new discoveries reveal how these ghosts pass through objects undetected and why they could be the reason we exist.
- 08
New astronomical research is beginning to reveal an invisible scaffold of dark matter known as the Cosmic Web. This intergalactic network transformed the universe from a chaotic Big Bang into the structured beauty of the present-day cosmos.
- 09
Dark Matter is thought to be the cosmic glue that holds the universe together, yet the search for it continues to elude scientists today.
- 10
Discover how Saturn's moons could rewrite the rules of the Solar System.
- 11
Neutron stars are strange and violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries reveal that these bizarre nightmares are far more deadly than we ever thought, with the power to destroy planets and even other stars.
- 12
Earth's journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that our planet is heading toward a mysterious area of the cosmos that could eject us out of the Milky Way and into oblivion.
- 13
There are just eight planets in our solar system, but there could be a hundred billion planets in our Milky Way galaxy alone. This show follows the journey of planets as they grow from grains of dust to the magnificently diverse worlds we see today.
- 14
The Earth was formed by a series of cosmic cataclysms, including the most powerful blast in the universe. Could the same chain of events have created other earths elsewhere, inhabited by creatures like us?
- 15
There is a hellish planet in our solar system covered in thick, dense clouds and roasted by colossal temperatures. Incredibly this is a vision of Earth's future. To understand how our world will be destroyed, we need to look at Earth's evil twin Venus.
- 16
Discoveries of new planets have revealed countless worlds much stranger than Earth. Some of these strange worlds don't have stars, others are made out of diamonds. Will we ever find a planet like Earth, or are these distant worlds stranger than fiction?
- 17
The discovery of extraterrestrial life might face an impossible challenge: the physics of the universe itself; but using cutting-edge tech, experts might be on the verge of a groundbreaking find -- and the evidence could already be in hand.
- 18
Birth of the Monster Black Holes
New discoveries reveal an astonishing supermassive black hole that was born during the earliest days of the cosmos, and finding out how this giant grew so large so quickly may help to explain the very formation of the universe itself.
- 19
The two Voyager spacecraft have traveled farther than any human-made object in history. As they reach interstellar space, experts explore their most astonishing discoveries and how their extended operation has transformed into the ultimate mission.
- 20
Is our solar system unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 alien solar systems have been identified. It's only by looking at solar systems far beyond our own, that we can understand how remarkable our universe is.
- 21
Asteroids - Worlds That Never Were
Asteroids shaped our past and promise much in the future; revealing the mysteries behind giant asteroids that influence the creation and destruction of life on Earth.
- 22
Huge magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide; strange invisible matter, and a death star tearing through bands of icy comets, flinging them into violent orbits.
- 23
Our Moon is stranger than you think, and we reveal its incredible secrets. Can we thank the Moon for life on Earth? What explains the mysterious tunnels beneath its surface? Is a lunar base the key to humanity's future in space? The incredible secrets of the moon are revealed; the moon might be responsible for life on Earth.
- 24
For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids, but a new discovery suggests that their true origins may be more exotic.
- 25
First close-up images of Pluto revealed the unimaginable secrets of this mysterious frozen world. Now, scientists investigate if Pluto is home to a warm ocean of liquid water beneath its surface, and whether this underground ocean could harbor life.
