The essential episodes of How the Universe Works
Watch these 15 in order and you've got How the Universe Works — each pick states its reason.
- 01
This is the greatest story ever told, the creation of everything us. The programme investigates how the Universe came into existence out of nothing, and how it grew from a miniscule point, smaller than an atomic particle, to the vast cosmos we see today.
- 02
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.
- 03
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?
- 04
Astronomers search for evidence of another Earth. Is there another Earth out there with liquid oceans, rocky continents and life like us? Astronomers seek the answer with spectroscopy, direct imaging and telescopes. They hope to find evidence of atmospheres, magnetospheres and signs of life.
- 05
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.
- 06
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?
- 07
Uranus & Neptune: Rise of the Ice Giants
Uranus and Neptune are mysterious, icy worlds at the edge of the solar system; new discoveries reveal that these strange planets may have helped start life on Earth.
- 08
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.
- 09
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.
- 10
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.
- 11
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.
- 12
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.
- 13
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.
- 14
Cosmic rays capable of destroying human DNA are hurtling through outer space like subatomic bullets, causing space crews radiation damage.
- 15
Discover how Saturn's moons could rewrite the rules of the Solar System.
