How the Universe Works

Are we alone in the Universe? What makes Earth so different? Part of the answer is our volcanoes. without them we would not be here either. Today we are discovering volcanoes on alien worlds. Are these worlds where, tomorrow, we might find life?

Destructive weather forces are symptoms of Earth's creative energy. In our quest to discover if we are alone in the universe, we shouldn't just look for worlds, we should look for weather; find that megastorm, and maybe we will find alien life.

We once thought that the only planets were in our solar system. We have found many other planets but they are nothing like we expected, from deep-frozen, toxic snowballs, to scorched and boiling nightmares. Is every planet out there a planet fom Hell?

The Universe is a magnetic minefield. Spinning star systems crackle and explode, magnetic monsters rip worlds apart, star-quakes shoot beams of devastating energy, and galactic flamethrowers fire gamma-rays half way across the Universe. Will we find Earth in the firing line?

We owe our existence to the stability of earth's orbit. But we are the freaks: everywhere else we look we find orbits are chaotic, unstable, and violent. Yet on the very largest scale, orbits are also a creative force, even constructing the fabric of the universe itself.

As time machines from the early universe, comets could hold the key to unlock the secrets of the cosmos, and may even be the origin of life itself. In this episode, we learn that comets are even more mysterious and fascinating than we had ever imagined.

Asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs and may be back for us but they also built the Earth and may have brought life to its barren surface. Asteroids will shape our future as much as our past and scientists are striving to unlock their secrets.

The Earth was formed by a series of cataclysms without which we would not exist. Could the same events have created other earth-like planets elsewhere in the Universe inhabited by creatures like us?

How does light escape from the sun? We take a journey from the centre of the sun, following the path of light. We witness its fiery birth from in the core, its 430,000 mile battle against gravity and magnetism, and its escape from the solar surface.

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Saturn’s secrets are out. The ferocious weather, the evolving ring system and the discovery of active geology on Saturn’s moons has rewritten the textbooks. Scientists are looking for life on Saturn’s moons and they may have found it on Titan.

Asteroids strike, planets collide, black holes blast out death rays, volcanoes erupt and ice engulfs the planet. These are the universe’s weapons of extinction. They’ve happened before - wiping out entire species, and they will happen again. Are we next?

What built the Milky Way? New research might now have the answer, revealing an unlikely hero. At the heart of our galaxy sits a super massive black hole, one of the most destructive objects in the Universe. Could it be our creator?

One day, a cosmic disaster will make life on Earth impossible. To survive, we must find a new home amongst the stars. Scientists are already developing new propulsion systems to take us to these distant worlds.

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.

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New research reveals an intergalactic network known as the Cosmic Web.

Experts attempt to determine where cosmic rays originate in the universe.

Physicists attempt to determine if Dark Matter could actually exist.

Experts explore how Earth's disastrous history led to human evolution.

Experts explore the elusive endeavor of determining the age of the cosmos.

Experts explore the ultimate, ongoing mission of the Voyager spacecraft.

As the two Voyager spacecraft reach interstellar space, experts explore their astonishing discoveries and how their extended operation has transformed into the ultimate mission.

The Cassini space probe has revealed strange secrets of Saturn while the two Voyager spacecraft have traveled farther than any man-made object in history.

Discover how Saturn's moons could rewrite the rules of the Solar System.

Mars is infested with robots, orbiting the planet and roaming the Martian surface on a mission to uncover its secrets; now, Perseverance joins this dedicated group of machines to uncover if there is, or was ever, life on the Red Planet.

The collision of two supermassive black holes is the most violent event that can occur in the universe; experts explore where a black hole's energy originates and what really happens when the two most powerful objects in the cosmos clash.

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