The Universe Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
Episode 1 - Secrets of the SunThere are billions of stars in the Universe, but one alone dominates our celestial neighborhood, the Sun. It's so large that within its boundaries you could fit one million Earths, and so powerful that each second it churns out as much energy as one billion one-megaton hydrogen bombs. The Sun is the massive engine that drives our solar system, providing the energy that makes life on Earth possible, but it also rages with violent storms and explosions that can threaten our planet. With some experts predicting that we are headed for the most violent period of solar activity in modern history, it's never been more important to understand the Secrets of the Sun.
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Episode 2 - Mars: The Red PlanetIt's home to the largest volcano in the Solar System...and a colossal, boulder-strewn valley that would make the Grand Canyon look like a streambed. But despite such otherworldly features, it's the planet most like Earth, and it's the most likely candidate for eventual human habitation. In the past, its mysterious movement in the sky and rumors of a network of canals on its surface made it a source of wild speculation. Did alien life flourish there? Perhaps an advanced civilization that might one day attempt to conquer Earth? Today, NASA orbiters and rovers mapping the planet's surface have put these notions to rest. While they've photographed land features that look chillingly like an enormous human face, so far, they have not discovered intelligent life. Still, the search for biology continues. And with new evidence of vast amounts of frozen water lurking just a few feet below the rusty soil, the possibility of finding at least primitive life on the fourth rock from the Sun seems exceedingly probable.
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Episode 3 - The End of the Earth: Deep Space Threats to Our PlanetThe Earth has become a dangerous place to live in the Universe. It's only a matter of time before a cosmic force will annihilate the planet. At this very moment, NASA's top brass and other scientists are arming themselves with the latest technology to pre-empt an apocalyptic attack. And the enemy won't be terrorists launching nuclear weapons, but something possibly more deadly. This UNIVERSE episode - End of the Earth will investigate the bizarre, unexplained and terrifying End of Earth scenarios. Scientists from around the world race against the clock to develop technology to detect and defend our planet from apocalyptic demons. The prime suspects: asteroids, comets, gamma ray bursts, the sun and the Big Rip - a mysterious phenomenon called "dark energy" may eventually rip apart everything in the Universe.
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Episode 4 - Jupiter: The Giant PlanetHalf a billion miles from earth exists a mini solar system of over 60 moons rotating around a powerful planet of gas. It's flowing colors and spots hold strange beauty, but contain violent storms and jet streams. Could this big, bright ball of turbulent weather have been the star of Bethlehem? Could one of its moons harbor life beneath its icy crust? Jupiter, the giant planet, is the king of many questions concerning our solar system and could possibly hold the answers.
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Episode 5 - The MoonIt's so close...yet so far away. For thousands of years, mankind has found comfort in its presence. It's been a lantern for nighttime travelers...a timekeeper for farmers...and a location finder for sailors at sea. For some cultures, it's even been a god. It's the only cosmic body ever visited by human beings. And, today, NASA is planning a permanent outpost there. But how did it get there in the first place? How did the Moon come to be? The answer is more astounding and spectacular than most residents of earth have ever imagined.
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Episode 6 - Spaceship EarthTake a high performance ride through the formation of the third planet from the Sun, Earth. A survivor of one of the most violent "neighborhoods" in the universe, learn how earth was created and discover what creatures hold clues to how life began. What evil forces threaten the demise of Earth? Complex and controversial, this is the scientific detective story of all time. Cutting-edge graphics are used along with the stories of scientists and explorers who dare to venture into the uncharted territory of the cosmos.
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Episode 7 - The Inner Planets: Mercury & VenusScorched by their proximity to the sun, Mercury and Venus are hostile worlds; one gouged with craters from cosmic collisions and the other a vortex of sulfur, carbon dioxide and acid rain. Prime examples of planets gone awry, do they serve as a warning for ominous scenarios that might someday threaten Earth? Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to show what life would be on other planets and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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Episode 8 - Saturn: Lord of the RingsAre the rings of Saturn a real celestial phenomenon or merely a cosmic Illusion? Technology allows the experts to get closer to the furthest planet visible to the naked eye. Old questions are answered and new ones arise. Does Saturn hold the key to Earth's weather and will one of its moons supply us with all the oil we'll ever need? Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to show what life would be like on other planets and to imagine what kinds of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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Episode 9 - Alien GalaxiesTo know our place in the universe take a look far, far away to the realm of Alien Galaxies. Our galaxy is one of hundreds of billions in the universe. The Milky Way consists of more than a billion stars, our sun being only one of them. Take a view of the universe through the Hubble Space telescope and go back almost all the way to the Big Bang. Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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Episode 10 - Life and Death of a StarIgnited by the power of the atom, burning with light, heat and wrath, stars are anything but peaceful. They collide, devour each other, and explode in enormous supernovas--the biggest explosions in the Universe. Using cutting-edge computer graphics, never-before-seen satellite images, and interviews with the world's leading astronomers, take a front row seat to the most amazing light show in the cosmos.
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Episode 11 - The Outer PlanetsNew discoveries regarding the Outer Planets are creating a fundamental rethinking of our solar system. Uranus is a toxic combination of hydrogen, helium and methane. Scientists speculate that the planet was knocked on its side after colliding with another body. Neptune's largest moon, Triton, is cold and barren, but some scientists speculate that liquid water might exist under Triton's icy surface. If this is proven true, Triton could be the home to one of the biggest discoveries of all time. Cold and inhospitable, Pluto completes one orbit around the solar system every 248 years. Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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Episode 12 - The Most Dangerous Place In the UniverseTake a tour of the cosmic hot zones--black holes, galaxy mergers, gamma ray bursts and magnetars. Super massive black holes can literally "lasso" the Earth out of the solar system. A clash between two galaxies can result in a barbaric ritual called "galactic cannibalism" in which the dominant galaxy's super massive black hole literally eats the weaker one. Magnetars are a cosmic magnetic force so strong it could wipe out data on every credit card on the planet. Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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Episode 13 - Beyond the Big BangIt all began inside a violent, blinding explosion that threw everything into chaos. Long after, our greatest thinkers have peered into that chaos in search of order, logic and the answers to where we began. As earlier generations learned to decipher the cosmic clues of how we came to be, we stepped from revelation to revelation; epiphany to epiphany. Aristotle told us the universe was layered. Ptolemy conceived of a system of planets, stars and sun. Copernicus placed the sun at the center of this system; Galileo confirmed it. Newton explained what held it all together. Einstein offered insight into what fueled it. Hubble revealed it was expanding. LeMaitre proposed it started with a "Big Bang." Our search for answers has shaped how we have evolved as thinking creatures. This is the history of why and how we think about who and what we are. We'll contemplate how it will all end...and what comes after. And for the first time, we'll be able to see what it all looks like, sitting in God's front row seat. Using unprecedented cutting edge animation, we will recreate that amazing moment when everything started. We'll talk with the world's leading physicists. And we will employ every storytelling tool to make complex and confusing ideas clear, exciting and dramatic. Using graphics and illustrations, we will explain concepts like the formation of galaxies, the existence of other dimensions and the idea of a parallel universe. Recreations, visual metaphors and first-person accounts will help bring this fascinating history alive.
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Episode 14 - Search for ETIn a galaxy filled with a billion stars, in a universe filled with a hundred billion galaxies--are we alone? SETI--the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence--is a privately funded project using radio telescopes and optical telescopes to scan the stars for signals. NASA is planning missions to Mars, Jupiter's sixth moon, Europa, and Saturn's largest moon, Titan, to look for primitive, microbial life in ice concentrations. Whether we discover primitive or intelligent life, how will that knowledge impact humankind's view of itself? Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
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