New discoveries have rewritten the history of our solar system, revealing a complex and violent story that begins with the birth of our Sun from the debris of a massive galactic collision, to its eventual fate as a lone zombie star. It is a dramatic history of elegant beauty and extreme violence. The inner solar system was like a congested highway. Planets crossing lanes, frequent collisions. There were a lot of planets that could have made it but didn't, and we just happen to be one of the lucky ones that did. The players in our solar system's story are more tangled up than we ever imagined. Without all of these things interplaying, the Earth wouldn't have the stable environment that we have today, and life wouldn't be able to exist.
The Rosetta mission was a ground-breaking expedition to land on a comet for the first time, the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. The Rosetta mission tries to answer our most fundamental questions and to change our understanding of the cosmos forever. Special access reveals what this cutting-edge journey discovered and how these mysterious objects helped create life on Earth.
The mission of NASA's Osiris-Rex is to intercept a giant space rock and crack the mysteries of a potential killer asteroid. Can it unlock how asteroids kick-start life on Earth and reveal why they might be our ticket to other worlds? To find out, we take a ride with one of NASA's most ambitious missions to investigate a space rock in more detail than ever before, to reveal how asteroids will rewrite the past and forge the future of our solar system.
As summer spreads across our planet, honey bees toil, snow geese breed, tadpoles awaken and lions stalk wildebeest in search of lush grass. Our planet is solar-powered. But due to the Earth's tilt, it doesn't strike its surface evenly. This solar energy arrives in varying amounts at different times of the year. The huge increase that comes with summer also triggers countless migrations.
In July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) unveiled its first breathtaking images, offering an unprecedented level of detail of stars, galaxies, and planets. But for scientists, these images were just the start of an exciting journey to uncover the universe's secrets. This documentary follows Chris Lintott as he embarks on a road trip to meet the researchers who have been eagerly analyzing JWST's data, revealing groundbreaking discoveries about exoplanet atmospheres, the outer planets of our solar system, and the earliest galaxies in the cosmos. To mark the second anniversary of JWST's first images, Chris, along with presenters Maggie Aderin-Pocock and George Dransfield, revisits these scientists to explore the telescope's successes and challenges. From new jet streams on Jupiter to quirks on Uranus and Neptune, and insights into the ancient universe, the documentary showcases the remarkable findings made possible by JWST. Additionally, resident astronomer Pete Lawrence guides viewers on how to observe the night sky's wonders, aligning their stargazing with the telescope's targets. This captivating journey into space science promises to inspire and intrigue.
Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this ambitious documentary series unfolds the extraordinary story of the universe across millions of years, weaving together its deep connection to life on Earth. In the first part of the series, we offer the first three episodes, beginning with an intense exploration of the sun as a life-giving force, following one cheetah’s hunt for survival across the vast plains of the Serengeti. From there, we witness the steady pulse of the universe through the eyes of a chimpanzee, tracing life’s path from birth to a final moment of calm. Finally, we immerse ourselves in the challenging year of an Alaskan brown bear as it endures the harsh winter, emerging into the warmth and renewal of summer. Each scene offers a breathtaking glimpse into the delicate and awe-inspiring rhythms of life, nature, and the cosmos.
It is a dramatic history of elegant beauty and extreme violence. The inner solar system was like a congested highway. Planets crossing lanes, frequent collisions. There were a lot of planets that could have made it but didn't, and we just happen to be one of the lucky ones that did. The players in our solar system's story are more tangled up than we ever imagined. Without all of these things interplaying, the Earth wouldn't have the stable environment that we have today, and life wouldn't be able to exist.