Humans have long gazed up at the night sky, wondering whether other lifeforms and intelligences could be thriving on worlds far beyond our own. But over the last few decades, ultra-sensitive telescopes and dogged detective work have transformed alien planet-hunting from science fiction into hard fact. We expected to find worlds similar to the planets in our own solar system, but we instead discovered a riot of exotic worlds. Vivid animation based on data from the most successful planet hunter of them all, the Kepler space telescope, brings these worlds into view: puffy planets with the density of polystyrene, unstable worlds orbiting two suns and 1,000-degree, broiling gas giants with skies whipped into titanic winds. But perhaps the most startling discovery was the number of worlds that may be contenders for a second Earth, at the right distance from their sun to have that ingredient so crucial for life as we know it, liquid water. Amongst them, we witness the most tantalizing discovery of all: a so-called ‘super-Earth’, situated in the Goldilocks zone - the area just the right distance from a sun to potentially support life - and with the faint signal of water in its atmosphere.
The plains of Africa, home to a powerful predator where females rule: spotted hyena. They have a reputation as dim-witted scavengers. But these fierce queens are the opposite; strong, fearless and highly intelligent. Hyenas are the girl gang of the Savannah. They hunt in packs, get first bite of their prey, and outrank every male in their group, making them some of Africa's most fierce queens.
There is one miniature fierce queen, hardly bigger than a grain of rice. Enter the fascinating, and sometimes brutal world of honey ants, struggling not just for survival, but power - all in service of their fearless leader, the queen. Her story has it all-- ambition, murder, and a great army of female warriors on the rampage.
On Oct. 1, 2013, the elusive British street artist known as Banksy launched a self-proclaimed month-long residency in New York City, posting one unique exhibit a day in an unannounced location, sparking a 31-day scavenger hunt both online and on the streets for Banksy’s work. Capturing this month of madness, this featured film incorporates user-generated content, from YouTube videos to Instagram photos, from New Yorkers and Banksy hunters alike, whose responses became part of the work itself, for an exhilarating, detailed account of the uproar created by the mysterious artist. With installations spanning all five boroughs of New York City, and including a mix of stencil graffiti, sculpture, video and performance art, Banksy touched on such wide-ranging subjects as fast-food wages, animal cruelty in the meat industry, civilian casualties in Iraq and the hypocrisy of the modern art world.
In astronomy, we've been looking at different kinds of light and opening up the universe a little bit more of the time. But then in 2015, the roof came off. Something happened that changed everything, the ability to see waves in space and time itself. Gravitational waves help us roll back the clock to the dawn of time, discover epic cosmic collisions, on make Earth-shaking discoveries. Gravitational waves are the biggest game changer since the invention of the telescope. We have a completely new universe to view now. A new exploration of space is just beginning.
Follow the four civilians as they launch into space on a three-day trip orbiting Earth and reaching an altitude higher than that of the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon mission, dubbed Inspiration4, is making history as the first all-civilian mission to orbit. In the first episode, preparations begin for the mission. The commander is Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who purchased the flight for all four passengers, and the second crew member is a 29-year-old cancer survivor, Hayley Arceneaux.
But perhaps the most startling discovery was the number of worlds that may be contenders for a second Earth, at the right distance from their sun to have that ingredient so crucial for life as we know it, liquid water. Amongst them, we witness the most tantalizing discovery of all: a so-called ‘super-Earth’, situated in the Goldilocks zone - the area just the right distance from a sun to potentially support life - and with the faint signal of water in its atmosphere.