
How the Universe Works
A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.
How the Universe Works
A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.
How the Universe Works
A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.

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Episodes
Episode 1: Saturn's Darkest Secrets
New discoveries reveal just how strange Saturn, its rings and its moons are, and using the latest sc...
Episode 2: Dark Secrets of Alien Suns
Strange alien stars are rewriting everything about the known universe; new discoveries and cutting-e...
Episode 3: Pluto's Darkest Secrets
New discoveries reveal just how strange Pluto and similar dwarf planets are, and using the latest sc...
Episode 4: Mysteries of the Moon - Part 1
New discoveries reveal our moon's most mysterious secrets, and using cutting-edge technology, expert...
Episode 5: Mysteries of the Moon - Part 2
New discoveries reveal our moon's most mysterious secrets, and using cutting-edge technology, expert...
Episode 6: Universe's Greatest Mysteries
New discoveries are revealing the answers to the universe's greatest mysteries, but even today, ther...
Episode 7: Life and Death of Stars
New discoveries reveal the mysterious birth of stars and their violent deaths.
Episode 8: Secrets of the Giants
New discoveries on the inner workings of the universe's biggest planets are revealing the dark secre...
Episode 9: Dark Side of the Big Bang
New discoveries reveal the dark secrets and unsolved mysteries behind the Big Bang Theory.

Episode 10: Earth's Cosmic Journey
Earth is spinning on a tilted axis as it orbits around the Sun. Experts and scientists explain how t...

Episode 12: How to Build A Planet
Some of the brightest minds and theorists on the planet explore the limits of human knowledge and ex...

Episode 13: Moon
New scientific discoveries reveal that the moon has an incredible, violent, and dynamic history. Was...

Episode 1: Big Bang
The programme investigates how the Universe came into existence out of nothing, and how it grew from...

Episode 2: Black Holes
Black Holes, the most powerful destroyers in the Universe, the most mysterious phenomena in the heav...

Episode 3: Galaxies
The evolution of galaxies, from clouds of cold gas floating in space 13 billion years ago, to the va...

Episode 4: Stars
Examining the birth of stars, and how their creation changed the cosmos for ever, leading to planets...

Episode 5: Supernovas
Stars are not eternal; they are dying in unimaginably large explosions called supernovas. Second onl...

Episode 6: Planets
There are just eight planets in our solar system, but there could be a hundred billion planets in ou...

Episode 7: Solar Systems
Is our solar system unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 al...

Episode 8: Moons
Moons come in every possible shape and size. Home to incredible natural phenomena like gigantic geys...

Episode 1: Volcanoes - The Furnaces of Life
Are we alone in the Universe? What makes Earth so different? Part of the answer is our volcanoes. wi...

Episode 2: Megastorms - The Winds of Creation
Destructive weather forces are symptoms of Earth's creative energy. In our quest to discover if we a...

Episode 3: Exoplanets - Planets from Hell
We once thought that the only planets were in our solar system. We have found many other planets but...

Episode 4: Megaflares - Cosmic Firestorms
The Universe is a magnetic minefield. Spinning star systems crackle and explode, magnetic monsters r...

Episode 5: Extreme Orbits - Clockwork and Creation
We owe our existence to the stability of earth's orbit. But we are the freaks: everywhere else we l...

Episode 6: Comets - Frozen Wanderers
As time machines from the early universe, comets could hold the key to unlock the secrets of the cos...

Episode 7: Asteroids - Worlds That Never Were
Asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs and may be back for us but they also built the Earth and may have...

Episode 8: Birth of the Earth
The Earth was formed by a series of cataclysms without which we would not exist. Could the same even...

Episode 1: Journey from the Center of the Sun
How does light escape from the sun? We take a journey from the centre of the sun, following the path...

Episode 2: The End of the Universe
How and when will the Universe end? Gravity and dark matter are poised to annihilate the Universe in...

Episode 3: Jupiter: Destroyer or Savior?
Beneath Jupiter's clouds lie our solar system's deepest secrets: from its violent youth, through the...

Episode 4: First Second of the Big Bang
The first second of the Universe, the creation of everything when space, time, matter and energy bur...

Episode 5: Is Saturn Alive?
Saturn’s secrets are out. The ferocious weather, the evolving ring system and the discovery of activ...

Episode 6: Weapons of Mass Extinction
Asteroids strike, planets collide, black holes blast out death rays, volcanoes erupt and ice engulfs...

Episode 7: Did a Black Hole Build the Milky Way?
What built the Milky Way? New research might now have the answer, revealing an unlikely hero. At the...

Episode 8: Our Voyage to the Stars
One day, a cosmic disaster will make life on Earth impossible. To survive, we must find a new home a...

Episode 9: The Search for a Second Earth
Is there another Earth out there with liquid oceans, rocky continents and life like us? Astronomers...

Episode 1: How the Universe Built Your Car
Beneath the hood of your car lies the history of the Universe. The iron in your chassis, the gold in...

Episode 2: Earth, Venus's Evil Twin
An examination of Venus; and what it may indicate about Earth's future.

Episode 3: Monster Black Hole
A look inside the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way to discover terrifying secr...

Episode 4: Edge of the Solar System
Huge magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide; strange invisible matter, and a death star tearing thr...

Episode 5: Dawn Of Life
Discovering how life on Earth came to be; the possibility that life on Earth come from another plane...

Episode 6: Secret History of the Moon
The incredible secrets of the moon are revealed; the moon might be responsible for life on Earth.

Episode 7: The First Oceans
For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant...

Episode 8: Forces of Mass Construction
Scientists attempt to understand how this strange force of magnetism works.

Episode 1: Most Amazing Discoveries
From the furthest reaches of space to our own cosmic backyard, we count down the discoveries that ch...

Episode 2: Mystery of Planet 9
Scientists have discovered a mysterious ninth planet on the very edge of our solar system. Ten times...

Episode 3: Black Holes: The Secret Origin
Recent discoveries could explain how supermassive black holes grow so big, one of the universe's mos...

Episode 4: Secret History of Pluto
The first close-up images of Pluto revealed unimaginable secrets of this mysterious frozen world. No...

Episode 5: Stars That Kill
The universe is home to real-life Death Stars that could destroy planet Earth. The latest science re...

Episode 6: The Universe's Deadliest
The universe is a dangerous place, and we explore the deadliest spots in the cosmos. Between earth a...

Episode 7: Life and Death on the Red Planet
Life once existed on Mars, but a series of devastating mass extinctions have made present-day life n...

Episode 8: The Dark Matter Enigma
Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to our univ...

Episode 9: Strangest Alien Worlds
Discoveries of new planets have revealed countless worlds much stranger than Earth. Some of these wo...

Episode 1: Are Black Holes Real?
New discoveries are challenging everything we know about black holes, and astronomers are beginning...

Episode 2: Twin Suns: The Alien Mysteries
Planets that orbit two suns instead of one might be deadly hell worlds, but new discoveries reveal t...

Episode 3: Dark History of the Solar System
Our solar system hides a dark and violent past, and new discoveries reveal that Earth and the planet...

Episode 4: Death of the Milky Way
The Milky Way is dying, and using the latest science and discoveries, experts are investigating what...

Episode 5: Uranus & Neptune: Rise of the Ice Giants
Uranus and Neptune are mysterious, icy worlds at the edge of our solar system, and new discoveries r...

Episode 6: Secret History of Mercury
Mercury is a deadly world, facing attacks from the Sun, comets, and other planets, and even though i...

Episode 7: The Quasar Enigma
Quasars are the brightest and most powerful objects in our universe, and though they have shaped the...

Episode 8: Strange Lives of Dwarf Planets
Our solar system is home to hundreds of strange, tiny worlds called dwarf planets, and new discoveri...

Episode 9: War on Asteroids
Scientists are using cutting-edge technology to stop an asteroid apocalypse, and for the first time,...

Episode 10: Mystery of Spacetime
Spacetime is the secret structure that controls our universe, and this strange four-dimensional subs...

Episode 1: Nightmares of Neutron Stars
Neutron stars are strange and violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries r...

Episode 2: When Supernovas Strike
Supernovas are the violent death of giant stars, and new discoveries reveal that these cataclysmic e...

Episode 3: The Interstellar Mysteries
Interstellar space is the space between the universe's stars and new discoveries reveal that it's no...

Episode 4: How Black Holes Made Us
Black holes are not the violent monsters people think they are, and new discoveries reveal that they...

Episode 5: Secret World of Nebulas
Nebulas are the strange structures of cosmic gas and dust where stars are born and die, and new disc...

Episode 6: Did the Big Bang Really Happen?
New discoveries are causing astronomers to question if the Big Bang really happened, and using the l...

Episode 7: Battle of the Dark Universe
Dark matter and dark energy are locked in an epic battle for control of the cosmos, and the winner w...

Episode 8: Hunt for Alien Life
The latest discoveries suggest life beyond this planet; scientists investigate if earth's life began...

Episode 9: Finding the New Earth
New discoveries have revealed thousands of exoplanets beyond our solar system. Some resemble earth e...

Episode 10: Cassini's Final Secrets
For twenty years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft revealed the strange secrets of Saturn until it vaporize...

Episode 1: Asteroid Apocalypse: The New Threat
If a massive asteroid collides with earth, it could end life on our planet as we know it; new discov...

Episode 2: NASA's Journey to Mars
NASA is on a mission to send humans to Mars within just 15 years, but to reach this next frontier of...

Episode 3: Hunt for Alien Evidence
The discovery of extraterrestrial life might face an impossible challenge: the physics of the univer...

Episode 4: Death of the Last Stars
Our universe's stars are dying off faster than new ones are born, and using the latest technology, e...

Episode 5: Secrets of Time Travel
Time travel might be more possible than we ever imagined, and today, cutting-edge technology and the...

Episode 6: When NASA Met Jupiter
NASA's Juno spacecraft is part of a cutting-edge mission to explore the mysteries of Jupiter, and as...

Episode 7: Edge of the Universe
We don't yet know where the edge of the universe is or what happens there; but thanks to cutting-edg...

Episode 8: Monsters of the Milky Way
The center of the Milky Way is home to strange and deadly phenomena that we don't yet understand, bu...

Episode 9: Earth's Death Orbit
Earth's journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that our planet i...

Episode 1: Journey to a Black Hole
Journey to the heart of the M87 supermassive black hole, the first and only black hole ever photogra...

Episode 2: Mission to a Comet
Experts embark on a ground-breaking mission to land on a comet.

Episode 3: Secrets Of The Sun
A brand-new NASA mission to the Sun reveals cutting-edge discoveries about Earth's star; as the Park...

Episode 4: Aliens of the Microcosmos
New discoveries reveal the power of microscopic alien organisms.

Episode 5: Curse of the White Dwarf
Dead stars called white dwarfs may be the key to understanding the cosmos.

Episode 6: War of the Galaxies
Galaxies are locked in continual combat across the universe, and our own Milky Way will face its big...

Episode 7: The Next Supernova
The galaxy is full of stars ready to explode into supernovas, a stellar detonation powerful enough t...

Episode 8: Secret Lives Of Neutrinos
Neutrinos are the most mysterious particles in the universe, and they power some of the most explosi...

Episode 9: Birth of Monster Black Holes
New discoveries reveal an astonishing supermassive black hole that was born during the earliest days...

Episode 10: Gravitational Waves Revealed
Gravitational waves are helping scientists explore the cosmos in revolutionary, new ways, and the di...

Episode 11: Mystery of Alien Worlds
New discoveries reveal the secrets of mysterious alien worlds.

Episode 1: Secrets of the Cosmic Web
New research reveals an intergalactic network known as the Cosmic Web.

Episode 2: Curse of the Cosmic Rays
Experts attempt to determine where cosmic rays originate in the universe.

Episode 3: Hunt for Dark Matter
Physicists attempt to determine if Dark Matter could actually exist.

Episode 4: Dark History of Earth
Experts explore how Earth's disastrous history led to human evolution.

Episode 5: Hunt for the Universe's Origin
Experts explore the elusive endeavor of determining the age of the cosmos.

Episode 6: Voyager's Ultimate Mission
Experts explore the ultimate, ongoing mission of the Voyager spacecraft.

Episode 1: The Moons of Saturn
Discover how Saturn's moons could rewrite the rules of the Solar System.

Episode 2: A Robot's Guide to Mars
Mars is infested with robots, orbiting the planet and roaming the Martian surface on a mission to un...

Episode 3: Most Violent Event in the Universe
The collision of two supermassive black holes is the most violent event that can occur in the univer...

Episode 4: Asteroid: Countdown to Catastrophe
In a fictional scenario set in 2029, an asteroid hurtling towards Earth at 40,000 mph will reduce Ne...

Episode 5: Solar System Special
New discoveries have rewritten the history of the solar system, revealing a complex and violent stor...
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