The Universe

Gravity is the most powerful and exacting force in the universe. It is pervasive and penetrating. Gravity binds us together, its reach hangs stars in the sky and its grip crushes light.

The Universe as we know it is condemned to death. Space, matter and even time will one day cease to exist and there's nothing we can do about it. Harsh realities are revealed about the future of our Universe.

Could we ever travel faster than the speed of light?

Discover how the extreme environments of space exploration might affect human reproduction.

Is it only a matter of time before an asteroid hits Earth and wipes out human civilisation?

How do Earth's creatures help scientists with their understanding of life in the universe?

In this episode, our experts cook up ten ways you could destroy the earth, including swallowing it with a microscopic black hole, blowing it up with anti-matter, hurling it into the Sun, and switching off gravity.

The Universe is full of explosions that both create and destroy. This is a countdown of 10 of the biggest, most powerful types of blasts to rock the cosmos.

Without the moon, the earth would be a very different and desolate place today: four hours of sunlight with pitch-black nights, steady 100mph winds spawning giant hurricanes lasting for months, and virtually no complex life forms, much less humans.

For most it is the deadly centerpiece of the film Star Wars. But in reality, real death stars are in the final stage of life before they explode into supernovae, and occassionally, the biggest blast in the universe: the gamma ray burst.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy make up 96 per cent of the Universe. Discovered only ten years ago, scientists are struggling to comprehend its unusual characteristics and answer the ultimate question; what is the fate of our Universe?

Is Planet Earth a commonly occurring planet or a one in a billion freak? Scientists reveal their hunt for planets outside of our solar system and the search for alien life.

The infinite universe is brimming with strange, violent phenomena, cosmic portals in space and time. Join scientists in their search for white, black and worm holes.

The moon outshines every other celestial body in the night sky, but it is also the source of many unsolved mysteries and age-old myths.

A crucible of creation and destruction, with Earth on its edge, the Milky Way is just one galaxy among millions. Discover its complex tapestry of science.

In the shadow of planets there are objects which, unlike our moon, border on the bizarre. Explore the moons of surrounding planets in the solar system.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy make up 96 per cent of the Universe. Discovered only ten years ago, scientists are struggling to comprehend its unusual characteristics and answer the ultimate question; what is the fate of our Universe?

How did life evolve on Earth? What will life look like on other planets? These and other questions will be answered by a diverse group of scientists. Watch as experiments are done to see if life exists on earth-like planets beyond our solar system.

Jets of high-energy light are propelled into space and can emit intense radiation for years. Astronomers believe this creates the building blocks of planets, people and plants. The Supernova hunters look at recorded supernovas throughout time.

Is space warp-drive technology possible? Discover the array of spacecraft being designed which could see man travel through the 'final frontier'.

A useful tool for astronomers, a constellation is a group of stars that are connected together to form a figure. Discover their history and how they originated.

Examine the efforts under way to establish a human colony on Mars, including plans to grow food, recycle waste water and introduce a breathable atmosphere.

Planetary collisions, meteor impacts which cause mass extinctions, clusters of comets and asteroids: is our universe just one big cosmic shooting gallery?

Imagine a tornado so powerful it can form a planet, rain made of iron and 6,000mph winds.

Take a tour through the "Art Gallery of the Galaxy" and view what are considered the "crown jewels" of the heavens. Nebulas are mysterious clouds of gas that aren't classified as stars, planets, moons or asteroids.

We can't compare anything on earth to the biggest things known in space. The Lymann Alpha blob is a bubble like structure containing countless galaxies perhaps the biggest object in the entire universe.

Ringed planets are breathtaking, lethal and a constant source of surprise. The stunning rings of Saturn have mesmerised countless scientists over the centuries.

Is space warp-drive technology possible? Discover the array of spacecraft being designed which could see man travel through the 'final frontier'.

On alien planets, they rain from the sky as scalding iron. They're so rare in the Universe, they almost don't exist, but these are the magical liquids of our Liquid Universe.

Warp speed, transporters, wormholes and lasers are all staples of science fiction books, movies, and TV shows. But the fantastic world of tomorrow is quickly becoming the futuristic world of today.

Star Clusters are the one-stop-shopping places for learning all about the nature and variety of stars in The Universe.

From ground-based lasers to telephone pole-sized rods hurtling from space at two miles per second, and the far out weapons of the distant future, it's time to "lock and load" for Space Wars.

Based on Einstein's theories and countless scientific studies, we'll find out how these visitors might bridge the vast distances between the stars. And if they could survive such hazardous journeys, are they flesh and blood or intelligent machines?

Explore how violent events shaped the universe, including the disaster that turned Mars into a barren and hostile desert.

Documentary tracing the turbulent history of the Solar System, beginning with its astonishing birth from a thin cloud of dust and gas.

Although it may seem hospitable, new discoveries reveal that Earth has experienced more chaos and destruction than scientists ever imagined.

Experts search for a death star suspected of causing every mass extinction in history. Find out why life on Earth may depend on its discovery.

What might happen if the first manned mission to Mars crashes hundreds of miles from the rocket that would take them back home? See what the astronauts would have to do to survive dust storms and space radiation, while gathering vital resources.

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have wondered how the universe was created. Religion offers a spiritual answer, but the latest discoveries in physics show evidence that the laws of physics by themselves led to the universe in which we live.

Awesome analogies bring the biggest objects, farthest distances and fastest speeds down to earth. To truly understand the scale of the cosmos, we jump behind the wheel of monster trucks and scale the Golden Gate bridge.

An exploration of Earth's cosmic neighbourhood. Looking beyond the borders of our solar system, what's nearby in our galaxy? How did Earth's place in the galaxy make it the perfect place for the development of advanced life?

What does the Universe sound like? From the sweep of a pulsar, to the deafening roar of our boiling sun, this episode explores the undiscovered soundscapes of the solar system, the galaxy, and the entire cosmos.

There really are ice worlds like Hoth from Star Wars. In this episode, we explore icy planets and moons, discover the role of cold in the Universe, and learn about the importance of ice to the development of habitable worlds.

Within our immense universe lies a world of tiny particles. From strange ghostly neutrinos that pass right through matter to mysterious objects like MACHOs and WIMPs, find out how this miniature world might hold the key to understanding the cosmos.

Hitch a ride on a comet as it roars from the cold, dark outer reaches of the solar system to the fiery surface of the Sun. Visit the surface of each planet, from mountains on the moons of Neptune, to the caves beneath Mars, and a solar tsunami.

Many times in human history, objects or forces from space have changed the course of life on earth. Many believe an asteroid played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire, and another asteroid might have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.