To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its launch, this film tells the remarkable story of how the Hubble Space Telescope revealed the awe and wonder of our universe and how a team of daring astronauts risked their lives to keep it working. Additionally, a team led by Greg Bacon and Dr Frank Summers has transformed many of Hubble's most awe-inspiring images into visualisations - from the spectacular Orion Nebula to the fabulous Whirlpool Galaxy and ethereal Horsehead Nebula. One of the most mind-blowing of the visualizations takes the viewer on a remarkable journey, flying across the Universe to witness almost 13 billion years of cosmic evolution. It's called the 'Hubble Ultra Deep Field' and was created when Hubble stared at a small patch of sky for the equivalent of more than 11 days to see some of the most distant galaxies ever observed.
Our universe reveals itself in ways we’ve never seen before, thanks to new discoveries in astrobiology. Today, the advent of cutting-edge observational instruments is shedding light on amazing facts about life and the universe. NASA's next-generation space telescope TESS (Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has begun its search for Earth-like planets belonging to other star systems. How many of these 'exoplanets' can host life, and what kind of life forms can evolve in these environments?
Across the universe, galaxies are going dark, and scientists don't know why the stars are losing their shine. Something is slowly drawing the curtains closed on the universe. Our milky way is under threat. Astronomers race against time to uncover the truth behind how galaxies are born and how they die before all of the lights go out.
This remarkable science-history series investigates the blistering pace of human endeavour in space exploration, computing, energy, resources, Earth science and our understanding of the evolution of life itself. Across the last 50 years, humans have set a blistering pace and scientific discovery. We've crossed the boundaries of our solar system, made machines that can learn harnessed the power of the sun and built life from scratch. It's a period like no other in history, where human endeavour is changing everything: this is The Great Acceleration. As we race toward the future, we must examine the journey. In the first episode, Dr Shalin Naik explores the ambitious space shuttle mission that began in the '70s plus the future colonization of Mars. Over the past 50 years, space has become central to everything, from communications to entertainment to climate modelling. And as private enterprise enters space exploration, our understanding of the universe will only continue to expand. We will know if we can survive on other objects - the moon, maybe Mars, maybe even some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Deep space is the last and infinite frontier. That's what we do as human beings. We explore, we learn, we make discoveries, from the moment we're born to the moment we die.
In this series, David Pogue explores the fantastic chemistry behind the everyday and sets out on a worldwide quest to find the key molecules and chemical reactions that have paved the way for human civilization, life, and even the universe as we know it. In the first episode, glass so strong you can jump on it, rubber so tough it protects a clay pot dropped from 50 feet, endless varieties of plastic. Scientists and engineers have created virtually indestructible versions of common materials by manipulating the chains of interlocking atoms that give them strength—but have they made them too tough?
In just one generation, our ability to search for planets beyond our solar system has transformed. With modern techniques and telescopes, planetary scientists have found thousands of exoplanets in our universe, and many of them have the perfect conditions for life. Are we about to find Earth’s twin?
Additionally, a team led by Greg Bacon and Dr Frank Summers has transformed many of Hubble's most awe-inspiring images into visualisations - from the spectacular Orion Nebula to the fabulous Whirlpool Galaxy and ethereal Horsehead Nebula. One of the most mind-blowing of the visualizations takes the viewer on a remarkable journey, flying across the Universe to witness almost 13 billion years of cosmic evolution. It's called the 'Hubble Ultra Deep Field' and was created when Hubble stared at a small patch of sky for the equivalent of more than 11 days to see some of the most distant galaxies ever observed.