Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

In this episode, Helen seeks out the colours that turned planet Earth multicoloured. To investigate the essence of sunlight Helen travels to California to visit the largest solar telescope in the world. She discovers how the most vivid blue is formed from sulfur atoms deep within the Earth's crust and why the presence of red ochre is a key sign of life. In gold, she discovers why this most precious of metals shouldn't even exist on the surface of the planet and in white, Helen travels to one of the hottest places on Earth to explore the role salt and water played in shaping planet Earth.

An exploration of Earth's cosmic neighbourhood. Looking beyond the borders of our solar system, what's nearby in our galaxy? How do the other objects in our local area influence life on Earth? And, how did Earth's place in the galaxy make it the perfect place for the development of advanced life? Now that the Voyagers have visited the outer planets of the solar system they are heading for new adventures in places astronomers call the Oort Cloud, the heliopause, heliosheath and eventually they may encounter double stars and exoplanets, some of which may pay a visit to the solar system one day or explode showering us with radiation. If the Voyagers live so long they will experience the local fluff, local bubble and other parts of the habitable zone of the galaxy.

We are the most power-hungry generation that has ever lived. This film tells the story of how that power has been harnessed - from wind, steam and from inside the atom. In the early years the drive for new sources of power was led by practical men who wanted to make money. Their inventions and ideas created fortunes and changed the course of history, but it took centuries for science to catch up, to explain what power is, rather than simply what it does. This search revealed fundamental laws of nature which apply across the universe, including the most famous equation in all of science, e=mc2.

Medusa was the most infamous female fiend in Greek mythology, whose look turned every living thing to stone. But what is the true story behind the snake-haired gorgon? Find out about this evil Gorgon's real world connection to human corpses and learn what clues the night sky holds concerning the origins of the tale of Medusa.

Homer's The Odyssey ranks amongst the most famous epics ever written. Follow its archetypal hero, Odysseus, as he sets sail on a twenty-year journey to return home from battle to reclaim his wife and kingdom. It's a timeless tale of adventure, filled with mythological beasts, vengeful gods, and enchanting seductresses. But could it have actually happened? Underwater divers have uncovered remains that date back thousands of years and may be a direct link to the story of Odysseus.

The film looks at the latest understanding of black holes, featuring an interview with Stephen Hawking. Black holes are one of the greatest mysteries in the universe. They behave in a way that is contrary to laws of physics and one has never actually been seen. However, the recent detection of gravitational waves, as predicted by Einstein, proves that black holes exist and provides a way to investigate their remarkable behaviour and properties.