Are We Alone • 2014 • episode "S1E3" • Human Universe

Category: Astronomy

Brian Cox explores the ingredients needed for an intelligent civilisation to evolve in the universe - the need for a benign star, for a habitable planet, for life to spontaneously arise on such a planet and the time required for intelligent life to evolve and build a civilisation. Brian weighs the evidence and arrives at his own provocative answer to the puzzle of our apparent solitude.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

Human Universe • 2014 • 5 episodes •

Apeman - Spaceman

Apeman - Spaceman

Beginning in Ethiopia, Professor Brian Cox discovers how the universe played a key role in our ascent from apeman to spaceman by driving the expansion of our brains. But big brains alone did not get us to space.

2014 • People

Place in Space and Time

Place in Space and Time

Brian reveals how - as our exploration of the cosmos has deepened - we have even been able to piece together how the universe itself began.

2014 • Astronomy

What is our Future?

What is our Future?

In a powerful conclusion, Brian pieces together this story of creation that started with what Einstein called the 'happiest thought of his life' - the moment that he realised that gravity was far stranger than anyone had imagined. In an incredible experiment inside the largest vacuum chamber, Brian reveals how Einstein formulated a new theory of gravity, which ultimately took us back to the big bang. And how in doing so, we humans found our true place in space and time.

2014 • Science

Why Are We Here?

Why Are We Here?

Brian Cox tackles the question that unites Earth's seven billion people - why are we here?

2014 • Science

Are We Alone

Brian Cox explores the ingredients needed for an intelligent civilisation to evolve in the universe - the need for a benign star, for a habitable planet, for life to spontaneously arise on such a planet and the time required for intelligent life to evolve and build a civilisation. Brian weighs the evidence and arrives at his own provocative answer to the puzzle of our apparent solitude.

2014 • Astronomy

You might also like

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

From the birth of the devil in ancient Persia, where a beloved family dog becomes a seething beast, to a searing story of saintliness among macaque monkeys, join an exploration into the human potential for change. One of history's greatest monsters is transformed into one of its shining lights.

11/13 • Cosmos: Possible Worlds • 2020 • Astronomy

Hunting for Martian Life: The Perseverance Rover

Hunting for Martian Life: The Perseverance Rover

Meet Perseverance, NASA's latest rover, as it heads to Mars to answer one question: did life exist on the red planet? On the way, it will lay the foundation for human exploration of our closest neighbour.

S4E5 • Breakthrough • 2021 • Astronomy

Voyager The Grand Tour

Voyager The Grand Tour

Voyager 1 and 2 are truly the probes that just won’t quit. Launched almost 40 years ago these twin probes continue to stun the world. They've explored all the giant outer planets of our solar system, 48 of their moons, and are now leaving the solar system, on a journey into interstellar space.

S1E1 • Space Probes • 2016 • Astronomy

The Quasar Enigma

The Quasar Enigma

Quasars are the brightest and most powerful objects in our universe, and though they have shaped the cosmos, they might ultimately destroy everything that exists.

S6E7 • How the Universe Works • 2017 • Astronomy

Artemis: To the Moon and Back

Artemis: To the Moon and Back

History in the making; the inside story of the Artemis II mission around the moon and back. Four astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen - have just completed a ten-day mission going deeper into space than anyone has gone before. They are the first humans to circumnavigate the moon since 1972.

2026 • Astronomy

Blackholes

The most common vision of black holes is that they are monstrous and mysterious bodies swallowing everything around them. However, the latest discoveries are drawing a link between black holes and the existence of life.

S1E2 • Space Phenomena • 2020 • Astronomy