The Expanding Universe • 2025 • The Sky at Night

80:03

"This film documents an event that has never taken place – man's first encounter with intelligent life from space". We've been fantasizing about an extraterrestrial visit for decades, but what would happen if it actually took place? How would we cope? Should we be afraid? These and many other questions are addressed in this philosophical film about a hypothetical initial contact with aliens. Scientists and space affairs specialists at the UN and NASA and in the British government cooperate in this cinematic simulation of the undoubtedly exciting meeting between extraterrestrial life and humanity. The interviewees speak directly to the unknown entities as if they've already arrived. From their own fields – politics, theology, sociology, biology or space science – they ask probing questions. What are you doing here? Do you have a sense of right and wrong? Do you carry bacteria that could make us sick? Are we hazardous to your immune system? Information specialists in the British government show how a first summit in this situation could go. How do you inform the public? Will countries work together? Is there a danger involved? Above all, the alien visit raises questions about the relation between our own history of exploration, colonization and warfare, and the expectations with which we approach the unknown. This is a journey beyond terrestrial perspective, revealing the fears, hopes, and rituals of a species forced not only to confront alien life forms, but also its own self image.

2015 • Astronomy

42:04

Dead stars may be the key to understanding the cosmos. New research proves white dwarfs are one of the driving forces of our universe. They eat planets, they flare out in high-energy light Have scientists finally discovered how these small stars could be such massive galactic players?

S9E5 • How the Universe Works • 2021 • Astronomy

44:06

To determine the true age of the Earth, geochemist Clair Patterson developed the uranium-lead dating method to make an unprecedented discovery - calculating Earth's age of 4.5 billion years. But Patterson's groundbreaking discoveries were just beginning. Patterson made it his mission to draw public attention to the detrimental effects of lead in the environment and dedicated his career to fighting against the petroleum and chemical industry, eventually achieving public health's biggest victory of the 20th century.

S1E7 • Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey • 2014 • Astronomy

42:05

An explosion in the discovery of exoplanets is challenging everything we know about our universe; experts use cutting-edge astronomy to investigate these mysterious alien worlds and how they defy the laws of physics.

S9E11 • How the Universe Works • 2021 • Astronomy

44:01

There’s a reason rocket science is used as a benchmark for difficulty. See why as we examine great liftoff disasters.

S1E6 • Space Disasters • 2020 • Astronomy

42:05

Astronauts have detected a mysterious region of space that's dangerous for reasons they have yet to understand, and scientists believe the long-term effects of this danger zone may have implications for the future of humanity both in space and on Earth.

S8E4 • Space's Deepest Secrets • 2021 • Astronomy