To Scale: The Solar System • 2015

45:41

Ants, scorpions and fireflies provide clues for biologists to conjecture about life on exoplanet Janus, including highly adaptable pentapods.

S1E2 • Alien Worlds • 2020 • Astronomy

42:25

A milestone in physics: In 2015, scientists proved the existence of gravitational waves. These waves travel billions of light-years through space, eventually reaching Earth and bringing us insights that were previously unattainable.

2021 • Astronomy

176:40

2003 - millions watch live as Columbia breaks up in the sky over Texas, killing all on board. NASA, loved ones and investigators share how an incredible journey ended in tragedy. Chapter 1: As Nasa prepares Space Shuttle Columbia for its 28th mission, excitement and trepidation build amongst the astronauts and their families as they count down to launch. This programme hears from the seven astronauts - a mixture of veterans and rookies - and their families as they train for an awe-inspiring journey of a lifetime. Chapter 2: Nasa engineers analyse film footage of a piece of debris striking the shuttle Columbia 81 seconds after launch. What no-one yet knows is whether any serious damage has been done to the vehicle or the tiles which protect the vehicle against the intense heat of re-entry. But calls for photographs to be taken of the shuttle using satellites go unheeded. Meanwhile, in space, the crew continue their mission, unaware of any concerns inside Nasa. Chapter 3: Sixteen minutes from landing, mission control lose contact with the crew of Columbia. On the shuttle landing strip, families waiting to welcome their loved ones back home are swiftly ushered away. In the skies over Texas, locals hear a loud explosion, and debris strikes the ground in multiple locations. The fears of some Nasa engineers are coming true: Columbia is lost and there are no survivors. Following the disaster, Nasa comes under increasing pressure from the media to provide answers.

2024 • Astronomy

42:00

We strip apart bizarre planets and strange moons and peel away impenetrable atmospheres, icy crusts and alien oceans layer by layer to reveal the secrets to extraterrestrial life.

S1E5 • Strip the Cosmos • 2014 • Astronomy

54:11

It’s a golden age for planet hunters: NASA's Kepler mission has identified more than 3,500 potential planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun. Some of them, like a planet called Kepler-22b, might even be able to harbor life. How did we come upon this distant planet? Combining startling animation with input from expert astrophysicists and astrobiologists, “Alien Planets Revealed” takes viewers on a journey along with the Kepler telescope. How does the telescope look for planets? How many of these planets are like our Earth? Will any of these planets be suitable for life as we know it? Bringing the creative power of veteran animators together with the latest discoveries in planet-hunting, “Alien Planets Revealed” shows the successes of the Kepler mission, taking us to planets beyond our solar system and providing a glimpse of creatures we might one day encounter.

Astronomy

65:29

Welcome to BBC Earth Lab! Always wanted to know what the world’s strongest material is? Why trains can’t go uphill? Or How big our solar system really is? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

BBC Earth Lab • 2023 • Astronomy