How the Universe Works

The programme investigates how the Universe came into existence out of nothing, and how it grew from a minuscule point, smaller than an atomic particle, to the vast cosmos we see today.

The evolution of galaxies, from clouds of cold gas floating in space 13 billion years ago, to the vast gravitationally bound systems of today.

Stars are not eternal; they are dying in unimaginably large explosions called supernovas. Second only to the Big Bang, these explosions are where creation and destruction meet. Only now have we begun to understand how these wonders in our sky work.

Is our solar system unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 alien solar systems have been identified. Its only by looking at solar systems far beyond our own, that we can understand how remarkable our universe is.

Are we alone in the Universe? What makes Earth so different? Part of the answer is our volcanoes. without them we would not be here either. Today we are discovering volcanoes on alien worlds. Are these worlds where, tomorrow, we might find life?

We once thought that the only planets were in our solar system. We have found many other planets but they are nothing like we expected, from deep-frozen, toxic snowballs, to scorched and boiling nightmares. Is every planet out there a planet fom Hell?

We owe our existence to the stability of earths orbit. But we are the freaks: everywhere else we look we find orbits are chaotic, unstable, and violent. Yet on the very largest scale, orbits are also a creative force, even constructing the fabric of the universe itself.

Asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs and may be back for us but they also built the Earth and may have brought life to its barren surface. Asteroids will shape our future as much as our past and scientists are striving to unlock their secrets.

How does light escape from the sun? We take a journey from the centre of the sun, following the path of light. We witness its fiery birth from in the core, its 430,000 mile battle against gravity and magnetism, and its escape from the solar surface.

Beneath Jupiters clouds lie our solar systems deepest secrets: from its violent youth, through the birth of life to the death of the sun. Scientists are discovering that the solar system, the Earth and every living thing exists because of Jupiter.

Saturn’s secrets are out. The ferocious weather, the evolving ring system and the discovery of active geology on Saturn’s moons has rewritten the textbooks. Scientists are looking for life on Saturn’s moons and they may have found it on Titan.

What built the Milky Way? New research might now have the answer, revealing an unlikely hero. At the heart of our galaxy sits a super massive black hole, one of the most destructive objects in the Universe. Could it be our creator?

Is there another Earth out there with liquid oceans, rocky continents and life like us? Astronomers seek the answer with spectroscopy, direct imaging and telescopes. They hope to find evidence of atmospheres, magnetospheres and signs of life.

Huge magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide; strange invisible matter, and a death star tearing through bands of icy comets, flinging them into violent orbits.

Discovering how life on Earth came to be; the possibility that life on Earth come from another planet.

Scientists attempt to understand how this strange force of magnetism works.

For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids, but a new discovery suggests that their true origins may be more exotic.

Scientists have discovered a mysterious ninth planet on the very edge of our solar system. Ten times the size of Earth, this strange world could have moons with extraterrestrial life.

The first close-up images of Pluto revealed unimaginable secrets of this mysterious frozen world. Now, scientists investigate if Pluto is home to a warm ocean of liquid water beneath its surface, and whether this underground ocean could harbor life.

The universe is a dangerous place, and we explore the deadliest spots in the cosmos. Between earth and the edge of the universe, there are a million ways to die, and our crash test dummy is on a mission to reveal the worst.

Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to our universe since its birth, and new discoveries reveal that it could create black holes, cause mass extinctions, and might even shape life on Earth itself.

New discoveries are challenging everything we know about black holes, and astronomers are beginning to question if they even exist. The latest science tries to explain how they work and what they look like, despite the fact weve never actually seen one.

Planets that orbit two suns instead of one might be deadly hell worlds, but new discoveries reveal that sci-fi star systems with binary stars might be optimal places for alien life.

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.

Scientists are using cutting-edge technology to stop an asteroid apocalypse, and for the first time, mankind is closer than ever to keeping Earth safe from these killer space rocks.

Our solar system hides a dark and violent past, and new discoveries reveal that Earth and the planets were formed from the destruction of strange alien worlds that came before us.

Neutron stars are strange and violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries reveal that these bizarre nightmares are far more deadly than we ever thought, with the power to destroy planets and even other stars.

Interstellar space is the space between the universes stars and new discoveries reveal that its not empty and unremarkable as previously thought, but filled with weird objects and strange phenomena that might hold the darkest secrets of our cosmos.

Nebulas are the strange structures of cosmic gas and dust where stars are born and die, and new discoveries reveal the secrets of these mysterious places.

Dark matter and dark energy are locked in an epic battle for control of the cosmos, and the winner will determine the fate of the universe. New discoveries might reveal which force will emerge victorious.

New discoveries have revealed thousands of exoplanets beyond our solar system. Some resemble earth enough that one could be a new home for humanity. Even with cutting-edge technology, finding the perfect one is the scientific challenge of the age.

If a massive asteroid collides with earth, it could end life on our planet as we know it; new discoveries and cutting-edge tech reveal just how close we are to apocalypse and what it would take for the worlds leading space agencies to stop it.

The discovery of extraterrestrial life might face an impossible challenge: the physics of the universe itself; but using cutting-edge tech, experts might be on the verge of a groundbreaking find -- and the evidence could already be in hand.

Time travel might be more possible than we ever imagined, and today, cutting-edge technology and the latest research into black holes and wormholes is helping experts get steps closer to discovering how to travel through time.

We dont yet know where the edge of the universe is or what happens there; but thanks to cutting-edge technology and new discoveries, experts might finally reveal the secrets of the phenomena that can be found in deepest reaches of the cosmos.

Earths journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that our planet is heading toward a mysterious area of the cosmos that could eject us out of the Milky Way and into oblivion.

Experts embark on a ground-breaking mission to land on a comet.

New discoveries reveal the power of microscopic alien organisms.

Galaxies are locked in continual combat across the universe, and our own Milky Way will face its biggest opponent ever, the Andromeda Galaxy, in a titanic and deadly struggle that could create a new and unrecognizable super galaxy.

Neutrinos are the most mysterious particles in the universe, and they power some of the most explosive events in the cosmos; new discoveries reveal how these ghosts pass through objects undetected and why they could be the reason humans exist.

Gravitational waves are helping scientists explore the cosmos in revolutionary, new ways, and the discoveries they make are revealing the universe’s greatest mysteries.

New research reveals an intergalactic network known as the Cosmic Web.

Physicists attempt to determine if Dark Matter could actually exist.

Experts explore the elusive endeavor of determining the age of the cosmos.

Discover how Saturns moons could rewrite the rules of the Solar System.

The collision of two supermassive black holes is the most violent event that can occur in the universe; experts explore where a black holes energy originates and what really happens when the two most powerful objects in the cosmos clash.

New discoveries have rewritten the history of the solar system, revealing a complex and violent story that begins with the birth of the Sun from the debris of a massive galactic collision, to its eventual fate as a lone zombie star.