How the Universe Works: Season 9

Journey to a Black Hole

Journey to a Black Hole

44min - Journey to the heart of the M87 supermassive black hole, the first and only black hole ever photographed, and explore the mystery of how it grew so large, what lies inside and how it controls the entire galaxy.

Mission to a Comet

44min - The Rosetta mission was a ground-breaking expedition to land on a comet for the very first time; special access reveals what this cutting-edge journey discovered and how these mysterious objects helped create life on Earth.

Secrets of the Sun

44min - A brand-new NASA mission to the Sun reveals cutting-edge discoveries about Earth’s star; as the Parker Solar Probe dives through the Sun’s atmosphere, what it finds challenges everything we know about this strange place.

Aliens of the Microcosmos

43min - The hidden kingdom of microscopic alien organisms shapes the universe as much as galaxies, stars, and planets; new discoveries reveal how bacteria, viruses, and other alien micro-organisms built life on Earth and influence humanity’s future in the cosmos.

Curse of the White Dwarf

44min - White dwarfs are small, dead stars with a dangerous side, capable of exploding into supernovas and destroying planets; new research suggests these mysterious phenomena may be the key to understanding the universe itself.

War of the Galaxies

The Next Supernova

44min - Our galaxy is full of stars ready to explode into supernovas, a stellar detonation powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth; it's an event that hasn't occurred in 400 years, and the search is on to locate which star may be next.

Secret Lives of Neutrinos

44min - 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 we exist.

Birth of Monster Black Holes

44min - New discoveries reveal an astonishing supermassive black hole that was born during the earliest days of the cosmos, and finding out how this giant grew so large so quickly may help to explain the very formation of the universe itself.

Gravitational Waves Revealed

44min - Gravitational waves are helping scientists explore the cosmos in revolutionary, new ways, and the discoveries they make are revealing the universe's greatest mysteries.

Mystery of Alien Worlds

1h 28min - 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.