About this season
Astronomy is a never-ending wonder: planets and stars, comets, black holes, supernovas, quasars, pulsars and much more. And above all, the miracle of life. This exciting travel questions the place of the human race in the universe showing its fascinating and incredible events: creation of black holes and planets, destruction of stars, the infinite wandering of the comets and other things enough to love the astronomy and the science forever. This Channel 4 TV series covers it all in 10-minutes episodes.
Episodes (13)
1. The Sun
Aired 1 January 1998 • 10 min
Birth, life and death of the Sun. Interior dynamics, exterior fireworks. Sunspots, corona, solar wind - all about our local star.
2. Mercury
Aired 8 January 1998 • 10 min
The most comprehensive portrait ever of this scorched little planet. Takes a look at double sunrises, craters, cracks and, incongruously, maybe polar ice.
3. Venus
Aired 15 January 1998 • 10 min
Looking at the planetary hell beneath the clouds, the poisonous, crushing atmosphere, seating heats, volcanoes and a runaway greenhouse effect.
4. Earth
Aired 22 January 1998 • 10 min
The evolution of the earth and of life, its internal structure, continental drift, day length, seasons, oceans, climate, weather and El Nino.
5. Moon (aka Luna)
Aired 29 January 1998 • 10 min
The story of the Moon and its birth from collisions, its influence on Earth, Apollo landings and the recent discovery of water.
6. Mars
Aired 5 February 1998 • 10 min
Could cold arid Mars be the next place we land? Looking at polar caps, volcanoes, the biggest canyon ever seen and the possibility that Mars once had oceans.
7. Jupiter
Aired 12 February 1998 • 10 min
Bigger than the other planets combined, Jupiter is a turbulent gas giant with 16 moons. We take a voyage through this mini Solar System.
8. Saturn
Aired 19 February 1998 • 10 min
Exploring the many rings and moons of this exotic gas cloud and a preview of a landing on Titan, a moon like primitive Earth.
9. Uranus and Neptune
Aired 26 February 1998 • 10 min
The outer giants. Uranus has a crazy tilt and a chaotic moon called Miranda and Neptune with tempests and a moon spurting geysers.
10. Realm of the Comets
Aired 5 March 1998 • 10 min
Looking at comets and where they originate, the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt and the possibility that Pluto isn't a planet at all (recently declassified).
11. Earth Patrol
Aired 12 March 1998 • 10 min
Launched into Earth orbit, these are the satellites that monitor the health of our planet. Looking at the ozone, the melting ice-caps, weather, deforestation and navigation.
12. Space Frontier
Aired 19 March 1998 • 10 min
Human space exploration, from Yuri Gagarin's first orbit of space to the race for the Moon and the Apollo landings.
13. High Life
Aired 26 March 1998 • 10 min
Living and working in space, triumphs, tragedies and everyday practicalities on the Russian space-station Mir and America's Space Shuttle.