Journey into the Cosmos — Season 1, Episode 4: Journey to the Outer Solar System

Episode synopsis

The Noos spacecraft today reaches one of the eight hundred comets in the solar system, continuing through the Milky Way toward Alpha Centauri, the brightest and closest star to Earth, about eighty thousand kilometers away. Next stop are the Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy, surrounded by a myriad of smaller galaxies scattered across the cosmos like archipelagos in an ocean. Correspondent Alberto Angela connects first from the Chilean coast to explain the role comets played in Earth's evolution from a location reminiscent of primitive Earth, then from ESO's La Silla Observatory, also in Chile. From Mauna Kea, in the Hawaiian Islands, he then introduces us to the famous twin domes KEK1 and KEK2, equipped with state-of-the-art telescopes.

About Journey into the Cosmos

Seven episodes explore the fascinating adventure of the universe. Scientific rigor is complemented by spectacular images created with the aid of cutting-edge technology and special effects, films, animated fact sheets, and astronomical instruments. Piero Angela connects with a replica of himself in space, AstroPiero. A second correspondent, Alberto Angela, connects with the study from astrophysics laboratories and observatories around the world.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Landing on the Moon, visiting Venus, Visiting and Descending into the Sun
• E2Exploration of Mars and the Moon Phobos, Asteroid Encounter, Flyby of Jupiter and Io
• E3Visiting Saturn, Titan, Uranus, Neptune, and the Oort Cloud
• E5Visit the Monsters of the Sky, Namely Supernovae, Pulsars, Quasars and Black Holes
• E6Man in Space and the Possibility of Adaptation
• E7Life in Space