It’s the turf of astronauts, space junk and the ultimate thrill seeker. The Universe s3e11: Edge of Space
Sending private citizens into space has changed the paradigm for space exploration. ibid.
About 20,000 pieces later Earth’s orbit has turned into a deadly debris-filled junkyard. ibid.
From skin cancer to lost transmissions these cosmic phenomena can cause us harm. The Universe s3e12: Cosmic Phenomena
Auroras can last a few minutes to several days and be seen not only at the poles but also on rare occasions at lower latitudes. ibid.
The sky is filled with real-life death stars. Some are dangerously close to our planet. The Universe s4e1: Death Stars, History 2009
WR104 and its destructive force could be targeting us … just one of millions of massive death stars in the universe. ibid.
The biggest explosion in the known universe: a gamma-ray burst. ibid.
A supernova: an immense burst of radiation that briefly outshines a galaxy. ibid.
What would happen if our moon suddenly disappeared? Global tsunamis decimate coastlines around the world as ocean waters surge toward the gravitation surge of the sun … Earth’s axis tilts wildly … Our planet becomes unrecognisable. The Universe s4e2: The Day The Moon Was Gone
They appear out of nowhere and threaten our very existence ... We investigate meteorites and space debris. The Universe s4e3: It Fell From Space
A region between Jupiter and Mars where asteroids and comets take up residence. In this crowded galactic neighbourhood these fossil relics form the formation of the solar system occasionally collide with each other and explode into smaller pieces. It’s these fragments that can migrate towards Earth. ibid.
Every few hundreds years Earth gets hit with rocks the size of a football field that can destroy entire cities. ibid.
Enormous asteroid impacts that rain death from the sky. Entire planets colliding and turning worlds into dust. A black hole that has been blowing away the rest of its galaxy for a hundred million years. And massive stars that rock the universe like nothing else. Get ready to be blown away. The Universe s4e4: Biggest Blasts
10) Death From the Sky: Chicxulub Impact
9) Martian Impact: Meteor into Mars
8) The Big Splat: Asteroid the size of Mars slamming into Earth
7) When Worlds Collide
6) Magnetar Flares
5) The 100 Million Year Blast
4) Short Gamma Ray Bursts
3) Supernovas
2) Long Gamma Ray Bursts
1) The Big Bang: technically an expansion not an explosion. ibid.
‘All four of the giant planets orbiting the sun have ringed systems.’ The Universe s4e5: The Hunt for Ringed Planets, expert
The balance of gravity holds the ring system in place. ibid.
The destruction of planet Earth ... 10) Smackdown from Space ... 9) The Big Freeze ... 8) The Big Burn ... 7) Stopping the Spin ... 6) Torn Between Two Black Holes ... 5) Devoured From Within ... 4) Turn Off the Gravity ... 3) Anti-Matter Annihilation ... 2) Transformed By Strange Matter ... 1) When Parallel Worlds Collide. (Universe & Earth & Disaster) The Universe s4e6: 10 Ways to Destroy the Earth
Among the swirling dust and gas in the arms of the Milky Way stars flash into existence not alone but in clusters held together by the force of gravity. The Universe s4e7: The Search for Cosmic Clusters
Stars in clusters are many billions of miles apart. ibid.
Telephone-poll-sized rods streak down from outer space and obliterate targets on Earth. Powerful lasers instantly blast enemies in any direction. Missiles travelling near the speed of light deliver massive blasts without the use of explosive. And space pilots battle to the death … The Universe s4e8: Space Wars
When we look at the stars and planets of our vast cosmos, liquids are actually very rare. The Universe s4e9: Liquid Universe
Titan is wrapped in a thick atmosphere ... Lakes glisten ... methane. ibid.
Inside Jupiter’s liquid hydrogen ocean it’s over 17,000 degrees. Hotter than the surface of the sun. ibid.
It rains iron on brown dwarfs. ibid.
They are the freaks of the cosmos: pulsars and quasars so strange their very existence seems impossible. The Universe s4e10: Pulsars & Quasars
A pulsar seems to blink on and off because the rotating star is sending out beams of energy from its magnetic field. ibid.
Quasars – in the heart of each one sits a monster. ibid.
Science fiction concepts – but are they grounded in reality? Now, the next generation of physicists work to rewrite the cosmic rule book. The Universe s4e11: Science Fiction, Science Fact
There are those sci-fi technologies which may be arriving sooner than you think: transporter, black holes, terraforming, ships to the stars, calling out, future weapons. ibid.
Energy: the ultimate galactic transporter forever morphing from one form to another. It powers our planet and everything else in the universe. But what exactly is it? Where did it all come from? And how do we get more? The Universe s4e12: Extreme Energy
It can only be transformed from one type to another. ibid.
Earth: the third planet from the Sun is brimming with breathtaking beauty. Unlike any other body in the solar system liquid water covers nearly two-thirds of its surface ... It’s the only planet confirmed to support life in all its forms. The Universe s5e1: Seven Wonders of the Solar System, History 2010
The Asteroid Belt ... Leftovers from the formation of the Solar System ... We traverse through one hundred million miles of rocks, some as small as a metre or two, others bigger than cities. The belt probably contains millions of rocky pieces, yet if all the asteroids were condensed into one boulder it would be smaller than our moon. ibid.
Ceres is the biggest asteroid in the solar system ... A fourth of the entire mass of the Asteroid Belt ... Scientists recently listed it as a dwarf planet – the same designation given to Pluto. ibid.
It harbours potential weapons of mass destruction. ibid.
Where are the Martians? On the red planet’s poisoned-packed surface or in newly found sources of water? Did Martian life survive an apocalyptic attack? Are Martians microbial or monstrous? The Universe s5e2: Mars: The New Evidence
Dry lightning could have helped jump-start life on Mars. But it could also kill any chance of life at all. Life-giving jump-cable or fatal electric shock? ibid.
It now seems there’s about a hundred time as much H2O in Mars’s polar ice-caps than all five of America’s great lakes. ibid.
Whether there’s liquid water on Mars – that is the question. ibid.
Phoenix was to search for frozen water under the surface. ibid.
Although the droplets on its leg remain a mystery, when Phoenix’s robot arm dug a few centimetres under the Martian surface it confirmed a prediction: it hid hard icy soil containing frozen water. ibid.
Something else the lander’s laser found in the Martial sky – snow. ibid.
Silica ... An accidental discovery but it raises the question could Mars have current underground thermal activity? ibid.
It’s the first definitive lake-shore discovered on Mars. The remains of a lake the size of North America’s Lake Champlain. ibid.
Whatever water is on Mars evaporates or freezes. In the third quarter of its history Mars probably begins turning red from ferrous oxide – rust in the dust. ibid.
From a warmer wetter planet to a cold dry world. ibid.
These 2009 satellite pictures seem to show something impossible – flowing liquid water on the surface. ibid.
The search for water and life on Mars is a continuing quest. ibid.
Like the nineteenth century canals and the twentieth century face, the Martian Yeti is a twenty-first century trick of the light. ibid.
But how did Mars lose its magnetic field? ibid.
The Martian methane could be coming from underground colonies of bacteria. ibid.