The Solar System

Season 1 · 1998 · 13 episodes

Episodes

1The SunBirth, life and death of the Sun. Interior dynamics, exterior fireworks. Sunspots, corona, solar wind - all about our local star.
2MercuryThe most comprehensive portrait ever of this scorched little planet. Takes a look at double sunrises, craters, cracks and, incongruously, maybe polar ice.
3VenusLooking at the planetary hell beneath the clouds, the poisonous, crushing atmosphere, seating heats, volcanoes and a runaway greenhouse effect.
4EarthThe evolution of the earth and of life, its internal structure, continental drift, day length, seasons, oceans, climate, weather and El Nino.
5Moon (aka Luna)The story of the Moon and its birth from collisions, its influence on Earth, Apollo landings and the recent discovery of water.
6MarsCould 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.
7JupiterBigger than the other planets combined, Jupiter is a turbulent gas giant with 16 moons. We take a voyage through this mini Solar System.
8SaturnExploring the many rings and moons of this exotic gas cloud and a preview of a landing on Titan, a moon like primitive Earth.
9Uranus and NeptuneThe outer giants. Uranus has a crazy tilt and a chaotic moon called Miranda and Neptune with tempests and a moon spurting geysers.
10Realm of the CometsLooking 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).
11Earth PatrolLaunched 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.
12Space FrontierHuman space exploration, from Yuri Gagarin's first orbit of space to the race for the Moon and the Apollo landings.
13High LifeLiving and working in space, triumphs, tragedies and everyday practicalities on the Russian space-station Mir and America's Space Shuttle.