Alien Planets: Cosmic Nightmares

Astronaut Mike Massimino journeys to the Sun, revealing the secrets of Earth's star and how it will one day destroy our planet.

Astronaut Mike Massimino uncovers the strange and violent birth of our solar system, and reveals how its planets were built from the wreckage bygone alien worlds.

Astronaut Mike Massimino uses the latest science to explore the alien volcanoes of distant worlds and reveals if they are hotbeds for extraterrestrial life.

Astronaut Mike Massimino explores the mysterious oceans of our solar system, where the latest discoveries provide new clues in the search for alien life.

By looking closely at the common icicle physicist Stephen Morris reveals how science can be a powerful lens through which to view the mystery & beauty of everyday phenomena. Photographer Don Komarechka captures the amazing patterns of ice-bubbles.

Ever wonder what the world might look like if you could see beyond the visible light spectrum? Cameras can capture UV & infrared light to see up to the cosmos and down into our own macro universe revealing the world as you have never seen it before.

Normally considered unattractive & a nuisance, Don't Blink reveals the wondrous side of the mosquito & the role it plays in the web of life. Featuring biologist Fiona Hunter, entomologist Curtis Russell and photography by cinematographer Mark Ellam.

In a winter storm it's difficult to appreciate snow. Through the lens of photographer Don Komarechka's snowflake images, the world becomes a more beautiful place. Non-linear physicist Stephen W. Morris unravels how a snowflake is formed.

For centuries humans have been looking to the skies, dreaming of flight. Director Su Rynard takes us behind the scenes to capture the images of birds in flight. Also featuring biologist Kenneth C Welch Jr., and biologist Christopher G Guglielmo.

This is the story of how stars were made by the universe and how they engineered everything else in that universe. They spawned further generations of stars, then planets, and eventually the building blocks of life.

Is our solar system unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 alien solar systems have been identified. By looking at systems far beyond our own, we can understand how remarkable our universe is.

There are 8 planets in our solar system, but there could be a hundred billion planets in our galaxy alone. This show follows the journey of planets as they grow from grains of dust to the magnificently diverse worlds we see today.

Moons come in every possible shape and size. Home to incredible natural phenomena like gigantic geysers and colossal volcanoes, moons also offer perhaps the best chance of finding alien life in the universe.

Stars are not eternal; they die in unimaginably large explosions called supernovas. Second only to the Big Bang, these explosions are where creation and destruction meet. We have just begun to understand these wonders in our sky.

Scientists have discovered a mysterious ninth planet on the very edge of our solar system. Ten times the size of Earth, this strange world could have moons with extraterrestrial life.

Recent discoveries could explain the mystery of how supermassive black holes grow so big. Neither dark matter nor cannibalism can fully explain these monsters, but the latest science might finally provide an answer.