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TELEVISION

Visual Guide to the Universe

Series: Visual Guide to the Universe

4.7

(12)

Episodes

Rating

TVPG

Year

2021

Language

English

Publisher

The Great Courses

About

The spectacular sights of the cosmos are now as easy to see as the stars above, with these lavishly illustrated episodes produced in partnership with the Smithsonian. Orbit Saturn, search for water and life on Mars, and witness an armada of space telescopes uncovering the secrets of the cosmos. Embark on great voyages of discovery and enjoy a view that's truly out of this world!

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Probing the Cosmos from Space

28m

Prepare for your cosmic journey by surveying NASA's space exploration strategy. Although human spaceflight gets the lion's share of publicity, the greatest scientific discoveries in space are the work of planetary probes and space observatories. Learn why this approach has paid off so spectacularly.

2. The Magnetic Beauty of the Active Sun

28m

Explore the sun in astonishing detail through the multispectral instruments of the Solar Dynamics Observatory. See debris from magnetic storms explode into space and then crash back into the sun. Learn how these mammoth outbursts affect Earth.

3. Mars - Water and the Search for Life

29m

Discover that Mars is a water world whose surface dried up long ago and may once have supported life. Four robotic rovers have landed on Mars, including the sophisticated Curiosity rover, now crawling across the planet searching for clues connected to microbial life forms.

4. Vesta and the Asteroid Belt

29m

Study fossil remains of the early solar system, preserved in the rocky debris of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Focus on one of the largest asteroids, Vesta, viewing it close up via the Dawn spacecraft. Learn how pieces of Vesta have fallen to Earth as meteorites.

5. Saturn - The Rings of Enchantment

29m

Examine Saturn through the eyes of the Cassini probe, which has been orbiting the ringed planet since 2004, taking spectacular pictures of Saturn's cloud tops, moons, and especially the enigmatic ring system. Examine competing theories for the origin of this complex circular band.

6. The Ice Moons Europa and Enceladus

27m

Focus on two enigmatic ice worlds: Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus. Both may harbor liquid water beneath their icy crusts. Weigh the chances that life exists in these underground oceans, despite the extreme cold in the outer solar system.

7. The Search for Other Earths

31m

Join the Kepler telescope in the search for other Earths. Kepler has spotted thousands of candidate planets orbiting other stars, including many that are roughly Earth-sized. Learn how planets are detected at stellar distances, and study the conditions needed to support life.

8. The Swan Nebula

31m

Venture into a nearby spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, as imaged in infrared light by the Spitzer Space Telescope. See how Spitzer's panorama of the Swan nebula reveals that spiral arms are active regions of star formation, showing up brilliantly in the infrared band.

9. The Seven Sisters and Their Stardust Veil

30m

The Pleiades cluster, or Seven Sisters, is one of the most beautiful star formations in the heavens. Discover the origin of the wispy nebulae that surround these bright stars. In the process, learn how the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a powerful tool for estimating the ages of star clusters.

10. Future Supernova, Eta Carinae

31m

Explore the imminent fate of the luminous star Eta Carinae, a ticking bomb due to explode as a supernova in the next few hundred thousand years. Study the life cycle of stars, and trace the history of Eta Carinae to mysterious events first observed in 1843.

Extended Details

SeriesVisual Guide to the Universe

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great CoursesDirector

The Great CoursesProducer

David M. MeyerActor