Episode One
The Beginning of Time
In this first episode of the series, Tom Selleck introduces us to the mystery of the universe, and the beginning of time. Time did not exist at the earliest part of the Big Bang, which our universe sprang from over 15 billion years ago. Filmed on top of the Mauna Kea volcano at the world renown Keck Observatory, this film describes where exactly it all came from...
Episode Two
Our Closest Neighbors
In this episode of the series, we are taken on a trip to the inner planets of our solar system – Mercury and Venus. We first visit Mercury, the second smallest of the planets, and closest to the Sun. We explore the boiling daytime side of Mercury, and the frozen-cold night. Mercury, as lonely as the Moon, blazes and freezes each day as the giant sun rises and sets in the sky.
We then venture closer to Earth, and visit the planet Venus. Venus is remarkable for many reasons. It is almost the exact same size as the Earth, is tilted on it's axis almost the same as Earth, yet possesses an atmosphere made up almost entirely of Carbon Dioxide, with an eternal cloud cover of acid clouds. The paradise that early astronomers envisioned beneath the delicate yellow clouds of Venus turns out to be the very image of hell itself.
We then move out to Mars – a planet smaller than Earth, but one that possesses an atmosphere, and evidence of running water on its surface. We look into the heart of Mars, and explore whether or not life could have developed there.
Episode Three
Asteroid!
Bypassing the Earth for now, Tom Selleck takes us on a journey to the mysterious Asteroid Belt – the source for most meteors that have struck the Earth and Moon. Could a killer asteroid be out there, waiting to strike the Earth and destroy all life as we know it? We examine these fascinating theories.
Episode Four
Stars that Failed
The “Stars that Failed” can be found in our own Solar System – they re the giant outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Of all, Jupiter came closest to growing large enough to collapse upon itself and ignite, creating a binary star system. Jupiter is the largest of all the planets, containing more mass than all the other planets combined. It's giant “Red Spot” is a storm which has gone on for centuries, and is large enough to swallow 4 Earth-sized planets edge to edge. Jupiter' moons are explored, including Europa, whose surface of frozen water shows cracks which may be caused by the upwelling of warm water from below – possibly harboring life.
Saturn is visited next – it's huge ring structure makes it the most distinctive of all the planets. The rings are made up of the remnants of one of Saturn's moons – large chunks of ice and rock, some as small as a grain of sand, others as large as a bus.
We then explore the mysterious world known as Uranus. Tilted 90 degrees on it's side, Uranus, with its faint ring system looks much like a galactic bulls-eye. It's surface is covered in one of the strangest materials in the solar system – liquid water – but water so compressed that it acts like a metal – conducting electricity throughout the planet.
Neptune is the subject of our next adventure. It is so far away that the Sun looks only like a faint star in the sky. Neptune is also made up of a liquid – but I this case the liquid is Methane – what we call “Natural Gas”. Little is known about Neptune, which remains one of the strangest planets in our solar system.
Neptune also has a moon, known as Triton. During part of its orbit Triton passes very close to the planet's surface, and its gravity raises tremendous waves of liquid methane. These waves follow the moon, and their gravity tugs at it. This slows the satellite, causing it to come ever closer to the surface. One day, Triton will lose most of it's energy in this way, and go crashing into the surface of Neptune...
Lastly, we visit the lowly Pluto. Many scientists to this day do not even consider it a planet, since it is smaller than even our own Moon. Pluto does have it's own moon, however, known as Charon.
Episode Five
The Sun - Our Closest Star
Most people don't think of the Sun as a star – but that is what it is. In fact, the Sun is a rather ordinary star, and much smaller than the others in the Universe. Nonetheless, the Sun is huge compared to the Earth – it is an immense nuclear furnace that consumes four and a half million tons of itself EACH SECOND. In this episode, Tom Selleck takes us on a journey into the very heart of the source for all life on Earth, our very own star we call the Sun...
Episode Six
Stars and Stardust
Beyond our own Solar System lies the vast Milky Way, home to billions of stars. In this episode, we journey away from home to visit some of our nearest neighbors in the galaxy. Stars that shine with a billion times the brightness of our own Sun are seen, as well as small cold bodies, the remnants of stars that burned themselves out billions of years ago. We visit binary star systems, and the enormous Red Giant known as Betelguise.
Episode Seven
Galaxies, Homes of the Stars
Reaching further out into the universe, we see that the billions of collections of stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, are only a tiny fraction of all the stars to be found in the known universe. The universe is home to billions of galaxies, each comprised of billions more stars. We explore the many shapes and sizes of galaxies, as well as some galaxies that are now colliding together in massive explosions of power and energy.
Episode Eight
Calling All Planets
Within the billions of galaxies in the universe are billions more of stars – trillions, in fact. Each one of those stars may very well have even more planets orbiting them, much like our own Solar System. If that is the case, then the possibility for the presence of life elsewhere in the universe becomes even greater. In this exciting episode, we take a look at the possibility that there are other life forms our there, perhaps looking at us. The theory of UFO's is explored – could it be that we aren't alone?
Episode Nine
The Time Travelers
As mankind progresses, the development of technology to take us to the stars and beyond becomes more of a certainty. What will happen when we have the ability to send humans out to the furthest reaches of the galaxy? In this dramatic episode, we examine the effect that high-speed travel will have on these future explorers.
Episode Ten
The Universe Around Us
Bringing it all back home, Tom Selleck takes us on a journey within our own planet, the Earth. We examine the nature of Earth's ecosystems, and our place in it. Truly, this is the only place we humans can call home – but for how long?
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