The series originally aired on the Discovery Channel in 2010. All but the second, third and eighth seasons were narrated by Mike Rowe.[4] The second, third and eighth seasons, as well as episodes of the fifth and sixth seasons, were narrated by Erik Todd Dellums.[5]
The first season, broadcast from April 25 to May 24, 2010, was released on Blu-ray on February 28, 2012.[6] Since its second season, consisting of eight episodes broadcast between July 11 and August 29, 2012, the show has aired on the Science Channel.[7] The third season aired between July 9 and September 3, 2014.[8] The fourth season premiered on July 14, 2015, as part of the Science Channel's "Space Week," in honor of New Horizons' flyby of Pluto that day; the season ran through September 1, 2015. The show's fifth season aired from November 22, 2016, through February 7, 2017. The sixth season premiered on January 9, 2018, and ran through March 13, 2018. The seventh season premiered on January 8, 2019. On December 30, 2019, it was announced that the eighth season would premiere on January 2, 2020.[9] The ninth season premiered on March 24, 2021.[10] The tenth season premiered on March 6, 2022. The eleventh season premiered on March 5, 2023.
The program investigates how the Universe came into existence out of nothing, and how it grew from a minuscule point, smaller than an atomic particle, to the vast cosmos seen today.
2
2
"Black Holes"
Peter Chinn
May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)
Black holes, the most powerful destroyers in the Universe, the most mysterious phenomena in the heavens. For years, they were only speculation; now, modern astronomy is proving their existence.
3
3
"Galaxies"
Louise V. Say
May 10, 2010 (2010-05-10)
Galaxies, home to stars and planets, come in all shapes and sizes. Witnesses the evolution of galaxies; from clouds of cold gas floating in the voids of space 13 billion years ago to the spirals that fill the night sky.
4
4
"Stars"
Peter Chinn
May 10, 2010 (2010-05-10)
The story of how stars were made by the Universe and how stars then went on to engineer everything else in the universe. They changed the Universe by spawning further generations of stars, then planets, and eventually the building blocks of life.
5
5
"Supernovas"
Shaun Trevisick
May 17, 2010 (2010-05-17)
Stars are not eternal; they are dying in large explosions called supernovas. Second only to the Big Bang, these explosions are where creation and destruction meet.
6
6
"Planets"
Lorne Townend
May 17, 2010 (2010-05-17)
There are eight planets in the Solar System, but there could be a hundred billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone. This show follows the journey of planets as they grow from grains of dust to the magnificently diverse worlds.
7
7
"Solar Systems"
Lorne Townend
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
Is the Sun's Solar System unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 alien solar systems have been identified.
8
8
"Moons"
Shaun Trevisick
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
Moons come in many possible shapes and sizes. 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 — and they probably exist in the billions.
Season 2 (2012)
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9
1
"Volcanoes - The Furnaces of Life"
Alex Hearle
July 11, 2012 (2012-07-11)
Scientists are discovering volcanoes on worlds once thought dead. From our nearest planetary neighbor to tiny moons billions of miles away, today we are discovering volcanoes on alien worlds.
10
2
"Megastorms - The Winds of Creation"
Alex Hearle
July 18, 2012 (2012-07-18)
On Earth, violent and destructive storms create new opportunities for life. In our quest to discover if life on Earth is alone in the universe, scientists look for weather.
11
3
"Exoplanets - Planets from Hell"
Kate Dart
July 25, 2012 (2012-07-25)
Over the last few decades, astronomers have discovered an extraordinary zoo of planetary nightmares outside the Solar System, all of them truly wild worlds.
12
4
"Megaflares - Cosmic Firestorms"
Kate Dart
August 1, 2012 (2012-08-01)
The Universe is a magnetic minefield. The Sun creates flares capable of battering life on Earth. But space also contains other dangerous megaflares.
13
5
"Extreme Orbits - Clockwork and Creation"
Adam Warner
August 8, 2012 (2012-08-08)
The only reason life on Earth is possible is because of its stable orbit around the Sun. Elsewhere in the Universe, orbits are chaotic, violent, and destructive. On the largest scale, orbits are a creative force and construct the fabric of the Universe.
14
6
"Comets - Frozen Wanderers"
Adam Warner
August 15, 2012 (2012-08-15)
Follows the odyssey of a comet as it sails through space as it evolves from a chunk of ice and rock into an active nucleus engulfed in a gaseous haze.
15
7
"Asteroids - Worlds that Never Were"
George Harris
August 22, 2012 (2012-08-22)
From icy worlds with more fresh water than Earth to flying mountains of pure metal, asteroids shaped Earth's past and promise much for the future. These enigmatic space rocks may hold the key to how life in the Universe arises and is extinguished.
16
8
"Birth of the Earth"
George Harris
August 29, 2012 (2012-08-29)
The Earth was formed by a series of cosmic cataclysms, including the most powerful blast in the Universe. Explores how the same chain of events may have created other Earths elsewhere.
Season 3 (2014)
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17
1
"Journey from the Center of the Sun"
FTC
July 9, 2014 (2014-07-09)
Shows how light escape from the Sun by a journey from the center of the Sun, following the path of light. Explores lights fiery birth in the core, its 430,000-mile (690,000 km) battle against gravity and magnetism, and its escape from the solar surface.
Beneath Jupiter's swirling clouds lie some of the Solar System's deepest secrets, from its violent youth, through the birth of life, to the death of the Sun. Now, scientists are unlocking these secrets and discovering that every living thing exists thanks to Jupiter.
20
4
"First Second of the Big Bang"
Mark Bridge
July 30, 2014 (2014-07-30)
The first second of the Universe, the creation of everything when space, time, matter, and energy burst into existence. It is the most important second in history, which seals the Universe's fate and defines everything that comes after.
21
5
"Is Saturn Alive?"
Mark Bridge
August 6, 2014 (2014-08-06)
Saturn's ferocious weather, its evolving ring system, and the discovery of active geology on its moons has rewritten the textbooks. Scientists are looking for life on Saturn's moons and they may have found it on Titan.
Explores what built the Milky Way. At the heart of the galaxy sits a supermassive black hole, one of the most destructive objects in the Universe.
24
8
"Our Voyage to the Stars"
Mark Bridge
August 27, 2014 (2014-08-27)
One day, a cosmic disaster will make life on Earth impossible. To survive, humans must find a new home amongst the stars. Scientists are already developing new propulsion systems to take people to these distant worlds.
Show how beneath the hood of a car lies the history of the Universe. The iron in the chassis, the gold in the stereo, and the copper in the electronics all owe their existence to violent cosmic events that took place billions of years ago.
27
2
"Earth, Venus's Evil Twin"
Mark Bridge
July 21, 2015 (2015-07-21)
Venus is a hellish planet, covered in thick dense clouds and roasted by colossal temperatures. This may be a vision of Earth's future.
Giant magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide, bizarre invisible matter, and a death star tearing through bands of icy comets, flinging them into violent orbits. All this may be inside our cosmic backyard, and effecting the lives on Earth.
30
5
"Dawn of Life"
Mark Bridge
August 11, 2015 (2015-08-11)
The origin of life on Earth is a hotly contested scientific debate. It may have come from strange volcanic hatcheries deep under the sea, or even from another planet.
31
6
"Secret History of the Moon"
Mark Bridge
August 18, 2015 (2015-08-18)
The Moon is stranger than humans think, and they can thank the Moon for life on Earth. Explores the tunnels beneath the Moon's surface and asks if a lunar base may be key to humanity's future in space.
32
7
"The First Oceans"
Mark Bridge
August 25, 2015 (2015-08-25)
For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids, but a new discovery suggests that their true origins may be more exotic.
33
8
"Forces of Mass Construction"
Mark Bridge
September 1, 2015 (2015-09-01)
Magnetism has shaped the cosmos, and without it, creation would simply disintegrate. This episode follows scientists trying to understand how magnetism works.
Season 5 (2016–17)
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34
1
"Most Amazing Discoveries"
Unknown
November 22, 2016 (2016-11-22)
From the furthest reaches of space to Earth's cosmic backyard, the episode counts down the discoveries that changed everything humans know about the universe.
Astronomers discovered a many icy objects orbiting around Pluto. Renewed interest was piqued, especially after the New Horizons probe took some high-resolution photos of Pluto in 2015.
A guide to the worst places in the universe, including Betelgeuse in its death throes, which could become a supernova and the possibly a death star.
40
7
"Life and Death on the Red Planet"
Unknown
January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24)
Possible life on Mars went through a series of life-impacting events, and the first impact may have seeded life on Earth via Martian debris.
41
8
"The Dark Matter Enigma"
Unknown
January 31, 2017 (2017-01-31)
Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to the universe since its beginning, and new discoveries reveal that it could create black holes, cause mass extinctions, and might even have helped to shape life on Earth. Explores if there may be a dark matter universe that could account for all the events that aren't yet definable.
42
9
"Strangest Alien Worlds"
Unknown
February 7, 2017 (2017-02-07)
Discoveries of new planets have revealed many worlds much stranger than Earth. Some of these worlds don't have stars, others are made out of diamonds.
New discoveries are challenging everything known about black holes -- astronomers are beginning to question if they even exist. The latest science tries to explain how they work and what they look like, despite the fact that at the time of this broadcast astronomers had never seen one.
Planets that orbit two suns instead of one might be deadly hell worlds, but new discoveries reveal that star systems with binary stars might be optimal places for alien life.
Uranus and Neptune are mysterious, icy worlds at the edge of the Solar System, and new discoveries reveal that these planets may have helped start life on Earth.
Mercury is a deadly world, facing attacks from the Sun, comets, and other planets, and even though it's the smallest planet in the Solar System it has a secret that might one day threaten life on Earth.
Quasars are the brightest and most powerful objects in the universe, and though they have shaped the cosmos they might ultimately destroy everything that exists.
Scientists use cutting-edge technology to stop an asteroid apocalypse, and mankind is closer than ever to keeping Earth safe from these killer space rocks.
Spacetime is the four-dimensional structure that controls the universe, including time, light, and energy. It will also determine how the universe will end.
Neutron stars are violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries reveal that these stars are far more deadly than scientists had thought, and have the power to destroy planets and even other stars.
Supernovas are the violent death of giant stars, and these cataclysmic events create the elements that are essential to all life in the universe.
55
3
"The Interstellar Mysteries"
Unknown
January 22, 2019 (2019-01-22)
N/A
Interstellar space between the universe's stars is not empty and unremarkable, as previously thought, but filled with objects and phenomena that may hold the darkest secrets of the cosmos.
Black holes aren't violent monsters as commonly believed, and new discoveries reveal that they might have been essential to creating stars, giving light, and building the universe.
57
5
"Secret World of Nebulas"
Unknown
February 5, 2019 (2019-02-05)
N/A
Nebulas are structures of cosmic gas and dust where stars are created and end, and new discoveries reveal the secrets of these objects.
New discoveries are causing astronomers to question if the Big Bang really happened, and using the latest science they investigate if it wasn't just the start of the universe humans are aware of but of multiverses.
Dark matter and dark energy compete for control of the cosmos, and the winner will determine the fate of the universe. New discoveries might reveal which force will emerge victorious.
The latest discoveries suggest that humans might be on the verge of discovering life beyond Earth. Scientists are investigating if Earth's life began elsewhere in the universe and whether the human race needs to evolve to know for sure.
New discoveries have revealed thousands of exoplanets beyond the Solar System. Some resemble Earth enough that one could be a new home for humanity. Even with cutting-edge technology, finding the perfect one is one of the scientific challenges of the age.
For twenty years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft explored Saturn until it vaporized in Saturn's atmosphere. But its legacy lives on, as newly analyzed data from the probe helps scientists make additional discoveries.
If a massive asteroid collides with Earth, it could end life on the planet. New discoveries reveal how close Earth is to the apocalypse and what it would take for the world's leading space agencies to stop it.
NASA is on a mission to send humans to Mars within 15 years. But to reach this next frontier of space exploration, experts must discover new technology and cutting-edge science that protects astronauts from the red planet's deadliest killers.
The discovery of extraterrestrial life might face an impossible challenge—the physics of the universe itself. With cutting-edge technology, experts might be on the verge of a groundbreaking find—and the evidence could already be in hand.
The universe's stars are dying faster than new ones are born, and using the latest technology experts investigate the secrets of the last stars of the cosmos, and what this stellar apocalypse means for life on Earth.
Time travel might be more possible than humans have imagined, and cutting-edge technology and the latest research into black holes and wormholes is helping experts get steps closer to discovering how to travel through time.
NASA's Juno spacecraft is exploring Jupiter. As this probe is pummeled with radiation, it gathers new data that could change everything known about the Solar System's biggest planet.
The edge of the universe and what happens there are unknown; but thanks to cutting-edge technology and new discoveries, experts might reveal the phenomena found in deepest reaches of the cosmos.
The center of the Milky Way is home to phenomena that humans don't yet understand, but using the latest science experts are revealing how the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core shapes life on Earth.
Earth's journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that the planet is heading toward a mysterious area of the cosmos that could eject us out of the Milky Way and into oblivion.
In the UK version of the series, there are two episodes of Season 8 which are not included in its US counterpart. These episodes are as follows:[38][39][40]
No. overall
No. in series
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Original air date
U.K. viewers (millions)
TBA
TBA
"How To Build A Planet"
Unknown
December 21, 2020 (2020-12-21)
N/A
Some of the brightest minds and theorists on the planet explore the limits of human knowledge and explain the science behind the rules of the universe.
10
TBA
"Moon"
Unknown
January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11)
N/A
New scientific discoveries reveal that the moon has an incredible, violent, and dynamic history. Was the moon originally more similar to earth than previously thought?
A two-hour episode examines what scientists have learned about M87*, the supermassive black hole in the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486). M87* is the first supermassive black hole photographed by the Event Horizon Telescope.
Experts embark on a mission to land on a comet. Rosetta is a space probe launched in 2004 that performed a detailed study of comet67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) using lander module Philae in 2014.
New astronomical research is beginning to reveal an invisible scaffold of dark matter known as the Cosmic Web, an intergalactic network that transformed the universe from a chaotic Big Bang into the structured beauty of the present day cosmos.
Dark Matter is thought to be the cosmic glue that holds the universe together, yet the search for it continues to eluded scientists today.
86
4
"Dark History of Earth"
Unknown
March 28, 2022 (2022-03-28)
N/A
Earth's history is marked by one cosmic disaster after another, forging the path of human evolution; now, experts explore how the Earth has teetered on the verge of destruction.
The two Voyager spacecraft have travelled farther than any human-made object in history, and as they reach interstellar space, experts explore their most astonishing discoveries and how their extended operation has transformed into the ultimate mission.
