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The Best Episodes of How the Universe Works

Every episode of How the Universe Works ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of How the Universe Works!

The Best Episodes of How the Universe Works

A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does...

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  1. 9.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Extreme Orbits - Clockwork and Creation

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    S2:E5

    We owe our existence to the stability of earth's orbit. But we are the freaks: everywhere else we look we find orbits are chaotic, unstable, and violent. Yet on the very largest scale, orbits are also a creative force, even constructing the fabric of the universe itself.

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  2. 9.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Asteroids - Worlds That Never Were

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    S2:E7

    Asteroids wiped out the dinosaurs and may be back for us but they also built the Earth and may have brought life to its barren surface. Asteroids will shape our future as much as our past and scientists are striving to unlock their secrets.

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  3. 9.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Edge of the Solar System

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    S4:E4

    Huge magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide; strange invisible matter, and a death star tearing through bands of icy comets, flinging them into violent orbits.

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  4. 9.0/10(66 votes)

    #4 - Journey to a Black Hole

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    S9:E1

    Journey to the heart of the M87 supermassive black hole, the first and only black hole ever photographed, and explore the mystery of how it grew so large, what lies inside, and how it controls the entire galaxy.

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  5. 8.9/10(76 votes)

    #5 - Are Black Holes Real?

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    S6:E1

    New discoveries are challenging everything we know about black holes, and 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 we've never actually seen one.

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  6. 8.9/10(78 votes)

    #6 - Edge of the Universe

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    S8:E7

    We don't yet know where the edge of the universe is or what happens there; but thanks to cutting-edge technology and new discoveries, experts might finally reveal the secrets of the phenomena that can be found in deepest reaches of the cosmos.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of How the Universe Works

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  8. 8.8/10(76 votes)

    #7 - Mystery of Spacetime

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    S6:E10

    Spacetime is the secret structure that controls our universe, and this strange four-dimensional substance controls time, light, and energy. It will also determine how our universe will end.

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  9. 8.8/10(86 votes)

    #8 - Nightmares of Neutron Stars

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    S7:E1

    Neutron stars are strange and violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries reveal that these bizarre nightmares are far more deadly than we ever thought, with the power to destroy planets and even other stars.

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  10. 8.8/10(69 votes)

    #9 - Cassini's Final Secrets

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    S7:E10

    For twenty years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft revealed the strange secrets of Saturn until it vaporized in its atmosphere in a blaze of glory. But today its legacy lives on, as fresh data from the probe helps scientists make brand-new discoveries.

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  11. 8.8/10(36 votes)

    #10 - Hunt for the Universe's Origin

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    S10:E5

    Experts explore the elusive endeavor of determining the age of the cosmos.

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  12. 8.8/10(38 votes)

    #11 - Voyager's Ultimate Mission

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    S10:E6

    Experts explore the ultimate, ongoing mission of the Voyager spacecraft.

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  13. 8.7/10(132 votes)

    #12 - The End of the Universe

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    S3:E2

    How and when will the Universe end? Gravity and dark matter are poised to annihilate the Universe in a big crunch. Expansion and dark energy may tear it apart. Or, a phase transition could kill us tomorrow in a cosmic death bubble.

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  14. 8.7/10(71 votes)

    #13 - The Quasar Enigma

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    S6:E7

    Quasars are the brightest and most powerful objects in our universe, and though they have shaped the cosmos, they might ultimately destroy everything that exists.

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  15. 8.7/10(65 votes)

    #14 - Strange Lives of Dwarf Planets

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    S6:E8

    Our solar system is home to hundreds of strange, tiny worlds called dwarf planets, and new discoveries reveal the secrets of these mysterious places.

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  16. 8.7/10(76 votes)

    #15 - When Supernovas Strike

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    S7:E2

    Supernovas are the violent death of giant stars, and new discoveries reveal that these cataclysmic events create the elements that are essential to all life in the universe.

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  17. 8.7/10(38 votes)

    #16 - Hunt for Dark Matter

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    S10:E3

    Physicists attempt to determine if Dark Matter could actually exist.

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  18. 8.6/10(110 votes)

    #17 - Our Voyage to the Stars

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    S3:E8

    One day, a cosmic disaster will make life on Earth impossible. To survive, we must find a new home amongst the stars. Scientists are already developing new propulsion systems to take us to these distant worlds.

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  19. 8.6/10(66 votes)

    #18 - Secrets of Time Travel

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    S8:E5

    Time travel might be more possible than we ever imagined, and today, 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.

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  20. 8.6/10(59 votes)

    #19 - Monsters of the Milky Way

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    S8:E8

    The center of the Milky Way is home to strange and deadly phenomena that we don't yet understand, but using the latest science, experts are revealing how the supermassive black hole our galaxy's core shapes life on Earth.

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  21. 8.6/10(54 votes)

    #20 - Earth's Death Orbit

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    S8:E9

    Earth's journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that our planet is heading toward a mysterious area of the cosmos that could eject us out of the Milky Way and into oblivion.

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  22. 8.6/10(51 votes)

    #21 - Gravitational Waves Revealed

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    S9:E10

    Gravitational waves are helping scientists explore the cosmos in revolutionary, new ways, and the discoveries they make are revealing the universe’s greatest mysteries.

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  23. 8.6/10(42 votes)

    #22 - Secrets of the Cosmic Web

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    S10:E1

    New research reveals an intergalactic network known as the Cosmic Web.

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  24. 8.6/10(33 votes)

    #23 - Dark History of Earth

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    S10:E4

    Experts explore how Earth's disastrous history led to human evolution.

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  25. 8.5/10(122 votes)

    #24 - Jupiter: Destroyer or Savior?

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    S3:E3

    Beneath Jupiter's clouds lie our solar system's deepest secrets: from its violent youth, through the birth of life to the death of the sun. Scientists are discovering that the solar system, the Earth and every living thing exists because of Jupiter.

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  26. 8.5/10(120 votes)

    #25 - First Second of the Big Bang

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    S3:E4

    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 - including us.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Extreme Orbits - Clockwork and Creation" is the best rated episode of "How the Universe Works". It scored 9/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 8/8/2012. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Asteroids - Worlds That Never Were".