5.0/101 votesLoading...#1 - Dark Matter
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 1/15/2008
Scientists have no idea what it is, but Dark Matter and Dark Energy make up 96% of the Universe. Dark Matter is everywhere. It passes through everything we know on earth at billions of particles every second, yet no one has ever gotten a direct detection of this mysterious dark substance. An even more bewildering force is Dark Energy, which is rapidly pushing apart our Universe. Discovered only ten years ago, scientists are struggling to comprehend its unusual characteristics and answer the ultimate question; what is the fate of our Universe?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.0/102 votesLoading...#2 - Astrobiology
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 1/29/2008
Does life exist on other planets? Astrobiology is a visionary new science that searches for life in space by combining the disciplines of astronomy, biology and geology. How did life evolve on Earth? What will life look like on other planets? These and other pertinent questions will be answered by a diverse group of scientists.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.9/1066 votesLoading...#3 - Alien Faces
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 12/9/2008
They soar through the heavens, fly through the oceans and glide along land. But these are not creatures found on a wildlife safari. These are life forms from another planet. Armed with scientific fact and a little imagination, experts come together to take you on an unprecedented journey to the edges of our imagination. Scientists, astrobiologists and astronomers create five lines of extraterrestrial evolution, and explain how creatures on the surface of Earth offer a helping hand to understanding life in The Universe.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.9/1038 votesLoading...#4 - Heavenly Destruction
Season 8 Episode 3 - Aired 3/15/2014
Sodom and Gomorrah–a terrifying Biblical tale of two cities incinerated by a hail of fire and brimstone. Was this a fantastic fable, or an actual apocalyptic disaster? Astronomers, archeologists and biblical scholars investigate the possible science behind the myth. Two separate archeological sites along the Dead Sea claim to hold the remains of the actual sin cities. Newly discovered ancient artifacts may even hold the secrets to their destruction? Could an asteroid be responsible for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Director: N/A
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6.0/102 votesLoading...#5 - Mysteries of the Moon
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 12/11/2007
A closer look at the beacon in the dark sky reveals an ever-present source of myth, intrigue, controversy and unsolved mysteries
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.0/101 votesLoading...#6 - Alien Moons
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 1/8/2008
Travel from the inner solar system to the Kuiper Belt and explore the moons surrounding the planets of the solar system. Many of these moons that were once unknown are now on the cutting edge of astronomical study.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.0/102 votesLoading...#7 - Space Travel
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 2/5/2008
When man finally broke free of the Earth's gravitational pull the dream of traveling to other planets became a reality. Today scientists are proposing a bizarre array of technologies in the hope of traveling faster through space, from space craft sporting sails that catch laser beams, to propulsion engines powered by a bizarre entity known as anti-matter.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.0/101 votesLoading...#8 - Unexplained Mysteries
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 2/26/2008
A look at myths and mysteries concerning the universe. Includes a possibility that life can be sustained on Mars, an examination of time travel, and the theory of a Dark Star as a companion of our sun. Also, a closer look at the Big Bang theory.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.0/102 votesLoading...#9 - Biggest Things in Space
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 4/15/2008
Discover which is the largest planet, star, star cluster, constellation, black hole, volcano, galaxy, explosions, moon, storm, impact crater and void in space.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.1/1075 votesLoading...#10 - 10 Ways to Destroy the Earth
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 9/22/2009
Experts cook up ways you could destroy the Earth, including swallowing it with a black hole, blowing it up with anti-matter, hurling it into the Sun, and switching off gravity.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.2/1039 votesLoading...#11 - Star of Bethlehem
Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 3/22/2014
What was the astronomical reality behind the star that, according to the Gospel of Matthew, guided the Magi to the young Jesus? This episode examines almost 20 centuries of theories, including meteors, novae, supernovae and comets…but is the truth to be found in a combination of astronomy–and astrology? Recent theories suggest that the "star" was the planet Jupiter in a series of conjunctions with other planets, stars and constellations, and that these conjunctions were interpreted by the Magi–astrologers and priests of the Zoroastrian religion–as heralding the birth of the Jewish Messiah.
Director: N/A
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6.5/102 votesLoading...#12 - Colonizing Space
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 3/11/2008
Space colonization is no longer the fodder of sci-fi, it's becoming a reality. The efforts are underway to establish a colony on Mars, how they plan to grow food, recycle wastewater & introduce greenhouse gases to revive the Red Planet & make it habitable for us.
Director: N/A
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6.5/1062 votesLoading...#13 - Living in Space
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 12/23/2008
When mankind eventually leaves the cradle of Earth and ventures forth into the uncharted territories of the cosmos, where, and what form, will our new homes take? Will they be cities under glass, entrenched in distant alien soils? Will they be gleaming metropolises hanging in orbit above our heads, or in the lonely void of space? Will they be hollowed out asteroids, strip-mined for the valuables they horde? How will we grow food? What will the new era of spacesuits be like? The rovers that carry us around? Will robonauts, advanced robotic machines, perform the most dangerous tasks for us? How will we live... in space?
Director: N/A
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6.5/1059 votesLoading...#14 - Asteroid Attack
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 9/2/2010
A look at asteroids and the impact they have or had on life now and before. Also, what spacecrafts can tell us about them, what they can do to civilization, and the possibility of living on one.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1059 votesLoading...#15 - Edge of Space
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 2/3/2009
There have been both helpful and harmful effects on life on Earth from cosmic effects. Cosmic Phenomena includes the beauty of the Aurora Borealis and rainbows to the dangers of UV radiation and cosmic rays, from the miracle of photosynthesis to the thrill of a meteor shower as we explore the effects caused by the sun and other extra-solar sources, which can get under our skin and scramble man's technology, make life possible and be a threat to our existence all at once.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1067 votesLoading...#16 - The Day the Moon Was Gone
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 8/25/2009
Without the moon, Earth would be a very different and desolate place today--four hours of sunlight with pitch-black nights, steady 100-mph winds spawning giant hurricanes that last for months, and virtually no complex life forms, much less humans. Safe to say, we probably owe our very existence to the moon. But what if it suddenly disappeared?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1065 votesLoading...#17 - Space Wars
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 10/6/2009
Outer space is already an essential part of America's ability to fight wars. Our military depends on satellites for many things, such as communications, reconnaissance and targeting information. But so far, no country has put weapons into space, although the U.S. and China have both shown they can shoot down satellites with ground-based missiles. If weapons do become a part of space, how will they work, how effective will they be, and what type of damage could they do? From ground-based lasers to telephone-pole sized rods hurtling from space at two miles per second to the far out weapons of the distant future, it's time to "lock and load" for Space Wars.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/1036 votesLoading...#18 - Pyramids
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 3/8/2014
The Great Pyramids of Giza remain one of the enduring wonders of the ancient world. These mesmerizing monuments have eluded astronomers and archeologists for centuries. Why and how were they built? Were they merely burial tombs, or a cosmic vehicle to the celestial world? The world's renowned Egyptologists, astronomers and engineers join forces to solve some of the long-held mysteries about the pyramids. What were the motives and methods behind the orientation of the pyramids to face the four cardinal directions with extreme accuracy? Did the ancient Egyptians use the sun or nighttime stars in the orientation of the pyramids? Were the pyramids the pharaohs' portal to the nighttime stars? Or was the entire Giza complex built as a place of cult worship to the sun?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/1058 votesLoading...#19 - Deadly Comets and Meteors
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 12/16/2008
Asteroids and comets have left their imprint on planet Earth, literally. Since the turbulent formation of the solar system, these space rocks have continued to impact earth. Some have been so violent that they've led to mass extinctions. What's more, radical new theories suggest that asteroid and comet dust harbor deadly viruses that may have triggered some of our worst pandemics. The possibility of future cosmic collisions remains a legitimate threat. Yet, despite their dangers, asteroids and comets may hold vital natural resources, which could actually preserve mankind.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/1075 votesLoading...#20 - Nemesis: The Sun's Evil Twin
Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 11/1/2011
Could there be a monstrous, undiscovered star orbiting our own Sun? Could it be scattering killer comets throughout our Solar System like clockwork every 26 million years? New scientific surveys are probing the edges of our Solar System--a realm populated by giant worlds and mysterious planetoid--hunting for Nemesis, the Sun's purported evil twin. We may be on the verge of discovering this ultimate death star, suspected of causing every mass extinction in Earth's history. We employ everyday experiences to explain what Nemesis is and why it's been so hard to find. Experts start a wildfire on a dry California hillside, race a NASCAR around an oval track, and juggle fire, all in the effort to present how Nemesis works, and why life on Earth may depend on its discovery.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/1075 votesLoading...#21 - God and the Universe
Season 6 Episode 7 - Aired 12/20/2011
Since the dawn of civilization, humans have wondered who or what created the universe. Religion offers a spiritual answer, but do the latest discoveries in physics show evidence of a transcendent intelligence, or simply that the laws of physics by themselves could have led to the universe in which we live? This episode embarks on a mind-bending scientific search for God, asking physicists and theologians if the seemingly miraculous way the universe has been calibrated to support life is evidence of a creator...whether string theory will eventually be able to rule out the existence of God...why Stephen Hawking says the universe could have been created spontaneously...and how an advanced civilization in another universe could have conceivably created our own.
Director: N/A
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6.8/1041 votesLoading...#22 - Stonehenge
Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 3/1/2014
Perhaps the most mysterious structure on Earth, Stonehenge has stood on a plain in Southern England for 5000 years. Why is it there? In this episode we explore the possibility that this was a prehistoric astronomical observatory. Here ancient astronomer priests may have divined the complex movements of the Sun and Moon, recognizing patterns that would not be discovered elsewhere for thousands of years. The primitive Shamans may have also been the first astronomers to predict eclipses.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.9/1073 votesLoading...#23 - Magnetic Storm
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 8/12/2010
A look at magnetic storms – "Solar Katrinas" created by the sun with the power of ten-thousand nuclear weapons that could cause global electrical blackouts, electronics malfunctions and communication disasters if one should hit the Earth.
Director: N/A
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6.9/1058 votesLoading...#24 - UFO: The Real Deal
Season 6 Episode 6 - Aired 12/13/2011
Many argue that flying saucers and other extra-terrestrial space ships continuously visit the earth. If that were true, what kinds of technologies would such alien spacecraft require? And do eyewitness reports of UFO sightings jibe with modern theories of how interstellar travel might be possible? Authors, astronomers and theoretical physicists weigh in with the blueprints for inertia-canceling devices, nuclear-powered craft, antimatter propulsion systems and even warp drives. Based on Einstein's theories and countless scientific studies, we'll find out how these visitors might bridge the vast distances between the stars. And if they could survive such hazardous journeys, are they flesh and blood or intelligent machines?
Director: N/A
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7.0/101 votesLoading...#25 - Cosmic Holes
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 12/4/2007
We know black holes exist, and now scientists are trying to confirm that other holes lurk in hyperspace.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Worst Episodes of The Universe
Every episode of The Universe ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Universe!
From the planets to the stars and out to the edge of the unknown, history and science collide in a wondrous yet deadly adventure through...
Genre:Documentary
Worst Episodes Summary
"Dark Matter" is the worst rated episode of "The Universe". It scored 5/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 1/15/2008. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Astrobiology".