The Worst Episodes of The Universe

#1 Worst Episode
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5.7/10(42 votes)
#1 - Heavenly Destruction
S8:E33/15/2014
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?
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6.0/10(71 votes)
#2 - Alien Faces
S3:E512/9/2008
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.
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6.2/10(81 votes)
#3 - 10 Ways to Destroy the Earth
S4:E69/22/2009
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.
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6.2/10(44 votes)
#4 - Star of Bethlehem
S8:E43/22/2014
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.
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6.5/10(67 votes)
#5 - Living in Space
S3:E712/23/2008
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:Unknown
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6.5/10(63 votes)
#6 - Asteroid Attack
S5:E69/2/2010
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.
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6.6/10(42 votes)
#7 - Pyramids
S8:E23/8/2014
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?
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6.7/10(64 votes)
#8 - Edge of Space
S3:E112/3/2009
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.
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6.7/10(70 votes)
#9 - Space Wars
S4:E810/6/2009
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.
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6.7/10(47 votes)
#10 - Stonehenge
S8:E13/1/2014
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.
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6.8/10(63 votes)
#11 - Deadly Comets and Meteors
S3:E612/16/2008
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.
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6.8/10(71 votes)
#12 - The Day the Moon Was Gone
S4:E28/25/2009
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?
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6.8/10(80 votes)
#13 - Nemesis: The Sun's Evil Twin
S6:E211/1/2011
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.
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6.8/10(81 votes)
#14 - God and the Universe
S6:E712/20/2011
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.
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6.9/10(77 votes)
#15 - Magnetic Storm
S5:E38/12/2010
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.
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6.9/10(63 votes)
#16 - UFO: The Real Deal
S6:E612/13/2011
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:Unknown
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7.0/10(72 votes)
#17 - Catastrophes that Changed the Planets
S6:E110/25/2011
The planets of our solar system have experienced epic catastrophes throughout their long history, both raining down from outside and bubbling up from within. We'll voyage back in time to investigate the violent events that profoundly shaped the planets, including earth itself. We'll witness stunning revelations about what transformed Mars into a barren, hostile desert...The disaster that changed Venus from temperate to hellish...The impact that blew away Mercury's mantle, turning it into a planetary core...A colossal disturbance that rearranged the orbits of the gas giants...Titanic impacts on Jupiter...And how a lost moon may finally explain Saturn's rings.
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7.0/10(51 votes)
#18 - When Space Changed History
S7:E76/17/2012
Objects from space have changed history throughout the ages.
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7.1/10(103 votes)
#19 - Parallel Universes
S3:E211/18/2008
Some of the world's leading physicists believe they have found startling new evidence showing the existence of universes other than our own. One possibility is that the universe is so vast that an exact replica of our Solar System, our planet and ourselves exists many times over. These Doppelganger Universes exist within our own Universe; in what scientist now call "The Multiverse."
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7.1/10(155 votes)
#20 - 7 Wonders of the Solar System
S5:E17/29/2010
A close up look at some of the most astonishing wonders of our solar system, such as the geysers of Enceladus; Saturn's amazing rings; Jupiter's Great Red Spot; and the heights of Olympus Mons on Mars.
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7.1/10(77 votes)
#21 - Time Travel
S5:E48/19/2010
A look at time travel; how it could one day become reality; how Einstein's theory of relativity claims it is possible, and the probable results of traveling to the future and the mind-boggling consequences of traveling to the past.
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7.1/10(62 votes)
#22 - Total Eclipse
S5:E79/16/2010
A look at the movements of the Earth, the sun and the moon during solar and lunar eclipses; how humans, if alone in the universe, may be the only intelligent creatures to witness these events; and how astronomers discover planets in other star systems that partially eclipse their stars.
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7.1/10(63 votes)
#23 - Crash Landing on Mars
S6:E411/22/2011
What might happen if the first manned mission to Mars crashes hundreds of miles from the rocket that would take them back home? Could they survive the crash, and travel across the brutal Martian surface to their home ship? We'll show what the astronauts would have to do to survive dust storms and space radiation, while extracting vital resources like water from the Martian soil itself. It's a dramatic vision of the very near future, where survival can depend on pre-industrial technology and human ingenuity.
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7.1/10(60 votes)
#24 - Alien Sounds
S7:E25/6/2012
What does the Universe sound like? From the sweep of a pulsar, to the deafening roar of our boiling sun this episode explores the undiscovered soundscapes of the solar system, the galaxy, and the entire cosmos. And, is it true that in space nobody can hear you scream?!? Our scientists reveal that there are places in the Universe that prove this sci-fi statement wrong.
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7.2/10(114 votes)
#25 - Mysteries of the Moon
S2:E312/11/2007
A closer look at the beacon in the dark sky reveals an ever-present source of myth, intrigue, controversy and unsolved mysteries
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