The Solar System

13 episodes · 1998

Birth, life and death of the Sun. Interior dynamics, exterior fireworks. Sunspots, corona, solar wind - all about our local star.

The most comprehensive portrait ever of this scorched little planet. Takes a look at double sunrises, craters, cracks and, incongruously, maybe polar ice.

Looking at the planetary hell beneath the clouds, the poisonous, crushing atmosphere, seating heats, volcanoes and a runaway greenhouse effect.

The evolution of the earth and of life, its internal structure, continental drift, day length, seasons, oceans, climate, weather and El Nino.

The story of the Moon and its birth from collisions, its influence on Earth, Apollo landings and the recent discovery of water.

Could cold arid Mars be the next place we land? Looking at polar caps, volcanoes, the biggest canyon ever seen and the possibility that Mars once had oceans.

Bigger than the other planets combined, Jupiter is a turbulent gas giant with 16 moons. We take a voyage through this mini Solar System.

Exploring the many rings and moons of this exotic gas cloud and a preview of a landing on Titan, a moon like primitive Earth.

The outer giants. Uranus has a crazy tilt and a chaotic moon called Miranda and Neptune with tempests and a moon spurting geysers.

Looking at comets and where they originate, the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt and the possibility that Pluto isn't a planet at all (recently declassified).

Launched into Earth orbit, these are the satellites that monitor the health of our planet. Looking at the ozone, the melting ice-caps, weather, deforestation and navigation.

Human space exploration, from Yuri Gagarin's first orbit of space to the race for the Moon and the Apollo landings.

Living and working in space, triumphs, tragedies and everyday practicalities on the Russian space-station Mir and America's Space Shuttle.