Space - BBC documentary (6 Parts)

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1. Star Stuff
How the Universe was made, from the Big Bang to the human body.


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2. The Universe - Dangerous Place
This programme investigates our survival in space. Although you can't see asteroids with the naked eye, a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope will help you to spot them


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3. Black Holes - Ultimate Monsters sucking
Black holes were once thought to be the monsters of the Universe, devouring everything around them in a frenzied cosmic feast. But now astronomers think that rather than being a space menace, black holes may be fundamental to the creation of galaxies.

Black holes are regions of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape, making them impossible to see. But we can see the stuff that is being sucked in to these massive cosmic vacuum cleaners. Anything that approaches a black hole is first torn apart by its immense gravitational force and then forms a flat rotating disc that spirals into the hole


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4. Are We Alone?
There are over four hundred thousand million stars in our Galaxy alone. Where do we start looking for life?

With hundreds of telescopes now involved in the SETI programme, there is lots of data to look through. Spotting strong signals is easy, but finding a weak signal takes lots of computer time


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5. New Worlds
How could humans migrate from planet Earth? Before you leave Mars is closer in temperature to Earth than any of the other planet in the Solar System. But don't let this catch you off your guard. Mars' weather is even more unpredictable than our own.

We recommend a summer visit, when the temperature can reach a pleasant 27ºC. But keep an eye on the weather forecast! Storms can sweep across the whole planet. Within days, the temperature can plummet by 20 degrees.

Travellers in the winter months should note that Mars can reach a bitter -133ºC.

One final word of warning - make sure you are prepared for dust storms. Tornadoes as large as eight kilometers high have been seen causing havoc across the Martian landscape.


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6. Boldly Go
If humans are ever to reach deep space, there will need to be some revolutionary changes in transport.

Dreamt up at the beginning of last century, solar sails are now moving a step closer to reality, as one of the most feasible ways of travelling into deep space. They are lightweight panels made from reflective material that act like the sails of a boat. Rather than using wind, the sails are actually propelled by light. Unbelievable as it may seem, the stream of light particles (called photons) emitted from the Sun are strong enough to push a mini-spacecraft right out of the Solar System and beyond into interstellar space


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