Wonders of the Solar System

2008 • Discovery Channel
4.6
215 reviews
TV-PG
Rating
Eligible
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Season 1 episodes (5)

1 Empire of the Sun
3/7/10
Professor Brian Cox explores the powerhouse of them all, the sun. In India he witnesses a total solar eclipse and in Norway, he watches the battle between the sun's wind and Earth, as the night sky glows with the northern lights. Beyond earth, the solar wind continues, creating dazzling aurora on other planets.
2 Order Out of Chaos
3/14/10
Discover how beauty and order in Earth's cosmic backyard was formed from nothing more than a chaotic cloud of gas. Chasing tornados in Oklahoma, Professor Brian Cox explains how the same physics that creates these spinning storms shaped the young solar system. Out of this celestial maelstrom emerged the jewel in the crown, Brian's second wonder - the magnificent rings of Saturn.
3 The Thin Blue Line
3/21/10
Professor Brian Cox takes a flight to the top of earth's atmosphere, where he sees the darkness of space above and the thin blue line of our atmosphere below. Against the stunning backdrop of the glaciers of Alaska, Brian reveals his fourth wonder: Saturn's moon Titan, shrouded by a murky, thick atmosphere.
4 Dead or Alive
3/28/10
The worlds that surround our planet are all made of rock, but there the similarity ends. Some have a beating geological heart, others are frozen in time. Professor Brian Cox travels to the tallest mountain on Earth, the volcano Mauna Kea on Hawaii, to show how something as basic as a planet's size can make the difference between life and death.
5 Aliens
4/4/10
All life on Earth needs water so the search for aliens in the solar system has followed the search for water. We examine the patterns in the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa, which reveal an ocean far below with more potentially life-giving water than all the oceans on Earth. But of all the wonders of the solar system forged by the laws of nature, Brian reveals the greatest wonder of them all.

About this show

Prepare to immerse yourself in an alien world as if you were standing there yourself. Giant ice fountains rising over 100km high; an ocean hidden beneath a frozen crust of ice; storms twice the size of Earth coloured blood red by a vortex of dust and gases; immense volcanoes that could rip a planet apart - this series reveals the true and awesome beauty of our solar system. Using the very latest breathtaking images sent directly from space, groundbreaking CGI transforms the static into the dramatic. Revolutionary surface texturing software creates intricate 3D planetary fly-bys while cameras, capable of 4,000 frames a second, help create the explosive in minute detail. Travelling from the Sun to the far-out reaches of Neptune, the series has at its heart the latest scientific knowledge beamed back from the fleet of probes, rovers and telescopes currently in space, and offers a vivid and unprecedented tour of the world beyond our planet.

Ratings and reviews

4.6
215 reviews
Emilee Follett
August 25, 2013
I'm someone who would have loved to go into science, but I could never comprehend the mathematics. Shows like this make physics accessible and even entertaining. The best part is seeing the breathtaking photos and videos from our exploration crafts. It's amazing to imagine that things we launched into space 20, 30, 40 years ago are still sending back amazing data. Also the CGI in this show is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend this series for classrooms and casual students of science alike.
15 people found this review helpful
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Brenan Duhamel
September 9, 2017
I have worked as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist for the past 12 years in the concentration of Molecular Biology. After watching Professor Brian Cox host Wonders of the Solar System, Wonders of the Universe, Wonders of Life, and Human Universe, I have begun higher educational pursuits of Astrobiology and Astrophysics at my local University, a tier 1 research institution…no joke…real story! I also recommend books authored by Professor Brian Cox. Gave one to my father for Christmas and it sparked great intellectual debate for months!
5 people found this review helpful
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Rudy Belova
September 2, 2013
Brian Cox makes it both entertaining yet educational for even the average viewer. I got the first episode for free for buying the chromecast and bought the first season the next day! (And absolutely AWESOME picture quality on the chromecast too btw.... Just epic!)
3 people found this review helpful
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