Understanding the Universe

Join astronomers and astrophysicists as they probe light years beyond the Milky Way, in Understanding The Universe, part of Discovery's popular television series. Narrated by actress Candice Bergen, This enriching and entertaining video employs graphic models and spectacular computer animation to illustrate some of the most complex theories of all time. Peer through the largest telescopes on Earth. Get a close-up look at our sun, nebulas and supernovas, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Listen via satellite to echoes of the Big Bang. See how "red Shift" among the stars suggests that our universe if much younger than previously thought. Visit the set of Star Trek: Voyager and ponder the questions, could black holes be "wormholes," or shortcuts to other worlds? Understanding the Universe boldly goes where no television show has gone before.

Related Links
The Universe
Hubble Space Telescope

Seven Ages of Starlight

This is the epic story of the stars, and how discovering their tale has transformed our own understanding of the universe. Once we thought the sun and stars were gods and giants. Now we know, in a way, our instincts were right. The stars do all have their own characters, histories and role in the cosmos. Not least, they played a vital part in creating us. There are old, bloated red giants, capable of gobbling up planets in their orbit; explosive deaths - supernovae - that forge the building blocks of life; and black holes, the most mysterious stellar tombstones. And, of course, stars in their prime, like our own sun.

Related Links:
Wonders of the Universe
The Cosmos: A Beginner's Guide