Stars & Black Holes
In this episode, Tim Peake looks further out from our solar system, to the stars beyond.
While living in space, Tim discovered that the view of the Milky Way was unlike anything seen from Earth. Thousands of pinpricks of light twinkled back at him framed by the complete blackness of space. Tim is searching for answers to questions such as what are stars made of, how long do they live and what happens when they die?
At the centre of our solar system is our star the sun, and Tim travels to the shores of Western Australia to witness a truly spectacular event: a total solar eclipse. Surrounded by thousands of fellow stargazers, Tim experiences the magical moment when the moon covers the sun, causing darkness to fall and the stars to come out during the day. But the best view he gets of the sun is back in London at the Science Museum. Standing in front of a giant i-max screen showing a film of the sun, he meets solar scientist Prof Lucie Green. We discover the sun is huge, like 110 earths lined up side by side. It's a massive burning ball of gas, with solar flares erupting from the surface, each one with the power of a billion hydrogen bombs exploding.
To find out what happens when stars die Tim meets Dr Becky Smethurst. Standing on the edge of Warleigh Weir just outside Bristol, Becky explains the biggest stars in the Universe can form black holes, strange structures that only a few decades ago were the crazy ideas of sci-fi movies. Like the water cascading over the edge of the weir, a black hole drags everything close to it into its void. Even light can't escape its clutches.
The final scene sees Tim meeting up with Prof Andrew Pontzen. They marvel at the most recently captured beautiful images from the James Webb space telescope. One image "The Pillars of Creation" shows the moment stars are born in deep space. Incredibly this is so far out into the universe the light has taken over six thousand years to reach earth, meaning it started its journey in the stone age.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Peacemaker
The series will explore the origins of the Peacemaker, a man who believes in peace at any cost - no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
Resident Alien
Resident Alien is a dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story that follows a crash-landed alien named Harry who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth — ultimately asking the question, "Are human beings worth saving?"
Futurama
Futurama follows pizza guy Philip J. Fry, who reawakens in 31st century New New York after a cryonics lab accident. Now part of the Planet Express delivery crew, Fry travels to the farthest reaches of the universe with his robot buddy Bender and cyclopsian love interest Leela, discovering freaky mutants, intergalactic conspiracies and other strange stuff.
Ghosts
Samantha and Jay throw caution to the wind when they convert their recently inherited country estate into a bed-and-breakfast. Call it mislaid plans. Not only is the place falling apart, but it's also inhabited by spirits of previous residents -- whom only Samantha can see and hear. Ghosts spins the funny, heartfelt story about a newfound dream that reveals connection and self-discovery aren't just for the living.
Hijack
Told in real time, Hijack is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, as authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Sam Nelson is an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.