How the Universe Works
TVPG
Science
Documentary
Delves into the inner workings of outer space, exploring everything from black holes and galaxies to stars and planets.
Upcoming TV Airings
The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.
Wednesday, April 17
A Robot's Guide to Mars
Season 11 • Episode 2
Perseverance joins a dedicated group of machines to uncover life on the Red Planet.
Wednesday, April 17
Dark History of Earth
Season 10 • Episode 6
Earth's history is marked by one cosmic disaster after another, forging the path of human evolution.
Thursday, April 18
Hunt for the Universe's Origin
Season 1 • Episode 8
Determining the age of the universe continues to be an elusive endeavor for scientists.
Thursday, April 18
Curse of the Cosmic Rays
Season 10 • Episode 2
Cosmic rays capable of destroying human DNA are hurtling through outer space like subatomic bullets.
Friday, April 19
Hunt for Dark Matter
Season 10 • Episode 4
Dark Matter is thought to be the cosmic glue that holds the universe together.
Friday, April 19
Secrets of the Cosmic Web
Season 10 • Episode 1
New astronomical research is beginning to reveal an invisible scaffold of dark matter.
Saturday, April 20
War of the Galaxies
Season 9 • Episode 6
The Milky Way will face the Andromeda Galaxy in a struggle that could create a new super galaxy.
Saturday, April 20
Birth of the Monster Black Holes
Season 9 • Episode 9
New discoveries reveal a supermassive black hole from the earliest days of the cosmos.
Saturday, April 20
Earth's Death Orbit
Season 8 • Episode 9
Earth's journey is a perilous one and a new discovery reveals that the planet could be in danger.
Saturday, April 20
Mystery of Alien Worlds
Season 9 • Episode 11
Experts use cutting-edge astronomy to investigate mysterious alien worlds.
Monday, April 22
Are Black Holes Real?
Season 6 • Episode 1
Cosmologists say there are black holes throughout the Universe, but they've never seen one.
Monday, April 22
Strange Lives of Dwarf Planets
Season 6 • Episode 8
New discoveries reveal the secrets of hundreds of strange, tiny worlds called dwarf planets.
Tuesday, April 23
Twin Suns: The Alien Mysteries
Season 6 • Episode 2
Star systems with binary stars, once relegated to science-fiction, may actually exist.
Tuesday, April 23
Uranus & Neptune: Rise of the Ice Giants
Season 6 • Episode 5
Uranus and Neptune are mysterious, icy worlds at the edge of the solar system.
Wednesday, April 24
The Quasar Engima
Season 6 • Episode 7
Quasars are the most powerful objects in the universe and ultimately destroy everything that exists.
Wednesday, April 24
Death of the Milky Way
Season 6 • Episode 4
Experts utilize the latest science and discoveries to find the cause of the Milky Way's slow death.
Thursday, April 25
War on Asteroids
Season 6 • Episode 9
Scientists use cutting-edge technology to stop an asteroid apocalypse.
Thursday, April 25
Secret History of Mercury
Season 6 • Episode 6
Mercury has a dangerous secret that may one day threaten life on Earth.
Friday, April 26
Dark History of the Solar System
Season 6 • Episode 3
New discoveries reveal that Earth and the planets were formed from the destruction of alien worlds.
Friday, April 26
Mystery of Spacetime
Season 6 • Episode 10
Spacetime is the secret structure that controls our universe, time, light, and energy.
Saturday, April 27
Aliens of the Microcosmos
Season 9 • Episode 4
New discoveries reveal how bacteria, viruses and other alien micro-organisms built life on Earth.
Saturday, April 27
The Next Supernova
Season 9 • Episode 7
A supernova hasn't occurred in 400 years, and the search is on to locate which star may be next.
Saturday, April 27
Secret Lives of Neutrinos
Season 9 • Episode 8
New discoveries reveal how neutrinos pass through objects undetected.
Saturday, April 27
Gravitational Waves Revealed
Season 9 • Episode 10
Gravitational waves are helping scientists explore the cosmos in revolutionary, new ways.
Monday, April 29
How the Universe Built Your Car
Season 4 • Episode 1
The history of the Universe lies beneath the hood of your car.
Monday, April 29
Edge of the Solar System
Season 4 • Episode 4
Huge magnetic bubbles millions of miles wide; strange invisible matter.
Tuesday, April 30
Venus: Earth's Evil Twin
Season 4 • Episode 2
Taking a look at Venus to understand how our world will be destroyed.
Tuesday, April 30
Dawn of Life
Season 4 • Episode 5
Discovering how life on Earth came to be; life on Earth may have come from another planet.
Wednesday, May 1
Monster Black Hole
Season 4 • Episode 3
Looking inside a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way.
Wednesday, May 1
Forces of Mass Construction
Season 4 • Episode 8
Scientists attempt to understand how this strange force of magnetism works.
Thursday, May 2
Secret History of the Moon
Season 4 • Episode 6
The incredible secrets of the moon are revealed; the moon might be responsible for life on Earth.
Thursday, May 2
Strangest Alien Worlds
Season 5 • Episode 9
Discoveries of new planets have revealed countless worlds much stranger than Earth.
Friday, May 3
The First Oceans
Season 4 • Episode 7
Scientists suspected the oceans came from molecules from distant stars by asteroids.
Friday, May 3
Mystery of Planet 9
Season 5 • Episode 2
Scientists have discovered a planet ten times the size of Earth on the edge of the solar system.