TV-GSeason 5
Synopsis
Watch How the Universe Works (2010) Season 5 online on iFILM — nine 2016 episodes that lean into the cosmos at its most dangerous and strange.
This run is darker than the seasons before it. Whole episodes are built around stars that kill: vampire stars siphoning matter off their neighbours, supernovas with the power to vaporize a planet outright. One installment hunts the elusive Planet Nine out past Neptune, a world ten times Earth's mass. Then come the first close-up portraits of Pluto and the argument over a warm ocean hidden under its ice, the rise and fall of life on Mars, and the secret origin of supermassive black holes. It all closes on dark matter — the invisible stuff the universe couldn't hold together without.
The season rides the science that was fresh at the time, from the New Horizons flyby of Pluto to the Planet Nine debate. Fewer broad strokes, more specific discoveries, and the pacing keeps non-astronomers along for the ride. Stream How the Universe Works Season 5 online on iFILM.
9 episodes
S5·E1Most Amazing Discoveries
From the furthest reaches of space to our own cosmic backyard, we count down the discoveries that changed everything we know about our universe.
S5·E2Mystery of Planet 9
Scientists have discovered a mysterious ninth planet on the very edge of our solar system. Ten times the size of Earth, this strange world could have moons with extraterrestrial life.
S5·E3Black Holes: The Secret Origin
Recent discoveries could explain how supermassive black holes grow so big, one of the universe's most mysterious questions. Neither dark matter nor cannibalism can fully explain these monsters, but the latest science might finally provide an answer.
S5·E4Secret History of Pluto
The first close-up images of Pluto revealed unimaginable secrets of this mysterious frozen world. Now, scientists investigate if Pluto is home to a warm ocean of liquid water beneath its surface, and whether this underground ocean could harbor life.
S5·E5Stars That Kill
The universe is home to real-life Death Stars that could destroy planet Earth. The latest science reveals the terrifying secrets of NASA's six deadliest: vampire stars, supernovas that can vaporize a planet, and unpredictable stars gone rogue.
S5·E6The Universe's Deadliest
The universe is a dangerous place, and we explore the deadliest spots in the cosmos. Between earth and the edge of the universe, there are a million ways to die, and our crash test dummy is on a mission to reveal the worst.
S5·E7Life and Death on the Red Planet
Life once existed on Mars, but a series of devastating mass extinctions have made present-day life nearly impossible. The latest science shows how Martian life keeps bouncing back as it transforms from a watery world like Earth into a desert planet.
S5·E8The Dark Matter Enigma
Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to our universe since its birth, and new discoveries reveal that it could create black holes, cause mass extinctions, and might even shape life on Earth itself.
S5·E9Strangest Alien Worlds
Discoveries of new planets have revealed countless worlds much stranger than Earth. Some of these worlds don't have stars, others are made out of diamonds. Will we ever find a planet like Earth, or are these distant worlds stranger than fiction?
11 seasons
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