Episode
NOVA: New Eye on the Universe
Overview
Join scientists as they use NASA’s brand new James Webb Space Telescope to peer deep in time to hunt for the first stars and galaxies in our universe, and try to detect the fingerprints of life in the atmospheres of distant exoplanets.
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 50
- Episode
- Episode 4
- Air date
- 2023-02-22
- Runtime
- 54 min
Episode context
New Eye on the Universe is Episode 4 in Season 50 of NOVA. It aired on 2023-02-22. The runtime is 54 min.
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Episode 3: Ancient Builders of the Amazon
Recent discoveries in archaeology are exploding the myth of the Amazon as a primeval wilderness, revealing traces of ancient civilizations that flourished for centuries, with populations numbering in the millions.
Episode 5: Weathering the Future
It’s hard not to notice: our weather is changing. From longer, hotter heat waves, to more intense rainstorms, to megafires and multi-year droughts, the U.S. is experiencing the full range of impacts from a changing global climate. At the same time, many on the front lines are fighting back – innovating solutions, marshaling ancient wisdom, and developing visionary ideas. The lessons they're learning today can help all of us adapt in the years ahead, as the planet gets warmer and our weather gets more extreme.
More episodes from this season
Episode 2: Star Chasers of Senegal
A NASA spacecraft named Lucy blasts off from Cape Canaveral on a mission to the Trojans, a group of asteroids over 400 million miles from Earth thought to hold important clues about the origins of our solar system. Just hours before, in Senegal, West Africa, a team of scientists sets out to capture extraordinarily precise observations vital to the success of the Lucy mission.
Episode 6: Chasing Carbon Zero
The U.S. recently set an ambitious climate change goal: zero carbon emissions by 2050. And to achieve that, slash emissions in half by 2030. Is it possible? And what kind of technology would it take? Meet scientists and engineers who are convinced we can achieve carbon zero in time to avoid the biggest impacts of climate change.
Episode 1: London Super Tunnel
Thousands of engineers, technicians and workers race to build Europe’s biggest construction project–London’s new railroad, the Elizabeth Line.
Episode 7: Saving the Right Whale
North Atlantic right whales are among the planet’s most critically endangered large ocean mammals. With fewer than 350 remaining as of 2023, they could be extinct within 20 years. But teams of marine biologists and whale rescuers are determined to help save the species. Follow their efforts and get a glimpse into the lives of these giants of the sea and their prospects for survival.
Episode 8: Hidden Volcano Abyss
In January 2022, one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history rocked the Pacific islands of Tonga, sending shockwaves around the world. Through first-person accounts of the disaster and eyewitness footage, experience the terrifying power of the eruption and the devastating tsunami that struck the shores of Tonga. Why was this eruption so big, how did it cause the tsunami, and could another disaster loom?
Episode 9: Your Brain: Perception Deception (1)
Is what you see real? Join neuroscientist Heather Berlin on a quest to understand how your brain shapes your reality, and why you can’t always trust what you perceive. In the first hour of this two-part series, learn what the latest research shows about how your brain processes and shapes the world around you, and discover the surprising tricks and shortcuts your brain takes to help you survive.
Episode 10: Your Brain: Who's in Control? (2)
Are you in control, or is your brain controlling you? Dive into the latest research on the subconscious with neuroscientist Heather Berlin. Sleepwalking, anesthesia, game theory, and more reveal surprising insights in this eye-opening journey to discover what’s really driving the decisions you make.
Episode 11: Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky
Today, Earth is enveloped by a thin veil of gas, a narrow band of atmosphere that protects a world covered in lush green vegetation, deep blue oceans, and abundant life. But 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was a very different place: a hellscape of molten lava and barren rock, under relentless bombardment from meteors, and with no atmosphere whatsoever. So how did our familiar blue sky come to be? Breathtakingly realistic animations and a chorus of science experts reveal how the primordial inferno first gave rise to an orange-hued cauldron of toxic gasses that would be deadly to us today. Witness how the first drops of rain splashed down on the searing planet, setting the stage for the evolution of life. And discover how life itself helped create the air we all breathe today.
Episode 12: Ancient Earth: Frozen
700 million years ago, Earth was a giant snowball cloaked in ice from pole to pole—a global deep freeze that held the planet in a stranglehold, threatening the survival of the earliest complex life. How did life manage to hold on in this forbidding world? Leading scientists investigate how this catastrophe may have become a catalyst for life to evolve in creative new ways as it bounced back from the brink—setting the stage for the astonishing complexity we see today.
Episode 13: Ancient Earth: Life Rising
For billions of years, life teemed in the oceans of planet Earth while the land was desolate and inhospitable. So how did life make the leap to land? Scientists explore how some of the earliest life emerged and invaded a barren, rocky landscape, eventually transforming it into a verdant, green world. Gripping visual effects reveal an alien landscape dominated by towering fungi before the arrival of plants. Witness how the first plants made landfall and partnered with fungi to create soil that would sustain them. And discover how, once life emerged on land, it fundamentally altered the very ground it grew on.