The BEST Episodes of How the Universe Works
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: May 14, 2021
Network: Science Channel
A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.
#1 - Aliens of the Microcosmos
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired Apr 7, 2021
New discoveries reveal the power of microscopic alien organisms.
8.30 
#2 - Secret History of Pluto
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired Jan 3, 2017
Pluto is the subject, with an investigation into whether the planet has an underground ocean. 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 harbour life.
8.28 
#3 - The Interstellar Mysteries
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired Jan 22, 2019
Interstellar space is the space between the universe's stars and new discoveries reveal that it's not empty and unremarkable as previously thought, but filled with weird objects and strange phenomena that might hold the darkest secrets of our cosmos.
8.27 
#4 - Earth's Death Orbit
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired Feb 27, 2020
Earth's journey through the universe is a perilous one, and new discoveries reveal that our planet is heading toward a mysterious area of the cosmos that could eject us out of the Milky Way and into oblivion.
8.26 
#5 - When Supernovas Strike
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired Jan 15, 2019
Supernovas are the violent death of giant stars, and new discoveries reveal that these cataclysmic events create the elements that are essential to all life in the universe.
8.25 
#6 - The First Oceans
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired Aug 25, 2015
For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids, but a new discovery suggests that their true origins may be more exotic.
8.24 
#7 - Galaxies
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired May 10, 2010
Galaxies, home to stars, planets and us, come in all shapes and sizes. Witnesses the evolution of galaxies; from clouds of cold gas floating in the voids of space 13 billion years ago, to the magnificent spirals that fill our night sky.
8.23 
#8 - Did the Big Bang Really Happen?
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired Feb 12, 2019
New discoveries are causing astronomers to question if the Big Bang really happened, and using the latest science, they investigate if it wasn't just the start of our universe but many mysterious multiverses.
8.23 
#9 - Hunt for Alien Life
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired Feb 26, 2019
The latest discoveries suggest life beyond this planet; scientists investigate if earth's life began elsewhere in the universe, and whether humans need to evolve to know for sure.
8.19 
#10 - Secret Lives of Neutrinos
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired May 12, 2021
8.17 
#11 - Forces of Mass Construction
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired Sep 1, 2015
Scientists attempt to understand how this strange force of magnetism works.
8.16 
#12 - Birth of the Earth
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired Aug 29, 2012
The Earth was formed by a series of cataclysms without which we would not exist. Could the same events have created other earth-like planets elsewhere in the Universe inhabited by creatures like us?
8.14 
#13 - Secret History of the Moon
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired Aug 18, 2015
Our Moon is stranger than you think, and we reveal its incredible secrets. Can we thank the Moon for life on Earth? What explains the mysterious tunnels beneath its surface? Is a lunar base the key to humanity's future in space?
8.14 
#14 - Curse of the White Dwarf
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired Apr 14, 2021
8.13 
#15 - Mission to a Comet
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired Mar 24, 2021
Experts embark on a ground-breaking mission to land on a comet.
8.12 
#16 - Big Bang
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired Apr 25, 2010
This is the greatest story ever told, the creation of everything us. The programme investigates how the Universe came into existence out of nothing, and how it grew from a miniscule point, smaller than an atomic particle, to the vast cosmos we see today.
8.11 
#17 - Battle of the Dark Universe
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired Feb 19, 2019
Dark matter and dark energy are locked in an epic battle for control of the cosmos, and the winner will determine the fate of the universe. New discoveries might reveal which force will emerge victorious.
8.11 
#18 - Edge of the Universe
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired Feb 13, 2020
We don't yet know where the edge of the universe is or what happens there; but thanks to cutting-edge technology and new discoveries, experts might finally reveal the secrets of the phenomena that can be found in deepest reaches of the cosmos.
8.09 
#19 - Dawn of Life
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired Aug 11, 2015
Discovering how life on Earth came to be; the possibility that life on Earth come from another planet.
8.05 
#20 - Nightmares of Neutron Stars
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired Jan 8, 2019
Neutron stars are strange and violent phenomena that defy the laws of physics, and new discoveries reveal that these bizarre nightmares are far more deadly than we ever thought, with the power to destroy planets and even other stars.
8.05 
#21 - Monster Black Hole
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired Jul 28, 2015
A look inside the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way to discover terrifying secrets about parallel universes, wormholes, and space-time.
8.01 
#22 - Solar Systems
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired May 24, 2010
Is our solar system unique? Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star, some 280 alien solar systems have been identified. It's only by looking at solar systems far beyond our own, that we can understand how remarkable our universe is.
8.00 
#23 - Journey to a Black Hole
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired Mar 24, 2021
Journey to the heart of the M87 supermassive black hole, the first and only black hole ever photographed, and explore the mystery of how it grew so large, what lies inside, and how it controls the entire galaxy.
8.00 
#24 - Black Holes
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired May 2, 2010
Black Holes,the most powerful destroyers in the Universe, the most mysterious phenomena in the heavens. For years they were only speculation, now modern astronomy is proving them frighteningly real and showing that they may well shape everything we see.
7.99 
#25 - Asteroids - Worlds that Never Were
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired Aug 22, 2012
From icy worlds with more fresh water than Earth to flying mountains of pure metal, asteroids shaped our past and promise much for the future. Could these enigmatic space rocks hold the key to how life in the Universe arises and is extinguished?
7.97