The WORST episodes of How the Universe Works
Every episode of How the Universe Works ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of How the Universe Works!
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 - Birth of Monster Black Holes
Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/19/2021
New discoveries reveal an astonishing supermassive black hole that was born during the earliest days of the cosmos, and finding out how this giant grew so large so quickly may help to explain the very formation of the universe itself.
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#2 - The Search for a Second Earth
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/3/2014
Is there another Earth out there with liquid oceans, rocky continents and life like us? Astronomers seek the answer with spectroscopy, direct imaging and telescopes. They hope to find evidence of atmospheres, magnetospheres and signs of life.
Watch Now:Amazon
#3 - The End of the Universe
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/16/2014
How and when will the Universe end? Gravity and dark matter are poised to annihilate the Universe in a big crunch. Expansion and dark energy may tear it apart. Or, a phase transition could kill us tomorrow in a cosmic death bubble.
Watch Now:Amazon
#4 - First Second of the Big Bang
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/30/2014
The first second of the Universe, the creation of everything when space, time, matter and energy burst into existence. It is the most important second in history, which seals the Universe’s fate and defines everything that comes after - including us.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Jupiter: Destroyer or Savior?
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/23/2014
Beneath Jupiter's clouds lie our solar system's deepest secrets: from its violent youth, through the birth of life to the death of the sun. Scientists are discovering that the solar system, the Earth and every living thing exists because of Jupiter.
Watch Now:Amazon
#6 - Did a Black Hole Build the Milky Way?
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/20/2014
What built the Milky Way? New research might now have the answer, revealing an unlikely hero. At the heart of our galaxy sits a super massive black hole, one of the most destructive objects in the Universe. Could it be our creator?
Watch Now:Amazon
#7 - Weapons of Mass Extinction
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/13/2014
Asteroids strike, planets collide, black holes blast out death rays, volcanoes erupt and ice engulfs the planet. These are the universe’s weapons of extinction. They’ve happened before - wiping out entire species, and they will happen again. Are we next?
Watch Now:Amazon
#8 - Hunt for Alien Evidence
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/16/2020
The discovery of extraterrestrial life might face an impossible challenge: the physics of the universe itself; but using cutting-edge tech, experts might be on the verge of a groundbreaking find -- and the evidence could already be in hand.
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#9 - Is Saturn Alive?
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/6/2014
Saturn’s secrets are out. The ferocious weather, the evolving ring system and the discovery of active geology on Saturn’s moons has rewritten the textbooks. Scientists are looking for life on Saturn’s moons and they may have found it on Titan.
Watch Now:Amazon
#11 - Journey From the Center of the Sun
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/9/2014
How does light escape from the sun? We take a journey from the centre of the sun, following the path of light. We witness its fiery birth from in the core, its 430,000 mile battle against gravity and magnetism, and its escape from the solar surface.
Watch Now:Amazon
#13 - Black Holes: The Secret Origin
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/6/2016
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.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
#14 - A Robot's Guide to Mars
Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/12/2023
Mars is infested with robots, orbiting the planet and roaming the Martian surface on a mission to uncover its secrets; now, Perseverance joins this dedicated group of machines to uncover if there is, or was ever, life on the Red Planet.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
#15 - The Winds of Creation
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/18/2012
Destructive weather forces are symptoms of Earth's creative energy. In our quest to discover if we are alone in the universe, we shouldn't just look for worlds, we should look for weather; find that megastorm, and maybe we will find alien life.
#16 - Secrets of Time Travel
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/30/2020
Time travel might be more possible than we ever imagined, and today, cutting-edge technology and the latest research into black holes and wormholes is helping experts get steps closer to discovering how to travel through time.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
#17 - Megaflares - Cosmic Firestorms
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/1/2012
The Universe is a magnetic minefield. Spinning star systems crackle and explode, magnetic monsters rip worlds apart, star-quakes shoot beams of devastating energy, and galactic flamethrowers fire gamma-rays half way across the Universe. Will we find Earth in the firing line?
#18 - The Next Supernova
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/5/2021
The galaxy is full of stars ready to explode into supernovas, a stellar detonation powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth; it's an event that hasn't occurred in 400 years, and the search is on to locate which star may be next.
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#20 - Volcanoes - The Furnaces of Life
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/11/2012
Scientists are discovering volcanoes on worlds we once thought dead. From our nearest planetary neighbour to tiny moons billions of miles away, today we are discovering volcanoes on alien worlds. Are these worlds where, tomorrow, we might find life?
#22 - The Dark Matter Enigma
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/31/2017
Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to the 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.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
