Season 2009 2009

TV-G

Solar storms, disruptions of the complex magnetic fields on the Sun, cause serious problems on Earth. One storm approximately 150 years ago fried telegraph lines around the world. Another in 1989 resulted in a massive power blackout in Canada. Implementing a Japanese satellite trained on the Sun's surface, scientists are hoping they can predict when and where the next big one will erupt.

The hardest known substance on Earth is known for its value and beauty. Scientists believe diamonds could also hold incredible possibilities for the future. Their incredible durability and their unique properties could revolutionize everything from computer chips to space explorations. All diamonds, however, contain minor flaws. What science must do is create a perfect "super diamond".

Naked Science examines different theories on the origins of Earth's water, fueling the debate over water on other planets and the likelihood of alien life.

When the Earth was being formed, it was too hot to include water in the mix. Scientists came to believe that the liquid covering most of our planet's surface was brought here via comets. Recent research reveals that the moisture held by comets varies somewhat from the liquid that now fills our oceans, so where else could the water have come from? New theories incorporating different sources have been proposed.

The traditional thinking said that as the sun aged and its gravitation pull weakened, the Earth would gradually slip away and meet its end. Using cutting edge models, experts in climatology, biology, geology and astronomy are able to project millions, perhaps billions, of years into the future. They conjecture that supercontinents will form and then splinter, the oceans will float into space, and all life will become extinct from the planet.

The Galileo probe was the first craft to orbit an outer planet, making incredible discoveries about Jupiter, the liquid and gas ball that's 90,000 miles across. It found evidence of liquid water on Europa, one of the planet's 63 moons, and intriguing motions underneath Jupiter's surface raised speculation of possible life. This episode looks below the clouds to discover what is happening on the giant planet.

Dramatic new evidence from the star Mira shows as never before a brief but extremely significant moment in the death of a star. It confirms our worst fears for planet Earth -- and all life on it -- when our own sun reaches the same point. In this Naked Science special we find out about all the latest science designed to save our planet and ourselves.

Fourteen thousand years ago, a thick ice sheet a mile deep covered the continent of North America. Concealed beneath this vast expanse of ice, one of the worlds greatest geological mysteries, The Great Lakes, were forming. The Great Lakes are the worlds largest fresh water system but how these Great Lakes formed is still a mystery that scientists are trying to figure out. Many theories abound as to what gouged out the depths of these lakes. Were the deepest lake basins formed by the formidable grinding powers of a giant glacier? Or were they the result of an almighty comet crashing through the atmosphere and exploding about the site of the lakes? Naked Science explores all the possibilities of how these vast inland seas of blue gold were formed.

18,000 years ago there was a sudden change in climate which ends a global freeze which had lasted for several thousands of years. Melting ice caps drive up sea levels to create coastlines we recognise today and great glaciers thaw dramatically to re-sculpture the landscape. A mass extinction took place and as the human race adapted to these breath taking changes to their familiar environment, the seeds of our modern society were sown. The Worlds climate changed very quickly, with dramatic consequences for all life on the planet. Today our world is heating up at a similar rate what can the lessons of the past teach us about surviving our future?

The Earth is built to last. It is 4.5 billion years old. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you've had hot dinners, and it still orbits happily around the sun. But physics is a curious thing and it can harness devastating power -- enough even to destroy the world. Naked Science will analyze antimatter, black holes and even more amazing means of destruction -- and the havoc they could wreak on a planet. So strap in, buckle up, and enjoy the ride to doomsday.

Hurricanes are one of the most destructive weather events to strike our planet and have the same power as a nuclear weapon. Naked Science travels to the heart of a hurricane to understand how these violent winds are formed and the devastation they inflict on the communities they strike

Tornados are one of the most destructive forces of the planets with winds at 300 mile an hour. They can destroy buildings and hurl cars hundreds of feet through the air. Every year tornadoes decimate communities around the world killing hundreds of people. On February 5th 2008, 57 people lost their lives as 87 tornadoes devastated 5 states. It was Americas deadliest tornado outbreak in nearly a quarter of a century. Earth Investigated deconstructs a tornado to learn how they form and how the develop such ferocious winds.

Millions of years ago, Venus and Earth cut similar figures. Roughly the same size and about the same distance from the sun, their respective evolutions could have followed similar paths. But today, Venus is a seething vision of Hell, its battery-acid atmosphere and incessant, hurricane-force winds masking a blistering volcanic surface. Some scientists wonder if it is a harbinger of whats in store for Earth. Thanks to the European Space Agency, Venus Express the most sophisticated satellite ever to visit the planet is orbiting Earths estranged twin, gathering the data we need to figure out why Venus went bad. Could our home planet be hurtling towards a similar fate? And could the hostile Venusian environment, now seemingly devoid of biologys most fundamental ingredient water yet harbour life?

Secret World of Fireworks explores the closely held secrets, recipes, and techniques from the world of pyrotechnic showmen. National Geographic takes a behind the scenes look into this exclusive world with unique access from Zambelli Internationale of New Castle, Pennsylvania - Americas First Family of Fireworks - along with rocket scientists and chemists from Los Alamos, New Mexico.

NASA says that large meteors -- several hundred to a few thousand feet wide -- hit the Earth every 50 to 100 thousand years. Dr. Ted Bryant and his colleagues disagree; they think such massive impacts happen much more often. And this group of scientists may have found signs that a meteor hit the ocean and produced a mega-tsunami that devastated Australias coastline -- only 500 years ago. National Geographic joins the team as they scour the coastline and the ocean floor trying to prove that cosmic impacts, and the mega-tsunamis that result, have happened far more frequently, and much more recently, than anyone ever thought.

From the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains, Naked Science sheds new light on geological events that shaped the most iconic landscapes of the American West. In Washington State, scientists unearth new evidence confirming that a devastating mega-flood created the unique, scarlike features of the Channeled Scablands. In Colorado's San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains, researchers explore the mysteries behind what may have been the Earth's largest volcanic eruption.

An insider's look at NASA's Constellation program which hopes to establish a human outpost on the moon by 2020.

Stephen Hawking is one of the worlds most famous scientists. But ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease, has left him almost totally paralysedand it is progressing. Unable to walk, talk, or write, his only way of communicating is through a computer program that turns a small movement of a finger or the blink of an eye, into words from a vocal synthesizer. But Hawking remains determined to discover a theory of everything, a complete set of rules for the Universe. Where did the Universe come from and where is it going? What is the nature of time? Will it ever come to an end? This programme will explore Hawkings major contributions to the understanding of our Universe - from his revolutionary proof that our Universe originated in a Big Bang; to his ground breaking discovery that Black Holes are not completely black, but rather emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear, to his insights on string theory. Will he unlock the secret of creation before his time runs out?

Dr Spencer Wells retraces the footsteps of 200 random New Yorkers and proves they are all cousins. On a single day on a single street, with the DNA of just a couple of hundred random people, National Geographic Channel sets out to trace the ancestral footsteps of all humanity.
Narrated by Kevin Bacon, The Human Family Tree travels to one of the most diverse corners of the world -- Queens, N.Y. -- to demonstrate how we all share common ancestors who embarked on very different journeys. The goal: to retrace our ancestral footprints and prove we are all cousins in the "family of man."
Regardless of race, nationality or religion, all of us can trace our ancient origin back to the cradle of humanity, East Africa. What did our collective journey look like, and where did it take your specific ancestors?
At what point in our past did we first cross paths with the supposed strangers living in our neighborhood? Now, in The Human Family Tree, the people of this quintessential American melting pot find out that their connections go much deeper than a common ZIP code.
Cutting edge science, coupled with a cast of New Yorkers – each with their own unique genetic history - will help paint a picture of these amazing journeys. Ultimately, Man's First Migrations answers some of humanity's most burning questions, such as who we are and where we come from, and forces us to change how we think not only about our relationships with our neighbours, but ourselves.

65 million years ago an asteroid hit the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs, but no one has ever known where the asteroid came from or how it killed off nearly three quarters of all life on Earth. This Naked Science episode uncovers alarming new evidence that the dinosaurs were doomed 100 million years before this catastrophic event. Following a group of maverick scientists, Incinerator Earth reveals what really happened; how life on Earth nearly came to an end; and what might happen if an 8-mile-diameter asteroid struck us again.

Weekly earthquakes began rattling Reno, Nevada in 2008. Soon, several tremors strong enough to be felt were happening each day. The frequency soon escalated until hundred had been recorded. Seismologists have been monitoring the swarm and wondering if this is all building up to one major quake and the destruction of the city.

This episode examines the effects of a hypothetical radiological attack from a car bomb on a major U.S. city. The purpose is to give useful information in the event that such an event should occur. The stories of several characters are told to dramatize the effects on various types of people: those responding in the "hot zone", a person near to the blast whose symptoms develop over time, a pregnant woman who must evacuate, and investigators who comb through debris to determine who set the blast.

Last year, for the first time in the history of space exploration, scientists spotted and tracked an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. About the size of a truck, the asteroid slammed into the Nubian Desert in Sudan, in nearly the exact spot and only a few seconds from the time scientists had predicted. Now, together with NASA scientists, NAKED SCIENCE joins researchers as they examine the remnants of the asteroid to unlock the clues to help us prevent--or simply survive--future incidents.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/4652/Overview#ixzz0h2O4AWhe

Overlooking the picturesque city of Napels, Italy is the active volcano Vesuvius. Its history includes hundreds of eruptions, the most well-known being the eruption in 79 A.D. that wiped Pomeii off of the map. Scientists have no doubt it will erupt again and will cause even more death and destruction as the area's population continues to grow. Their job now is to try and predict when the inevitable will happen.

France's Lascaux region is home to the famous caves decorated with drawings by prehistoric man. Scientists and historians have long though they represented the simple concerns of the people of that time: hunting and gathering, for example. Now, some scientists believe the drawings represent much more than that; they believe they show an advanced knowledge of the night skies and of the stars which moved through the skies.

In a subterranean journey below the Earth's surface, scientists discover such phenomena as life in the crust and what is behind the San Andreas Fault and massive earthquakes, as well as how diamonds travel through the earth.

(aka Cracking the Earth's Crust).