69 replies to this topic

[Gharlane]

From History.com:

From the planets to the stars and out to the edge of the unknown, history and science collide in this epic exploration of the Universe and its mysteries. It's a very old universe. Yet just 50 years since man first ventured into outer space, the heavens are yielding their greatest secrets. Robotic rovers give us eyes on the red rock of Mars--NASA probes slam into comets at hyper speed--deep-space telescopes capture violent images of the birth of stars and their collapse into black holes. All have significantly changed the way we see ourselves. We wonder, is there anywhere else out there that that can support life? Using cutting-edge computer graphics, this series brings the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres. Episodes examine how discoveries were made and the scientists and explorers who dared to venture into the uncharted territory of the universe.

This show's pretty good -- I'm surprised I didn't see it here before now.

[jmilazzo]

Thanks for posting the information. I had not heard of the show but plan to DVR the remaining episodes.

[greybear]

This is a wonderful series, probably on par with Sagan's Cosmos.

[Ethos]

The one thing that kind of bugs me about the show, is that every episode (at least so far) has turned into "101 ways in which the earth could be destroyed." I get that they think it's neat and all that, but I'd rather learn about other planets and the sun without hearing about how many million tons of TNT whatever event would be like if it impacted earth.

[Gharlane]

At least they're not as overly-enthused about it as they are in MegaDisasters.

[Gharlane]

The one thing that kind of bugs me about the show, is that every episode (at least so far) has turned into "101 ways in which the earth could be destroyed."

Jimminy, you ain't kidding! I was watching the one on Venus and Mercury, and once again, they took a side trek on what would happen if a meteorite the size of the one that created the largest crater on Mercury (and made it buckle up on the opposite side of the impact) hit the Earth.

[The Moses]

Is that Luke Skywalker narrating these shows? (Mark Hamill)

Edited by The Moses, Jul 25, 2007 @ 8:46 AM.

[greybear]

Tonight's Saturn episode didn't end with gloom and doom. Nice touch.

[The Moses]

I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but here goes: if a meteor hit, or humans killed themselves through war or bacterial agents or however, how long would it take before there was no trace whatsoever of civilization? All steel structures rusted into dust, no roads, all quarries and mines collapsed or eroded to the point where they no longer show signs of human work. And this includes no structures or artifacts hidden under layers of earth, either, waiting for an archaeologist (alien) to dig up. Even those must eventually degrade. Any one have any idea?

[Rabrab]

Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years, and quite possibly millions, since you're saying no trace of anything man-made can remain to be found. Think about the age of the stonework that's still standing in Egypt, South America or Southeast Asia. The oldest one at Saqqara is coming up on 4700 years old, and it's a long way from eroded into unrecognizibility. The stoneworks in Peru are about the same age. There are stone buildings under the Sea of Japan off Okinawa that may be over 10,000 years old. Given that, how long would it take for the cement footings that support structures like the Golden Gate, the Mackinac, or the George Washington Bridge take to completely crumble? But even that's a drop in the bucket -- The Grotte Chauvet is one of hundreds of natural caverns cut into the limestone cliffs that form the Ardeche Gorge, and it's got paintings and carvings on the walls that have been dated to 32,000 years ago.

[The Moses]

Sidenote: I don't think the stone structures in the Sea of Japan are confirmed man-made.

Thanks for the answer, but tens of thousands to millions is quite a big difference. I suppose the answer is unknowable, however, since natural processes of degradation are dependent on so many factors and cannot be predicted. But it is interesting to think that is possible for an intelligent species to have evolved on this planet, say ten million years ago, some fifty million years after the dinosaurs, that advanced to a level as great as our own, but today there remains no evidence whatsoever of it.

I wonder how long it would take all our satellites to either float away or fall back to earth? Or would they stay exactly as they are for billions of years until the Sun engulfs the planet?

[TheNorth]

I am looking forward to tonight's episode on "Alien Galaxies." I have loved this show so far, but I am very interested to see an episode outside our solar system. Should be great!

[Gharlane]

I wonder if they'll squeeze in a doomsday scenario involving our impending (in galactic time) collision with Andromeda?

[TheNorth]

Aww...give me a break. I'm sure it won't be like that. In fact last week's Saturn episode didn't really feature any of that. It was very informative I thought.

Regardless it should be cool to see the further galaxies tonight.

[suzysite]

I wonder if they'll squeeze in a doomsday scenario involving our impending (in galactic time) collision with Andromeda?

Funny you said that. They did mention a possible collision and even had a closing shot of the Andromeda galaxy looming nearer in the sky. I'm surprised they didn't add some Jaws music as it crept closer and closer...

I do love this series, though.

Is that Luke Skywalker narrating these shows? (Mark Hamill)

The narrator's name is Erik Thompson.

Edited by suzysite, Aug 1, 2007 @ 6:53 AM.

[becca656]

I've watched most of the episodes and only one thing really bothers me - and it happened again last night: constant repetition of the same images. I think the collision of the two galaxies was shown at least five times; the rings of Saturn disappeared multiple times; the lightning storms on Venus were shown multiple times.

I understand repetition is a good way to make a point, but seriously - how about a little variation? Some of these images and statements were almost mantra-like and there's more to the planets and the universe than this.

Nebulas ought to be good next week, too, and I'm sure we will again be treated to the death of our own Sun/Star. Multiple times.

I don't think I missed a week, but have they already presented Neptune, Uranus and Pluto? That seems like it could be done or may have already been done in one week.

[TheNorth]

Well glad you do enjoy the series too.

I found this poll on The History Channel's website about Pluto...they want us to voice our opinion. Should Pluto be a planet still? Fun little debate? What do you guys think?

http://www.history.c...verse-pluto.jsp

[Gharlane]

Funny you said that. They did mention a possible collision and even had a closing shot of the Andromeda galaxy looming nearer in the sky. I'm surprised they didn't add some Jaws music as it crept closer and closer...

Heh. I wonder if the collision will disturb the orbits of the planets?

[TheNorth]

Oooh. Tomorrow's episode is on the life and death of stars. That seems so interesting...it is crazy to think all over the universe, stars like the sun just burn out one day.

[Gharlane]

Tonight's episode will be about the outer planets, including Pluto. I guess that explains the poll on their website.

[suzysite]

I guess I had never fully grasped why Pluto was downgraded before. Their explaination made sense - although, for tradition's sake, I'd have left it as a planet.....but nobody asked me.

I was fascinated with Uranus (hee, I'm 12) and its smooth featurelessness. I wonder how they can tell how fast it rotates if there are no landmarks to watch for? The sideways rings are awesome, too.

[Phenobarbara]

I have to ask: which is the correct pronunciation of Uranus? On last night's ep, they pronounced it "Urine-is". That's the first time I've heard that pronunciation. I always thought it was "Ur-anus", hence the obligatory giggle whenever someone says it.

I loved the beginning of the episode when they did a sinister closeup of the Caltech's guy face "The man. who downgraded. Pluto!"

[GungHo]

That guy totally got a villain edit.

I could have done without the obiligatory "if an astronaut went into the depths of Uranus (tee-hee), he would die" speech.

I also think that Neptune and Uranus totally got the short stick. This was a show entitled "The Outer Planets" and they spent half the show talking about how Pluto ain't a planet, and the other half talking about two actual planets. What's with that? You can just say, "The outer planets: Pluto is not a planet. It's a ball of stuff at the edge of the solar system, along with a bunch of other stuff. So, it's not a planet. Next on The Universe, two actual planets."

Next time, SETI. Maybe we'll spend 30 minutes discussing how ET was actually an animatronic and aliens probably won't have pointy ears.

[AD35]

I'm sure we will again be treated to the death of our own Sun/Star. Multiple times.

And the next ep features "The Most Dangerous Places". Just what is with the fascination with the doomsday scenarios? My favorite ones have been the ones where the planets are the subjects, and no mention of how life on Earth could be destroyed. For the outer planets, I agree they should have just focused on Neptune and Uranus, and leave Pluto to be covered with objects beyond Neptune's orbit plus the asteroids.

[countchocula]

I think the preferred pronunciation is Urine-is, but who hasn't said Ur-anus?

[Zzingerific]

I've watched most of the episodes and only one thing really bothers me - and it happened again last night: constant repetition of the same images.

You're not kidding, becca656. It's a problem that all of the new History Channel shows have. I remember during the French Revolution program, the same group of soldiers clad in blue rode up to Versaillies about twenty times. For all the weeks of "on location" shooting they did, they sure didn't get much footage.

What bothers me more is their stupid metaphors. The issue was how stars run out of hydrogen, and their metaphor had something to do with gambling. It wasn't very illuminating, and since it didn't fit all too well it took them quite a while to explain the metaphor. It was like they were in trouble with the mob or something and had to include all this stock footage from Vegas. At other points in the series they've had long digressions about rides at amusement parks and some sort of polynesian (I think?) dance, among others. I mean, we have lots of telescopes, Hubble was up there for a long time, and we've got CGI that's better than ever; why would I want to see a roller coaster and roulette wheel?

I love the series, but at times I feel like it's been produced by Fisher Price.

[countchocula]

Did I miss ir or did the Mars episode just pretty much ignore the moons?

[suzysite]

Hey, didja hear that the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are on a collision path? Huh? Didja?

Because they only mentioned it about 40 times.

[clarknt67]

and we only have to wait 500,000,000 years to watch the fireworks!

Zzingerific I'm glad it's not just me. I hate the metaphors too. Sometimes they are so tortureously created they serve to confuse the subject more than they illuminate it. Sometimes I'm thinking, "Just frickin' tell me the science, instead trying to relate it to playing cards or frickin' Porsches." I really do believe it would be easier to understand if they just pulled out the periodic table or drew the math on the screen. They used Porsche cars in one ep and that one was so poorly done (I have no idea how they were relating them to astronomy, it made no real sense when I watched it). It was that ep that drew my attention to that storytelling device, and I started to notice how ineffective and annoying it was.

Edited by clarknt67, Aug 22, 2007 @ 4:05 PM.

[greybear]

Well, no one can complain that they snuck in a gloom-and-doom scenario. The ENTIRE episode was a gloom-and-doom scenario.