Wonders Of The Solar System

Wonders Of The Solar System is one of the most visually stunning series of recent years. The show of five episodes is presented by the ever popular Dr Brian Cox. His tour of our vicinity in space is both knowledgeable and accessible.

The series has been an overwhelming success. Viewers have enthused about the spectacular visual effects many of which are CGI. However, many of the pictures of the Sun, planets and moons are in fact actual images taken by telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr Brian Cox is an able narrator and his own obvious love of the subject keeps the interest for the audience.

Each episode focuses on a specific ‘wonder’ of the solar system. The first is called ‘The Empire of the Sun’ and shows how the formation and behaviour of the Sun affects each planet in the Solar System. The second is called ‘Order out of Chaos’ and describes the rings of Saturn and the geysers of Enceladus.

The third is titled ‘The Thins Blue Line’ and looks at the atmosphere of the Earth and Titan. The fourth is ‘Dead or Alive’ which looks at the size of planets, volcanoes, and the moon. The final episode is titled ‘Aliens’ and explores life surviving in extreme environments, and also how the search for life on other worlds has followed the search for water, focusing on Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa.