Science

Time i s a concept which is so familiar, and yet recent discoveries have revealed it to be far stranger than we could have possibly imagined. In the final programme in the series, Brian explores the enigma of time - a phenomenon we take for granted but which is one of the biggest mysteries in the universe. He recalls highlights from his TV series that touch upon this conundrum.

We float along the river of time. But does that river have a source? Where did time come from? Some believe time and space are one thing, and the Big Bang started the cosmic clock. Others believe the universe existed for almost half a million "years" before light could move and time began. Still others say time is older than our universe. But what if time itself is an illusion? Incredible new experiments may hold the answer. One groundbreaking experiment gives us the power to punch holes in time…and another may create a machine that operates outside time’s boundaries!

The episode begins with Tyson describing how pattern recognition manifested in early civilization as using astronomy and astrology to predict the passing of the seasons, including how the passage of a comet was often taken as an omen. Tyson continues to explain that the origin of comets only became known in the 20th century due to the work of Jan Oort and his hypothesis of the Oort cloud. Tyson then continues to relate the collaboration between Edmond Halley and Isaac Newton in the last part of the 17th century in Cambridge. The collaboration would result in the publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the first major work to describe the laws of physics in mathematical terms, despite objections and claims of plagiarism from Robert Hooke and financial difficulties of the Royal Society of London. Tyson explains how this work challenged the prevailing notion that God had planned out the heavens, but would end up influencing many factors of modern life, including space flight. Tyson further describes Halley's contributions including determining Earth's distance to the sun, the motion of stars and predicting the orbit of then-unnamed Halley's Comet using Newton's laws. Tyson contrasts these scientific approaches to understanding the galaxy compared to what earlier civilizations had done, and considers this advancement as mankind's first steps into exploring the universe. The episode ends with an animation of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies' merging based on the principles of Newton's laws.

NASA's revolutionary Juno Probe had a goal visiting Jupiter -- to reveal the deepest mysteries of the Solar System. Everything we see in the our planetary system today is affected by Jupiter somehow in the past or now. So in many ways, Juno is actually giving us a view into the history of the Solar System.
But there are many other questions. Does Jupiter have a core? Why it has a surprisingly warm atmosphere? What's driving Jupiter's storms? What is going on its weird cyclones, its gigantic swirls? The auroras of Jupiter are tremendously large, bigger than the planet itself. where are they coming from? What we're learning, what we're unlocking, it's mind-blowing.

Discover the Eras of the Universe and the answer to this big question: When Will Time End? Once the notion that the universe started with a rapid inflation nicknamed the Big Bang became accepted by the majority of scientists, many possible fates are predicted by rival scientific hypotheses, including futures of both finite and infinite duration. The ultimate fate of the universe is dependent on the shape of the universe and what role Dark energy will play as the universe ages.

Imagine a world where infinite copies of you are playing out every storyline of your life. It sounds like a plot stolen straight from Hollywood, but far from it. This is the multiverse. Until very recently the whole idea of the multiverse was dismissed as a fantasy, but now this strangest of ideas is at the cutting edge of science. And for a growing number of scientists, the multiverse is the only way we will ever truly make sense of the world we are in. Do multiple universes exist? And if so, which one are we actually in?" Imagine a world where dinosaurs still walk the earth. A world where the Germans won World War II and you are president of the United States. Imagine a world where the laws of physics no longer apply.