Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds

Unfolding Universe

June 2002 •English

Uncover clues about the origins of our galaxy with a team of astronomers and scientists as they strive to locate a strange presence hidden deep in the core of the galaxy. Learn how this mysterious realm harbors clues to the origin of the world and probes the future course of our galaxy and universe.

Human Nature

March 2019 •English

The biggest tech revolution of the 21st century isn’t digital, it’s biological. A breakthrough called CRISPR gives us unprecedented control over the basic building blocks of life. It opens the door to curing disease, reshaping the biosphere, and designing our own children. This documentary is a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting, and the genetic engineers who are testing its limits.

John Glenn: American Hero

October 1998 •English

John Glenn goes on another journey into outer space for tests on how old age is affected there. His whole life is chronicled in this informative documentary, from his first mission above to his experience as a senator and finally, his blast into space at age 77.

Microcosmos

September 1996 •French

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Shatner in Space

December 2021 •English

The special details the events before, during, and after Shatner's life-changing flight - which made him the oldest person to ever travel to the cosmos - and the growing friendship between the Star Trek icon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, whose dreams of space travel, like many, were inspired by the original Star Trek series.

Second Genesis: The Quest for Life Beyond Earth

August 2017 •English

Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco explains what it takes to look for life beyond Earth, and what conditions are required for life to exist. Porco argues that Saturn’s moon Enceladus—with its plumes of water vapor spewing into space, confirmed organic materials, and evidence of hydrothermal vents at the bottom of its liquid ocean—is the most promising place to look. Could Enceladus be the key to proving once and for all that life is not unique to Earth? What would it mean—both scientifically and spiritually—if we found evidence of a true second genesis right here in our own galactic back yard?

Trauma in These Walls

Invalid date •English

A filmmaker returns to a house from his past where a great tragedy happened, in order to find a closure within the space that already feels too foreign.

Die Sonne

February 2024 •German

Extinction: The Facts

September 2020 •English

With a million species at risk of extinction, Sir David Attenborough explores how this crisis of biodiversity has consequences for us all, threatening food and water security, undermining our ability to control our climate and even putting us at greater risk of pandemic diseases.

The Asteroid Strikes Back

January 2024 •English

What if the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs struck again today? Would humans survive? Or would we go the way of the dinosaurs? Join me on a wild tour through a hypothetical apocalypse — and see what it would take for humanity to cling on through the worst disaster in the last 250 million years.

Beyond Hubble: Launching the Telescope of Tomorrow

December 2021 •English

Following engineers and scientists on a groundbreaking mission as they build, test and launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful observatory ever constructed, and discovers the astonishing cosmological mysteries it will investigate.

The Magical World of Moss

January 2023 •French

They have no roots, no seeds, no flowers, but mosses show immense survival capacities and can suspend their biological activity for long periods. Today, researchers are exploring the exceptional resistance of these archaic organisms. British ecologists have even resurrected a "zombie" moss that has been trapped in the permafrost for 1,500 years. Associated with decay and disliked in Europe, mosses are deified in Japan. With 25,000 species worldwide, bryophytes - their scientific name - are the seat of real ecosystems, and can develop in inhospitable landscapes, through an extravagant reproduction cycle.

The Violent Universe

April 1969 •English

Thirty distinguished astronomers are visited at their observatories throughout the world in this comprehensive report of astronomical theories, research, and discoveries.

Starlit Minute

April 1974 •Russian

A film from which you can learn about the first progress of the USSR in space exploration, as well as about the achievements of Yuri Gagarin, the world famous first cosmonaut, who was the very first to conquer the depths of space. This is an educational documentary film for people of all ages. And for those who are nostalgic about the past, and for those who want to learn more about space and its conquest.

The Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes

January 2016 •English

Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes follows the story of the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew, specifically Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to be launched into space. The events of the days leading up to the disaster are detailed in this unique film, which uses no narration and no interviews. Instead the story is told solely with reports of journalists covering the story, extensive recordings from the NASA team, and interviews with McAuliffe and others who were part of this one-of-a-kind mission. Using rarely seen images and audio recordings, this show takes viewers behind the scenes of this compelling and historic story in a way never before seen.

Horizon: Which Universe Are We In?

September 2015 •English

Plastic People

March 2024 •English

Are we becoming Plastic People? Our ground-breaking feature documentary investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics on human health. Almost every bit of plastic ever made ends up ground down into "microplastics". These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in the water and sit in the soil. And now, leading scientists are finding them in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? Ziya Tong, author and science journalist, makes it personal by visiting leading scientists and undergoing experiments in her home, on her food, and on her body.

Cosmic Trip, la musique à la conquête de l'espace

August 2020 •French

Living Worlds

November 2021 •English

What forms might life take in the Solar System and beyond? In the Academy's newest original planetarium show, see how a deeper understanding of Earth might help us locate other living worlds, light years away.

Hermann Heinzel Ornithologist

March 1990 •French

Portrait of Hermann Heinzel.