Wonders of the Solar System

Original version

BBC Four

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

BBC 4

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Professor Brian Cox paints a breathtaking picture of the wonders of the solar system.

In this spellbinding series Professor Brian Cox visits the most extreme locations on Earth to explain how the laws of physics carved natural wonders across the solar system.

BBC HD

BBC One

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two England

England

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC Two Northern Ireland (Analogue)

BBC Four HD

Brian Cox

Paul Olding

Danielle Peck

Andrew Cohen

Wonders of the Solar System: Original Series: Episode 4: Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive

Episode 4

Episode 4: Dead or Alive

Original Series

BBC Two - Wonders of the Solar System, Original Series, Dead or Alive

Brian Cox shows how a planet's size can make the difference between life and death.

Professor Brian Cox travels to the tallest mountain on Earth to show how something as basic as a planet's size can make the difference between life and death.

Professor Brian Cox visits some of the most stunning locations on Earth to describe how the laws of nature have carved natural wonders across the solar system. 

The worlds that surround our planet are all made of rock, but there the similarity ends. Some have a beating geological heart, others are frozen in time. Brian travels to the tallest mountain on Earth, the volcano Mauna Kea on Hawaii, to show how something as basic as a planet's size can make the difference between life and death. Even on the summit of this volcano, Brian would stand in the shade of the tallest mountain in the solar system, an extinct volcano on Mars called Olympus Mons, which rises up 27 km. 

Yet the fifth wonder in the series isn't on a planet at all. It's on a tiny moon of Jupiter. The discoveries made on Io have been astonishing. This fragment of rock should be cold and dead, yet, with the volcanic landscape of eastern Ethiopia as a backdrop, Brian reveals why Io is home to extraordinary lakes of lava and giant volcanic plumes that erupt 500 km into the sky.

Wonders of the Solar System: Original Series

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Wonders of the Solar System

Original Series

Episode 4: Dead or Alive

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Four

About BBC Four