Explore Ptolemy's earth-centered model of the cosmos.

Finding the Center

Episode two of this landmark series delves further into our ancient understanding of the skies above. After exploring the mysterious creatures living at the edge of the world, we follow the story of our earth as it takes shape and a place in the cosmos in the minds of great

Gods and Monsters

In this episode we explore the origins of our relationship with the skies. From our earliest ancestors we discover how we used the skies to navigate and tell time, and how we gave religious significance to the things we saw in it. We finish on the cusp of a revolution

Our Place in the Universe

In Episode 3, we complete the puzzle of our ancient skies, collecting the missing pieces required for an accurate model of our universe. We break through the spheres that defined our skies for millennia, abandon the long-held idea of circular orbits, discover new neighbors in our solar system, and begin

Finding the Center

Episode two of this landmark series delves further into our ancient understanding of the skies above. After exploring the mysterious creatures living at the edge of the world, we follow the story of our earth as it takes shape and a place in the cosmos in the minds of great

Gods and Monsters

In this episode we explore the origins of our relationship with the skies. From our earliest ancestors we discover how we used the skies to navigate and tell time, and how we gave religious significance to the things we saw in it. We finish on the cusp of a revolution

Our Place in the Universe

In Episode 3, we complete the puzzle of our ancient skies, collecting the missing pieces required for an accurate model of our universe. We break through the spheres that defined our skies for millennia, abandon the long-held idea of circular orbits, discover new neighbors in our solar system, and begin

Galileo's Discoveries

Take an in depth look at the celestial bodies discovered by Italian Renaissance astronomer Galileo Galilei, as he used his telescopes to look further into space than anyone had ever seen before.

The Universe is Expanding

Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest and astronomer, used Albert Einstein's equations from the Theory of General Relativity to propose that the universe is expanding.

Celestial Alignment

Astronomer Phil Plait explains how ancient civilizations used the skies to accurately align their buildings to the points of the compass.

Cannon Shot to the Moon

Hear Jules Verne's story of an American Gun Club, which shot a projectile containing three men to the moon, from a giant cannon.

The Marine Chronometer

Take a closer look at John Harrison's Marine Chronometer, the device that solved the longitude problem.

Shattering the Spheres

Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe's observations of the Great Comet of 1577 overturn 1,500 years of scientific belief when he uses them to prove that planets do not orbit inside concentric crystalline spheres.