Do you stream Netflix or Hulu Plus at home? Both are loaded with shows about the astronomy and the universe. Other sites offer programs without any subsciptions. Mr. Q can recommend the programs below. Each link leads you straight to the specific show.
Note: Netflix and Hulu Plus require paid subscriptions. Hulu, YouTube, TED Talks, and PBS are free.
(Extra credit if you can find any of the below titles that I’ve listed under Hulu Plus or Netflix for free!)
Can We Make It to Mars?
This is part of Nova’s Science Now series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. If you are thinking about how humans might populate Mars, first you have to consider how we’re going to get there!
Obstacles and possible solutions include space food (it has to last years!), fashion (space suits that look like superhero costumes), zero gravity, and cosmic rays. The show concludes with a profile on a robotic scientist who is already on Mars, sort of… She controls the two rovers that roll around on the surface of Mars and send back data. The rovers let us know what the planet will be like once we can figure out how to survive the journey through space to reach it.
The 2011 show runs 52 minutes.
You can find s5e1 on both Hulu Plus and Netflix. It is FREE on the PBS site.
TED Talks: Space Trek – Carolyn Porco Flies Us to Saturn
The Cassini robotic spacecraft is transmitting astonishing images from Saturn – as well as amazing information about some of Saturn’s moons, which could be capable of supporting life.
This 2007 talk runs only 17 minutes – and she packs it full!
Available on Netflix and FREE on the TED Talks site.
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking’s 2010 series includes Aliens, which discusses what sustains life on Earth and how life elsewhere might be similar or very different; Time Travel; and The Story of Everything.
Each show is 43 minutes.
The Aliens show could be very useful when you are considering how human life might continue beyond Earth.
Available on Netflix.
How the Universe Works
Eight shows in the 2010 series: Big Bang, Black Holes, Alien Galaxies, Extreme Stars, Extreme Planets, Supernovas, Alien Solar Systems, and Alien Moons.
Produced by the Discovery Channel, each show is about 43 minutes.
Available on Netflix.
The Planets
This 1999 series from the British Broadcasting Corporation isn’t just about planets. Eight show titles include Different Worlds, Terra Firma, Giants, Moon, Star, Atmosphere, Life, and Destiny.
Mr. Q has only seen the first one, which focuses on Earth and its two most similar planets, Venus and Mars.
Each show is 49 minutes.
Available on Netflix.
Life Beyond Earth
This 1999 documentary features sci-fi writer Timothy Ferris posing questions to scientists about the possibilities of life in our solar system and beyond. As with most of the other documentaries that focus on life beyond Earth, this one focuses first on how life is defined on this planet.
This documentary runs 108 minutes and is a single feature, not a series.
Available on Netflix.
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Cosmic Collisions
Interested in cosmic collisions, like the one that just happened in Russia? There are all kinds of space collisions! This series presents three areas in three episodes: Earth, Solar Systems, and Galaxies.
Each of these Discovery Channel shows lasts 43 minutes.
Available on Netflix.
Nova: Finding Life Beyond Earth
I have only sampled the first few minutes. Watch and let me know what you think!
Available for FREE on the PBS site and on YouTube.
The Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide
This 2007 series comes from the BBC and Open University.
Each show is 25 minutes.
Available on Netflix.
Cosmic Vistas
A 2009 series from Pure Science. There are 18 shows that run anywhere from 12 to 23 minutes each.
Available FREE on Hulu.
Cosmic Journeys
A 2009 series from SpaceRip.
There are 20 shows that are about 25 minutes in length.
Try out the episode Birth of a Moon to start off!
Available FREE on Hulu and on YouTube.
And finally, the granddaddy of all modern space documentary series…
Cosmos
This 1980 series was a kind of sensation when Mr. Q was in eighth grade! Host Carl Sagan was a popular personality, and even now I can imagine people imitating his voice as a joke. But since then, documentarians have been imitating his landmark series about space. It’s more talky and poetic than most of the other documentaries on this list, but it has aged quite well, and the passion for knowledge about the universe still draws the viewer in.
Available on Netflix and FREE on regular Hulu. All 13 shows are on YouTube. You can check it out right here!
Capitol Hill Science 8 