Science and Nature

NOVA

NOVA brings you stories from the frontlines of science and engineering, answering the big questions of today and tomorrow, from how our ancestors lived, to whether parallel universes exist, to how technology will transform our lives. Visit the official website to watch full-length documentaries, or explore our world through short-form video, on our digital publication NOVA Next.

Great American Eclipse

53m 34s

Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total eclipse until 2044, and scientists scramble to unlock the secrets of our Sun.

Episodes

  • Great American Eclipse: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Great American Eclipse

    S51 E6 - 53m 34s

    Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total eclipse until 2044, and scientists scramble to unlock the secrets of our Sun.

  • A.I. Revolution: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A.I. Revolution

    S51 E5 - 53m 30s

    A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.

  • Hunt for the Oldest DNA: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Hunt for the Oldest DNA

    S51 E4 - 53m 10s

    For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Follow the dramatic quest to recover DNA millions of years old and reveal a lost world from before the last Ice Age.

  • Building the Eiffel Tower: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Building the Eiffel Tower

    S51 E3 - 53m 29s

    Explore the revolutionary engineering behind Paris’s iconic landmark. Completed in 1889, the iron tower smashed the record for the tallest structure on Earth, ushering in a new age of global construction that reached for the skies.

  • Easter Island Origins: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Easter Island Origins

    S51 E2 - 53m 17s

    The giant stone heads of Easter Island have inspired theories for centuries. Now, new research reveals intriguing evidence of the origins and inspirations of the ancient Rapanui people who created the iconic monoliths.

  • When Whales Could Walk: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When Whales Could Walk

    S51 E1 - 53m 31s

    A spectacular fossil graveyard reveals a 43-million-year-old whale that had four legs and could walk. Follow scientists as they search for new clues to how mammals moved from land into the sea to become the largest animals on Earth.

Extras + Features

  • The Sun is way more chaotic than you think: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Sun is way more chaotic than you think

    S51 E6 - 3m 59s

    A solar eclipse provides precious moments of darkness where scientists can explore a region of the Sun normally invisible, its outer atmosphere, the solar corona.

  • Great American Eclipse Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Great American Eclipse Preview

    S51 E6 - 30s

    Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total eclipse until 2044, and scientists scramble to unlock the secrets of our Sun.

  • How to watch the eclipse without burning your eyes: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How to watch the eclipse without burning your eyes

    S51 - 1m 59s

    Looking at the sun without eclipse glasses, even when 99% of the Sun is covered by the Moon, can cause retinal damage in your eye. Here’s the science behind why, and how you can protect your eyes.

  • A.I. Revolution Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A.I. Revolution Preview

    S51 E5 - 26s

    A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.

  • Secrets in Your Data Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Secrets in Your Data Preview

    S51 E7 - 30s

    Whether you’re on social media or surfing the web, you’re probably sharing more personal data than you realize. Find out where your data is going, who’s selling it, and how you – and a new kind of web – could put control back in your hands.

  • When Camels Roamed the Arctic: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When Camels Roamed the Arctic

    S51 E4 - 2m 54s

    Some 2 million years ago, when the high Arctic was a much warmer, greener place, a unique collection of animals coexisted: Caribou, geese, hares, even camels.

  • Hunt for the Oldest DNA Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Hunt for the Oldest DNA Preview

    S51 E4 - 30s

    For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Follow the dramatic quest to recover DNA millions of years old and reveal a lost world from before the last Ice Age.

  • How parrots swing like monkeys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How parrots swing like monkeys

    S51 - 1m 36s

    Researchers call this movement “beakiation” which is a play on an existing term, “brachiation,” used to describe how Gibbons move by swinging from their arms.

  • Why is the Eiffel Tower Shaped Like That?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Why is the Eiffel Tower Shaped Like That?

    S51 E3 - 1m 58s

    At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure ever built. That meant that the engineers had a key challenge: making sure the structure could survive the wind.

Schedule

  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Thursday
    Apr 25

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Thursday
    Apr 25

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Tuesday
    Apr 30

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    Wednesday
    May 1

    1 Hour

    This long-running, award-winning documentary series focuses on science, its many applications, speculation, history and researchers. Inspired by the BBC documentary program "Horizons, " the U.S. series frequently features interviews with scientists directly involved in the topic at hand, and sometimes even boasts footage of a particular discovery.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Life

    Wednesday
    May 1

    1 Hour

    The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Wednesday
    May 1

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Wednesday
    May 1

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Thursday
    May 2

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Thursday
    May 2

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Friday
    May 3

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Tuesday
    May 7

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Wednesday
    May 8

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Making North America: Human

    Wednesday
    May 8

    1 Hour

    From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
  • Image
    NOVA: Why Bridges Collapse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Why Bridges Collapse

    Wednesday
    May 8

    1 Hour

    The 2018 collapse of a section of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy; bridge collapses in the U.S.; engineering techniques that can make bridges safer and prevent them from breaking down.

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