Episodes
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Ancient Maya Metropolis
S48 E22 - 53m 31s
The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.
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Alaskan Dinosaurs
S48 E21 - 53m 21s
A team of intrepid paleontologists discovers that dinosaurs thrived in the unlikeliest of places—the cold and dark of winter in the Arctic Circle. How did they survive year-round and raise their young in frigid and dark winter conditions?
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Butterfly Blueprints
S48 E20 - 53m 20s
The hidden scientific secrets of butterflies reveal them to be more inventive and resilient than we ever imagined. Follow their extraordinary life cycle and migrations to tropical rainforests, windswept prairies, and even inside a cocoon as it’s being spun.
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High-Risk High-Rise
S48 E8 - 52m 36s
Gleaming symbols of prestige, skyscrapers are an ingenious way to save space in dense urban areas. But even as we devise ways to defend them against fires, wind, and earthquakes, can we also make them more livable, interactive, and eco-friendly?
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NOVA Universe Revealed: Big Bang
S48 E19 - 53m 16s
The Big Bang is when the cosmos started and time itself began. With stunning animation based on space telescope images, NOVA winds back the ages to discover new clues about this ultimate genesis and what happened in the universe’s first few seconds.
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NOVA Universe Revealed: Black Holes
S48 E18 - 53m 16s
Take a seat on the ultimate thrill ride to explore nature’s strangest and most powerful objects. Discover new science showing how black holes reshape entire galaxies, warp the fabric of space and time, and might even be portals to another universe.
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NOVA Universe Revealed: Alien Worlds
S48 E17 - 53m 17s
Ultra-sensitive telescopes have transformed alien planet-hunting from science fiction into enthralling hard fact. Join NOVA on a visit to exotic worlds orbiting distant suns to answer an age-old question with thrilling new science: are we alone?
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NOVA Universe Revealed: Milky Way
S48 E16 - 53m 17s
Straddling the night sky, the Milky Way reminds us of our place in the galaxy we call home. But what shaped this giant spiral of stars and what will be its destiny? NOVA travels back in time to unlock the turbulent story of our cosmic neighborhood.
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NOVA Universe Revealed: Age of Stars
S48 E15 - 53m 17s
The sun is our life-giving source of light, heat, and energy, and new discoveries are unraveling its epic history. Join NOVA on a spectacular voyage to discover its place in a grand cycle of birth, death and renewal that makes this the age of stars.
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Edible Insects
S48 E14 - 53m 28s
From crunchy crickets to nutty fly grubs, NOVA takes a tasty look at insect foods and how they could benefit our health and our warming planet.
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Arctic Drift
S48 E13 - 53m 31s
Join scientists on the biggest Arctic research expedition of all time. Facing hungry polar bears, perilous sea ice cracks, and brutal cold, the team strives to understand the forces that are changing the region—and the world—forever.
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Particles Unknown
S48 E12 - 53m 28s
Outnumbering atoms a billion to one, neutrinos are the universe’s most common yet most elusive and baffling particle. NOVA joins an international team of neutrino hunters whose discoveries may change our understanding of how the universe works.
Extras + Features
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LIDAR Technology Helps Uncover a Maya Metropolis
S48 E22 - 3m 9s
LIDAR technology reveals that, in 700 C.E., the ancient Maya city of Caracol was one of the largest in the world.
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Ancient Maya Metropolis Preview
S48 E22 - 30s
The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.
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These Artifacts and Foods Tie Modern Maya to the Past
S48 E22 - 4m 4s
“The contemporary Maya people still practice not only Maya traditions, but Mesoamerican traditions," anthropologist Iyaxel Coteji Ren told NOVA. "It's one of the traits that distinguish Maya culture."
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Alaskan Dinosaurs Preview
S48 E21 - 29s
A team of intrepid paleontologists discovers that dinosaurs thrived in the unlikeliest of places—the cold and dark of winter in the Arctic Circle. How did they survive year-round and raise their young in frigid and dark winter conditions?
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Fossilized Dung Reveals Clues About Dinosaurs' Diet
S48 E21 - 3m 6s
Fossilized feces remains indicate that herbivorous dinosaurs living in the North may have eaten rotten wood—and the insects living in it—to survive winter.
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Did Some Dinosaurs Breed in the Arctic?
S48 E21 - 3m
Scientists in Alaska discover the remains of seven different dinosaur species in the earliest stages of their development. Could baby dinosaurs have hatched in the Arctic and migrated thousands of miles with their parents to avoid polar winter?
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Butterfly Blueprints Preview
S48 E20 - 29s
The hidden scientific secrets of butterflies reveal them to be more inventive and resilient than we ever imagined. Follow their extraordinary life cycle and migrations to tropical rainforests, windswept prairies, and even inside a chrysalis as it’s being spun.
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How the Morpho Butterfly Gets its Iridescent Color
S48 E20 - 2m 22s
By studying the structural color of morpho butterflies, scientists are learning more about producing color without using pigments or paint.
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How Did This Butterfly Get So Old?
S48 E20 - 2m 56s
While most butterflies feed on nectar only, this genus of butterfly also feeds on pollen.
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When Earthquake Damage is Invisible
S48 E8 - 2m 51s
Even if a building appears to be undamaged after an earthquake, it could have used up some of its initial earthquake resisting capability.
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High-Risk High-Rise Preview
S48 E8 - 30s
Gleaming symbols of prestige, skyscrapers are an ingenious way to save space in dense urban areas. But even as we devise ways to defend them against fires, wind, and earthquakes, can we also make them more livable, interactive, and eco-friendly?
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Stopping the Millennium Tower from Sinking Further
S48 E8 - 3m 28s
When San Francisco's Millennium Tower unexpectedly sunk 16 inches, residents worried the building would topple over. Here's how a structural engineer and his team figured out the cause and suggested a potential fix.
Schedule
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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. -
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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. -
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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. -
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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