Curated Video
New and Ancient Lessons from Lunar Eclipses
Ancient perceptions of lunar eclipses weren’t as primitive as one might think. Some rigorous math was applied to these cosmic events that shaped our understanding of the solar system.
SciShow
Why Space is the Place For Halloween Lovers | Compilation
In honor of the spookiest time of year, let's take a look at the spookiest-named things in the cosmos.
SciShow
Atlas: The Little Rocket That Still Can
In 1962, John Glenn went into orbit on an Atlas rocket, and thus began a family of rockets that lasted for 60 years!
SciShow
The Future of the Search for Life
Astronomers have found more than 5,000 planets in the last three decades, but that’s not nearly as exciting as potentially coming across the first extraterrestrial creatures. And we may finally be in a position to make that discovery.
SciShow
Is Our Solar System Missing Moons?
You might be pretty confident that when a moon is there it’s there to stay, but that’s not always the case. Moons may have a history of disappearing.
SciShow
We Don’t Know Why Astronauts Get Motion Sick
A majority of modern astronauts experience any one of a suite of symptoms scientists collectively call Space Motion Sickness, or SMS. But despite knowing about it for nearly as long as humans have gone into space, we still don't know...
PBS
Is Time Travel Impossible?
Time travel stories are cool because both the past and future are somehow more interesting that the present and because everyone wants a redo. But so far it appears we’re doomed to live consumed by regret in the eternal, boring present....
PBS
What If (Tiny) Black Holes Are Everywhere?
It’s fair to say that black holes may be the scariest objects in the universe. Happily for us, the nearest is probably many light-years away. Unless of course, Planck relics are a thing - in which case they might be literally everywhere.
Curated Video
Why Did Quantum Entanglement Win the Nobel Prize in Physics?
The Nobel prize in physics is typically awarded to scientists who make sense of nature; those whose discoveries render the universe more comprehensible. But the 2022 Nobel has been awarded to three physicists who revealed that the...
PBS
Can Space Be Infinitely Divided?
How many times can I half the distance between my hands? Assume perfect coordination and the ability to localize my palms to the quantum level. 15 halvings gets them to within a cell’s width. 33 to within a single atom, 50 and they’re a...
PBS
How Are Quasiparticles Different From Particles?
The device you’re watching this video on is best understood by thinking about positive and negative charges moving around a circuit of diodes and transistors. But the only elementary particle actually flowing in the circuit is the...
PBS
What If Humanity Is Among The First Spacefaring Civilizations?
Half of the universe is filled with expansionist alien civilizations, and it’s only a matter of time before they’ll reach us. OK, that sounded a little sensationalist. But it’s also the conclusion of a recent astrophysics paper. Let’s...
PBS
What Happens Inside a Proton?
If we ever want to simulate a universe, we should probably learn to simulate even a single atomic nucleus. But it’s taken some of the most incredible ingenuity of the past half-century to figure out how that out. All so that today I can...
PBS
The Equation That Explains (Nearly) Everything!
The Standard Model of particle physics is arguably the most successful theory in the history of physics. It predicts the results of experiments with a numerical precision unmatched by any other branch of science, and it does so almost...
PBS
When We Took Over the World
From our deepest origins in Africa all the way to the Americas, by looking at the fossils and archaeological materials we have been able to trace the path our ancestors took during the short window of time when we took over the world.
Curated Video
When We First Made Tools
The tools made by our human ancestors may not seem like much when you compare them to the screen you’re looking at right now but their creation represents a pivotal moment in the origin of technology and in the evolution of our lineage.
Curated Video
When The "Combat Wombat" Became An Apex Predator
In Australia, evolution built a family of deadly predators by taking a group of cute, harmless herbivores and turning them murderous.
Curated Video
The Mystery Behind the Biggest Bears of All Time
The short-faced bears turned out to be remarkably adaptable, undergoing radical changes to meet the demands of two changing continents. And yet, for reasons we don’t quite understand, their adaptability wasn’t enough to keep them from...
Curated Video
How (Some) Plants Survived The K-Pg Extinction
Perhaps for plants in times of great stress and ecological upheaval, the more DNA the better.
PBS
The Two Viruses That We’ve Had For Millions of Years
There’s one kind of herpesvirus that’s specific to one species of primate, and each virus split off from the herpesvirus family tree when the primate split off from its own tree. But of course, humans are a special kind of primate.
PBS
The Fuzzy Origins of the Giant Panda
How does a bear -- which is a member of the order Carnivora -- evolve into an herbivore? Despite how it looks, nothing about the history of the giant panda is black and white.
Curated Video
The Surprising Species That Everything Else Depends On | IN OUR NATURE
Seemingly distant ecosystems, even half a world apart, are connected in surprising ways. In this special limited series, Emily Graslie and Trace Dominguez join me as we explore the universal rules of life that tie together Earth’s living...
Be Smart
What is Impossible in Evolution?
Could humans ever evolve to have wings? Why don’t fish have propellers? Why don’t tigers have wheels? Why don’t zebras have laser turrets? These might all seem like stupid questions (and maybe they are!) but they can teach us a lot about...