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The Thin Blue Line

Wonders of the Solar System Original Series
Episode 3 of 5

Professor Brian Cox reveals how something as flimsy as an envelope of gas - an atmosphere - can create some of the most wondrous sights in the solar system.

Professor Brian Cox reveals how something as flimsy as an envelope of gas - an atmosphere - can create some of the most wondrous sights in the solar system. He takes a ride in an English Electric Lightning and flies 18 km up to the top of earth's atmosphere, where he sees the darkness of space above and the thin blue line of our atmosphere below. In the Namib desert in south-west Africa, he tells the story of Mercury. This tiny planet was stripped naked of its early atmosphere and is fully exposed to the ferocity of space.

Against the stunning backdrop of the glaciers of Alaska, Brian reveals his fourth wonder: Saturn's moon Titan, shrouded by a murky, thick atmosphere. He reveals that below the clouds lies a magical world. Titan is the only place beyond earth where we've found liquid pooling on the surface in vast lakes, as big as the Caspian Sea, but the lakes of Titan are filled with a mysterious liquid, and are quite unlike anything on earth.

59 minutes

Last on

Wed 31 Aug 2022 00:35
主播大秀 Four

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Clips

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:10

    Deepcentral

    #Dragosteainvin

  • 00:16

    Roots Manuva

    All Things

  • 00:26

    UNKLE

    Nocturnal

Credits

Presenter Brian Cox
Director Chris Holt
Series Producer Danielle Peck
Executive Producer Andrew Cohen

Broadcasts