All Episodes 2006

This program explores the past, present and future of the Sun's importance to our world. We are in a golden age of solar science. Scientists are making remarkable discoveries about the inferno at the Sun's core and the magnetic chaos of its surface. THE SUN asks experts whether the strengthening of the Sun's magnetic field could explain global warming and whether humans can protect themselves from the effects. Could the Sun's power be harnessed to meet the world's spiraling energy needs? It releases more energy every second than humans will ever use in the next million years. It's responsible for us being here in the first place. And, it just might be our only hope for the future.

Our most ancient ancestors were fascinated by the Moon and used its changing phases as a way of telling time before calendars or the written word. Almost every ancient society with a system of gods and goddesses included the Moon in its pantheon. The Moon gravity causes the tides, and this twice-daily reminder of the Moon's immense power led people to wonder if it also had an effect on human behavior. The Moon race in the 1960's advanced our understanding of the Moon hugely and the program provides insight into the significance of the exciting period in space history. Blending archive footage and photography from the Apollo missions, NASA and the European Space Agency with interviews from a variety of experts, this documentary is a revealing look at mankind's fascination with our moon - and many others.