30 Amazing Space Documentaries to Watch

Here are 30 amazing space documentaries to watch. You are going to love them if you are an astronomy and science enthusiast. They are available on both DVDs and Blu-ray disks from Amazon: -

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How the Universe Works

This is one of the best space documentaries by the Discovery Channel. It is narrated by Mike Rowe, and has a dynamic cast of experts who explain how the Universe is structured and how it works. You'll discover where it all came from and how it all fits together.

It makes use of advanced, new generation CGI, and does an excellent job of illustrating the concepts. You'll discover amazing facts about the Big Bang, stars, neutron stars, solar system, planets, alien moons, galaxies, supernovae, black-holes, dark energy, and the inner workings of our world.

The visuals and sound effects are absolutely breathtaking. You'll love every single minute of this space documentary. It has a total run time of 8 hours. It is for you if you want an interesting, quick primer to the magnificent design and working of the Universe.

Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking

Written by Stephen Hawking, this space documentary explores some of the greatest mysteries of the Universe. It has 3 episodes and a total run time of 2.25 hours. Each of the 3 episodes is 45 minutes long.

The "Aliens" episode describes how alien life-forms could be so drastically different that they might not resemble the living things found here on Earth. It also sheds light on the search for aliens from the moons of Jupiter to other galaxies, the probability of contacting aliens, what aliens might look like, and what it means to be alive.

The "Time Travel" episode introduces some intriguing theories that might actually make time travel possible.

Finally, "The Story of Everything" episode talks about the beginning of the Universe and how it might end, the formation of stars, black-holes, and of life.

The Elegant Universe

This deeply-engrossing science documentary is a 'must-watch' for anyone interested in string theory. It has won Emmy and Peabody awards. It is based on the book, "The Elegant Universe," written by Brian Greene, a renowned theoretical physicist and string theorist. It is 3 hours long and it has three episodes. It was very popular on PBS NOVA.

The "Einstein's Dream" episode introduces string theory, which attempts to reconcile Einstein's theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. The "String's the Thing" episode explains how both general relativity and quantum mechanics came into play at the moment of the Big Bang, and how strands of energy vibrating at different frequencies form different sub-atomic particles. The "Welcome To The 11th Dimension" episode introduces M-Theory, 11-dimensions, and parallel universes.

Fabric of the Cosmos

This amazing, 4-hour space documentary by PBS NOVA is based on Brian Greene's book, "The Fabric of the Cosmos." The New York Times rightly wrote about it, "If you cherish your notions of reality, you might want to think twice, before accepting this ride from Brian Greene!"

The "What is Space" episode reveals mind-boggling mysteries about space, a dynamic fabric that can stretch, twist, warp, and ripple. The "Illusion of Time" episode reveals how the past, present, and future moments can exist all at once! The "Quantum Leap" episode reveals the counter-intuitive realm of quantum physics, where objects mysteriously pop in and out of existence, and 'spooky action occurs at a distance'. The "Universe or Multiverse" episode reveals that our Universe might be just one of an infinite number of universes that make up a 'multiverse'.

The Universe: The Mega Collection (Seasons 1 to 5)

This mega collection DVD set contains the first five seasons of The Universe Show, an epic series from The History channel. It contain 63 episodes of The Universe Show's first 5 seasons, plus the feature-length documentary, "Beyond the Big Bang," and other featurettes, namely, "Meteors: Fire in the Sky," "Comets: Prophets of Doom," "Ask the Universe," and "Backyard Astronomers." The total run-time of all these space documentaries is about 51 hours.

Some video clips from this show can be found on this page. In short, this amazing space documentary presents astonishing facts about the Universe with breathtaking HD footage from NASA, state-of-the-art computer animations, visually arresting journeys across the galaxy, and narrations by renowned astrophysicists. The seasons of this mega-show are also available separately as seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. This 19-disk mega collection set is highly recommended!

The Universe: The Complete Season Six

Just like its previous 5 seasons, the season 6 of The Universe Series continues to explore the mysterious, mind-blowing secrets of the Universe. It presents awesome footage from NASA, expert opinions of leading astrophysicists, and probes even more deeply into the story of the Universe. Its action-packed videos contain stunning, cutting-edge CGI and have a total run-time of about 11 hours. The Universe Season 6 makes advanced concepts accessible to a general audience.

Some of the space documentaries or episodes of this season are "How the Solar System Was Made," "UFO The Real Deal," "Catastrophes that Changed the Planets," "Crash Landing on Mars," "Nemesis: The Sun's Evil Twin," "Worst Days on Planet Earth," " Our Place in the Milky Way," "Microscopic Universe," "Alien Sounds," "Ride the Comet," "When Space Changed History," "Deep Freeze," "How Big, How Far, How Fast," etc.

Cosmos: Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan's cosmos is an award-winning classic. Even though this immensely popular science documentary was released in 1980, it continues to have a cult following, and every now and then people love to quote Carl Sagan from it. It is a lot more than just another guided tour of the Universe. It is also a plea for the unity of humankind. In Carl Sagan's words, "The Cosmos is also within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself." We have an obligation to know our origin, our place in the cosmos, and our future potential.

This documentary tells the story of 13.7 billion years of cosmic evolution that transformed matter and life into consciousness. It tells the story of how science, philosophy and civilization grew up together, and of the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science. The digitally remastered, restored and enhanced DVD set has a total run-time of 13 hours. Some video clips from Cosmos are present here.

Wonders of the Solar System

Hosted by Brian Cox, a British particle physicist, this award-winning space documentary is an exciting, 5-hour journey of our Solar System. It has the following five episodes: -

1. Empire of the Sun: The formation and behavior of the Sun, and its effects on the Earth and other planets.
2. Order Out of Chaos: A look at the orbits of the planets, how seasons are created on the Earth, breathtaking images of Saturn and its rings, geysers of Enceladus, etc.
3. The Thin Blue Line: A look at the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Titan.
4. Dead or Alive: A look at the Grand Canyon and the Kilauea shield volcano of Earth, Valles Marineris and Olympus Mons of Mars, an analysis of Jupiter's gravitational effect on asteroids and its geologically active moon, Io.
5. Aliens: A look at how life survives in extreme environments, and our search for water and life on Mars and Europa.

The Planets

BBC's "The Planets" is an ultimate, six-and-a-half hours journey to the planets of the Solar System. This space documentary has the following 8 episodes: -

1. Different Worlds: Exploration of the history of space travel and rocket technology.
2. Terra Firma: Exploration of terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars).
3. Giants: Exploration of gas-giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune).
4. Moon: Exploration of the Moon, and a look at the age of 'space race'.
5. Star: Exploration of the nature and behavior of the Sun.
6. Atmosphere: Exploration of the atmospheres of the planets.
7. Life: A look at the search for extra-terrestrial life.
8. Destiny: Exploration of the future of the Solar System, and the research of extrasolar planets.

From the Earth to the Moon

Hosted by Tom Hanks, HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" is an epic miniseries. It is a dramatized portrayal of the space-race and NASA's landmark Apollo manned space program from 1961 to 1972. It tells the story of our conquest of the Moon, from the Mercury and Gemini projects to the legendary Apollo missions, and the lives of the people behind it. Tom Hanks' enthusiasm for space exploration is very infectious, and the power of conquering the final frontier is truly inspiring.

This 12-hour miniseries captivated audiences and was nominated for 17 Emmy awards, and it won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the best miniseries in 1998 and 1999. It had a budget of $68 million, and it made use of authentic NASA spacecraft and launch locations. The simulation of lunar landscape and moonwalks by actors look very realistic.

For All Mankind

This space documentary film tells the story of 24 people who traveled to the Moon. They share their wonderful experiences in their own words.

It is a visually dazzling film that uses NASA's real footage of the launch of spacecraft, views of the Earth seen receding from space capsules, views from spacecraft circling the Earth and the Moon, videos of landings on the surface of the Moon, etc. It also uses real voices of the Apollo astronauts and the engineers and scientists at Houston. It takes audiences on a memorable, virtual journey to the Moon, making them feel as if they are actually there. Al Reinert, the director of this film, focuses on the human aspects of the space flights. Brian Eno's musical score is a perfect match for this 80 minute long space documentary film. Discover what it is like to be the first human to look at the Earth from space and to land and walk on the Moon.

When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions

This space documentary tells the exciting story of space exploration, from our early attempts to conquer outer space during the 'space race', to the landmark achievement of setting foot on the Moon, to the incredible engineering feat of constructing the International Space Station (ISS). It is narrated by Gary Sinise, and features interviews with famous astronauts such as Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Bill Anders, Bruce McCandless II, Jim Lovell, Eugene Cernan, and others who traveled in spaceships on their greatest adventures.

This digitally remastered and vivid HD documentary made by the Discovery channel also features flight sequences on board actual spacecraft and some of NASA's original footage that has "never been seen before on TV broadcast." You'll discover amazing facts about NASA's missions such as Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and Challenger; the launch and subsequent repair mission of the Hubble Space Telescope; the construction of the International Space Station, etc.

Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series

'Planet Earth' is one of the most impressive science documentaries about nature, wildlife, and the ecological diversity of our beautiful planet. With a production budget of $25 million, this Emmy Award winning documentary is BBC's most expensive TV series about nature and wildlife till date. It has 11 episodes and a total run-time of 9+ hours. It is narrated by Sir David Attenborough and contains lovely musical scores by George Fenton.

It is a breathtaking journey around the world exploring diverse habitats ranging from the icy environments of polar bears and emperor penguins, to the warm and humid environment of New Guinea's birds of paradise, to the dry and hot environment of Kalahari Desert. It will take you on journeys of a lifetime to exotic places ranging from the tallest mountains to the deepest oceans, and everything in-between: deep-jungles, seasonal forests, great-plains, deserts, icy-worlds, caves, volcanoes, rivers, etc. You'll experience brilliant and mesmerizing sights and sounds of the most adorable, the most exotic, the wildest, and the most elusive creatures. The splendor of perfectly shot HD videos and images will render you speechless. If you love nature, this rare masterpiece is highly recommended!

Life

BBC's "Life" is an amazing science documentary about the lengths living-beings go to stay alive. It shows extraordinary techniques employed by living-beings to hunt or gather food, their amazing evolutionary weapons and defenses, their remarkable adaptations to harsh environments, and their elaborate mating rituals, which involve picking the right breeding partners.

Filmed over 3000 days in different parts of the world, this high-definition wildlife blockbuster film covers every habitat across every continent. It has 10 episodes and a total run-time of about 10 hours. It is Narrated by David Attenborough, and the sound effects are by George Fenton.

Discover the extraordinary strategies employed by living-beings to obtain food, to evade predators, to reproduce, and to solve the challenges of life in their struggle for existence.

Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman, Season 1

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, this space documentary explores some of the deepest mysteries that have puzzled us for an eternity. Some of these mysteries have profound philosophical implications. You'll love it if you have ever pondered over some of the big questions that the human race has been asking since the dawn of time.

What happened before the 'beginning' of the Universe? What are dark matter and dark energy, and what are we really made of? Is time travel possible? Who are we and how did we get here? Does the Universe have a creator? Are we alone in this Universe?

Discover if hard facts and scientific evidence can ever answer these questions. This science documentary has 5 episodes and a total run time of 6+ hours.

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman, Season 2

The second season of 'Through the Wormhole' is even more intriguing than its first season. In this 7-hours long space documentary, experts shed light on fascinating topics, which interest not only scientists but philosophers too.

Is our Universe infinite? Can we find out its shape? Are there other universes? Do parallel universes exist? Are there more than three dimensions? What are the 11 dimensions that physicists talk about? Does time really exist or is it just an illusion? Is there a way to travel faster than light? What is consciousness and where does it come from? Can science enable us to live forever? What happens when we die? What might aliens look like? Does sixth sense and a global consciousness exist?

Discover if scientists can answer these tough questions.

Here are some more amazing science, astronomy, and space documentaries: -