Premieres Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App + Encore Sunday, May 26 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2
Explore big discoveries that have revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
A lot has changed in the last 50 years, especially in our understanding of the cosmos. DECODING THE UNIVERSE "Cosmos" explores the last five decades in astronomical discovery, as well as the most pressing questions cosmologists are now trying to answer. How did our vision of the universe get completely overturned in just a few decades, and what new surprises might lie just over the horizon? Since the 1970s and the launch of the Voyager missions, scientists have confirmed the existence of planets beyond our solar system, supermassive black holes, and thousands of previously unknown galaxies.
Perhaps the most important discovery of the last half century has been how much is still unknown about the universe. DECODING THE UNIVERSE "Cosmos" documents what we currently know about dark matter and dark energy, two properties that were only accepted as “real” during the last 50 years. Scientists now believe dark energy is the most powerful force in the universe.
This is the first part of a two-part NOVA special tracing ground-breaking discoveries that have transformed our picture of the universe over the past 50 years, shedding light on everything from exoplanets to supermassive black holes to the size and ultimate fate of the cosmos.
Part two, DECODING THE UNIVERSE "Quantum" will air in fall 2024.
This episode will be available to stream with the PBS App. Watch the best of PBS anytime, anywhere on the free PBS app. Stream your favorite PBS shows on-demand and livestream shows from your local station, all from your favorite device.
