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<p>(This program is no longer available for streaming.) Jupiter is not just the oldest planet orbiting the sun—it’s also the largest. So when the young gas giant went on a rampage through the inner solar system, it shaped the fate of everything in its path. Speeding towards the Sun, Jupiter’s massive gravitational force hurled debris into interstellar space, stunting the growth of would-be planets. Earth might have been doomed had Saturn not pulled Jupiter back. Today, Jupiter resides in the outer solar system, where its gravity bends the paths of asteroids and stokes volcanic activity on its moon Io. But it could one day wreak havoc again. <b>(Premiered July 31, 2019).</b></p>

<p>Jupiter's massive gravitational force has made it both a wrecking ball and a protector of Earth.</p>

The Planets: Jupiter

<p>Rockets are becoming cheaper and more powerful than ever before thanks to stunning new technologies. As companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic make space more accessible, and NASA returns to crewed spaceflight, a new era of space exploration seems to be on the horizon. But will this seeming rocket Renaissance become more than just hype? NOVA explores the latest rocket technologies and the growing role private citizens may have in space. (Premiered February 13, 2019)</p>

<p>With new technologies, NASA and private companies are promising a new renaissance in space travel.</p>

Rise of the Rockets

<p></p><p>Black holes are the most enigmatic and exotic objects in the universe. They’re also the most powerful, with gravity so strong it can trap light. And they’re destructive, swallowing entire planets, even giant stars. Anything that falls into them vanishes…gone forever. Now, astrophysicists are realizing that black holes may be essential to how our universe evolved—their influence possibly leading to life on Earth and, ultimately, us. In this two-hour special, astrophysicist and author Janna Levin takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of black hole science. Along the way, we meet leading astronomers and physicists on the verge of finding new answers to provocative questions about these shadowy monsters: Where do they come from? What’s inside? What happens if you fall into one? And what can they tell us about the nature of space, time, and gravity? (Premiered January 10, 2018)</p>

<p>Take a mind-blowing voyage to the most powerful and mysterious objects in the universe.</p>

Black Hole Apocalypse

International Space Station floating above the Earth

Operation Space Station: Science and Survival

<p data-block-key="d2eir">See how ingenuity and teamwork keep the crew alive and doing science 250 miles above Earth.</p>
<p data-block-key="mq05h">Imagine a place where more than 280 people have defied Earth&#x27;s gravity, risking their lives to do science 250 miles above us. Here, on the International Space Station, unexpected challenges are a daily threat, from an astronaut&#x27;s helmet filling with water on a spacewalk, to the entire station spinning out of control. Witness the ingenuity, courage, and international cooperation required to overcome these life-threatening emergencies. And discover how this unique orbiting laboratory continues to push the boundaries of science, uniting humanity in a shared pursuit of knowledge beyond our planet, even as its own incredible journey approaches its fiery conclusion. <b>(Episode two of a two-part series premieres November 12 at 9 pm on PBS.)</b></p>





<p data-block-key="d2eir">See how ingenuity and teamwork keep the crew alive and doing science 250 miles above Earth.</p>

Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build

<p data-block-key="f72hc">Astronauts and Mission Control relive terrifying moments during construction of the ISS.</p>
<p data-block-key="8xae4">Witness an unprecedented feat of engineering: the construction of the International Space Station, a habitable space lab hurtling around Earth at 17,000 mph. Every step of this ambitious project unfolds against the backdrop of a merciless vacuum, dangerous radiation, and extreme temperatures. Experience high-stakes drama as astronauts confront life-threatening malfunctions, including a toxic ammonia leak during a critical spacewalk. And see how each time, a combination of quick thinking and nerves of steel help the crew survive and thrive in a hostile environment – a testament to international collaboration and the relentless pursuit of scientific discovery. <b>(Episode one of a two-part series, premiering November 5, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)</b></p>





<p data-block-key="f72hc">Astronauts and Mission Control relive terrifying moments during construction of the ISS.</p>

Operation Space Station

<p data-block-key="vsnfw">Experience dramatic life-or-death moments on the remarkable science lab that orbits Earth.</p>
<p data-block-key="zd61h">The size of a football field, the International Space Station hurtles around Earth at 17,000 mph, shielding its astronauts from the most hostile environment humans have ever endured. After 25 years of continuous human presence in space, astronauts and Mission Control insiders reveal the most terrifying moments aboard this remarkable orbiting laboratory, where a single mistake could prove fatal. From ammonia leaks, meteor strikes, and docking disasters, to spacewalk horrors, potentially lethal showers of space junk, and the moment the entire ISS backflipped out of control, follow life-or-death dramas unfolding 250 miles above our planet – and the human ingenuity and teamwork that save the day.<b> (A two-part series premiering November 5, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)</b></p>

<p data-block-key="vsnfw">Experience dramatic life-or-death moments on the remarkable science lab that orbits Earth.</p>

Black Hole Badass

<p data-block-key="p3yfu">Black holes aren’t just cosmic monsters — they’re simply misunderstood.</p>

This Giant Telescope Will Reveal The Universe in Unbelievable Detail

<p data-block-key="c4asg">Go behind the scenes as NOVA visits the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, where scientists fire up the world&#x27;s largest digital camera for the first time.</p>
<p data-block-key="pzzw8">Equipped with an 8.4-meter mirror and a 3.2-billion-pixel camera—the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy—the Rubin Observatory is poised to revolutionize how we see the cosmos. In just 10 hours of test observations, the telescope detected over 2,100 new asteroids.</p>
<p data-block-key="8io7e"><b>This Giant Telescope Will Reveal The Universe in Unbelievable Detail</b><br/>Published: July 7, 2025</p><p data-block-key="f4nuu"><b>NARRATOR:</b> These are some of the first images released by the new Vera Rubin Observatory, revealing a slice of the cosmos in more detail than ever before. Nova was at the observatory in Chile as scientists fired up the entire system for the first time. We&#x27;ll show you the very first photo the telescope took in a moment. But first, what is this thing and why does it have astronomers so excited?</p><p data-block-key="c8rei"><b>AARON ROODMAN:</b> We call it dark energy, but we really don&#x27;t know what it is.</p><p data-block-key="8nvd7"><b>WILLIAM O&#x27;MULLANE:</b> Some people have spent 20 years waiting for this moment. It&#x27;s fantastic.</p><p data-block-key="bgd3a"><b>NARRATOR:</b> The Vera Rubin telescope is massive. It&#x27;s equipped with an 8.4 meter mirror and Earth&#x27;s largest digital camera.</p><p data-block-key="2bd65"><b>AARON ROODMAN:</b> The camera has 3.2 billion pixels. That is by far the largest digital camera ever built. The camera has three lenses. It&#x27;s the largest lens ever built for astronomy, over five feet across.</p><p data-block-key="3o4tf"><b>NARRATOR:</b> And it&#x27;s collecting a ton of data quickly. It is already discovered over 2,100 new asteroids in just 10 hours of test observations. The telescope will gather more astronomical data in its first year than all the other optical telescopes in history combined. It will image the entire southern night sky every three to four nights.</p><p data-block-key="f081h"><b>AARON ROODMAN:</b> The Rubin Observatory is unique in its capabilities. We can do things that no other telescope can really do. Compared to the space telescopes, Hubble or Webb, we see a huge part of the sky in every image, and we are designed to take images fast. The camera can collect the image in a little over two seconds. The telescope can move from one place to another in five seconds.</p><p data-block-key="h9t8"><b>NARRATOR:</b> Over time, researchers will be able to detect new distant objects and see how they change. By observing them repeatedly and over the course of 10 years, they will put together a movie of the cosmos. By then, they will have gathered about 60 million billion bytes of imagery.</p><p data-block-key="488hn"><b>ZELJKO IVEZIC:</b> And we anticipate we will have about 40 billion objects, not million, billion with B, in our images. That will be the first time that astronomers cataloged more objects than there are living people on Earth.</p><p data-block-key="88akl"><b>AARON ROODMAN:</b> We&#x27;ll see every part of the sky almost a thousand times. That gives us an extra dimension too. We&#x27;ll see what changes. So we&#x27;ll discover tens of thousands, if not a hundred thousand, exploding stars, supernova. We&#x27;ll see millions of variable stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. We&#x27;ll see millions of asteroids, moving objects in the solar system, and I think we&#x27;ll also be able to discover objects that change that we don&#x27;t quite expect.</p><p data-block-key="ci68q"><b>NARRATOR:</b> These sorts of observations will help astronomers understand some of the biggest mysteries in the cosmos, like dark energy and dark matter, the mysterious stuff that make up most of the universe.</p><p data-block-key="5ctct">Here&#x27;s the galaxy.</p><p data-block-key="ca99e"><b>NARRATOR:</b> In fact, the telescope is named after famed astronomer, Vera Rubin, who first forced astronomers to confront the idea of dark matter. Nova was there for the test in spring of 2025 when the team attempted to focus the camera and take the very first images. But in the first test of the telescope, everything looked like... Cereal?</p><p data-block-key="bco9l"><b>SANDRINE THOMAS:</b> And after that first image, which looks like a bowl of Cheerios that you eat in the morning, we adjusted the optics in our telescope.</p><p data-block-key="6on0u"><b>NARRATOR:</b> The image appeared to show a series of rings because the telescope optics were not in proper focus. To fix this, the team had to adjust the distance between the telescope&#x27;s camera and its massive mirror, shifting the camera ever so slightly.</p><p data-block-key="5prdj"><b>ROBERT LUPTON:</b> The question is, do we move it towards the mirror or do we move it away from the mirror? And theoretically, we know, or else you can just guess and see if it gets better or worse.</p><p data-block-key="4nse0"><b>VICTOR KRABBENDAM:</b> Fifty-fifty.</p><p data-block-key="cgiu9"><b>ROBERT LUPTON:</b> I always go in a positive direction. Think positively if you don&#x27;t know any better.</p><p data-block-key="7hu2r"><b>NARRATOR:</b> As the team fine-tuned the telescope systems...</p><p data-block-key="8spf6">Almost.</p><p data-block-key="fa7ge"><b>NARRATOR:</b> The image became more and more clear.</p><p data-block-key="f4vl5"><b>ZELJKO IVEZIC:</b> We just acquired the greatest image in the history of astronomy. Congratulations.</p><p data-block-key="cmldg"><b>SANDRINE THOMAS:</b> It&#x27;s the first time this camera sees anything coming from the sky. That was our first image, and it means a lot to me. It might not be the prettiest image when you think about astronomy. But to me, it was extremely rewarding and very beautiful.</p><p data-block-key="bupmh"><b>NARRATOR:</b> In June, 2025, the Rubin Telescope team released the first official images, revealing the Virgo Cluster, the closest collection of galaxies to us, and the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae. It&#x27;s just the start of what promises to be a spectacular decade of discovery.</p>




<p data-block-key="c4asg">Go behind the scenes as NOVA visits the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, where scientists fire up the world&#x27;s largest digital camera for the first time.</p>

An image of an active volcano spewing smoke.

Hot Spot Volcanoes on Earth and Mars

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<p data-block-key="gkcox">Explore how plate tectonics affects hot spot volcanoes with this video from NOVA <i>Solar System: Volcano Worlds</i>.</p>

Why Are Planets and Moons Spherical?

<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head><link rel="preconnect" href="//static.pbslearningmedia.org/" crossorigin><base href="/"><meta charset="utf-8"><meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"><title>Why Are Planets and Moons Spherical? | NOVA | PBS LearningMedia</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvssfp-sci-planetsspherical/why-are-planets-and-moons-spherical-nova/"/><meta name="description" content="Explore how gravity and rotation influence the shapes of objects in space with this video from NOVA Solar System: Strange Worlds. Use this resource to provide students with opportunities to model why Earth is spherical."><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><meta property="fb:pages" content="213237472033241"><meta property="og:type" content="website"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="PBS LearningMedia"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@PBSLrnMedia"/><meta property="og:title" content="Why Are Planets and Moons Spherical? | NOVA | PBS LearningMedia"/><meta property="og:description" content="Explore how gravity and rotation influence the shapes of objects in space with this video from NOVA Solar System: Strange Worlds. Use this resource to provide students with opportunities to model why Earth is spherical."/><meta property="og:image" content="https://image.pbs.org/poster_images/assets/Why_Are_Planets_and_Moons_Spherical-poster.png"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvssfp-sci-planetsspherical/why-are-planets-and-moons-spherical-nova/"/><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://static.pbslearningmedia.org/static/lib/fontawesome/font-awesome.css"><script src="https://static.pbslearningmedia.org/static/lib/jquery-3.2.1.min.js"></script><script src="https://static.pbslearningmedia.org/static/lib/js.cookie.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//static.pbslearningmedia.org/static/205.0.0/lm/js/utility.js"></script><script>
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<p data-block-key="fznei">Explore how gravity and rotation influence the shapes of objects in space with this video from NOVA <i>Solar System: Strange Worlds</i>.</p>

Topic: Space & Flight

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