Stardust
Professor Brian Cox explores the laws of the universe. In this episode, he seeks to answer the biggest questions of all - what are we and where do we come from?
In the second stop in his exploration of the wonders of the universe, Professor Brian Cox goes in search of humanity's very essence to answer the biggest questions of all: what are we? And where do we come from? This film is the story of matter - the stuff of which we are all made.
Brian reveals how our origins are entwined with the life cycle of the stars. But he begins his journey here on Earth. In Nepal, he observes a Hindu cremation. Hindu philosophy is based on an eternal cycle of creation and destruction, where the physical elements of the body are recycled on to the next stage. Brian draws a parallel with the life cycle of the stars that led to our own creation.
Next, he explains how the Earth's resources have been recycled through the ages. How every atom that makes up everything we see was at some time a part of something else. Our world is made up of just 92 elements, and these same 92 elements are found throughout the entire universe. We are part of the universe because we are made of the same stuff as the universe.
Last on
Clips
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Spectroscopy of stars
Duration: 04:12
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Elements and how to make them
Duration: 06:15
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That’s why I love chemistry
Duration: 01:27
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Brian Cox |
Narrator | Steven Mackintosh |
Director | Michael Lachmann |
Producer | Michael Lachmann |
Executive Producer | Jonathan Renouf |
Series Producer | James Van Der Pool |
Broadcasts
- Sun 13 Mar 2011 21:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD & Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two
- Mon 14 Mar 2011 01:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 15 Mar 2011 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two England & Northern Ireland only
- Thu 17 Mar 2011 20:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 7 Jun 2011 01:35Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One except Scotland & Wales
- Mon 4 Jul 2011 22:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Wed 6 Jul 2011 00:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 27 Dec 2011 19:00
- Wed 28 Dec 2011 01:05
- Sun 22 Jan 2012 23:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sun 19 Feb 2012 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two England & Northern Ireland only
- Mon 13 Jun 2016 22:00
- Sun 19 Jun 2016 23:30
- Thu 24 Aug 2017 22:00
- Fri 25 Aug 2017 00:30
- Sat 6 Apr 2019 10:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland
- Thu 23 Jan 2020 22:00
- Sat 26 Sep 2020 09:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland
- Wed 24 Aug 2022 01:00
- Wed 10 May 2023 15:15Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland