The Universe: Season 4
Season 4 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Universe Season 3.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 4 Progress Shield
Death Stars
Aug 18, 2009
Season 4 opens with an exploration of dying stars, the process where stars become supernovas, and, occasionally, become the biggest blast in the universe as a gamma ray burst (GRB)
The Day the Moon Was Gone
Aug 25, 2009
Without the moon, Earth would be a very different and desolate place today--four hours of sunlight with pitch-black nights, steady 100-mph winds spawning giant hurricanes that last
It Fell From Space
Sep 1, 2009
Every year, thousands of objects both natural and manmade plummet through our atmosphere and crash into the Earth. These menacing messengers from the sky provide scientists with am
Biggest Blasts
Sep 8, 2009
An examination of the most powerful explosions and blasts in the universe. Includes a look at the Mexico's Yucatán peninsula and the impact which caused the Chicxulub crater. Also
The Hunt for Ringed Planets
Sep 15, 2009
They are breathtaking, lethal and a constant source of surprise. The stunning rings of Saturn have mesmerized countless scientists over the centuries. With particles the size of a
10 Ways to Destroy the Earth
Sep 22, 2009
Experts cook up ways you could destroy the Earth, including swallowing it with a black hole, blowing it up with anti-matter, hurling it into the Sun, and switching off gravity.
The Search for Cosmic Clusters
Sep 29, 2009
They are the one-stop-shopping places for learning all about the nature and variety of stars in the Universe. They're unique, because in clusters, all the stars were born at about
Space Wars
Oct 6, 2009
Outer space is already an essential part of America's ability to fight wars. Our military depends on satellites for many things, such as communications, reconnaissance and targetin
Liquid Universe
Oct 20, 2009
On alien planets, they rain from the sky as scalding iron. On distant moons, even at hundreds of degrees below zero, they slosh around in pristine lakes of methane. They can cover
Pulsars & Quasars
Oct 27, 2009
They sort of sound like the same phenomenon, but Pulsars and Quasars are very different. Pulsars are tiny--only a few miles across--but they spin as fast as a kitchen blender and s
Science Fiction, Science Fact
Nov 3, 2009
Warp speed, transporters, wormholes and lasers--they are all staples of science fiction books, movies, and TV shows. But the fantastic world of tomorrow is quickly becoming the fut
Extreme Energy
Nov 10, 2009
Ours is a universe of energy, from powerful jets ejected from black holes to the raw nuclear fury of our Sun. But, the total amount of energy in the universe maintains perfect equi