NOVA | Origins

Origins: Journey back to the beginning of everything: the universe, Earth, and life itself. Airs on PBS August 23 and 30 8 to 10 p.m.

Life's Little Essential
Everybody knows that liquid water is necessary for life. But just why exactly?

A Conversation
With Neil deGrasse Tyson
Hear from the series host on the hottest discoveries in origins research, his advice for budding scientists, and more.

How Did Life Begin?
Harvard's Andrew Knoll discusses the deeply mysterious jump long ago from non-living to living.

Does Mars Have Life?
NASA's Christopher McKay thinks the red planet once had living things and maybe, just maybe, still does.

Who Needs Galaxies?
Astronomer Sandra Faber explains how galaxies brew the ingredients for life.

Are We Alone?
Paleontologist Peter Ward says that as intelligent creatures, we humans are probably not alone in the universe, just very lonely.

Do Aliens Exist
in the Milky Way?
In this interactive poll, explore a series of arguments for and against, then vote online.
Results to date:
76% Yes
16% No
8% Undecided

The Drake Equation
Try your hand at calculating how many intelligent, communicating civilizations might be in our galaxy.

Decoding Cosmic Spectra
Play astronomer and analyze the spectral fingerprints of a planet, star, galaxy, and nebula.

The Pillars of Creation
Assemble the famous image of the Eagle Nebula from raw data beamed down from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Origins Game
Where are scientists making the great discoveries in origins research? Check out our world map.

History of the Universe
This interactive time line chronicles the evolution of the universe from the big bang to 10¹⁰⁰ years from now.

A Brief History of Life
Review the grand march of organisms from over three billion years ago to the present.

ET Gallery
Sci-fi films and T.V. shows reveal how limited our imagination is when it comes to alien life.

Hour four, "Back to the Beginning," is available to view online here.

TV Program Description
Watch a Preview

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Credits

Welcome to Mars
Find out what scientists are learning about the possibility for life on Mars in this NOVA program.

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Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers.

Major funding for Origins is provided by the National Science Foundation. Additional funding for Origins is provided by NASA's Office of Space Science and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Corporate funding provided by