NOVA

For millions of years, ancient Earth was a fiery hellscape of volcanic activity, totally inhospitable to life. See what our planet might have looked like before the atmosphere—a ball of rock and fire hurtling through space.

For millions of years, Earth was a fiery hellscape, inhospitable to life.

Ancient Earth Was a Hellscape

Early Earth was a hellscape of molten lava and barren rock, bombarded by meteors, with no atmosphere at all. How did our familiar blue sky – the thin, life-giving band of gasses protecting our planet – come to be?

See how Earth transformed from a barren hellscape to a planet capable of sustaining life.

Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky

Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky Preview

How did oxygen escape from the oceans to form Earth’s atmosphere and create breathable air? Rust played a critical role in the process.

On Ancient Earth, rust deep in the oceans played a critical role in the formation of Earth

Ancient Earth May Have Had Red Oceans

Carlisle Companies

Viking

NOVA Science Trust Logo

Today, Earth is enveloped by a thin veil of gas, a narrow band of atmosphere that protects a world covered in lush green vegetation, deep blue oceans, and abundant life. But 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was a very different place: a hellscape of molten lava and barren rock, under relentless bombardment from meteors, and with no atmosphere whatsoever. So how did our familiar blue sky come to be? Breathtakingly realistic animations and a chorus of science experts reveal how the primordial inferno first gave rise to an orange-hued cauldron of toxic gasses that would be deadly to us today. Witness how the first drops of rain splashed down on the searing planet, setting the stage for the evolution of life. And discover how life itself helped create the air we all breathe today. Premiered October 4, 2023 at 9 pm on PBS.

Marine Biologist

Deep Carbon Observatory

Rutgers University

See how Earth transformed from a barren hellscape to a planet capable of sustaining life.

Planet Earth

700 million years ago, Earth was a giant snowball cloaked in ice from pole to pole. How did life manage to hold on through this deadly deep freeze, find creative ways to bounce back, and thrive in the dramatically different world that emerged?

How did life survive on a planet covered in ice from pole to pole?

Ancient Earth: Frozen

Seven-hundred-million years ago, ice threatened to make our planet uninhabitable, snuffing out new complex life forms. From this climate catastrophe, new forms of life arose, eventually leading to the living world today. But it was a close call.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, Earth was encased in ice. How did life survive?

How Life Survived When Earth Was Covered in Ice

Ancient Earth: Frozen Preview

700 million years ago, Earth was a giant snowball cloaked in ice from pole to pole – a global deep freeze that held the planet in a stranglehold, threatening the survival of the earliest complex life. How did life manage to hold on in this forbidding world? Leading scientists investigate how this catastrophe may have become a catalyst for life to evolve in creative new ways as it bounced back from the brink – setting the stage for the astonishing complexity we see today. Premiered October 11 at 9 pm on PBS.

Electrical Engineer

How did life survive on a planet covered in ice from pole to pole?

For billions of years, life teemed in Earth’s oceans while the land was desolate and inhospitable. See how life made the leap to land, transforming a barren, rocky landscape into the lush, green world we call home.

See how life made the leap to land, turning a barren landscape into a lush, green world.

Ancient Earth: Life Rising Preview

Ancient Earth: Life Rising

Today, plants like trees can grow very tall, while fungi remain close to the ground, with most of it hidden underneath. But millions of years ago, some fungi were were 20-feet-tall, towering over Earth’s landscape.

Fossils show that millions of years ago, 20-foot-high fungi grew on Earth.

Giant Prehistoric Fungi Once Ruled the Earth

For billions of years, life teemed in the oceans of planet Earth while the land was desolate and inhospitable. So how did life make the leap to land? Scientists explore how some of the earliest life emerged and invaded a barren, rocky landscape, eventually transforming it into a verdant, green world. Gripping visual effects reveal an alien landscape dominated by towering fungi before the arrival of plants. Witness how the first plants made landfall and partnered with fungi to create soil that would sustain them. And discover how, once life emerged on land, it fundamentally altered the very ground it grew on. Premiered October 18 at 9 pm on PBS.

Sant Director, National Museum of Natural History

See how life made the leap to land, turning a barren landscape into a lush, green world.

252 million years ago, a devastating mass extinction wiped out about 90% of all species on Earth. Follow scientists as they piece together evidence to discover how life survived and set the stage for a new dominant life form: the dinosaurs.

How did life bounce back after a cataclysmic extinction wiped out some 90% of all species?

Ancient Earth: Inferno Preview

252 million years ago, the most devastating mass extinction of all time wiped out around 90% of all species on Earth. The culprit? Liquid magma beneath Pangea’s northern surface that split open the crust and tore apart the landscape, spewing curtains of lava and fire.

An ancient catastrophe killed nearly all life on Earth - and an asteroid wasn’t to blame.

The Catastrophe That Killed 90% Of Earth’s Species

Catastrophe That Killed 90% Of Earth’s Species

Ancient Earth: Inferno

252 million years ago, the most devastating mass extinction of all time abruptly wiped out around 90% of all species on Earth. The culprits were the biggest volcanic eruptions the world has ever seen, emitting some 700 thousand cubic miles of magma and rock. Volcanic gasses permeated the atmosphere and acidified the oceans while toxic gasses destroyed the ozone layer, bathing the planet in destructive UV radiation. The event – now called “The Great Dying” – came close to wiping out all life on the planet. Follow scientists as they piece together geologic evidence from the deep past and clues from today’s ecosystems to discover how life made it through and evolved into the astonishing variety we see around us today. Premiering October 25 at 9 pm on PBS.

How did life bounce back after a cataclysmic extinction wiped out some 90% of all species?

How did Earth give rise to humans? With stunningly realistic animation, witness the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs, the spread of primates across the planet, and the geologic events that made our species' existence possible.

How did Earth give rise to humans? See what made our species' existence possible.

Ancient Earth: Humans

The asteroid released the equivalent of 10-billion nuclear bombs worth of energy when it struck Earth. The impact started a chain of events that wiped out 75% of all plants and animals at the time.

How did an asteroid impact on one side of the planet cause global devastation?

What Caused the Dinosaurs to Go Extinct?

Ancient Earth: Humans Preview

The story of Earth can only be told because now, 4.5 billion years into its existence, a technological and self-aware animal species roams its surface, able to study the very planet that gave rise to it. But how exactly did Earth give rise to humans? Through stunningly realistic animation, witness the cataclysmic asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs, the tumultuous changing climates that allowed early primates to spread across the planet, and the geologic events that created the conditions for the evolution of an animal that walks upright on two legs. Explore the power and paradox of humanity’s profound impact on our planet, and ponder the question of how we may shape its future. (Premiered November 1 at 9 pm on PBS)

University College London

University of Victoria, Canada

How did Earth give rise to humans? See what made our species' existence possible.

Dive into the most dramatic events in Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history, from its birth to the emergence of humanity. How did a hellscape of molten lava transform into a lush, green, watery planet filled with life? With dazzlingly realistic animation based on the latest research, each of these five episodes brings to life long-lost worlds that ultimately led to the one we know today. Premiering October 4, 2023 at 9 pm on PBS.

Witness the dramatic history of Earth, from its birth to the emergence of humanity.

Witness the dramatic history of Earth, from its birth to the emergence of humanity.

Ancient Earth Episodes

Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky

Ancient Earth: Frozen

Ancient Earth: Life Rising

Ancient Earth: Inferno

Ancient Earth: Humans