Naked Science

The Grand Canyon is a natural wonder so large it can be seen from space. Examining the layers of rock exposed from centuries of of erosion, geologists trace the canyon back to its early days when the Colorado River first began to flow through the region.

Scientists examine the formation of America's largest mountain range. New evidence suggests that they continue to grow and at a faster rate than their Canadaian counterparts.

The shape of the North American continent has changed radically over millions of years. During the great Ice Age, glaciers carved out the Great Lakes; as the Earth's temperature rose, they filled with glacier melt. The Great Salt Lake is just a shadow of its former self. And as tectonic plates continue to move, America moves closer to Europe each year.

The age-old question of what brought about life on our planet is examined. Scientists search of the mechanism that triggered non-living matter to change into into living creatures.

Three million miles from earth lies a planet so small that even the most advanced telescopes. A dedicated core of scientists offer educated guesses as to the makeup and condition of Pluto, as well as discuss its qualifications to be counted as a planet. Meahwhile, the New Horizons space probe continues its nine year trek to the planet to finally reveal the secrets of the "planet".

After blasing off from Earth on 8/4/2007, NASA's Phoenix Lander is scheduled to enter Mars' atmosphere on 5/25/2008 and land on the polar ice-cap. If all goes well, the solar powered robot will extend its nearly eight foot scoop and dig into the ice amd soil, seaching for the building blocks of life: carbon, nitrogen and, most importantly, water. Phoenix's goal is to prove that life either was, or perhaps is, posssible on the red planet. If it succeeds, it will change our understanding of life in the universe and its uniqueness to our planet.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, launched in 1977, used the gravitational pull of Venus to act as a sling shot to travel the 2 billion miles to Saturn. Its arrival in 2004 allowed an unprecedented study of the planet's mystical rings and details of what lies below Saturn's seemingly smooth exterior. What has been learned so far (the probe continues to orbit and study) is analyzed, as well as information gleaned from the Huygens probe which landed on its moon Titan.

Even a small asteroid slamming into our planet at thousands of miles-per-hour could produce a major catastrophe, wiping out a city and killing millions. Experts examine evidence that an early civilization in North America became extinct because of an asteroid impact during the last Ice Age. With no crater to examine, scientists test the theory that it exploded into a glacier. NASA's current efforts to find and track all near-Earth objects is highlighted and what could be done to prevent such a disasterous impact.

The arrival of humans in Australia was a milestone in mankind's eventual inhabitation of the entire planet. This episode determines if the settlement of Australia was by accident or an intentional plan , how it was done, and what factors are necessary for a sucessful civilization to sustain itself.

The idea of traveling through time has long been a fanciful dream of scientists and fiction writers. Since determining that we live on a space-time continuium that can be warped by gravity, thinkers have pondered how to make that happen. Now scientists are wondering if lasers would allow us to twist the fabric and make possible leaps forward and backward in time.

Since the formation of the planet, Earth's magnetic field has shifted poles thousands of times. The last time it happened, humans weren't around. Now with the field weakening, scientists believe another flip is near. Soon, several satellites will be launched with magnetometers to detect even subtle changes, helping experts predict when the field may reverse.

Everything in the universe can be traced back to the first second following the Big Bang. The building blocks of the universe, atoms, were formed as pure energy was converted into matter. The key to understanding how this happened was revealed by Albert Einstein's most famous equation, E=MC2, showing that energy and mass are different forms of the same thing.

One of the most impressive and technologically advanced devices ever made, the Hubble Space Telescope has viewed objects never-before seen. It continues to provide views of the most distant objects from the early days of the universe, bringing about new sets of questions for scientists to answer.

Long ago, the continents of the Earth were joined together in one huge mass. Some experts predict that it will happen again 250 million years in the future. Will it result in mass extinctions as in the past?

Scientists explore a Mexican cave that is home to some of the largest crystals ever discovered. They use special protective suits and equipment to enter the harsh environment where temperatures hover around 120 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity exceeds 80 percent. Their goal is to determine how these ancient crystals were formed.

This episode concentrates on how the universe was made in the Big Bang and how scientists predict it could end similarly as it continues to expand. Several theories are covered including the "Big Crunch" where the universe shrinks back to its original size, and the "Big Chill" with the universe slowly freezing to death.

It's widely believed that the awesome Aztec civilization was wiped out during the 1500s by diseases introduced by Spanish Conquistadores. Eighty percent of that Central Mexican population died in the devestating epidemics that followed their arrival. Research by a pair of scientists, however, suggests that their fate was not a result of visitors from the New World. If their conclusions are correct, the same ting that killed the Aztecs could happen again in this century.