Secure Verified
| Title | : | Horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | : | Documentary |
| Air Date | : | 2000-11-30 |
| Season Number | : | 37 |
| Episodes Number | : | 17 |
| Overview | : | In June 2000, astronomers made an extraordinary discovery. One that promises to solve one of the biggest problems in cosmology - how and why galaxies are created. Incredibly, the answer involves the most weird, destructive and terrifying objects in the Universe - supermassive black holes. Scientists are beginning to believe that these forces of pure destruction actually help trigger the birth of galaxies and therefore are at the heart of the creation of stars, planets and all life. Supermassive black holes are so extraordinary that until recently, many people doubted that they existed at all. The idea of giant black holes the size of the Solar System seemed more like science fiction that reality - such monsters would be so powerful that they could destroy the very fabric of the Universe. But in the last five years a series of discoveries has changed our understanding of supermassive black holes and galaxies forever. Using the powerful Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have been scanning nearby galaxies, searching for these giant black holes. It's a difficult job - by their very nature black holes swallow light - so can never be seen. So what scientists have been looking for is the effect of their massive gravity, hurling stars around them at immense speed. What they've found is more extraordinary than anyone could ever have imagined; not just evidence that these vast destructive monsters exist… but so far they're in every single galaxy toward which they have turned their telescopes. These giant agents of destruction appear to be common throughout the Universe. Scientists now think supermassive black holes are a fundamental part of what a galaxy actually is. Lurking at the heart of every single galaxy is a giant black hole of apocalyptic proportions - and that includes our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Astronomer Andrea Ghez has been studying the heart of the Milky Way for the last five years. What she's discovered is irrefutable evidence for a giant black hole, 3 billion times the size of our own sun. A black hole that could destroy the entire Solar System. And as Horizon was filming in July 2000, Ghez got some terrifying images - of the giant monster sucking up gas and stars at the galaxy heart. So what is this giant monster doing at the heart of our galaxy? What effect will this giant black hole 25,000 light years away have on us and the rest of the galaxy around it? These are questions that have been puzzling astronomers for the last few years - and in June, two separate groups of scientists found evidence that points to a startling answer. Rather than being destructive parasites, it seems that supermassive black holes may be essential in the very creation of the galaxies they live in. Exactly how our galaxy was created has mystified astronomers and physicists for years. Although there have been many theories, there's little evidence to explain how the gas in the early Universe condensed to form the galaxy we see today. Now scientists realise they've been missing a vital ingredient - a supermassive black hole. The immense gravity of a giant black hole might trigger the gas to collapse in the first place. By churning up the gas around it, a giant black hole would trigger the birth of stars, planets and life itself. Despite being the most destructive thing in the Universe, scientists now think our supermassive black hole could be crucial in creating the galaxy as we know it. The supermassive black hole in our own galaxy may be the reason we exist, but recent work suggests it may also be our end. At present Earth is so far away from the black hole that it can't affect us, but physicist John Dubinski thinks all that could change. In January 2000 he graphically simulated the final fate of our galaxy. In 3 billion years we will collide with the next door galaxy, Andromeda. The resulting apocalypse will force the Earth and our Solar System out of orbit. Dubinski has calculated a worrying 50:50 chance that we'll be sent hurtling in towards the black hole at the centre of this maelstrom. This would be fatal for the Earth. |
| Stars | : |
February 03, 1964
Season 1
9 Episodes
January 06, 1965
Season 2
24 Episodes
January 02, 1966
Season 3
23 Episodes
January 17, 1967
Season 4
23 Episodes
January 02, 1968
Season 5
24 Episodes
January 02, 1969
Season 6
37 Episodes
January 05, 1970
Season 7
37 Episodes
January 04, 1971
Season 8
32 Episodes
January 03, 1972
Season 9
33 Episodes
January 04, 1973
Season 10
32 Episodes
January 07, 1974
Season 11
33 Episodes
January 20, 1975
Season 12
26 Episodes
January 05, 1976
Season 13
30 Episodes
January 07, 1977
Season 14
23 Episodes
January 06, 1978
Season 15
24 Episodes
February 26, 1979
Season 16
25 Episodes
January 14, 1980
Season 17
25 Episodes
January 05, 1981
Season 18
27 Episodes
January 11, 1982
Season 19
22 Episodes
January 10, 1983
Season 20
24 Episodes
January 09, 1984
Season 21
22 Episodes
January 07, 1985
Season 22
16 Episodes
January 06, 1986
Season 23
22 Episodes
January 05, 1987
Season 24
22 Episodes
January 04, 1988
Season 25
25 Episodes
January 09, 1989
Season 26
20 Episodes
January 08, 1990
Season 27
20 Episodes
January 07, 1991
Season 28
23 Episodes
January 06, 1992
Season 29
19 Episodes
January 04, 1993
Season 30
21 Episodes
January 10, 1994
Season 31
21 Episodes
January 09, 1995
Season 32
20 Episodes
January 08, 1996
Season 33
16 Episodes
February 27, 1997
Season 34
15 Episodes
February 19, 1998
Season 35
18 Episodes
January 28, 1999
Season 36
14 Episodes
January 12, 2000
Season 37
19 Episodes
January 25, 2001
Season 38
11 Episodes
January 10, 2002
Season 39
18 Episodes
January 09, 2003
Season 40
19 Episodes
January 08, 2004
Season 41
18 Episodes
January 13, 2005
Season 42
20 Episodes
January 12, 2006
Season 43
19 Episodes
March 13, 2007
Season 44
9 Episodes
January 15, 2008
Season 45
17 Episodes
January 26, 2009
Season 46
11 Episodes
October 13, 2009
Season 47
14 Episodes
September 26, 2010
Season 48
15 Episodes
August 08, 2011
Season 49
13 Episodes
July 23, 2012
Season 50
16 Episodes
August 12, 2013
Season 51
11 Episodes
August 17, 2014
Season 52
18 Episodes
March 16, 2016
Season 53
16 Episodes
January 19, 2017
Season 54
15 Episodes
February 05, 2018
Season 55
13 Episodes
January 23, 2019
Season 56
6 Episodes
January 16, 2020
Season 57
8 Episodes
January 04, 2021
Season 58
4 Episodes
March 31, 2022
Season 59
4 Episodes
