The Planets

Professor Brian Cox traces the development of the four rocky worlds closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Born together, they battled the unbelievable violence of the early solar system to become stable planets. For a while each had a moment of hope when they enjoyed almost earth-like conditions.

Professor Brian Cox's continues his tour of the solar system revealing that it was once home to not one, but two blue planets. For millions of years, Mars enjoyed oceans blanketed by a thick atmosphere and a temperate climate. Whilst at the same moment Earth was afar less favourable habitat.

Professor Brian Cox visits a planet that dwarfs all the others: Jupiter. Its enormous size gives it a great power that it has used to manipulate the other planets. Jupiter is not only the biggest but also the oldest planet in the solar system. It alone witnessed the birth of the Sun and ever since its immense gravity has shaped the destiny of the other worlds.

Saturn is the jewel of the solar system, the most seductive of all the planets, but as Professor Brian Cox reveals, it wasn't born that way. Raised in the freezing outer reaches of the solar system Saturn began life as a strange planet of rock and ice.

Professor Brian Cox journeys to the remotest part of the solar system, a place that the most mysterious planets call home. These worlds remain shadowy for a simple reason. Beyond Saturn the most distant planets have only been visited once.