In A Shoal of Sardines, narrator Sir David Attenborough details what happens when predators and prey come together in a feeding frenzy. Striped marlin, young tuna, and a sei whale all partake of the dense shoal of sardines. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that resides there.
In The Coral Reef Habitat, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines the animals that live on the coral reef, one of the most diverse places in the animal world. Learn about animals that live in the reef, climb out away from the reef, or return to the reef from the open ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Frigate Birds and Sailfish on the Hunt, narrator Sir David Attenborough observes the remarkable hunting techniques of frigate birds and sailfish in the open ocean. Frigate birds soar high above the water, scanning for fish below, while sailfish — some reaching lengths of 10 feet (3 meters) — surround schools of bait fish. The sailfish cooperate with one another, using their speed, agility, and color-changing abilities to confuse and catch their prey. As the bait fish move toward the surface, frigate birds dive down to snatch them. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Tool-Using Tusk Fish, narrator Sir David Attenborough suggests that tusk fish, and perhaps other fish species, may be more intelligent than people ever thought possible. When the tusk fish finds food, such as a clam, it uses coral as a tool to crack open the clam and feed itself. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
In Spring in the Arctic Is a Changing Ice World, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights the changing ice world as the Arctic transitions from winter to spring. While many birds migrate south for warmth, eider ducks endure the extreme cold, relying on a rare opening in the ice called a "polynya" for survival. These ducks dive beneath the ice to feed on mussel beds, but they must act quickly before the powerful ocean currents return. Meanwhile, the availability of food in these polynyas attracts predators, adding another challenge to survival in this harsh environment. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
The “global space economy” refers to pretty much everything having to do with human progress through space, including exploration, research, management, and use. It also generates hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
You may not have heard the term “global space economy,” but you’ve probably heard of at least two of the big players: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. As founders of Blue Origin and SpaceX, their companies are estimated to be worth $100 billion and $1.8 trillion, respectively. If you took 1.8 trillion standard dollar bills end-to-end, it would stretch 100 million miles — more than the distance from the Earth to the Sun! Imagine walking to the Sun on a bridge made of money! You couldn’t, because of all of the “zero gravity.” Your feet would also get very tired. There’s also no oxygen. But we know all of this because of how much we’ve studied space!
So why spend so much time and money on the space industry, which has expanded massively in the last few decades? Don’t only a few select astronauts go to space? Shouldn’t we be focusing on Earth? Well, what we learn in space has a big impact on what we do on the ground. Our findings from space show up as the GPS on our phones, in ships navigating the oceans, even as farmers using satellite photography to plan their crops.
There’s no sign of slowing down on the space front — the UK is focusing on small satellites, America is hoping to put astronauts back on the moon by 2028, and China is planning its own lunar landing by 2030. These explorations could provide valuable minerals, insight to getting past the Moon (like to Mars), and open up space tourism opportunities.
In A Shoal of Sardines, narrator Sir David Attenborough details what happens when predators and prey come together in a feeding frenzy. Striped marlin, young tuna, and a sei whale all partake of the dense shoal of sardines. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that resides there.
In The Coral Reef Habitat, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines the animals that live on the coral reef, one of the most diverse places in the animal world. Learn about animals that live in the reef, climb out away from the reef, or return to the reef from the open ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Frigate Birds and Sailfish on the Hunt, narrator Sir David Attenborough observes the remarkable hunting techniques of frigate birds and sailfish in the open ocean. Frigate birds soar high above the water, scanning for fish below, while sailfish — some reaching lengths of 10 feet (3 meters) — surround schools of bait fish. The sailfish cooperate with one another, using their speed, agility, and color-changing abilities to confuse and catch their prey. As the bait fish move toward the surface, frigate birds dive down to snatch them. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Tool-Using Tusk Fish, narrator Sir David Attenborough suggests that tusk fish, and perhaps other fish species, may be more intelligent than people ever thought possible. When the tusk fish finds food, such as a clam, it uses coral as a tool to crack open the clam and feed itself. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
In Spring in the Arctic Is a Changing Ice World, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights the changing ice world as the Arctic transitions from winter to spring. While many birds migrate south for warmth, eider ducks endure the extreme cold, relying on a rare opening in the ice called a "polynya" for survival. These ducks dive beneath the ice to feed on mussel beds, but they must act quickly before the powerful ocean currents return. Meanwhile, the availability of food in these polynyas attracts predators, adding another challenge to survival in this harsh environment. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
The “global space economy” refers to pretty much everything having to do with human progress through space, including exploration, research, management, and use. It also generates hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
You may not have heard the term “global space economy,” but you’ve probably heard of at least two of the big players: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. As founders of Blue Origin and SpaceX, their companies are estimated to be worth $100 billion and $1.8 trillion, respectively. If you took 1.8 trillion standard dollar bills end-to-end, it would stretch 100 million miles — more than the distance from the Earth to the Sun! Imagine walking to the Sun on a bridge made of money! You couldn’t, because of all of the “zero gravity.” Your feet would also get very tired. There’s also no oxygen. But we know all of this because of how much we’ve studied space!
So why spend so much time and money on the space industry, which has expanded massively in the last few decades? Don’t only a few select astronauts go to space? Shouldn’t we be focusing on Earth? Well, what we learn in space has a big impact on what we do on the ground. Our findings from space show up as the GPS on our phones, in ships navigating the oceans, even as farmers using satellite photography to plan their crops.
There’s no sign of slowing down on the space front — the UK is focusing on small satellites, America is hoping to put astronauts back on the moon by 2028, and China is planning its own lunar landing by 2030. These explorations could provide valuable minerals, insight to getting past the Moon (like to Mars), and open up space tourism opportunities.