The Most Profound Question: Are We Alone?
In The Most Profound Question: Are We Alone?, Professor Brian Cox explains the most profound question that we can answer, and how humans can investigate Earth to support discoveries in outer space. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
Lesson Express
Q: What is the most profound question we can ask? Why do you think this is such a profound question?
A: Are we alone in the Universe? Student responses will vary.
Q: What do we need to know in order to search for life?
A: We have to know what life is and how to look for it in order to understand life here on Earth.
Q: Do you want aliens to come to Earth? Why or why not?
A: Student responses will vary.
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In Mapping Mission: Reaching the Surface of Mercury, Professor Brian Cox explains how scientists were able to send the space probe Messenger to Mercury, a particularly difficult planet for us to explore. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Getting Started: Life on Earth and Mars, Professor Brian Cox explains the conditions that are required for life to begin. Learn how Earth and Mars had these conditions at the same time. Could life have started in two places at once? Or might the life on Earth have come from outer space? This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Intelligent Life: Is It Out There?, Professor Brian Cox explains what happened when complex life developed and what this means for the search for life beyond Earth. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Mercury: A Planet Exposed, narrator Professor Brian Cox highlights the brutal environment of the smallest planet in our Solar System. Its small size meant Mercury didn’t have enough gravity to hang on to its atmosphere. Without the protection of even that thin line of gas, temperatures fluctuate from 842°F (450°C) during the day to -290°F (-180C) degrees at night on the rocky planet. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.