Extreme Orbits ~ Clockwork and Creation

Grand Orrery from 1780 

Today on Far Future Horizons we present an exciting episode of the acclaimed Science Channel documentary series How the Universe Works ~ Extreme Orbits: Clockwork and Creation, which explores our not so clockwork universe.

The only reason life on Earth is possible is because of our relatively stable orbit around the Sun. Elsewhere in the Universe, this pristine Clockwork Orrery does not exist.

Our Solar System

Orbits are the dynamics that drive the universe. From the smallest asteroid to the largest super-cluster, everything in the universe is in orbit. We owe our very existence to the stability of earth's orbit which has given us life and has kept us safe.

Hot Jupiters illustrate the fact that not all solar systems are like ours

But, our solar system is not the norm. Everywhere else we look we find orbits are chaotic, unstable, and violent. Beyond our solar system, we find planets that are blow-torched, stars that eat each other, and black holes that destroy everything in their path. Yet on the very largest scale, orbits are also a creative force. Clashing galaxies give birth to new stars and new worlds. on the galactic scale orbits even construct the fabric of the universe itself.

How the Universe Works is available on DVD from Amazon Books.

How the Universe Works ~ Extreme Orbits: Clockwork and Creation
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