Total solar eclipses have captivated humans for centuries for their rarity, fleeting durations and world-altering effects. But, as this animation from MinutePhysics explains, these astronomical events used to be more frequent and spectacular many millions of years ago, and are, very slowly but quite surely, becoming a thing of the past. Unravelling why we happen to exist in the tail end of the total-eclipse era, this short provides a brief yet rich dive into planetary physics.
videoAstronomy
Close encounters of a different kind – what if Venus, Neptune or Saturn hovered close by?
2 minutes
videoAstronomy
Watch the rare, awesome spectacle as Mercury passes between the Earth and Sun
1 minute
videoAstronomy
Visualisations explore what the deep future holds for our night sky
6 minutes
videoAstronomy
The remarkable innovations inspired by our need to know the night sky
5 minutes
videoAstronomy
From zero to 5,000 – music and visuals express 30 years of exoplanet discoveries
1 minute
videoAstronomy
Let the Sun’s invisible solar winds wash over you in ultra high-definition video
30 minutes
videoPhysics
To change the way you see the Moon, view it from the Sun’s perspective
5 minutes
videoAstronomy
Meet the citizen scientist who changed how we see the Sun, and science itself
5 minutes
videoHistory of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
29 minutes