
Galaxies are the building blocks of the universe. Our solar system sits inside a huge galaxy that we call the Milky Way - home to as many as 300 billion stars. But the Milky Way is itself just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. Over the last 60 years of broadcasting, the Sky at Night has covered every major story of discovery about the galaxies, and in this film presenter Chris Lintott uses this archive to reveal the deepest secrets of galaxies, from their earliest beginnings to their very ends.\n\nFrom the first galaxy ever discovered through to today's cutting edge attempts to map our own Milky Way, this is a story of incredible ingenuity, extraordinary technology and spectacular discoveries. We'll discover how galaxies work - from the secrets of their spiral arms to the dramatic events that drive their evolution - uncovering a weird and wonderful menagerie of objects along the way. Ultimately, the discovery of the galaxies is also the story of how we found our place in the cosmos, and discovered answers to some of the biggest questions in the Universe.
Source: BBC 4
La Palma - Gateway To The Universe
On the volcanic peaks of La Palma, revolutionary new telescopes and cutting-edge technology are opening a new chapter in our exploration of space. High above the clouds, The Sky ...
09-11-2026
BBC 4
Space For Different Perspectives
When most people think of dyslexia, they think of difficulties in reading and writing. But while this is correct, it isn’t the full picture. In this episode, Maggie Aderin ...
13-10-2026
BBC 4
Engineering The Universe
Chris Lintott and the team explore the extraordinary engineering, both on Earth and millions of kilometres above it in space, that is transforming modern astronomy and revealing ...
15-09-2026
BBC 4
Big Black Holes And Little Red Dots
Professor Brian Cox joins the team to explore one the greatest current mysteries in astronomy - little red dots. Discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), they have u ...
11-08-2026
BBC 4
The Aliens Next Door?
Could alien life exist closer than we think - perhaps right next door? A paper published in 2025 suggested that strange markings discovered on Mars could provide some of the str ...
15-07-2026
BBC 4
Space Weather: The Perfect Storm
Life on Earth depends on the sun for its light and its warmth. But the activity of our nearest star also poses a serious threat to all of us. In the most extreme cases, solar st ...
09-06-2026
BBC 4
Jodrell Bank: Tuning Into The Universe
It started 80 years ago with a field, army surplus, wartime radar and a visionary idea - and it changed how we see the universe forever. In this episode, we step inside the rema ...
12-05-2026
BBC 4
Destination Moon
Maggie Aderin, self-proclaimed lunar-tic, examines Nasa’s Artemis II mission: the first crewed journey towards the moon in more than 50 years. It’s a mission designe ...
14-04-2026
BBC 4
Space Mysteries: The Sky At Night Meets Curious Cases
Do aliens exist, and can we talk to them? What does a black hole sound like? Does the universe look like a doughnut? In a spectacular season finale, The Sky at Night teams up wi ...
13-11-2025
BBC 4
Brits In Space
Three, two, one, lift off! This edition launches into the extraordinary - and extraterrestrial - world of astronaut training, discovering what it truly takes to become a Europea ...
15-10-2025
BBC 4
Space For Different Perspectives
When most people think of dyslexia, they think of difficulties in reading and writing. But while this is correct, it isn’t the full picture. In this episode, Maggie Aderin ...
13-10-2026
BBC 4
Engineering The Universe
Chris Lintott and the team explore the extraordinary engineering, both on Earth and millions of kilometres above it in space, that is transforming modern astronomy and revealing ...
15-09-2026
BBC 4
The Aliens Next Door?
Could alien life exist closer than we think - perhaps right next door? A paper published in 2025 suggested that strange markings discovered on Mars could provide some of the str ...
15-07-2026
BBC 4
Queen Of Pulsars
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a discoverer and an explorer of the distant cosmos, and she has walked among the stars. She discovered the first pulsar in 1967 - a discovery so imp ...
14-08-2025
BBC 4
Webb Telescope: The Story So Far
In July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope released its first images. They were visually stunning, and it was clear they provided more detail of stars, galaxies and planets th ...
11-07-2024
BBC 4
Space Rock Return
The Sky at Night is back for a brand new series, and this month it is delving into Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which last year brought back a sample from the near-Earth ast ...
11-04-2024
BBC 4
Space Mysteries: The Sky At Night Meets Curious Cases
Do aliens exist, and can we talk to them? What does a black hole sound like? Does the universe look like a doughnut? In a spectacular season finale, The Sky at Night teams up wi ...
13-11-2025
BBC 4
Big Black Holes And Little Red Dots
Professor Brian Cox joins the team to explore one the greatest current mysteries in astronomy - little red dots. Discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), they have u ...
11-08-2026
BBC 4
Ancestral Skies
This month, The Sky at Night teams up with BBC Ideas to discover the secrets of archaeology and astronomy and to reflect on our ancestral skies. \n\nThroughout history and acros ...
14-11-2024
BBC 4