The Sky at Night 2015

The Billion Pixel Camera (2015)

The Milky Way, our galaxy, is a magnificent sight in the night sky, but we know surprisingly little about it for certain. What is its shape? How many stars does it actually contain? What lies at its centre? The Gaia space telescope will answer these questions, being armed with the most advanced camera to leave our planet, and it will allow us to see our galaxy as we've never seen it before. The Sky at Night visits the factory in Chelmsford that made the astonishing sensor at the heart of the mission.

What Have UFOs Done for Us? (2015)

From unexplained flashes in the night sky to flying saucers, this episode delves into the mysterious world of UFOs. How our drive to explain these bizarre phenomena, and desire to discover little green men, has in fact transformed our understanding of the universe.

Hubble: The Five Greatest Images of the Cosmos (2015)

For 25 years the Hubble Space Telescope has been showing us the cosmos as we've never seen it before. The team reveals the 'top five' greatest images Hubble has produced, images that have astounded us, transforming our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

Venus, Earth's Twin (2015)

The team explores our nearest neighbour Venus, discovering how it formed and how ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has revealed the secrets of its atmosphere. -- How can two such similar planets have become so different? One is the crucible of life, the other an inferno with a surface scorched by raining acid, yet both began as almost identical bodies. With Venus prominent in the sky in May, the team explores our nearest neighbour, discovering how it formed and how ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has revealed the secrets of its atmosphere.

Rosetta Update - A Comet's Story (2015)

With the exciting news that the Philae lander had woken up on comet 67P, Sky at Night reveals the latest results from the Rosetta comet landing. What have they learnt so far from Philae's onboard instruments? What do the stunning images from Rosetta tell us about the formation and structure of comets? And project scientist Matt Taylor shows how Rosetta is measuring the growing tail of the comet as it hurtles towards the sun.