Season 1 (Winter) poster
11 episodes

Spaceship Earth - Season 1 (Winter)

First aired May 18, 1997Season 1

Spaceship Earth Season 1 (Winter)

Episodes

Week 1: The Journey Begins (New Year) still

Episode 1

Week 1: The Journey Begins (New Year)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Why it is cold when the Earth is closest to the sun. Why we see Venus in the morning. The planets are close, the stars unreachable.

Week 2: Travelling in the Solar System (Early January) still

Episode 2

Week 2: Travelling in the Solar System (Early January)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Day and Night. A gigantic Sun with tiny planets. A look at the Zodiac. The solar system is the present; the stars are the past.

Week 3: The Moon, Our Companion (Mid-January) still

Episode 3

Week 3: The Moon, Our Companion (Mid-January)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

The Sun is on time but the Moon is late. Why we see the Moon as a crescent. The half-moon crosses the Earth's orbit. Where the Moon came from. The Moon: Delay in space and Time.

Week 4: The Full Moon (Late January) still

Episode 4

Week 4: The Full Moon (Late January)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Discovering Mercury. Distant moons of other planets. Why we always see the same side of the Moon. Why we see the Sun so low but the Moon so high.

Week 5:  Earth's Rotation (January/February) still

Episode 5

Week 5: Earth's Rotation (January/February)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Earth's Rotation. The Moon shows us where Mars is. Copernicus: The Earth in orbit. Why the Earth turns. Crossing time zones.

Week 6: Copernicus and Kepler (Early February) still

Episode 6

Week 6: Copernicus and Kepler (Early February)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Hidden planets. Kepler discovers the planets' timetable. The Earth moves more quickly in Winter. Earth overtakes Mars. Why we have two tides every day.

Week 7: Gravity (Early/Mid-February) still

Episode 7

Week 7: Gravity (Early/Mid-February)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Why the Earth is round. Newton's apple. Why the Earth does not fall into the Sun. Three minutes more Sun every day. Sundials and the Earth's axis. Comets.

Week 8: The Stars (Mid-February) still

Episode 8

Week 8: The Stars (Mid-February)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Columbus and the Pole Star. Earth wobbles over the centuries. The imaginary 'heavenly vault'. The Sun, our star. Infinitely large to infinitely small.

Week 9: The Calendar (Late February) still

Episode 9

Week 9: The Calendar (Late February)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Leap Days: The Earth misses a quarter of a day. Gregorian and Orthodox calendars. Solar and lunar calendars. Solid and gaseous planets.

Week 10: Waning Moon and Solar Eclipses (Early March) still

Episode 10

Week 10: Waning Moon and Solar Eclipses (Early March)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

The half-moon shows where we are going. Where the stars go during the day. The Moon and the planets: The Sun's invisible companions. The Moon's shadow on the Earth: Solar Eclipses.

Week 11: Eclipses and Occultations (Mid-March) still

Episode 11

Week 11: Eclipses and Occultations (Mid-March)

NR
May 18, 19975 min

Annular solar eclipses. Partial solar eclipses. The Moon eclipsed in Earth's shadow. Occultation of Aldebaran.