NOVA

This program presents a gripping investigation into what went wrong when two Boeing 747 airliners collided in thick fog on the runway at a tiny airport in the Canary Islands, killing 583 passengers and crew. Through heart-breaking survivor interviews and reenactments, NOVA pieces together the clues that led to a fatal take-off decision in minimal visibility.

This episode takes explores the fascinating connection between music and the brain. Famed neurologist Oliver Sacks lends his expertise to examine how music influences us from the womb and may also help to combat diseases.

The focus of this film is storm-chasing as Nova cameras captured hair-raising footage of highly destructive twisters in action during one of the worst tornado seasons on record across the Midwest. Also examined are the efforts of two scientists that have developed radically different approaches to forecasting twisters, explained through the magic of 3-D graphics.

Nova presents a minute-by-minute eyewitness account of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation on New Orleans and presents the reasons on why the city was so tragically unprepared. The program also looks at the accuracy of scientist’s predictions and the likelihood of future hurricanes, as well as the challenges posed by the rebuilding of New Orleans.

A team of experts search for clues as to what happened 75,000 years ago when there was a massive volcanic eruption that appears to have had a devastating impact on the Earth. Their purpose is to determine whether or not the world could see an eruption of this sort again in which ash and rock would rain down over the entire planet.

Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, has seen it summit glaciers slowing shrinking. Experts predict they will be gone by 2015. Is this a result of global warning or it an indication of an upcoming volcanic eruption? An expedition climbs the peak to learn what the future holds.

Machu Picchu, mysteriously abandoned 400 years ago, is the most famous ruin in the Western Hemisphere and a symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since it was discovered in 1911, there have been numerous theories about this lost city. This documentary follows a new generation of archeologist as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that have never been touched since the time of the Incas and unearth burial grounds of the people who built the sacred site.

The saga of the ancient Israelites is recounted in this documentary that digs deep into both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the history of the Israelites through the archeological artifacts they left behind. An international team of scholars and researchers hypothesize how, in a time of human sacrifice and slavery, the concept of one God emerged.

Nova goes along on an exclusive dive beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor to trace new clues to the historic sinking of the USS Arizona. Although it had been assumed that the battleship had been brought down by Japanese aircraft, the discovery of the remains of a Japanese “midget sub” raises new questions about the Arizona’s final hours.

A discovery outside Lima Peru of an ancient cemetery crammed with more than 1,000 pre-Columbian mummies proved to be very revealing in that many of the corpses were disfigured by multiple wounds and fractures caused by steel blades and crude bullets. This program looks at the forensic evidence that indicates that Inca warriors fought ferociously against the Spanish conquerors, unlike the perception that the Spanish had overtaken the Incans with ease.

For nearly 5,000 years, the Great Sphinx of Egypt has been one of the world’s most recognized structures. But the years have taken its toll, and the face of the mysterious Pharaoh is being sandblasted by the elements into oblivion, while its limestone lion’s body is dissolving. Nova follows a group of archeologists and engineers as they try to save the Sphinx, while also trying to solve the age-old riddles of ‘who is the Sphinx?” and “what did it symbolize?”

On a wall of one of Egypt’s most impressive temples is a depiction of a magnificent trading vessel embarking on a royal expedition to a mysterious, treasure-laden land called Punt. Nova travels to the 3,500-year old temple to investigate whether or not Punt was a myth or a reality. Part of the investigation is the re-creation of the vessel in the carving so that it can be launched into the Red Sea to determine if the Egyptians had mastered the art of long sea voyage.

When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, steaming mud, and a layer of rock from deep within the earth. The general opinion was that it would remain a wasteland forever. But that was not the case. Biologist Charlie Crisafulli spent the next 27 years after the eruption documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the barren landscape and this film chronicles that rebirth.

In the aftermath of the worst financial since the Great Depression, Nova explores why mainstream economists failed to predict the crash of 2008 and why we often make irrational financial decisions. Revealed are controversial arguments about the world of finance and how a new science that incorporates human psychology into finance could help build a better mouse trap. Also included are experiments that see how the brains and bodies of individuals respond when faced with pressured money decisions.

This two-part episode of Nova examines how the telescope has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. Viewers are taken on a global adventure of discovery as to the history of the telescope as well as innovations in technology that have lead up to today’s versions out in space. Also covered are some of the historical figures in this process, including Galileo, Newton, and Hubble.

Concludes Sunday April 25 at 6:00pm

The saga of the ancient Israelites is recounted in this documentary that digs deep into both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the history of the Israelites through the archeological artifacts they left behind. An international team of scholars and researchers hypothesize how, in a time of human sacrifice and slavery, the concept of one God emerged.

Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has always held a warm place in the heart of the public. So when it was declared that Pluto was no longer considered a planet, there was a cry of outrage. Neil deGrasse Tyson takes a look at Pluto and at those who have strong opinions on Pluto, and investigates just why it is so beloved.

In May of 2008, a scientific team made headlines by announcing evidence that a previously unsuspected impact from space had devastated prehistoric North America at the end of the last Ice Age. Nova takes a look at this new theory that states that the extinction of more than 34 types of large mammoths was not due to climate change or human hunters, but rather by the massive breakup of a comet over the Great Lakes region.

In this documentary, cameras follow a team of climatologists as they go deep into Blue Holes, which are underwater caves that formed during the last ice age when sea level was nearly 400 feet below what it is today. They are the Earth’s least explored and perhaps most dangerous frontiers, and the team is there to investigate the hidden history of the Earth’s climate as revealed by finds in this beautiful “alternative universe”.

Machu Picchu, mysteriously abandoned 400 years ago, is the most famous ruin in the Western Hemisphere and a symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since it was discovered in 1911, there have been numerous theories about this lost city. This documentary follows a new generation of archeologist as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that have never been touched since the time of the Incas and unearth burial grounds of the people who built the sacred site.

This episode deals with the questions “what are dreams?” and “why do we have them?” Leading dream researchers provide some answers through extraordinary experiments on the world of sleep, as they compile vital clues that may unlock the mystery.

For nearly 5,000 years, the Great Sphinx of Egypt has been one of the world’s most recognized structures. But the years have taken its toll, and the face of the mysterious Pharaoh is being sandblasted by the elements into oblivion, while its limestone lion’s body is dissolving. Nova follows a group of archeologists and engineers as they try to save the Sphinx, while also trying to solve the age-old riddles of ‘who is the Sphinx?” and “what did it symbolize?”

The Parthenon in Athens, erected by the ancient Greeks as a temple to Athena, has served as a church, fortress, and ammunition dump, and has inspired the design for countless banks, courthouses, and museums around the world. This program examines the recent restoration project and the challenges and controversies involved in conserving one of the world’s best-known buildings.

On a wall of one of Egypt’s most impressive temples is a depiction of a magnificent trading vessel embarking on a royal expedition to a mysterious, treasure-laden land called Punt. Nova travels to the 3,500-year old temple to investigate whether or not Punt was a myth or a reality. Part of the investigation is the re-creation of the vessel in the carving so that it can be launched into the Red Sea to determine if the Egyptians had mastered the art of long sea voyage.

Nova goes along on an exclusive dive beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor to trace new clues to the historic sinking of the USS Arizona. Although it had been assumed that the battleship had been brought down by Japanese aircraft, the discovery of the remains of a Japanese “midget sub” raises new questions about the Arizona’s final hours.

This episode looks at the concept of evolution in the animal kingdom and how certain species are created from other species. The earth has a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles. Many of these did not previously exist. Nova asks “Where did they come from?”

This documentary takes a look at one of the world’s most beautiful and mysterious creatures, the Monarch butterfly. Nova visits the spectacular locations the butterfly calls home, and flies with it on one of the most inspiring migratory odysseys imaginable.