Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey: Unafraid of the Dark

June 8, 2014 11:43 PM - Season 1, Episode 13

Victor Hess discovers cosmic rays, and Fritz Zwicky explains them. Tyson moves on to current questions in cosmology — just what are dark matter (also first proposed by Zwicky) and dark energy? The Voyager spacecraft are discussed, along with Sagan's role in designing the "golden record" they carry, and his suggestion that Voyager 1 take the "Pale Blue Dot" photograph of earth.
posted by DevilsAdvocate (8 comments total)

The Wikipedia article on Zwicky quotes a retrospective article on his life's work: "When researchers talk about neutron stars, dark matter, and gravitational lenses, they all start the same way: 'Zwicky noticed this problem in the 1930s. Back then, nobody listened . . .'"
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:22 AM on June 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

I thought it was a pretty good conclusion for the series. Loved the emphasis on it being OK to be wrong or not to know as long as you're willing to admit it when the evidence contradicts you. I was a bit nonplussed to notice the TV Guide episode description began "Season 1 concludes..." Like, there's going to be another?
posted by localroger at 4:55 AM on June 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

My wife and I were saying we hope there will be another - there's a lot of in-depth stuff this show could do around various science topics. I guess we'll see.
posted by nubs at 9:23 AM on June 9, 2014

I'm going to miss this show - the science isn't new to me, or at least not very often, but the history of it often takes me by surprise. And the visuals and the metaphors. More than anything else I've been watching recently, it's left me satisfied after every episode.

Last night I consoled myself by imagining all of the fanvids for cosmos that should be popping up any time now. This is one pretty show.
posted by dinty_moore at 10:11 AM on June 9, 2014

The Curious Passions of Mr. Cosmos: Neil deGrasse Tyson On Space, Climate, and Why Curiosity Wins Every Time
posted by homunculus at 6:08 PM on June 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

My Mom on Making Cosmos without My Dad, Carl Sagan
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:48 PM on June 9, 2014

I really do hope we get a second season. This show reminds me of all the hard science, documentary awesomeness that I grew up watching on National Geographic Explorer on TBS. Of all the real science stuff that was on discovery and nat geo when they first premiered, and before they got into the reality tv race for eyeballs.

This show captured everything I love about science and that excites me about it, and I'd hate to see that go.
posted by bfranklin at 8:10 PM on June 9, 2014

Hoping for another season. Hoping, too, that this inspires another network to reboot Connections with James Burke (hopefully with James Burke).
posted by GrapeApiary at 8:16 AM on June 11, 2014