The search for planets beyond our solar system has brought an historic discovery: a planet slightly larger than Earth orbiting a star called Proxima Centauri. At just over 40 trillion kilometers from the Sun, Proxima Centauri is our closest stellar neighbor. Does its planet have a climate, or even life?

A fleet of high-tech telescopes, led by the NASA and ESA Hubble Space Telescope, has delivered an unprecedented chain of discoveries about how galaxies like the Milky Way took shape, how stars live and die, the influence of black holes, and the birth of the planets and the solar system. In this new age of astronomy, scientists are testing topics from the origin of life to Einstein's theories.

What can the giant planet Jupiter tell us about the birth of our solar system five billion years ago? Drawing on new findings from NASA's Juno mission, scientists are peering into Jupiter's stormy heart to reveal the very origins of our solar system: a chaotic early time when smaller planets were flung space or sent into shattering collisions, and the fate of planet Earth hung in the balance.

A presentation of the facts and theory surrounding the astronomical phenomenon of "black holes", using the latest in computer-generated imagery. Theories regarding their origin are presented, along with speculation about what lies with and beyond them. Written by Murray Chapman

黑洞有巨大的引力,连光都被它吸引.黑洞中隐匿着巨大的引力场，这种引力大到任何东西，甚至连光，都难逃黑洞的手掌心。黑洞不让任何其边界以内的任何事物被外界看见，这就是这种物体被称为“黑洞”的缘故。我们无法通过光的反射来观察它，只能通过受其影响的周围物体来间接了解黑洞。据猜测，黑洞是死亡恒星或爆炸气团的剩余物，是在特殊的大质量超巨星坍塌收缩时产生的。另外，黑洞必须是一颗质量大于钱德拉塞卡极限的恒星演化而成的，质量小于钱德拉塞卡极限的恒星是无法形成黑洞的．（参考：《宇宙简史》——霍金·著） 再从物理学观点来解释一下: 黑洞其实也是个星球(类似星球),只不过它的密度非常非常大, 靠近它的物体都被它的引力所约束(就好像人在地球上没有飞走一样),不管用多大的速度都无法脱离。对于地球来说，以第二宇宙速度（11.2km/s）来飞行就可以逃离地球，但是对于黑洞来说，它的第二宇宙速度之大，竟然超越了光速，所以连光都跑不出来，于是射进去的光没有反射回来，我们的眼睛就看不到任何东西，只是黑色一片。 因为黑洞是不可见的，所以有人一直置疑，黑洞是否真的存在。如果真的存在，它们到底在哪里？

黑洞其实也是个星球,只不过它的密度极大, 靠近它的物体都被它的引力所约束(就好像人在地球上没有飞走一样)。对于地球来说，以第二宇宙速度来飞行就可以逃离地球，但是对于黑洞来说，它的第二宇宙速度之大，竟然超越了光速，所以连光都跑不出来，于是射进去的光没有反射回来，我们的眼睛就看不到任何东西，只是黑色一片。一些科学家认为光的速度比黑洞慢，所以被吸进去，当速度比黑洞快时就可以穿过黑洞边缘。