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National Geographic Discovers The Explosive World Of The Cosmos |
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Powerful forces out in the depths of the vast universe make nature’s destructive powers pale into significanceFrom gunpowder to exploding stars and asteroid impacts, there are powerful forces at work in the universe, with the energy to create and the power to destroy. Premiering on 29th May at 8 pm KSA / 9 pm UAE, on National Geographic Abu Dhabi (NGAD), Known Universe: Blowing up the Universe captures and deconstructs some of the biggest explosions in the universe with impressive computer generated imagery (CGI) and slow-motion footage. Our biggest atomic weapons pale in comparison to what would happen if an asteroid ten kilometres wide slammed into Las Vegas. In spectacularly realistic CGI, viewers will see the impact and its blistering shockwave, with the potential to extinguish life on Earth. At the Sandia National Lab in the US, scientists explain strategies devised to harness the sun’s explosive power to divert one of these dangerous meteorites. Known Universe: Blowing up the Universe also travels into deep space to witness an immense example of stellar power: a supernova. In a fraction of a second, a supernova can produce 300 times as much energy as our sun will generate over its ten billion year lifetime. But even these explosions are dwarfed by a certain kind of supernova - gamma ray bursts, which occur when massive stars explode, shooting out jets of high-energy radiation. If one of these bursts occurred within a few thousand light years of Earth, the rays could burn off its atmosphere and leave our planet exposed to the sun’s deadly ultraviolet radiation. Tune into the NGAD channel and discover how energies unleashed on our planet by earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanoes pale in comparison to the forces at work in our explosive universe; forces of unbelievable strength and intensity that could, in an instant, extinguish life on our planet. |
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