The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries

Previously unexplainable concepts that are now better understood thanks to modern physics; focusing on two such former mysteries; the existence of an invisible "aether" through which light and sound are believed to travel; the orbit of Mercury.

Delving into facts and insights about the fundamentals of matter; why electrons have never actually been observed by scientists; why quarks can only be studied in pairs; why time ticks more slowly as one travels faster or is at a higher gravity.

Why Jupiter is believed to be a good environment for life in the 17th century; why Earth has only one "tree of life"; how extremophiles help scientists; whether life could have come to Earth from another planet; the meaning of "intelligent" life.

Learning about many topics; the discovery of more elements on the periodic table; muon neutrinos; tao particles; the three regimes of matter; the secrets of string theory; the hypothetical experience of traveling through a black hole.

Perplexing aspects of space that science uncovers in the last half-century; the mysterious trajectory of the Pioneer spacecraft, known as the "Pioneer anomaly"; exploring dark matter and dark energy; trying to map the shape of space-time.

Taking a trip through higher dimensions; how quantum physics and string theory open people's eyes to the possibilities of quantum foam, the multiverse, antimatter and tachyons; joining Dr. Tyson for a preview of the long-term fate of the universe.