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Nova Season 39 Episodes
Season 39 Episode Guide
16 Episodes 2012 - 2012
Episode 1
Deadliest Volcanoes
Wed, Jan 4, 201254 mins
Millions of people around the world live in the shadow of active volcanoes. Under constant threat of massive volcanic eruptions, their homes and their lives are daily at risk from these sleeping giants. From Japan's Mount Fuji to the "Sleeping Giant" submerged beneath Naples to the Yellowstone "supervolcano" in the United States, we will travel with scientists from around the world who are at work on these sites, attempting to discover how likely these volcanoes are to erupt, when it might happen, and exactly how deadly they could prove to be.
Episode 2
Bombing Hitler's Dams
Wed, Jan 11, 2012113 mins
In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history, destroying two gigantic dams in Germany's industrial heartland with a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Now, NOVA re-creates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots.
Episode 3
3D Spies of WWII
Wed, Jan 18, 201253 mins
Nova looks at Allied efforts to spy on Hitler's weapons of mass destruction. It looks at how Allied intelligence examined over millions of photographs taken over German territory by specially converted high-flying spitfires and how photo interpreters used special stereoscopes to catch details that might have been missed.
Episode 4
Mystery of a Masterpiece
Wed, Jan 25, 201254 mins
NOVA meets a new breed of experts who are approaching "cold case" art mysteries as if they were crime scenes, determined to discover "who committed the art," and follows art sleuths as they deploy new techniques to combat the multi-billion dollar criminal market in stolen and fraudulent art.
Episode 5
Ice Age Death Trap
Wed, Feb 1, 201254 mins
In a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, archaeologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.
Episode 6
Separating Twins
Wed, Feb 8, 201254 mins
Witness the extraordinary surgery that will allow twin girls, born joined at the head, to live separate lives.
Episode 7
Cracking Your Genetic Code
Wed, Mar 28, 201254 mins
Those in the know contend that soon gene sequencing will be cheap enough that anyone can have their genome deciphered. This program shows how confusing this knowledge can be as people struggle with how to chart their lives and protect their privacy. But it is also leading to promising treatments for previously intractable diseases and patients with mysterious illnesses.
Episode 8
Hunting the Elements
Wed, Apr 4, 2012114 mins
Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. Watch as David Pogue unlocks their secrets.
Episode 9
Deadliest Tornadoes
Wed, Apr 11, 201252 mins
In 2011, the worst tornado season in decades left a trail of destruction across the U.S., killing more than 550 people. Why was there such an extreme outbreak? How do such outbreaks form? With modern warning systems, why did so many die? Is our weather getting more extreme - and if so how bad will it get? In this NOVA special, we meet scientists striving to understand the forces at work behind last year's outbreak. Could their work improve tornado prediction in the future? We also meet people whose lives have been upended by these extreme weather events and and learn how we all can protect ourselves and our communities for the future.
Episode 10
Why Ships Sink
Wed, Apr 18, 201253 mins
No matter how sophisticated civilian sailing vessels can get, there is always the risk of them sinking. This film explores several modern sinkings, such as the RMS Titanic and the Costa Concordia, to find out how those disasters happened. In addition, the performance of the crews during such emergencies is also examined to show how human behavior and poor training for such high stress situations can make make them worse.
Episode 11
Secrets of the Sun
Wed, Apr 25, 201254 mins
Nova reviews what scientists have learned in recent years about the sun's behavior and how it works. Most significantly, astronomers are at last beginning to understand the the solar phenomenon that impact our civilization; solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Episode 12
Secrets of the Viking Sword
Wed, Oct 10, 201254 mins
The Vikings were the most ferocious warriors of the Middle Ages. Especially fearsome were the select few who wielded a formidable weapon: a light, razor sharp, virtually indestructible sword with its maker's name, ULFBERHT, inlaid along the blade.
Episode 13
Forensics on Trial
Wed, Oct 17, 201254 mins
Nova investigates forensic science and examines how what is often perceived as rock solid forensic evidence can sometimes lead to wrongful convictions. It looks at a cases where false fingerprint and tooth impression matches have lead to wrongful accusations and convictions. It also examines how MRI and CT technology are now being used to determine causes of death. Finally, it examines problems in the forensics of the O.J. Simpson murder case and looks at how crime scene investigators use computers to record crime scenes in minute detail.
Episode 14
Mystery of Easter Island
Wed, Nov 7, 201253 mins
Easter Island has mystified the world ever since the first Europeans arrived in 1722.
Episode 15
Ultimate Mars Challenge
Wed, Nov 14, 201254 mins
NOVA will be there for the exhilarating moments after Curiosity's landing on Mars --and for the spectacular discoveries sure to come.
Episode 16
Inside the Megastorm
Sun, Nov 18, 201254 mins
Inside the Megastorm takes viewers moment by moment through Hurricane Sandy, its impacts and the future of storm protection.