A variety of cosmic events have both helpful and harmful effects on life on Earth. From the beauty of the Aurora Borealis and rainbows to the dangers of UV radiation and cosmic rays, from the miracle of photosynthesis to the thrill of a meteor shower, this episode explores how the effects generated by the sun and other extra-solar sources can literally get under our skin, scramble our technology, make life possible and threaten our existence all at the same time

Our Sun has served Earth well for almost five billion years. It's bathed us with heat and energy. But like humans, our home star is mortal. In five billion years, it will stop nurturing its planetary offspring. The aging star will bloat out beyond the orbit of our planet incinerating all living things--including humans if we're still around.

Earth's history is marked by one cosmic disaster after another, forging the path of human evolution. Asteroid and comet collisions, flares from the Sun, mass extinctions, supernova explosions, cosmic ray bombardment. You name it, we've experienced it. It's kind of a miracle we're here at all. Now, experts explore how the Earth has teetered on the verge of destruction.

About 340 million years ago a brand new family of animals was evolving in the primeval swamps. They were to go one step further than the amphibians who had emerged onto dry and before them. For they would eventually completely cut their ties with water. They were the ancestors of todays lizards. They evolved scaly impermeable skins and moved up into the forests. They diversified into a multitude of different shapes and sizes. They developed signalling systems to communicate with one another. And they squabbled as animals do. For food they hunted insects that were already well established on the land in great numbers. And here without returning to water they produced their families. They powered their bodies not only with food but with the heat that they drew directly from the sun.
As they diversified so they spread into the harshest of the lands habitats. The baking waterless deserts which eventually they would come to dominate. Discover jacky lizards that wave, wrestling beaded lizards and the the world's smallest chameleon, which is no bigger than his thumbnail, and the biggest lizard in Australia.

We're unlocking the secrets of our planet's voyage and discovering that earth's journey affects us all. The Earth is extremely dynamic. It is spinning on its axis, it's whirling about the sun and it's corkscrewing throughout the this galaxy. And there is the fact than Andromeda and the Milky Way are currently 2.5 million light-years apart, but they're hurtling towards each other at over 250,000 miles an hour. A collision is inevitable. As stars, dust, and gas swirl around each other, gravitational interactions could slingshot our solar system out into intergalactic space.

An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands, from exotic jungles to urban jungles. Breakthroughs in filmmaking technology bring you up close with a cast of unforgettable characters: a baby zebra desperate to cross a swollen river, a penguin who heroically undertakes a death-defying daily commute to feed his family, a family of sperm whales who like to snooze vertically, and a sloth on the hunt for love.
Told with humour, intimacy and a jaw-dropping sense of cinematic splendour, Earth: One Amazing Day highlights how every day is filled with more wonders than you can possibly imagine- until now.