At the Perito Moreno Glacier Cox introduces the Arrow of Time and the idea of irreversible change using GRB 090423 as an remnant of the early Stelliferous Era.

He continues by looking at Proxima Centauri, a slow burning red dwarf, and concludes the show over the Skeleton Coast of the Namib Desert, using the wreck of the Eduard Bohlen to illustrate the inevitable heat death of the universe.

Cox travels to Kathmandu and visits the Pashupatinath Temple where he discusses the link between the stars and the elements of which all living things, including humans, are made.

He explores the beginnings of the universe and the origins of humanity, going far back in time to look at the process of stellar evolution and comparing it to the formation cycle of the Himalayas.

This episode documents how gravity has a profound effect across the universe, and Cox seeks out a non-space zero-gravity experience to highlight his point.

Examples are given, such as the tidal force that captured and locked the Moon over time, or more massively in the projected collision between the Andromeda and Milky Way Galaxies.

The central star of the Lagoon Nebula, Herschel 36, and Eta Carinae are then compared to the Sun, and the light from distant objects such as these allows us to engage on a journey back in time.

Cox then explains how the limitations of the light barrier allow scientists to measure distance and time with accuracy, and to peer back into the distant corners of the universe's creation.

In 2003-2004 the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field captured images of galaxies 13 billion light-years distant, and a rainbow over the Victoria Falls in Zambia reveals a red-blue spectrum.

The US broadcast was originally aired weekly from on 27 July to 17 August 2011, with the episodes re-titled as "Cosmos Made Conscious", "Children of the Stars", "The Known", and "On Beams of Light".

These days, science programmes regularly provide some of the most striking images ever seen on the small screen",[3] and Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent commented "it's big on cosmic dazzlement and mind-boggling perspectives and full of epic orchestration and screen-saver graphics.

[5] Following complaints from viewers that the background music was loud enough to make Cox's narration difficult to hear, the BBC agreed to remix the sound for all the episodes.