''Nova'' (stylized as ''NOVΛ'') is an American

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

television program produced by

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, since 1974. It is broadcast on PBS in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries. The program has won many major television awards. ''Nova'' often includes interviews with scientists doing research in the subject areas covered and occasionally includes footage of a particular discovery. Some episodes have focused on the history of science. Examples of topics covered include the following: Colditz Castle, the Drake equation, elementary particles, the

1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens On March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eru ...

, Fermat's Last Theorem, the

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

, global warming, moissanite, Project Jennifer,

storm chasing Storm chasing is broadly defined as the deliberate pursuit of any severe weather phenomenon, regardless of motive, but most commonly for curiosity, adventure, scientific investigation, or for news or media coverage. A person who chases storm ...

, Unterseeboot 869, Vinland, Tarim mummies, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The ''Nova'' programs have been praised for their pacing, writing, and editing. Websites that accompany the segments have also won awards.

Episodes

History

''Nova'' was first aired on March 3, 1974. The show was created by Michael Ambrosino, inspired by the

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

television series ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

'', which Ambrosino had seen while working in the UK. In the early years, many ''Nova'' episodes were either co-productions with the BBC ''Horizon'' team, or other documentaries originating outside of the United States, with the narration re-voiced in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

. Of the first 50 programs, only 19 were original

productions, and the first ''Nova'' episode, "The Making of a Natural History Film", was originally an episode of ''Horizon'' that premiered in 1972. The practice continues to this day. All the producers and associate producers for the original ''Nova'' teams came from either England (with experience on the ''Horizon'' series), Los Angeles or New York. Ambrosino was succeeded as executive producer by John Angier, John Mansfield, and Paula S. Apsell, acting as senior executive producer.

Reception

Rob Owen of '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' wrote, "Fascinating and gripping." Lynn Elber of the Associated Press wrote of the episode " The Fabric of the Cosmos", "Mind-blowing TV." '' The Futon Critic'' wrote of the episode "Looking for Life on Mars", "Astounding ndexhilarating."

Awards

''Nova'' has been recognized with multiple

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

s and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s. The program won a Peabody in 1974, citing it as "an imaginative series of science adventures," with a "versatility rarely found in television." Subsequent Peabodys went to specific episodes: * "

The Miracle of Life "The Miracle of Life" is a documentary film about the human reproductive process. The film won multiple awards including a Peabody and an Emmy when it was broadcast as part of the American TV series ''Nova (American TV series), Nova''. Photographe ...

" (1983) was cited as a "fascinating and informative documentary of the human reproductive process," which used "revolutionary microphotographic techniques." This episode also won an Emmy. * "Spy Machines" (1987) was cited for "neatly recount ngthe key events of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

and look nginto the future of American/ Soviet SDI competition." * " The Elegant Universe" (2003) was lauded for exploring "science's most elaborate and ambitious theory, the

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...

" while making "the abstract concrete, the complicated clear, and the improbable understandable" by "blending factual story telling with animation,

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

s, and trick photography." The episode also won an Emmy for editing. The

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

(responsible for documentary Emmys) recognized the program with awards in 1978, 1981, 1983, and 1989. Julia Cort won an Emmy in 2001 for writing "Life's Greatest Miracle." Emmys were also awarded for the following episodes: * 1982 "Here's Looking at You, Kid" * 1983 "The Miracle of Life" (also won a Peabody) * 1985 "AIDS: Chapter One", "

Acid Rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

: New Bad News" * 1992 "Suicide Mission to Chernobyl", "The Russian Right Stuff" * 1994 "Secret of the Wild Child" * 1995 " Siamese Twins", "Secret of the Wild Child" * 1999 "Decoding Nazi Secrets" * 2001 " Bioterror" * 2002 "

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

's Battle for the Heavens", " Mountain of Ice", " Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance", "Why the Towers Fell" * 2003 "Battle of the X-planes", " The Elegant Universe" (also won a Peabody) * 2005 "Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge" In 1998, the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation awarded ''Nova'' its first-ever Public Service Award.

References

External links