Mysterious Science

Are we three years from the end of the world? It's the premise of this fall’s feature film "2012," starring John Cusack. Based on the end of a cycle of an actual ancient Maya calendar that will end on December 21, 2012, NGC asks, "What truths lie behind the fears?" Some enthusiasts fear worldwide changes from what is called a pole shift. We’ll meet one scientist who believes the surface of the Earth experienced a dramatic pole shift in the past, causing the continents to slide across the core of the Earth - and has evidence to prove it. Then, experts examine one of the few remaining original Maya writings in the hope that their hieroglyphs will reveal more clues about the prophecy.

In an effort to cope with death, we shroud it in ritual and surround it with taboos. And what one culture sees as a normal way to deal with the dead, for another might be forbidden. In Nepal, a body is burned beside a sacred river. In America, a corpse is beautified for an open casket funeral. In Germany, human bodies are sometimes put on public display.

The legend of the Chupacabra tells of a vampire-like beast that preys on the blood of livestock and pets. Theories of what the vicious creature looks like vary by region, but now new evidence in Texas may help scientists get to the bottom of the mystery. Ranchers and farmers have discovered the remains of a weird canine that could meet one of the Chupacabra's rumored descriptions - a hairless dog-like creature with large fangs!

Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary is said to be the one of the most haunted places in America. Since its closing in 1971, many have reported hearing eerie voices, weeping and tormented screams, while others have seen shadows dart in and out of cells. Investigators use the latest technology to search for paranormal activity. Motion sensors are rigged, night-vision and infrared cameras positioned, acoustic triangulation systems set up, and 3-D laser scanners offer a rare view inside.

Renowned NASA scientists, planet-hunters and astronomers reveal emerging methods of finding earthlike planets and alien life and look at possible future techniques, including fiber-optic probing and interstellar travel powered by light at warp speeds. Also, get an inside look at the $50 million Allen Telescope Array in northern California designed to hear from extraterrestrials. Could our time alone in the universe be coming to an end?

Are they ancient road maps or messages for visiting aliens? Lying at the foothill of Peru's Andes Mountains is the site of one of the world's greatest mysteries. Etched, as if by giants, onto its arid, moonscape plains are immense lines that stretch for miles, forming strange shapes recognizable only from the air. Now, a team of specialists from around the globe has come to southern Peru to investigate the Nasca Lines in the hope of uncovering their secrets.

Join leading astronomers on a visual journey beyond our solar system in search of planets like Earth. Using CGI animation, we’ll explore bizarre worlds that stretch our imagination: planets with iron rain and hot ice, with diamonds everywhere, and endless oceans of gas. Planets with abnormal orbital patterns and planets with no pattern at all that drift alone in the Milky Way. Planets so strange we never could have predicted them before. Could life exist there?

Every year, planet earth is bombarded with tons of material from outer space. This amazing fact is most evident during spectacular displays of "falling stars," but most of the time it goes unnoticed. However, there have been accounts throughout history of strange discoveries after meteor showers. Some report a blood red rain; others have discovered blobs of an unknown gelatinous substance where the meteors supposedly fell. Stories and superstition have grown around these mysterious events. Today, scientists investigate the mystery using the latest tools and knowledge, and what theyre discovering might prove some of the superstitions to be true.

For centuries, strange and dramatic designs have appeared in crop fields throughout southern England. Are they alien messages or the work of human artists and hoaxers? Are they connected to Stonehenge and the area's sacred pagan sites? We examine several crop circle sites to look for anomalies and attempt to construct an elaborate crop circle at night to uncover the truth behind this fiercely disputed mystery.

In the final months of World War II, American troops discovered a top-secret facility in Germany with an advanced batwing-shaped jet fighter. If Nazi engineers had had more time, would this jet have ultimately changed the outcome of the war?

For centuries, people around the world have witnessed a strange phenomenon - orbs of light hovering in the night sky. Some say the lights chased after them as they drove away in their cars, and military pilots have reported spotting the lights on secret missions. Many wonder if the lights could be ghosts, or visitors from outer space. Now, NGC joins the investigation and meets a team of researchers with a new theory on the origin of these strange lights.

Historical Fact or Biblical Fiction? Noahs Ark and the flood is one of the most controversial biblical disaster stories of all time. Millions of people believe the story literally; for others its clearly a myth. But a newly discovered ancient tablet and a strange structure high in the mountains of Eastern Turkey could change our understanding of the Ark forever. Using scientific technology and state of the art computer graphics we put the various theories to the test as we uncover the Truth Behind Noahs Ark.

Dozens of ships and planes have vanished without a trace in the area of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle. But where do they go and what is causing them to disappear? We take to the skies and seas to test the theories that could explain the Triangles sinister reputation. We dive with a husband and wife detective team intent on unlocking the mystery of the Triangle and find ourselves on the trail of what could be an amazing underwater discovery.

In July 1947, the U.S. Army said it recovered a "flying disk" in New Mexico -- then denied it. Did the military really find dead aliens and their spaceship?

What does the mysterious disappearance of record-breaking aviator Steve Fossett have in common with Area 51? In September 2007, Fosset went missing somewhere over the Sierra Nevada mountain range, sparking the biggest peacetime search and rescue operation in the history of the United States. Over the ensuing days and weeks, reports would surface of dozens of other missing airplanes in a huge triangular area of California and Nevada. Could this mysterious region be another Bermuda Triangle?

Did vampires roam the earth in the time of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci? Historical records indicate that people thought so and even describe how to safely bury them. Now, more than 400 years later, a 16th-century mass grave is unearthed near Venice that includes a skeleton with a brick apparently inserted between the jaws of the skull. This appears to be evidence of a macabre ritual designed to "kill" a vampire and sparks a highly unusual forensic investigation.

Twinkle spontaneously bleeds from her eyes as well as her head, hands and other body parts -- though there is no visible source or injury to explain it. Some say a bad omen has been cast, others think she is possessed, and yet others think it could be self-inflicted. Hoping for a breakthrough, Twinkle and her mother put their faith in a top American blood specialist who is flying to India to investigate her extraordinary case.

Sasquatch. The Wild Man. Bigfoot. Believers in the massive creature claim he's half man, half primate and roams the Pacific Northwest. Join a team of experts as they use advanced scientific analysis to investigate the phenomenon to reveal what's science, and what's science fiction. Follow along as we break down one of the most controversial pieces of evidence... a 40-year-old film that many believe is actual video of the apelike being.

It was one of the largest mass sightings in UFO history. In 1997, hundreds of people reported intensely bright balls of light forming a "V" shape in the sky over Nevada and Arizona. Some claimed to see an enormous, slow-moving aircraft. But what's behind the bizarre occurrence later nicknamed the "Phoenix Lights"? Was it an alien armada? A top-secret military exercise? See home video and hear from eyewitnesses who provide a vivid glimpse into what it was like on the ground that eerie night. Join a team of rocket scientists, physicists and engineers as they use the latest in advanced technology to attempt to explain the mysterious sightings.

The Truth Behind Zombies explores the origin of zombies, their religious roots and whether mutated virus strains could cause devastation of zombie proportions. With commentary from zombie enthusiasts and cult experts, virologists and mathematical epidemiologists, this unique show separates the truths from the fiction that surrounds one of popular cultures most tangible monsters.