Watch Free Nature Documentaries

Home » Video (Page 3)

NASA TV live

December 26, 2021 at 8:47 am / Cosmological, Global Patterns, Human Nature, Video

Ever since the successful landing of Mars rover Curiosity in August 6th of 2012, NASA TV broadcasts have experienced a big surge in viewers. Since then many other successful missions and interesting Earth-based as well as cosmic phenomena have been transmitted to curious masses of viewers all over the world. NASA TV has a rich body of programming including recording and analysis of significant global events such as the Chelyabinsk airburst event. There are regular broadcasts from the International Space […]

Continue reading »
Forest Dynamics of North America Over 25 Years

December 20, 2021 at 8:14 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Global Patterns, NatureDocumentaries.org, Video

Using the images captured by the Landsat satellites, landscape ecologists produced a comprehensive visualization of decades of forest dynamics shaped by human management and natural disturbances. Dark green pixels had no disturbances in the 25 years studied. Yellow shows where a disturbance happened in a particular year. At this scale, what really stands out are the large fires in the West and timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest, Maine, and all across the Southeast. Climate scientists need to know the […]

Continue reading »
A Satellite-eye View of Three Decades of Deforestation in the Amazon

December 17, 2021 at 1:39 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Global Patterns, NatureDocumentaries.org, Video

This short documentary compiles satellite-tracked evidence for Brazilian Amazon rainforest destruction between 1985 and 2018. How do you map and quantify the Amazonian deforestation? The data recorded by the Landsat has revealed the stark rate of the Amazon deforestation in great detail. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world. It covers an area roughly equal to that of the continental United States. In a time series spanning over three decades, starting the year of 1985, we can observe […]

Continue reading »
Landsat 9: part 1, Getting Off The Ground – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (2020)

December 16, 2021 at 1:18 pm / Global Patterns, Video

Landsat missions span for more than half a century starting from 1972. In this first episode of the four part mini series we explore how the project got started and what sorts of challenges were faced during the initial design of this legendary Earth observing instrument. The episode introduces people including William Pecora, Stewart Udall and Virginia Norwood who were pivotal in realization of Landsat 1. The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA […]

Continue reading »
Landsat 9: part 2, Designing For The Future – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (2020)

December 16, 2021 at 1:13 pm / Global Patterns, Video

We cannot protect our planet if we cannot understand it. Understanding a complex system requires accurate measurements and quantification of dynamic processes. The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Landsat missions span for more than half a century starting from 1972. The unbroken sequence of images covering the entire Earth’s surface provide an invaluable record of historical land use. In this second episode of the four part mini […]

Continue reading »
Landsat 9, part 3: More Than Just A Pretty Picture – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (2020)

December 16, 2021 at 1:11 pm / Global Patterns, Video

In this third episode of the four part mini series, we explore challenges faced by the Landsat ground crew. The ground station crew is responsible for maintaining the constancy of the data stream coming from the satellite. The storage capacity of the memory onboard the satellite is finite and if a problem arises on the ground in receiving the data there is a risk of missing irreplaceable recordings. Landsat Program missions span for more than half a century starting from […]

Continue reading »
Landsat 9, part 4: Plays Well With Others – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (2020)

December 16, 2021 at 1:04 pm / Global Patterns, Video

In this last episode of the four part mini series, we take a look at a few examples for how scientists are using the Landsat data to find answers to diverse questions. For instance biologists use imagery to quantify evaporative stress in plants and health of the trees. Landsat measurements can be combined with that of GRACE to interpret effects of underground water levels on the plant cover in a given area. Landsat data can integrate with data coming from […]

Continue reading »
Refik Anadol – Machine Halucinations (2016-2017)

September 25, 2021 at 6:30 pm / Human Nature, Video

Science can be beautiful. Art can be informative. In NatureDocumentaries.org the motto “science can be beautiful and art can be informative” is a valued proposition. For instance, In Nomine Terra Calens: In the Name of a Warming Earth is an example for such kind of art-science integration that informs us about the most pressing global issue of our time: Global Warming. Refik Anadol is a successful data/media artist who in his own words “uses data as pigment” to create his […]

Continue reading »
Domestication as a Signature of Human Nature / One Man and His Dog – BBC (1985)

August 10, 2021 at 10:06 pm / Evolution, Human Nature, Video

Johnny Wilson and his dogs earned their fame when they won BBC2’s One Man and His Dog competition. Here in this short clip we see a remarkable section from the program that highlights a signature of one of the hallmark characters in Human nature: Domestication. Domestication expanded Human abilities beyond the natural boundaries. Note that domestication in animals almost always starts with selection of “behavior”. Using this unintentional primary cue as a starting point Humans in different parts of the […]

Continue reading »
Synthetic Cells: Building Life to Understand It – Katarzyna Adamala | iBiology (2021)

July 9, 2021 at 10:31 pm / Evolution, Molecular Nature, Video

Dr. Katarzyna Adamala of the University of Minnesota describes what synthetic cells are and how they can teach us the fundamental principles of life. By looking at the fundamental molecules of (RNA, DNA and Proteins) biologists are certain that life on Earth evolved only once. All biological systems (including viruses that are technically non-living) on our planet are rooted in the same fundamental framework. This framework appears extremely complex and we have yet to fully understand the processes inside living […]

Continue reading »
A Scientific Visualization of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season – NASA/SVS (2020)

April 16, 2021 at 10:28 pm / Global Patterns, Video

NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) has released an animated summary of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. The visualization starts on May 1, 2020 showing Sea Surface Temperatures and cloud cover. Precipitation data layer enters in as hurricanes are tracked throughout 2020. Hurricane strengths pepresented with the letter “T” for Tropical Storm and numbers for each storm’s respective strength along the hurricane tracks. At the end by all storm tracks are projected together on the surface. The season stunned meteorologists and […]

Continue reading »
Horseshoe Crabs Mating in Maine

April 9, 2021 at 11:25 am / Ecological Documentaries, Evolution, Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

This is a quite rare footage of Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus poyphemus) recorded during high tide about 10:00 am in Recompence Shore, Freeport Maine on May 26th 2010. Mating mostly happens in moonlit nights (romantic animals) on sandy beaches. Here they are mating in broad daylight on a rough pebble beach. External fertilization is one of the ancestral ways to produce offspring however it can be rather costly. Egg production requires more resources compared to sperm. Females therefore need more […]

Continue reading »
Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam – Friends of Big Bear Valley (2021)

March 4, 2021 at 2:28 pm / Natural history, Video, webcams

An eagles’ nest cannot have a better view that this! The pair of unbanded eagles, Jackie and Shadow have mated and laid their eggs. They have been tending the eggs with beautifully coordinated shift changes. Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam is presented by the Friends of Big Bear Valley from Fawnskin, California. Here you can find their brief history. NatureDocumentaries.org follows a number of webcams and these charismatic birds of prey occupy a significant chunk. Thanks to continent-wide conservation efforts […]

Continue reading »
My Africa – David Allen (2018) | Conservation International – (360 film)

March 4, 2021 at 1:25 pm / Human Nature, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

The the short film “My Africa” is directed by David Allen and narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. Commissioned by the Conservation International, it takes viewers to an elephant sanctuary in Kenya, where a community is reknitting the bonds that have long enabled people and wildlife to coexist. My Africa is presented in stunningly immersive virtual reality through a series of establishment shots of the African savanna including lions, wildebeests, and elephants. The movie introduces the intensity of wildlife […]

Continue reading »
Chasing Ghosts – bioGraphic / Eric Bendick (2019)

February 25, 2021 at 9:11 am / Ecological Documentaries, Evolution, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Orchids have a special place in plant biologists’ hearts. How can they not? They are the beetles (*) of the plant world. One in every five flowering plant species living today is an orchid. Although orchids are so diverse, they are also rather rare. Most people think of orchids as showy, vibrant and beautiful, but Gastrodia agnicellus, named in 2020 from a forest in Madagascar, is quite the opposite. The evolutionary alliance of orchids and their pollinators go as far […]

Continue reading »