This week on the channel +1.7M views this week

Catherine Heymans finds possibility in BBC Earth Science's cosmic unknowns

A Science's Greatest Mysteries excerpt joins planetary choices and Tutankhamun's meteorite-linked dagger in a three-upload week.

Channel:

BBC Earth Science Story of October 19, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

Is this Unsettling Fact Science’s ‘Epic Fail’? | BBC Earth Science

Understanding only a small fraction of the universe might sound discouraging. Professor Catherine Heymans sees a rather different prospect: an enormous amount left to discover.

The Astronomer Royal for Scotland features in "Is this Unsettling Fact Science's 'Epic Fail'? | BBC Earth Science", the channel's most-watched new upload, with roughly 172,000 views. Drawn from Science's Greatest Mysteries, the excerpt introduces her work refining our picture of dark matter and her view that an incomplete understanding of the cosmos is an exciting challenge, not a failure.

That distinction has become the comment section's main conversation, too. Viewers push back on the title's failure framing, arguing that revising explanations is what science does. One finds an unexpectedly earthy resemblance between the dark-matter map and the branching fungal networks beneath plant roots.

The other new uploads bring the scale back toward home. "5 ways to protect the planet 🌍" considers everyday actions alongside the larger roles of governments and businesses. "The Meteorite Hidden in Tutankhamun's Tomb | BBC Earth Science" follows scientists using X-ray technology to investigate the origin of the iron in the pharaoh's dagger.

The channel added about 1.7 million views over the week while its subscriber count stayed unchanged. Beyond the Observable Universe and Chris Boden had larger viewing weeks among nearby science channels. BBC Earth Science's daily viewing is nevertheless above its usual level, with the older fire-breathing wildfire robot upload supplying its strongest daily momentum.

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Where next?

Also in Science and experimentsA video worth knowingCleo Abram explores alien hunting with a Venus cloud catcherAstrophysicist Sara Seager brings working ideas and prototype hardware to a conversation about finding life, from neighboring clouds to distant planets.Channel: Cleo Abram · Story of October 24, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo people are talking about 11x its usual commentsZelenskyy tells Steven Bartlett why he needed "ammunition, not a ride"In a nearly two-hour conversation, Ukraine's president moves from sleepless nights and grieving parents to Bucha, Paddington Bear and the morning the invasion …Channel: The Diary Of A CEO · Story of October 24, 2026

What viewers say

Science doesn't fail, it continues to learn. That's kind of the whole point.
@havableSee it on YouTube
At my advanced age even the questions are exciting. They consider concepts which I once had never dreamt of being possible.
@peterrollinsonlorimerSee it on YouTube
The map of dark matter reminds me a bit of the fungal or mycorrhizal network that’s underground connecting all the plant roots
@csmc5145See it on YouTube

5 more comments

Considering how long humans have been around, and that we are among the few who already understand 5%, I would absolutely not call that an 'epic fail'.
@DannyKlimtSee it on YouTube
"Along with 'Antimatter,' and 'Dark Matter,' we've recent;y discovered the existence of 'Doesn't Matter,' which appears to have no effect on the universe whatsoever."
@kenjones7719See it on YouTube
I’m open to the fact that we will not ever find out ✌🏼
@oingplaSee it on YouTube
we need so... so very much more data.....
@JeandreTruterSee it on YouTube
Well, we're still way ahead of what Copernicus knew, so let's keep digging and see where we are at in 500 years.
@lesliepaulkovacs6442See it on YouTube