The main astronomical event is over, but celestial bodies are still eclipsing the TV competition

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, August 22. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

The Planets (Science, 10 p.m.): The moon cast its shadow on the surface of the Earth, and we all lived to tell the tale. (And, if you’re reading this, it means you observed the total eclipse of the sun with the proper accoutrements. Congratulations!) The cold vacuum of outer space has never been hotter, and Science Channel is building on the universe’s runaway momentum with The Planets, a documentary survey of our solar system that begins with the biggest Planet of them all, Jupiter. A future episode will focus on the newly discovered world currently referred to as Planet 9; it is unlikely that there will be an episode devoted to what was once considered the solar system’s ninth planet, Planet Hollywood, in light of its downgrade from “theme restaurant giant” to “Times Square location orbited by scattered locations, most of which are in Disney parks.”

Regular coverage

Marvel’s The Defenders (Netflix)
The Bold Type (Freeform, 9:01 p.m.)

Wild card

Face Off: Game Face (Syfy, 10 p.m.): The Top Chef of special-effects makeup enters a new stage of its evolution, producing a spin-off that’s essentially Chopped, but with special-effects makeup. Following the flagship series’ 12th-season finale, four Face Off all-stars will (so the Chopped correlation isn’t exactly 1:1) will vie for a $10,000 prize by creating three on-the-spot looks, each with a different surprise inspiration. In the premiere, prosthetic ears give rise to fantasy creatures, monsters spring from the suggestion of a location, and everyday electronic components are assimilated into designs for The Borg.