The Sky at Night
1957
📺 69 Seasons
🎬 846 Episodes
📅 Returning Series
🌐 EN
⏱️ 30 min/episode
DocumentaryNews
Your monthly journey through the fascinating world of space and astronomy with the latest thinking on what's out there in space and what you can see in the night sky.
Seasons
Season 1
Patrick Moore tells you what to look for in the night sky during the coming month.
The first of a regular monthly series.
Season 2
Patrick Moore shows you the wonders of the winter sky during the coming month.
Season 3
Patrick Moore describes the life-cycle of a star and compares the Sun's history with that of Betelgeuse, the vast red giant now visible in Orion.
Season 4
Patrick Moore talks about the Andromeda nebula, the most distant object in the heavens it is possible to see with the naked eye, and compares it with what is known of our own galaxy.
Season 5
Patrick Moore talks with W.M. Baxter, Secretary of the British Astronomical Association, about the mysterious dark areas, many thousands of miles across, on the sun's surface, known as sunspots. Besides discussing whether these affect the weather, they also consider the effect of solar flares on future manned space-travel. Particles emitted from these may turn out to be one of the worst hazards of all.
Season 6
Patrick Moore discusses with Gilbert Fielder the age-old problem of what caused the craters on the moon, and whether the next Russian lunik may solve the problem.
Season 7
1963 promises to be an exciting year for astronomy and space exploration. Patrick Moore forecasts some of the possible highlights.
Season 8
Patrick Moore talks about some of the strange celestial objects, like the planet Vulcan, which have been reported at times but do not in fact seem to exist.
Season 9
Patrick Moore discusses the atmospheres of the other planets in the solar system, how much is known of them, what more is likely to be found out about them in the near future, and whether one day man will be able to survive them.
Season 10
Patrick Moore discusses with Frank Hyde whether the radio emissions from Jupiter, which have been puzzling many astronomers, can be related to the movements of Jupiter's moons.
Season 11
At present the most brilliant object in the evening sky is Jupiter, giant planet of the Solar System - an immense world with cloud belts, the fascinating Great Red Spot. and four bright moons. Even a small telescope will show details upon its yellowish gaseous surface.
Patrick Moore talks about Jupiter, and the many problems that it presents to modern astronomers.
Season 12
The enthusiasm of astronomers makes them build observatories at their own homes. Tonight Patrick Moore looks at three home-built observatories, including his own, which he has successfully transferred to Northern Ireland. Not all are built for the same purposes.
Season 13
Man has just taken his first close look at the moon, and in a few months American spacecraft are expected to bring back samples of the moon's crust for analysis.
At this turning point in lunar research, as the long history of earth-based observation gives way to first-hand experience, Patrick Moore sums up our present knowledge; Raymond Baxter discusses the significance of the new developments with Sir Bernard Lovell, Professor J.G. Davies, and Dr. J.H. Thomson at Jodrell Bank; and Patrick Moore describes the optical work done at the world's highest observatory, the Pic du Midi.
Sequences in France made available by courtesy of the French Television Service
Season 14
In January a comet will be visible in the northern sky, bright enough to be seen without a telescope. Patrick Moore talks about comets and their appearances with an observer, Keith Hindley, and about Sir Edmund Halley - discoverer of Halley's Comet - with Colin Ronan.
Season 15
Mars has now started to approach the Earth. Later in 1971 it will be as close to us as it can ever come. More Mariner spacecraft will be sent there, and Patrick Moore looks ahead to see what new information they are likely to bring us from this puzzling world.
Season 16
The Great Bear is the most familiar and conspicuous star-pattern in the night sky all the year round: but it is not exactly what it seems. Patrick Moore explains that, although its seven stars look close together, some are further from each other than they are from Earth.
Season 17
Patrick Moore looks forward to a year of spectacular astronomical events: the launching of the Sky-lab earth-orbiting laboratory in May; the longest eclipse of the century in June; the first dual-planet probe to Venus and Mercury in October; and the Copernicus quincentenary celebrations.
Season 18
Patrick Moore talks about what is on view in the night sky now, and discusses with Gilbert Satter thwaite the important subject of positional astronomy - the exact measurements and movements of celestial objects.
Season 19
Patrick Moore talks about this most splendid of constellations.
Season 20
The planet Mars is brilliantly visible in the sky at the moment. It has always been regarded as the one planet beyond earth upon which life might exist, and in 1976 we could find out at last. Two American rockets, the Vikings, are now on their way to the Red Planet, and should land there next summer, transmitting information from the Martian surface. Patrick Moore and Dr Garry Hunt look forward to what the Viking probes may tell us.
Season 21
Sirius is now at its best in the evening sky. It is one of our nearest stellar neighbours, and is much more luminous than the sun. It seems to flash all colours but is really a white star, it has a strange, super-dense White Dwarf companion. Patrick Moore and lain Nicolson discuss some of the questions associated with Sirius.
Season 22
Good astronomical telescopes are very expensive today, but there are many objects in the night sky which can be viewed with binoculars. For example, during winter evenings the constellation of Orion is excellently placed, and it contains the lovely nebula which binoculars show quite clearly. Patrick Moore describes this and other features of the night sky, and gives advice on the types of binoculars which are most useful.
Season 23
In December, six American and two Russian space-craft reached Venus. With its dense atmosphere, its searing hot surface and its clouds of deadly sulphuric acid, this strange planet is overwhelmingly hostile; but it is of tremendous interest. Patrick Moore and Dr Garry Hunt talk about the findings of the space-ships, and discuss what will happen next in the exploration of Venus.
Season 24
How many people know the meaning of terms such as ' right ascension' and ' declination '? And what exactly is the celestial sphere? Mapping the sky presents problems different from those of mapping the earth. Patrick Moore talks about sky-maps, and how astronomers have worked out their own equivalent of latitude and longitude.
Season 25
Palomar Patrick Moore visits Mount Palomar in South California to see the great 200-inch telescope, and talks to the scientists who use the largest working telescope in the world.
Season 26
Yesterday evening there was a lunar eclipse. The moon passed fully into the earth's shadow from 7.15 until 8.35 pm and the eclipse should have been seen well from all over Britain and, weather permitting, from the special camera on top of Television Centre. Patrick Moore talks about eclipses, and describes some of the other features of the January night sky.
Season 27
The winter stars are more brilliant than those of any other season. Orion dominates the scene, together with his brilliant retinue. Two particularly interesting stars are visible; the Twins, Castor and Pollux - Pollux an orange giant and Castor a sort of stellar family, made up of no fewer than six sans. Patrick Moore talks about these unusual stars and gives the latest news about developments at the new observatory in La Palma and about the approach of Halley's Comet.
Season 28
Winter is perhaps the best time for star-gazing; the nights are long and dark. Also the winter constellations, led by Orion the Hunter, are brilliant. Patrick Moore talks about the winter Sky at Night and points out some objects which can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope.
Season 29
Patrick Moore looks at the new and quite unexpected developments in our understanding of Beta Pictoris and Van Biesbroeck 8-two very different stars, but both associated with faint companions.
Season 30
How much is known about the sun? We know that it is a huge nuclear furnace that sends out electrified particles, which affect the tails of comets and much else. But there is still a great deal that isn't known. Patrick Moore gives the results of the latest research into the nature of the nearest star.
Season 31
Can you take astronomical photographs with limited equipment? The surprising answer is yes. Though such pictures cannot rival those of professional astronomers or skilled, well-equipped amateurs, they are pleasing to the eye and may even be of some scientific value. Patrick Moore talks to Douglas Arnold about what can be achieved with very limited photographic equipment.
Season 32
At the start of 1987 The Sky at Night asked for amateur astronomical photographers to send in their pictures - either of objects in the sky, or of observatories and telescopes. In this programme Patrick Moore and Douglas Arnold show the best pictures sent in, and also take a look round the night sky as it appears in January.
Season 33
The winter sky is magnificent, with Orion dominant; this year there are also two of the brilliant planets, Jupiter and Mars. But there are puzzles to solve, too. For example, why was Sirius once described as a red star rather than a white one - and has Alcor, the companion to Mizar in the Great Bear, brightened since ancient times? Patrick Moore takes a look round the winner sky, and discusses some of these curious mysteries.
Season 34
Tales of the Unexpected Astronomers, like other people, can be taken by surprise. Bright comets, new stars, outbreaks on planets, displays of aurora - none of these can be predicted; and in this programme Patrick Moore looks at some of these 'tales of the unexpected'.
Season 35
Looking like a bright red star, Mars can be seen clearly in the south-west sky after dark. It has been studied since prehistoric times and many people believed there was life on the planet, yet the Viking spacecraft in the 1970s could find no trace. Patrick Moore explores the myths and legends surrounding Mars and takes a voyage over its surface.
Season 36
Patrick Moore visits the world's most powerful telescope, the Keck reflector, now being constructed on top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Season 37
Patrick Moore surveys Orion the Hunter, and then Mars and Venus - two bright inner planets.
Season 38
Auriga is one of the most prominent of all the constellations of the northern sky. Patrick Moore explains what can be seen there.
Season 39
New results from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a fascinating and unexpected puzzle surrounding the age of the universe. Patrick Moore and Dr. Shaun Hughes of the Royal Greenwich Observatory discuss the implications.
Season 40
A tour of the winter night sky, with Patrick Moore.
Season 41
Patrick Moore is joined by Professor Glenn White of Queen Mary and Westfield College to examine the centre of the Galaxy, a mysterious region some 25-million light-years from earth.
Season 42
Patrick Moore describes the family of moons belonging to the planet Saturn.
Season 43
Patrick Moore presents the latest news on attempts to pick up radio messages from other worlds, with Ian Morison, co-ordinator of SETI in the UK.
Season 44
Dr Allan Chapman discusses with Patrick Moore the development of astronomy over the last 1,000 years.
Season 45
As a new millennium begins we take a look at how our Earth and Moon came to be. Patrick Moore is joined by Professor Chris Kitchin to discuss how distant planets of other suns, ancient meteorites, and devastating collisions between worlds give us clues as to how the Earth and Moon grew from billions of dust grains, each too small to see.
Season 46
The search for life on Mars continues with ever more space-probes examining the red planet. Patrick Moore is joined by Dr David Wynn-Williams who has with him a miniature spectrometer that is about to be tested in Antarctica and one day may find evidence of Martian life.
Season 47
Patrick Moore heats up when he discusses our nearest star, the Sun, with guest Iain Nicolson. There is also a report from Australia about the recent eclipse.
Season 48
The Universe has its own heavenly sounds, such as pulsars, panetary magnetospheres and solar winds. Patrick Moore explores the ancient link between the cosmos and music, with actor and musician Donald Francke and classical composer Dr Allan Chapman.
Season 49
The American and European spacecraft Cassini has been at Saturn now for six months. It has sent back fabulous images of the planet, its complex rings and many moons including the mysterious Titan. Patrick Moore discusses this and Cassini's probe Huygens, which will be sent to Titan on Christmas Day.
Season 50
In and exclusive interview for The Sky at Night, Patrick Moore talks to Mike A'Hearn, the NASA scientist behind the spectacular Deep Impact mission. With amazing precision, he sucessfully designed an impactor to hir the fast moving coment Tempel-1. Its success has revealed new information about our Solar System.
Season 51
British astronaut Piers Sellers on orbiting the Earth and the future of the manned space programme; NASA's upcoming Hubble rescue mission.
Season 52
The Earth is bombarded by extra terrestrial material every day, but what is this cosmic debris? Sir Patrick Moore investigates comet tails, meteorites and asteroids and discovers the terrible consequences of a cosmic collision with the Earth. Also, the latest stunning images from Mars Express.
Season 53
Sir Patrick Moore charts the development of the telescope over four centuries and fasts forward to meet the astronaut who repaired the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr Chris Lintott visits some modern day astronomical leviathans.
Season 54
January provides the perfect opportunity to observe stars, planets and galaxies.
Sir Patrick Moore takes us on a tour of the winter sky, looking at twinkling 'variable stars' with Dr John Mason, and at planets and galaxies with Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel.
Sir Patrick and Dr Chris Lintott also point out the best objects to observe if you've had a telescope for Christmas.
Season 55
The planets and moons of our solar system are covered in volcanoes, some billions of years old and seven times the height of Mount Everest. Sir Patrick Moore discovers the havoc that volcanoes can wreak on our own planet, as well as elsewhere in our solar system.
Season 56
We now know there are other solar systems far away in space, but are they like ours and is there life on these strange worlds? Sir Patrick Moore goes on the quest for little green men.
Season 57
For more than half a century Sir Patrick Moore encouraged people to look up at the wonders of the night skies. Fittingly in this programme, recorded just before his death, he and his team offer advice to those who are discovering astronomy for the very first time. How should they set up their new telescopes and what should they seek out in the winter skies as they begin to share Sir Patrick's lifelong passion for the stars?
Season 58
The revamped team look at Jupiter's coloured bands and iconic 'eye', visible manifestations of a violent atmosphere that causes extraordinary weather.
Season 59
The Milky Way, our galaxy, is a magnificent sight in the night sky, but we know surprisingly little about it for certain. What is its shape? How many stars does it actually contain? What lies at its centre? The Gaia space telescope will answer these questions, being armed with the most advanced camera to leave our planet, and it will allow us to see our galaxy as we've never seen it before. The Sky at Night visits the factory in Chelmsford that made the astonishing sensor at the heart of the mission.
Season 60
On January 20 2016, two American astronomers made an extraordinary claim - they had found evidence for a ninth planet in our solar system, a planet 20 times further out than Neptune which would take up to 20,000 years to orbit the sun. It is a discovery that could completely rewrite our understanding of our solar system and how it formed. As the world's biggest telescopes start scanning the skies searching for Planet 9, the Sky at Night team investigates. If Planet 9 exists, where is it and where did it come from? In California, Chris Lintott meets the astronomers whose study of the distant Kuiper Belt led them to predict the existence of the planet. And while some scientists are still sceptical, Maggie Aderin-Pocock discovers how our models of the formation of the solar system and the discovery of similar exoplanets around other stars all support the existence of Planet 9.
Season 61
All good travel guides need a map, and the team unveil the most detailed 3D map of the Milky Way ever produced. A map that reveals that there may be 50 per cent more stars in the galaxy than we previously thought. American astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson gives us a guided tour of the strangest stars we have ever observed, and we discover that the Milky Way may already be colliding with our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda.
Season 62
The team reports on unnerving discoveries in the field of space science. Researchers estimate that 95 per cent of everything in the universe is "invisible", and while some of this number is made up of matter that just cannot be easily seen, the rest is thought to be comprised of nebulous concepts such as Dark Matter and Dark Energy. The team illustrates - as best they can - how the existence of these two hypothetical ideas - or lack thereof - could define the fate of the entire universe.
Season 63
On 1 January 2019, Nasa's New Horizons probe notched up another historic first: the first ever Kuiper belt fly-by. Its target was 2014 MU69, a chunk of ice and rock about four billion miles (approximately 6.4 billion kilometres) from Earth, dubbed Ultima Thule, a Latin phrase meaning a distant, unknown region. It is the most distant fly-by in history, and it is believed the data New Horizons gathers will shed new light on the solar system's early days. Chris Lintott reports from the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland to bring the latest news and pictures from this extraordinary mission.
Season 64
The Sky at Night team go back to basics to show you how to enjoy the night sky, wherever you are. It doesn’t matter if you live in a city or in the countryside, if you have a telescope, a pair of binoculars or just your eyes to look with. Pete explains why the night sky changes and joins a group of novice stargazers to talk about the best ways to introduce newcomers to the night. Chris ventures onto a roof in Oxford and marvels at the moon through binoculars, and Maggie goes back to her childhood telescope-making class to talk basic telescope essentials. Curious about the night sky but don’t know where to start? Want to know how to make the most of your new telescope? This is the programme for you!
Season 65
Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Chris Lintott look back at some of the biggest stories featured on the programme in 2020, with the help of special guests who have chosen their favourite moments. From the launch of Solar Orbiter to the discovery of phosphine on Venus, the team relive the astronomy highlights of a highly unusual year.
Season 66
The team explores light pollution and what might be done to mitigate its effects.
Season 67
The Sky at Night team investigate the latest science used in the hunt for extraterrestrial life, including a major mission to Jupiter's icy moons.
Season 68
The Sky at Night is back for a brand new series, and this month it is delving into Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which last year brought back a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The team are finding out what it takes to analyse the tiny pieces of space rock, what they can tell us about how Earth became the planet it is today and may even tell us about the origins of life!
Season 69
The team explore one of the biggest stories in space news, the ‘city killer’ asteroid 2024 YR4. How well did the planet respond to this potential natural disaster?
Network
BBC Four
Keywords
universe