Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore,
CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
FRSThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
,
FRASThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
(born 4 March 1923 in
Pinner- Climate :Pinner's geographical position on the far western side of North West London makes it the furthest London suburb from any UK coastline. Hence the lower prevalence of moderating maritime influences make Pinner noticeably warmer in the spring and the summer compared to the rest of the capital...
) is a British
amateur astronomerAmateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of astronomy among the British general public.
He is a former president of the
British Astronomical AssociationThe British Astronomical Association is the senior national association of amateur astronomers in the UK.-Function:It encourages observational astronomy by non-professionals in areas which cannot be covered by professional observatories...
, co-founder and former president of the
Society for Popular AstronomyThe Society for Popular Astronomy is a national astronomical society based in the United Kingdom for beginners to amateur astronomy.It was founded in 1953 as the Junior Astronomical Society by experienced amateur astronomers including Patrick Moore, Ernest Noon and Eric Turner to encourage...
or SPA, author of over 70 books on astronomy, and presenter of the world's longest-running television series with the same original presenter,
The Sky at NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
on the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. As an amateur astronomer, he became known as a specialist on observing the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and creating the
Caldwell catalogueThe Caldwell Catalogue is an astronomical catalog of 109 bright star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, better known as Patrick Moore, as a complement to the Messier Catalogue.The Messier Catalogue is used...
. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and his
monocleA monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...
have made him a popular figure on other British television shows (including his appearance as the
GamesMasterGamesMaster was a British television show, screened on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998, and was the first ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.-Origins:...
).
Moore is also a self-taught musician and accomplished composer. His favourite genres are 19th century Viennese waltzes and marches, but he has also turned to ragtime, polkas, and a nocturne. In 1981 he performed a solo
xylophoneThe xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
rendition of the
Sex PistolsThe Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
' "Anarchy in the UK" in a
Royal Variety PerformanceThe Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
.
Early life
Moore was born in
Pinner- Climate :Pinner's geographical position on the far western side of North West London makes it the furthest London suburb from any UK coastline. Hence the lower prevalence of moderating maritime influences make Pinner noticeably warmer in the spring and the summer compared to the rest of the capital...
in
MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
to Captain Charles Trachsel Caldwell-Moore
MCThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(died 1947) and Gertrude, née White (died 1981) and moved to
East GrinsteadEast Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
in
SussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, where he spent his childhood. His youth was marked by poor health and as a result he was educated at home by private tutors. He developed an interest in
astronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
at the age of six and joined the
British Astronomical AssociationThe British Astronomical Association is the senior national association of amateur astronomers in the UK.-Function:It encourages observational astronomy by non-professionals in areas which cannot be covered by professional observatories...
at the age of eleven.
In the Second World War Moore lied about his age in order to join the
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and from 1940 until 1945 he served as a navigator in
RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, reaching the rank of
Flight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
. He first received his flight training in Canada, during which time he met
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Orville Wright while on leave in New York. The war had a significant influence on his life: his only known romance ended when his fiancée, a nurse, was killed by a bomb which struck her ambulance. Moore subsequently remarked that he never married because "there was no one else for me...second best is no good for me...I would have liked a wife and family, but it was not to be."
After the war, Moore eventually set up home at
SelseySelsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
on the
West SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
coast, a location that probably enjoys the highest annual total of clear night skies of any location in the UK mainland. Here he constructed a home-made
reflecting telescopeA reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...
in his garden and began to observe the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. He was fascinated by the subject and he is now acknowledged as a specialist in lunar observation, one of his particular areas of expertise being the study of the glimpses of the Moon's far side that are occasionally visible due to the Moon's
librationIn astronomy, libration is an oscillating motion of orbiting bodies relative to each other, notably including the motion of the Moon relative to Earth, or of Trojan asteroids relative to planets.-Lunar libration:...
. He was also an early observer of transient lunar phenomena: short-lived glowing areas on the lunar surface.
Moore was very close to his mother Gertrude, a talented artist who lived with him at his
SelseySelsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
home, which is still adorned with her paintings of "bogeys" – little friendly aliens – which she regularly produced and which were sent out annually as Moore's Christmas cards. Moore wrote the foreword for Gertrude's 1974 book "Mrs Moore In Space".
Television
On 26 April 1957, at 10:30 pm, in an event that was to be a landmark of his career, Moore presented the first episode of
The Sky at NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
, a BBC television programme for astronomy enthusiasts. Since then, he has presented every episode each month, except July 2004, because of a near-fatal bout of food poisoning caused by eating a contaminated goose egg. Moore appears in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest-serving TV presenter, by virtue of having presented the show since 1957. Early editions of The Sky at Night were transmitted live and on one occasion he swallowed a
flyTrue flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
live on air. Since 2004, the programme has been presented from Moore's home, as he is no longer able to travel to the studios, owing to
arthritisArthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
.
On 1 April 2007, a 50th anniversary semi-spoof edition of the programme was broadcast on BBC1, with Moore depicted as a
Time LordThe Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
and featuring, as special guests, amateur astronomers
Jon CulshawJonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
(impersonating Moore presenting the very first
The Sky At NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
) and
Brian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
. This tongue-in-cheek edition of the show included a look-ahead to the state of astronomy in the year 2057, with May recalling his appearance in a disastrous concert on the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, in which an accident resulted in an explosion of rocket fuel that sent
QueenQueen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
drummer Roger Taylor into
orbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
, with accompanying footage of Taylor orbiting the Moon, drumsticks still in hand. During the programme, Moore tries in vain to warn his past self to avoid the goose egg that gave him food poisoning in 2004 and expresses annoyance at the late time slot that the show occupies.
On 6 May 2007, a special edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on BBC1, to commemorate the programme's 50th anniversary, with a party in Moore's garden at
SelseySelsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
, attended by amateur and professional astronomers. It consisted of a retrospective of highlights from the past 654 editions of the programme, together with Moore reminiscing with guests who have appeared over the past 50 years and who have been influenced in various ways by the programme and by Moore himself. Another special edition, broadcast on BBC4 on 9 December 2007, was a retrospective of achievements in astronomical science during the past 50 years, together with a review of the highlights of "The Sky at Night" in presenting such achievements and the contributions of distinguished astronomers to the programme during those years.
In 1959 the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
used his charts of the limb regions of the Moon to correlate their first pictures of the far side with the features on the near side. In 1965, he was appointed Director of the newly constructed
Armagh PlanetariumArmagh Planetarium is a planetarium located in Armagh, Northern Ireland close to the city centre and neighbouring Armagh Observatory in approximately fourteen acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark.- History :...
in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, a post he held until 1968. During the Apollo programme, Moore was a presenter of the
BBC's television's coverage of the Moon landingBritish television coverage of Apollo 11, man's first mission to land on the moon, lasted from 16 to 24 July 1969 . All the then three UK channels BBC1, BBC2 and ITV provided extensive coverage...
missions. He compiled the Caldwell catalogue of astronomical objects and in 1982
asteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
2602 Moore2602 Moore is a small main belt asteroid. It was discovered in 1982 by E. Bowell. It is named after Patrick Moore, the TV astronomer....
was named in his honour.
Moore has written over 70 books on astronomy, all of them typed on a Woodstock typewriter of 1908 vintage, which he has always preferred to any more modern device. After the BBC withdrew financial support, he independently produced a 50th anniversary DVD of his life and work entitled The Astronomical Patrick Moore.
Sir Patrick Moore celebrated the record breaking 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex on 6 March 2011. He presented with the help of special guests
Professor Brian CoxBrian Edward Cox, OBE , is a British particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and a professor at the University of Manchester. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group at the University of Manchester, and works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at...
, impressionist and amateur astronomer
Jon CulshawJonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
and
Lord ReesMartin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...
, the Astronomer Royal. In the show, Culshaw impersonated Moore and asked the 'real' Moore questions from viewers, while co-presenters
Pete LawrencePeter B. Lawrence is a British amateur astronomer best known for his popularization of astronomy on the BBC's The Sky at Night with Sir Patrick Moore, Paul Abel and Dr. Chris Lintott...
and
Paul AbelPaul G. Abel is a British astronomer, mathematician, broadcaster and writer. Currently, he is based in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science in the department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leicester where he teaches Mathematics and his research is concerned with black hole...
looked at Moore's telescopes and observing books.
Activism
Moore is noted for his
conservativeConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
political views. In the 1970s, he was Chairman of the anti-immigration
United Country PartyThe United Country Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s. The Party was against immigration, inflation and the excesses of the 'Winter of Discontent', claiming to represent 'people with common sense'....
, a position he held until the party was absorbed by the
New Britain PartyNew Britain was a minor British right wing political party founded by Dennis Delderfield in 1976. The party was de-registered in November 2008.-Founding:...
in 1980. He then joined the
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and later the UK Independence Party, becoming a long standing supporter and patron of the
euroscepticEuroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
party. Moore introduced the DVD Britain on the Brink, a documentary which, he asserted, exposed the 'truth' that had been hidden from British people about being a member state in the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. He opposed the
Iraq War, stating:
Mr BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
’s venture into Iraq could have instead paid for the entire space programmeThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
for quite a few years... I think Bush is certifiable. He’s a danger. If we are not careful he’ll plunge the world into a Third World War. He’s power-drunk you see. If he goes for IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
or North KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, big trouble! What’s the difference between Robert MugabeRobert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
and Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
? Mugabe doesn’t produce oil!
He is an opponent of
fox huntingFox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
. He has been a lifelong animal lover, actively supporting many animal welfare charities (recognisably, the Cats Protection League). He has a particular affinity for cats and has two of them.
Other interests and popular culture
Aside from presenting The Sky at Night show, Moore has appeared in a number of other television and radio shows, including Just a Minute and, from 1992 until 1998, playing the role of
GamesMasterGamesMaster was a British television show, screened on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998, and was the first ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.-Origins:...
in the television show of the same name: a character who professed to know everything there is to know about video gaming. He would issue video game challenges and answer questions on cheats and tips presented in the Consoletation Zone. His appearance differed depending on the show's season (e.g. in Season 1, he was an artificial intelligence whereas in Season 5, set in Heaven, he looked like a god).
He also appeared in self-parodying roles, in several episodes of
The GoodiesThe Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...
and on the
Morecambe and WiseEric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
show. He had a minor role in the fourth radio series of
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
, and a lead role in the
Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
sci-fi BBC/20th Century Fox radio play,
Independence Day UKIndependence Day UK is a one-hour BBC Radio 1 science fiction special, first broadcast on August 4, 1996. The show is a spin-off of the movie Independence Day and depicts the movie's alien invasion from a British perspective...
in which amongst other things, Moore fills in as a Navigator in a dogfighting RAF Tornado and a pilot utters the line: "Either I'm concussed or I'm watching Patrick Moore fighting with an Extra-terrestrial. Now there's something you don't see every day". He also appeared in It's a Celebrity Knockout,
Blankety BlankBlankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1978 Australian game show Blankety Blanks ....
and
Face the MusicFace the Music was a weekly BBC television programme in the form of a classical music quiz. It began in 1966 and continued until 1979, with revivals in 1983-4 and 2007.-Format:...
. He has appeared on television at least once in a film prop spacesuit. Despite believing that there may well be life in other parts of the universe, he has stated that he believes that there has not been any real contact with
alienExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
s and he dismisses all theories of the extraterrestrial origin of UFOs. In 2010 a recording of an amateur science fiction film featuring Patrick Moore was discovered, more than 50 years after it was filmed in the grounds of an Irish country estate. The film, entitled "Them and the Thing" was the work of aristocrat Desmond Leslie, a UFOlogist and amateur film-maker who was friends with Moore. In 2004, he made an appearance on
Big BrotherBig Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
s fifth UK series, as part of a task where housemates had to identify a celebrity Big Brother voice, only using yes or no questions. He was correctly identified by the housemate.
Until being forced to give up owing to
arthritisArthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
, Moore was a keen
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and accomplished
xylophoneThe xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
player. He has composed a substantial corpus of works, including two
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s. Sir Patrick has also had a ballet entitled 'Lyra's Dream' written to his music. Devised by Beryl Phelps and choreographed by Richard Slaughter it received its world première in Salisbury, attended by Sir Patrick, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. He occasionally performed novelty turns at the
Royal Variety PerformanceThe Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
and appeared in a song-and-dance act in the 1971
Morecambe and WiseEric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
Christmas special. In 1998, as a guest on
Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, he accompanied the show's closing theme tune on the xylophone and as a pianist, he once accompanied
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
playing The Swan by
Camille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
on the violin (of which no recording was made). Moore is listed by the
Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
as the uncredited musical consultant on the 1968
Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
/Arthur C Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. Patrick Moore was also the subject of a popular internet cartoon entitled "
Patrick Moore Plays the Xylophone", which appears on Weebl's Stuff.
He is a friend of
QueenQueen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
guitarist and astrophysicist
Brian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, who is an occasional guest on
The Sky At NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
. The pair have co-authored a book with
Chris LintottChristopher John Lintott is an English astrophysicist currently serving as the Director of Citizen Science at the Adler Planetarium. He is a post-doctoral researcher who is involved in a number of popular science projects aimed at bringing astronomical science to a wider audience...
, entitled Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, produced by
Canopus Books and published by Carlton Books. Moore has just completed (with Robin Rees and Iain Nicolson) his uniquely comprehensive Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy for Cambridge University Press (publication February 2011) and, with May, Lintott, and Rees is working on the successor to Bang!, Cosmic Tourist which will be produced by Canopus and published by Carlton.
His books are mostly
non-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
dealing with astronomy, along with several
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. His first novels were a series about the first arrivals on
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, including
Mission to MarsMission to Mars is a 1955 science fiction novel by Patrick Moore, published by Burke.The action is set initially on Earth and then on Mars.-Plot synopsis:...
and
The Voices of MarsThe Voices of Mars is a 1957 science fiction novel by Patrick Moore, published by Burke.-Plot synopsis:Some years after the events described in Mission to Mars, and The Domes of Mars, Maurice Gray and his friend Bruce Talbot are now permanent members of the research colony established on Mars...
, followed in 1977 by the start of the
Scott Saunders Space AdventureThe Scott Saunders Space Adventure series are a series of young-adult science-fiction novels written by amateur astronomer Patrick Moore.As its title indicates the series depicts the adventures and trials of young astronaut Scott Saunders...
series, aimed primarily at a younger audience, which eventually ran to six novels. In addition he wrote Bureaucrats: How to Annoy Them under the
pseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
R. T. Fishall, which was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1981. In 1986 he was identified as the co-author of a book published in 1954 called Flying Saucer from Mars, attributed to
Cedric AllinghamCedric Allingham was a British contactee of the 1950s, whose claims to have encountered the pilot of a Martian spacecraft were published in 1954 as Flying Saucer from Mars....
, which was intended as a practical joke on UFO believers. Moore has never admitted his involvement.
Yet despite Moore's hostility to "pseudoscientific" beliefs, and his authorship of a book parodying them (Countdown!) BBC TV presenter Bill Turnbull was clearly greatly surprised when Moore, in his eighties, refused to dismiss
crop circleA crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of a crop such as wheat, barley, rye, maize, or rapeseed. Crop circles are also referred to as crop formations, because they are not always circular in shape. While the exact date crop circles began to appear is unknown, the documented...
s as hoaxes. He observed, "Well at least the crop circles are there! I'm not entirely certain what they are."
In January 1998, part of Moore's
observatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
at his home in Selsey was destroyed by a
tornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
which passed through the area. The observatory was subsequently rebuilt.
Along with many other celebrities, Patrick Moore has been the subject of crank-calls by
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Jon CulshawJonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
, as part of the
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
show
Dead RingersDead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry...
. On this occasion, Jon Culshaw impersonated
Tom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
's role of the
Fourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
(
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
), supposedly consulting Moore on various astronomy-related matters. Moore, being aware of what was going on, confused Culshaw by out-playing him in his use of
technobabbleTechnobabble , also called technospeak, is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords, esoteric language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener...
, resulting in a rare pause from the comedian as he tried to think of a response and even broke character by laughing a little after being 'gazumped'.
Moore later portrayed himself in an episode of Doctor Who entitled
The Eleventh Hour"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....
.
Moore was also an enthusiastic amateur
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, playing for the Selsey Cricket Club until he was well into his seventies. He also played for the
Lord's TavernersThe Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
, a cricketing charity team, as a bowler with an unorthodox action.
Moore also stars (via video clip) in the cult musical
Return to the Forbidden PlanetReturn to the Forbidden Planet is a Jukebox musical by playwright Bob Carlton based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and the 1950s science fiction film Forbidden Planet ....
.
Because of his long-running television career and eccentric demeanour, Moore is widely recognised and has become a popular public figure, even to people with no interest in astronomy. In 1976, this was used to good effect for an April Fool's spoof on
BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, when Moore announced that at 9.47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur:
PlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a
gravitational alignmentThe Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect, a hoax phenomenon stated to cause a noticeable short-term reduction in gravity on Earth, was an invention for April Fools' Day by the English astronomer Patrick Moore broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 1 April 1976....
which would reduce the Earth's own gravity. Moore informed listeners that if they could jump at the exact moment that this event occurred, they would experience a temporary floating sensation. The BBC received many telephone calls from listeners alleging that they actually experienced the sensation.
Moore joined the
Flat Earth SocietyThe Flat Earth Society is an organization that seeks to further the belief that the Earth is flat instead of an oblate spheroid. The modern organization was founded by Englishman Samuel Shenton in 1956 and was later led by Charles K...
as an ironic joke.
On 7 March 2006, he was hospitalized and fitted with a
pacemakerA pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart...
because of a cardiac abnormality.
In May 2007, Moore appeared on the BBC2 programme
Room 101Room 101 is a place introduced in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It is a torture chamber in the Ministry of Love in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst nightmare, fear or phobia....
. In an interview with Radio Times, he provocatively asserted that the BBC was being "ruined by women", commenting that:
"The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn’t have had that in the golden days.”
In response, a BBC spokeswoman described Moore as being one of TV's best-loved figures and remarked that his "forthright" views were "what we all love about him".
Honours and appointments
In 1945, Moore was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Astronomical SocietyThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
. In 1968, he was appointed
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
and promoted to
CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1988. In 2001, he was
knightedThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting".
In the same year, he was appointed an
Honorary Fellow of the Royal SocietyAn Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society is a person elected under special criteria to Fellowship of the Royal Society. They are ineligible in the other criteria for election as a Fellow or Foreign Member but have "rendered signal service to the cause of science, or whose election would...
. In June 2002, he was appointed as Hon. Vice President of the Society for the History of Astronomy. He has also won a
BAFTAThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for services to television.
A keen amateur
chessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, Moore often carries a pocket set around with him and has been honoured with the title of Vice President of Sussex Junior Chess Association. In 2003, he presented Sussex Junior
David HowellDavid Wei Liang Howell is an English chess player. He is the youngest chess Grandmaster in the United Kingdom, a title he earned when he came second during the 35th Rilton Cup in Stockholm on 5 January 2007 when he was 16...
with the best young chess player award on Carlton TV's Britain's Brilliant Prodigies show.
He has been honoured by numerous astronomical organisations both national and international.
Books
Patrick Moore has written a large number of popular books. Including:
- Our Universe: Facts, Figures and Fun, 2007, ISBN 1904332412
- 2004 The Yearbook of Astronomy, 2003, ISBN 0333989414 (editor)
- The Star of Bethlehem, 2001, ISBN 095378682X
- Patrick Moore's Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse , 1999, ISBN 075221814X
- Countdown!, or, How nigh is the end?, 1999, ISBN 0718122917
- Patrick Moore on Mars, 1998, ISBN 0304350699
- Eyes on the Universe: Story of the Telescope, 1997, ISBN 3540761640
- Exploring the Earth and Moon, 1997, ISBN 1853614475
- Philip's Guide to Stars and Planets, 1997, ISBN 0540072354
- Brilliant Stars, 1997, ISBN 0304349720
- The Sun and the Moon (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0099679116
- The Guinness Book of Astronomy, 1995, ISBN 085112643X
- The Stars (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0099678810
- The Sun and the Moon (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0099679116
- The Planets (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0099678918
- New Guide to the Planets, 1993, ISBN 0283061456
- Mission to the Planets, 1991, ISBN 030434088X
- Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars, 1988, ISBN 0521368669
- Space Travel for the Under Tens, 1988, ISBN 0540011797
- The Astronomy Encyclopaedia, 1987, ISBN 0855336048
- Television Astronomer: Thirty Years of the "Sky at Night", 1987, ISBN 024554531X
- Explorers of Space, 1986, ISBN 0861340922
- Armchair Astronomy, 1984, ISBN 0850597188
- Travellers in Space and Time, 1984, ISBN 0385190514
- New Observer's Book of Astronomy, 1983, ISBN 0723216460
- Astronomy Quiz Book, 1978, ISBN 055254132X
- Next Fifty Years in Space, 1976, ISBN 0860020339
- Can You Speak Venusian?, 1972, ISBN 0352397764
- Observer's Book of Astronomy, 1971, ISBN 0723215243
- The Scott Saunders series
The Scott Saunders Space Adventure series are a series of young-adult science-fiction novels written by amateur astronomer Patrick Moore.As its title indicates the series depicts the adventures and trials of young astronaut Scott Saunders...
(six juvenile science fiction novels), late 1970s
External links