The Sky at Night
Encyclopedia
The 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 programme's opening and closing theme music is "At the Castle Gate", from the incidental music to Pelléas et Mélisande
by Jean Sibelius
, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, Conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham.
, radio astronomy
, artificial satellite
s, black hole
s, neutron star
s and many others. The programme also covers what is happening in the night sky at the time it is being broadcast, especially when something less common, such as a comet
or a meteor shower
, is present.
Explaining the show's enduring appeal, Moore said: "Astronomy's a fascinating subject. You look up... you can't help getting interested and it's there. We've tried to bring it to the people.. it's not me, it's the appeal of the subject."
(the first to measure the size of the Milky Way galaxy), Fred Hoyle
, Jocelyn Bell Burnell
, Harold Spencer Jones
, Martin Ryle
, Bart Bok
and Carl Sagan
. Other guests have included Astronomer Royal
Sir Martin Rees
, Allan Chapman, Sir Bernard Lovell, Michael Bentine
, Wernher von Braun
, Open University
professors John Zarnecki
, Monica Grady
, Edwin Maher and Colin Pillinger
.
Many well-known astronauts have also featured on the programme, such as Piers Sellers
, Eugene Cernan, Buzz Aldrin
and Neil Armstrong
.
In July 2004, Moore was unable to make the broadcast due to a severe bout of Salmonellosis
. He was replaced for this one occasion by the cosmologist Chris Lintott
of Oxford University, but returned for the August programme. This is the only occasion in over 54 years that Moore has not hosted the programme.
Brian May
(of Queen
fame), a Ph.D.
in astrophysics
, is a guest on the show from time to time.
On 1 April 2007, Sir Patrick presented the 50th Anniversary edition of the show, a special "time travel" edition which included the appearance of Jon Culshaw
as Moore's younger self. The 50th Anniversary programme was filmed at Teddington Studios
as the 1957 home of the programme, Lime Grove Studios
, had been demolished in 1992.
On 6 March 2011, Sir Patrick presented the 700th edition of the show, a special retrospective episode which included Jon Culshaw
once again appearing as Moore's younger self, as well as Dr. Brian May
and the first appearance on the show of Professor Brian Cox
.
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the show by naming asteroid 57424 Caelumnoctu
(the number referring to the first broadcast date and the name being Latin for "The Sky at Night").
In February 2007, the Royal Mail
issued a set of six astronomy stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the programme.
In the Guinness Book of World Records, Patrick Moore is listed as the most prolific presenter in the world, having hosted all but one episode of the Sky at Night since 1957.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
television programme on astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
produced by the BBC
BBC
The 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...
. 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 programme's opening and closing theme music is "At the Castle Gate", from the incidental music to Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (Sibelius)
Pelléas et Mélisande, is incidental music in ten parts written in 1905 by Jean Sibelius, for Maurice Maeterlinck's 1892 drama Pelléas et Mélisande. Sibelius later on slightly rearranged the music into an nine movement suite, published as Op...
by Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, Conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham.
Content
The programme covers a wide range of general astronomical and space-related topics. In the past, general topics have included stellar life cyclesStellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...
, radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...
, artificial satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s, black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s, neutron star
Neutron star
A neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and with a slightly larger...
s and many others. The programme also covers what is happening in the night sky at the time it is being broadcast, especially when something less common, such as a comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
or a meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
, is present.
Explaining the show's enduring appeal, Moore said: "Astronomy's a fascinating subject. You look up... you can't help getting interested and it's there. We've tried to bring it to the people.. it's not me, it's the appeal of the subject."
Notable guests
Many of the world's leading astronomers have appeared on the show through the years, including Harlow ShapleyHarlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley was an American astronomer.-Career:He was born on a farm in Nashville, Missouri, and dropped out of school with only the equivalent of a fifth-grade education...
(the first to measure the size of the Milky Way galaxy), Fred Hoyle
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
, Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS , is a British astrophysicist. As a postgraduate student she discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish. She was president of the Institute of Physics from October 2008 until October 2010, and was interim president...
, Harold Spencer Jones
Harold Spencer Jones
Sir Harold Spencer Jones KBE FRS was an English astronomer. Although born "Jones", his surname became "Spencer Jones"....
, Martin Ryle
Martin Ryle
Sir Martin Ryle was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources...
, Bart Bok
Bart Bok
Bart Jan Bok was a Dutch-American astronomer.He was born in the Netherlands, but spent a good deal of his childhood days growing up in what was then known as the Dutch East Indies. He was educated at the Leiden and Groningen Universities. In 1929 he married fellow astronomer Dr...
and Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
. Other guests have included Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
Sir Martin Rees
Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow
Martin 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...
, Allan Chapman, Sir Bernard Lovell, Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine CBE was a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of the Goons. A Peruvian Briton by heritage as a result of his father's nationality, In 1971 Bentine received the Order of Merit of Peru because of his fund-raising work for the 1970 Great Peruvian...
, Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
, Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
professors John Zarnecki
John Zarnecki
John C. Zarnecki is an English Sir Arthur Clarke Award winning professor and researcher in space science. Currently working at the Open University since 2000, he was previously a professor and researcher at the University of Kent...
, Monica Grady
Monica Grady
Monica Mary Grady is a leading British space scientist, primarily known for her work on meteorites. She is currently Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University....
, Edwin Maher and Colin Pillinger
Colin Pillinger
Colin Trevor Pillinger, CBE, is a planetary scientist at the Open University in the UK. He was the principal investigator for the British Beagle 2 Mars lander project, and has done much work studying a group of Martian meteorites.In May 2005 Pillinger was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.-Early...
.
Many well-known astronauts have also featured on the programme, such as Piers Sellers
Piers Sellers
Piers John Sellers OBE is a British-born Anglo-American meteorologist and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of three space shuttle missions....
, Eugene Cernan, Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
and Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
.
In July 2004, Moore was unable to make the broadcast due to a severe bout of Salmonellosis
Salmonellosis
Salmonellosis is an infection with Salmonella bacteria. Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. In most cases, the illness lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment...
. He was replaced for this one occasion by the cosmologist Chris Lintott
Chris Lintott
Christopher 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...
of Oxford University, but returned for the August programme. This is the only occasion in over 54 years that Moore has not hosted the programme.
Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
(of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
fame), a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, is a guest on the show from time to time.
On 1 April 2007, Sir Patrick presented the 50th Anniversary edition of the show, a special "time travel" edition which included the appearance of Jon Culshaw
Jon Culshaw
Jonathan 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 Moore's younger self. The 50th Anniversary programme was filmed at Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios is a large British television studio complex located in Teddington, South-West London, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on BBC television, ITV, and Channel 4 along with others...
as the 1957 home of the programme, Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...
, had been demolished in 1992.
On 6 March 2011, Sir Patrick presented the 700th edition of the show, a special retrospective episode which included Jon Culshaw
Jon Culshaw
Jonathan 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....
once again appearing as Moore's younger self, as well as Dr. Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
and the first appearance on the show of Professor Brian Cox
Brian Cox (physicist)
Brian 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...
.
Commemorative honours
The International Astronomical UnionInternational Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the show by naming asteroid 57424 Caelumnoctu
57424 Caelumnoctu
57424 Caelumnoctu is a Main-belt asteroid discovered on September 16, 2001 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro, New Mexico....
(the number referring to the first broadcast date and the name being Latin for "The Sky at Night").
In February 2007, the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
issued a set of six astronomy stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the programme.
In the Guinness Book of World Records, Patrick Moore is listed as the most prolific presenter in the world, having hosted all but one episode of the Sky at Night since 1957.
DVD release
A DVD of the special commemorative Sky at Night film Apollo 11: A Night to Remember was released on 6 July 2009 to coincide with the 40th anniversary year of the first man on the moon.See also
- Jack Horkheimer: Star GazerJack Horkheimer: Star GazerStar Gazers is a five-minute astronomy show on public television previously hosted by Jack Foley Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium...
- StarDate (radio)StarDate (radio)StarDate is a science radio program of the University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory.The show began in 1976 as a astronomy telephone message service established by science journalist Deborah Byrd. This evolved at Austin radio station KLBJ-FM into the daily radio program Have You Seen the...
, a daily syndicated radio show highlighting upcoming celestial events