BBC documentary television programme
The Sky at Night
is a
documentary
television programme
on
astronomy
produced by the
BBC
. The show had the same permanent presenter,
Sir Patrick Moore
, from its first monthly broadcast on 24 April 1957 until 7 January 2013. The latter date was a posthumous broadcast, following Moore's death
[1]
on 9 December 2012. This made it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.
[2]
Many early episodes are missing, either because the tapes were wiped or thrown out, or because the episode was broadcast live and never recorded in the first place.
[3]
The programme was shown monthly up until 2023.
Beginning with the 3 February 2013 edition, the show was co-presented by
Lucie Green
and
Chris Lintott
.
[4]
Since December 2013
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
has also been a presenter.
[5]
In April 2023 Dr George Dransfield joined the show as a presenter.
[6]
Pete Lawrence
has presented an observing section on the programme since 2004 as well as producing an online monthly star Guide on the BBC Sky at Night webpage.
[7]
The programme's opening and closing theme music is "At the Castle Gate", from the incidental music to
Pelleas et Melisande
, written in 1905 by
Jean Sibelius
, performed by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
and conducted by
Sir Thomas Beecham
.
Content
[
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]
The programme covers a wide range of general astronomical and space-related topics. Topics include
stellar life cycles
,
radio astronomy
, artificial
satellites
,
black holes
,
neutron stars
and many others. The programme also covers events happening in the night sky at the time of broadcast, such as a bright
comet
or a
meteor shower
, and recent developments in space and astronomy, such as the
Rosetta
space mission and
the detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere
.
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."
[8]
Presenters
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]
Notable guests
[
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]
Many of the world's leading astronomers have appeared on the show through the years, including
Harlow Shapley
(the first to measure the size of the
Milky Way galaxy
),
Fred Hoyle
,
Carl Sagan
,
[9]
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
,
Samuel Tolansky
,
Harold Spencer Jones
,
Martin Ryle
,
Richard Ellis
,
Carlos Frenk
and
Bart Bok
.
[10]
Other guests have included
Arthur C. Clarke
,
[3]
Astronomer Royal
Sir
Martin Rees
,
Arnold Wolfendale
,
Allan Chapman
,
Sir Bernard Lovell
,
Michael Bentine
,
Wernher von Braun
and
Open University
professors
John Zarnecki
,
Monica Grady
, Edwin Maher and
Colin Pillinger
[
citation needed
]
.
Many well-known astronauts have also appeared on the programme, such as
Piers Sellers
,
Eugene Cernan
,
Buzz Aldrin
and
Neil Armstrong
.
[11]
In July 2004, Moore was unable to make the broadcast owing to a severe bout of
salmonellosis
.
[12]
He was replaced for this one occasion by the cosmologist
Chris Lintott
of
Oxford University
, who had been co-presenting for several years. Moore returned for the August programme, this was the only occasion in the 55 years of Moore's tenure that he did not host the programme.
Brian May
, the
Queen
guitarist and
astrophysicist
, has been a guest on the show from time to time.
[13]
On 1 April 2007, Moore 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, Moore 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 Brian May.
Move to BBC Four
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]
In September 2013 the BBC announced that the programme's future after December 2013 was under review, prompting speculation that the corporation would end it, and a petition asking for the show to be retained.
[14]
On 29 October it was announced that the programme would continue, but would only be shown on
BBC Four
, ending a 54-year run on the BBC's flagship channel.
[15]
Commemorative honours
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The
International Astronomical Union
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the show by naming an 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.
[16]
In the
Guinness Book of World Records
, Patrick Moore is listed as the most prolific TV presenter in the world, having hosted all but one episode of the programme between 1957 and January 2013.
[17]
DVD release
[
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]
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 of the
first man on the Moon
.
See also
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- The Sky Above Us
, a television show on astronomy
- BBC Sky at Night
, a British monthly magazine named after the series
- SkyWeek
, an American television show highlighting upcoming celestial events
- Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer
, an American television programme about naked-eye astronomy
- StarDate
, an American daily syndicated radio show highlighting upcoming celestial events
References
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External links
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]