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The Sky at Night Season 25 Episodes
Season 25 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 1981 - 1981
Episode 1
The 200-inch Telescope at Mount Palomar
Patrick Moore visits Mount Palomar in Southern California to see the great 200-inch telescope, and talks to the scientists who use the largest working telescope in the world.
Episode 2
The Sword of Orion
Patrick Moore talks to three astronomers about their recent discoveries and he explains how light and dark nebulae are the same objects lit differently.
Episode 3
Mr Herschel's Planet
Patrick Moore tells the story of William Herschel, the obscure Hanoverian army bandsman whose discovery with a home-made telescope of the planet Uranus doubled the size of the known solar system.
Episode 4
The Spring Sky
What can be seen in the night sky this month? Patrick Moore describes the stars which are on view during April; he also shows the latest maps of Saturn's satellites drawn up from Voyager I pictures,
Episode 5
In the Beginning...
In the Canary Islands the new Northern Hemisphere Observatory is being built. This observatory, a joint international project, is designed to study galaxies so remote that their light takes thousands of millions of years to reach us.
Episode 6
Neptune: The Mysterious Giant
Patrick Moore and Dr. Garry Hunt discuss what is known about Neptune and what future researches may tell us when Voyager 2 passes this ' outermost giant' in 1989.
Episode 7
Bombardment from Space
What are the chances of the Earth being hit by an asteroid? Statistically the danger is slight, but by not nil. In America the NASA authorities have announced plans for destroying any approaching asteroid with a nuclear missile.
Episode 8
The Summer Sky: 1981
During summer evenings many interesting constellations are on view. Patrick Moore surveys the evening sky during the summer, and points out some double stars which may be seen with any small telescope.
Episode 9
The Perseids
Patrick Moore talks to John Mason , who led an expedition to France to study the Perseids, and also looks forward to the return of Halley's Comet, which also is associated with meteor showers.
Episode 10
A Second Opinion of Saturn
On 25 August the American spacecraft Voyager 2 made its pass of Saturn, and told us more about the unexpectedly complicated ring-system, the surface of the Planet, and the puzzling family of satellites.
Episode 11
A Tribute to Sir Bernard Lovell
Tribute to Sir Bernard Lovell, recently retired as Director of the Radio Astronomy Observatory, Jodrell Bank. In this programme he talks to Patrick Moore about the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank.
Episode 12
The Autumn Sky
Pegasus, the flying horse, is the main autumn constellation - but do you know where to find it? Can you see Mars now - and if so. where is it? Patrick Moore conducts a tour of the autumn sky.
Episode 13
The Star of Bethlehem
Patrick Moore explores various theories about what the Star of Bethlehem actually was. He considers suggestions such as nearby planets, comets and meteors.