The Sky at Night

Episode 1

The Winter Sky

Patrick Moore talks about lunar eclipses, looking in particular at the eclipse of 6 January 1982, and describes features in the January night sky.

Episode 2

The Changing Face of Venus

Patrick Moore discusses how astronomers' knowledge of Venus had changed and developed following a series of new discoveries by various different space probes.

Episode 3

The Largest Star?

There is an star, Epsilon Aurigae. We know it is made up of two stars, but we can only see one directly. The companion is invisible, but can be detected by infra-red. It may be the largest star known to science or possibly, a black hole.

Episode 4

When Planets Loop the Loop

During evenings in April three bright planets - Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - are very conspicuous, with Venus still prominent in the east before dawn. Patrick Moore explains how these planets move, sometimes apparently 'looping the loop'.

Episode 5

The Unfolding Universe

Specially extended edition reporting from observatories around the world to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series.

Episode 6

The Depths of Space

Astronomers in Australia have just discovered an object which may be the most remote and luminous known. Its a quasar, about 13 billion light years from us. Yet some astronomers believe that there have been serious errors in interpretation

Episode 7

La Palma: A New Observatory

La Palma, in the Canary Isles, is a picturesque place. It is also ideal as a site for large telescopes, and it is here that a major observatory is being established. Patrick Moore reports from La Palma giving the latest news of the site.

Episode 8

The Hunt for the Tenth Planet

Is there a new planet in the solar system? Many astronomers believe that there is a massive body beyond Neptune, the outermost of the main planets now known: it could be a planet, but it might also be a dark star or a black hole.

Episode 9

Siding Spring

Siding Spring Mountain in New South Wales is the site of one of the world's most sophisticated observatories. All the southern sky is available for study, and the AAT, or Anglo-Australian Telescope, has been used to make major discoveries.

Episode 10

The Mystery of the Spiral Arm

Patrick Moore and Dr John Beckman of Queen Mary College talk about the mysteries of spiral galaxies, and how the massive, powerful stars inside the arms affect the whole course of the history of our own galaxy and other systems.

Episode 11

The Return of Halley's Comet

Episode 12

The Cosmic Serpent

Can comets have collided with the earth? According to a new theory by Dr. Clube and Dr. Napier from the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, collisions can happen, and it was one such event which wiped out the dinosaurs over 60 million years ago.

Episode 13

The Last Man on the Moon: 1982

Less than four years after Neil Armstrong made his 'one small step ...', Commander Eugene Cernan became the last man on the moon. Now, ten years later, Eugene Cernan relives his experiences of that epic 13-day trip, and talks to Patrick.