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The Sky at Night Season 27 Episodes
Season 27 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 1983 - 1983
Episode 1
The Winter Sky
The winter stars are more brilliant than those of any other season. Patrick Moore talks about these stars and gives the latest news about developments at the new observatory in La Palma and about the approach of Halley's Comet.
Episode 2
A New Frontier
A week ago IRAS, the Infra-red Astronomical Satellite, was launched and is now orbiting the Earth. It will provide new information about objects ranging from super-giant stars, to the mysterious centre of our Galaxy.
Episode 3
Mauna Kea: Half Way to Space
Mauna Kea, in the Hawaiian Islands, is almost 14,000 feet high. At its summit the air is thin and the skies are clear - which is why some of the world's largest telescopes have been set up there. Patrick Moore pays it a visit.
Episode 4
The Quickest Pulsar
Patrick Moore talks about a strange pulsar to the Astronomer Royal, Professor Graham Smith.
Episode 5
Neutrino Hunting
A mile below the Black Hills of Dakota lies a huge tank of cleaning fluid deep inside a gold mine - the world's strangest observatory. It is designed to collect neutrinos sent out by the sun. But what do we really know about the sun?
Episode 6
Speckles of Light
The stars are many millions of miles away and appear only as specks of light. Until recently it had been impossible to see any details of the stars. But due to a new technique called 'speckle interferometry' new results can bee seen.
Episode 7
Pioneering the Heliosphere
Two rocket probes, Pioneers 10 and 11, are on their way out of the solar system. They are sending back new information about the heliosphere, that part of space in which the influence of the sun is dominant.
Episode 8
Illuminating Quasars
Patrick Moore talks to Dr John Beckman about quasars
Episode 9
Unlocking the Secrets of Vega
Vega has been known to astronomers for centuries. Astronomers thought they knew most things about this brilliant blue star. But Vega has been keeping a secret. It is surrounded by a planetary system in the early stages of development.
Episode 10
The Autumn Sky
Patrick Moore discusses phenomena such as the Ring Nebula that are visible in autumn night sky.
Episode 11
The Mount Wilson Observatory
In 1917 astronomy entered a new era. The 100-inch reflecting telescope on Mount Wilson in California was completed. It was far more powerful than any existing telescope, and soon led to the discovery that we live in an expanding universe.
Episode 12
Discoveries in Space
IRAS, the infra-red astronomical satellite, is proving to be one of the most successful of all space missions. Already it has carried out an all-sky survey in infra-red, discovering hundreds of thousands of new infra-red sources.
Episode 13
The Black Hole Weigh-In
Black holes are almost certainly the most bizarre objects known. They can't be seen but they betray their presence by their effects upon normal stars. For the first time, there has been an opportunity to weigh one of these strange objects.