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The Sky at Night Season 34 Episodes
Season 34 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 1990 - 1990
Episode 1
Tales of the Unexpected
Astronomers, like other people, can be taken by surprise. Bright comets, new stars, outbreaks on planets, displays of aurora - none of these can be predicted; and in this programme Patrick Moore looks at some of these.
Episode 2
Window on the Universe
The NTT, or New Technology Telescope, at La Silla in the Atacama Desert of Chile has now come into full operation. It is the most accurate, most modern telescope in the world, as Patrick Moore finds when he visits La Silla.
Episode 3
Visitor from Space
Brilliant comets have been rare over recent years, but Austin's Comet, now brightening as it moves into the northern part of the sky, may become really spectacular. Patrick explains what, hopefully, is in store during the coming weeks.
Episode 4
The Lion and The Crab
Two of the zodiacal constellations - Leo (the lion) and Cancer (the crab) - are on view during evenings this month. Both contain interesting objects, including Praesepe or the 'beehive', one of the brightest of all star-clusters.
Episode 5
When is a Star Not a Star?
A Brown Dwarf is like a missing link - not quite a star and yet too big to be a planet. A team including Dr. Mike Hawkins of Edinburgh's Royal Observatory may have located the first definite Brown Dwarf.
Episode 6
Looking Back in Time
The William Herschel Telescope has been brought into use on La Palma in the Canary Islands. In this programme, Patrick Moore visits the observatory and talks to the astronomers who work there.
Episode 7
Our Daylight Star
The sun, our nearest star, is at the peak of its cycle of activity and there are many sunspots. These can be observed by amateurs, though great caution is needed. Patrick is joined by Bruce Hardie, director of the Solar Section of the BAA.
Episode 8
Mission to Titan
Titan is Saturn's largest moon. A new mission, Cassini, is to be launched to it in a few years' time. Patrick Moore is joined by Dr. John Zarnecki of the University of Kent to discuss Titan and the plans for landing there.
Episode 9
The Unveiling of Venus
Patrick Moore and Dr Peter Cattermole describe how radar-carrying spacecraft Magellan will map Venus, a planet Earth's size with a hot surface, choking atmosphere and acid clouds.
Episode 10
Europe in Space
Ahead of a Ulysses, a European probe to study the unknown poles of the Sun, Patrick Moore visits Noordwijk in the Netherlands to talk to scientists at the European Space Agency.
Episode 11
Armagh's Flare for Astronomy
Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland is 200 years old. Patrick Moore goes to Armagh on the occasion of the observatory's bicentenary and talks to the astronomers who are carrying out their researches there.
Episode 12
New Maps of the Universe
Galaxies are not distributed randomly in space. Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson of Queen Mary and Westfield College discusses developments in the study of the Great Wall and the Great Attractor with Patrick Moore.
Episode 13
Rosat: A Space Telescope
Very short wavelength radiation from space cannot reach the Earth due to the atmosphere, but they are of increasing importance to astronomers. ROSAT, a satellite designed for this research, is now sending back exciting information.
