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The Sky at Night Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
12 Episodes 1960 - 1960
Episode 1
The Great Spiral
Patrick Moore talks about the Andromeda nebula, the most distant object in the heavens it is possible to see with the naked eye, and compares it with what is known of our own galaxy.
Episode 3
Why Stars Twinkle
Patrick Moore explains how the atmosphere interferes with the astronomer's work. He discusses with Dr. Hugh Butler of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, how a satellite could be an astronomical observatory.
Episode 4
Visitor from Space
A new comet, Burnham's, is moving steadily closer to earth and be clearly seen in late April. It will then be in the Northern sky not far from the Pole Star. Patrick talks about this and other comets-where they come from and how they move.
Episode 5
Uranus
Patrick Moore talks about the remote and slow-moving planet which was discovered in 1781. Uranus is sixty-four times as large as the earth, and has 65,000 days in its year, which is eighty-four times as long as ours.
Episode 6
Star Clouds of Sagittarius
Patrick Moore talks about the centre of our galaxy, which is so obscured by clouds of dust, gas, and interstellar haze that only radio waves come through with evidence of what lies beyond.
Episode 7
Other Moons
Patrick Moore talks about the moons of other planets in the solar system. Some planets have more than one moon and they range in size from tiny globes, twelve miles across, to giants twice as heavy as the Moon.
Episode 8
Celestial Fireworks
August is one of the best times of the year to observe shooting stars. Patrick Moore talks about meteors and meteorites, and what we know about these sudden arrivals from outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Episode 9
Measuring the Universe
Patrick talks to Sir Harold Spencer Jones F.R.S. about measuring distances which are literally astronomical. The greatest distance ever measured is that of a recently discovered galaxy whose light takes 5 billion years to reach the earth.
Episode 10
Moonscape
Patrick Moore reviews the historic Soviet mission to launch a manned rocket into space.
Episode 11
Make-up of the Stars
Patrick Moore describes how the modern spectroscope has enabled astronomers to find out what different stars are made of and how bright they actually are.
Episode 12
Astronomy in Russia
Patrick Moore talks about his recent visit to Russia and some of the principal observatories there.
Episode 13
Tektites
These are strange glassy objects of unknown origin which are found on the surface of certain parts of the world. Patrick discusses with Dr. M. H. Hey, the theory, that Tektites may have originated in the moon and travelled to the earth.