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The Sky at Night Season 63 Episodes
Season 63 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 2019 - 2019
Episode 1
Beyond Pluto
30 mins
Nasa's New Horizons probe notches up another historic first - the first ever Kuiper belt fly-by and an encounter with a chunk of rock and ice four billion miles from Earth.
Episode 2
Cosmology in Crisis?
30 mins
We know that distant galaxies are racing away from us. But just how fast is the Universe expanding? Scientists are yet to agree on an answer.
Episode 3
Guides: Comets & Asteroids
58 mins
Comets and asteroids are the building blocks of the planets, relics from the early days of the solar system. They have been witnessed in our skies for millennia - tantalising, yet too small and too distant to study. However, over the course of the past 60 years, developments in astronomy and space exploration have allowed scientists to now see these tiny, mysterious worlds up close - and the Sky at Night has been there every step of the way. Using the Sky at Night archives, Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes us on a journey in pursuit of comets and asteroids - from ancient history to the cutting edge of modern astronomy, from tales of omens seen in our skies to exhilarating space missions straight out of science fiction. Unlike planets and moons, we only get fleeting glimpses of comets and asteroids, and it's this rarity that makes these visitors so special. Who knows what the next one will bring us?
Episode 4
Marsquake!
30 mins
Insight - NASA's latest mission to Mars - goes in search of the secrets below its surface to reveal how the planet was formed and why it is so different from the Earth.
Episode 5
Supermassive Black Hole
30 mins
A behind-the-scenes encounter with the scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope, which captured the first-ever picture of a super-massive black hole.
Episode 6
Return to the Moon
30 mins
In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first astronaut to set foot on the moon. Fifty years on, are we on the verge of a new golden age in lunar exploration?
Episode 7
The Moon, the Mission and the BBC
30 mins
A look back through the archives showing how, with special assistance from Nasa, the BBC reported the Apollo 11 mission, the first lunar expedition to put a man on the moon.
Episode 8
Space Mission Special
29 mins
What are the criteria for deciding which missions make it into space? The Sky at Night meets the British teams vying to have their ideas selected for the European Space Agency's next F-class mission.
Episode 9
Alien Worlds
30 mins
Astronomers have found more than 4,000 planets circling stars other than our own. What do we know about these alien worlds and how have we managed to detect them?
Episode 10
Question Time
30 mins
A one-hour special in which The Sky at Night team face a live studio audience to answer their questions about the mysteries and wonders of the universe.
Episode 11
Rosetta: the Comet's Tale
29 mins
The Rosetta mission to comet 67P was the first time a spacecraft landed on a comet's surface. What has this icy body taught us about the dawn of the solar system and the origins of life on earth?
Episode 12
Review of the Year
30 mins
Looking back on the major stories of 2019, from the New Horizons mission to the most distant world to the release of the first-ever picture of a black hole. The team relive the highlights and uncover the latest developments.
Episode 13
Guides: Stars
30 mins
Chris Lintott opens up The Sky at Night's 60-year archive to reveal how stars work, their life cycles and how their own demise holds the key to our very existence.
