The Sky at Night Season 35, Episode 12: Nothing But Blue Skies

1

Mars - the Red Planet

Looking like a bright red star, Mars can be seen clearly in the south-west sky after dark. It has been studied since prehistoric times and many people believed there was life on the planet, yet the Viking spacecraft in the 1970s could find no trace. Patrick Moore explores the myths and legends surrounding Mars and takes a voyage over its surface.

2

The Fastest Clocks in the Universe

Patrick Moore and Professor Andrew Lyne of Jodrell Bank investigate millisecond pulsars, the spinning remains of exploded stars.

3

Jupiter and Family

Patrick Moore explains the new insight into Jupiter provided by the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft.

4

Bombardment from Space

Cosmic rays are not rays at all, but high-speed particles from space which bombard the earth from all directions all the time. Patrick Moore is joined by one of the world's leading experts in this field: the Astronomer Royal, Professor Arnold Wolfendale.

5

Wanderers in Space

Patrick Moore talks to comet expert Dr Donald Yeomans.

6

Guarding Their Secrets

Dr Ian McHardy , of Southampton University, joins Patrick Moore to give the latest on BL Lacertae, the object found in the northern constellation of Lacerta, the Lizard.

7

Saturn the Ringed Planet

Patrick Moore explains what can be seen of Saturn, the ringed planet, now well in view during the hours of darkness, rather low in the southern sky. He also gives the latest results from the spacecraft which have studied Saturn from close range.

8

Soviet Space Astronomy

Patrick Moore visits Baikonur, the site from which all the important Soviet space missions have been launched and until recently out of bounds to westerners. He watches the launch of a probe to the orbiting space-station Mir and talks to leading Soviet astronomer Prof Alexander Boyarchuk.

9

The Pole Star

Polaris is probably the most famous star in the night sky and has been of tremendous value to navigators through the ages. Patrick Moore discusses not only its position but also its nature - pointing out that Polaris is far more luminous than the Sun, and so far away that we see it as it used to be at the time of the crusades.

10

Galaxy in Creation?

Astronomers have found what seems to be the most luminous object known in the universe. It is 16,000 million light years away and 300 million, million times brighter than the sun. With Patrick Moore.

11

Hubble Space Telescope

Although the Hubble Space Telescope is sometimes regarded as a failure, it is making significant discoveries. Patrick Moore finds out about the early results.

12

Nothing But Blue Skies

13

The Strangest Planet

Patrick Moore reports on the remarkable discovery of planet moving around a neutron star. He is joined by the astronomers Professor Andrew Lyne, Setnam Shemar and Matthew Bailes of Jodrell Bank.