0:00:00 > 0:00:04Did you know there is one place from which you can see, not only Mars and Venus,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06but all the other heavenly bodies?
0:00:06 > 0:00:09- And where is that, may I ask? - I'm delighted you asked me,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11because I'm going to show you!
0:00:11 > 0:00:13LAUGHTER
0:00:15 > 0:00:18# The stars at night are shining bright
0:00:18 > 0:00:21ERIC AND ERNIE: # Deep in the heart of Texas... #
0:00:21 > 0:00:24There's no-one else who has been Mr Astronomy
0:00:24 > 0:00:27throughout all these years except Mr Patrick Moore.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Sir Patrick Moore.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29# Tiptoe through the tulips
0:00:29 > 0:00:33# By the window that's where I will be
0:00:33 > 0:00:36# Tiptoe through the tulips with me... #
0:00:36 > 0:00:39He was a great conveyor of enthusiasm and enjoyment.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42# Tiptoe through the tulips
0:00:42 > 0:00:44# To the shadow of a willow tree... #
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It just happened to be that his subject was the stars.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50It could be that at somewhere in the universe,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52some being at this very moment
0:00:52 > 0:00:56is looking at a television screen and seeing...
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Well, good evening and welcome to The Sky At Night.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00LAUGHTER
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Now, pay attention because I've got my eye on you.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04He was a TV icon.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07You didn't watch The Sky At Night for the astronomy.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Of course you won't see Vega looking large,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- because no telescope yet built will show a star...- It's gone.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Is it gone? Oh, no.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Just as I got it on the cross wires, it blacked right out.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20How absolutely typical, there's nothing we can do about it.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Patrick was a great eccentric and he played on his eccentricity,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and it's why, I think, he became such a household name.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29We've really exciting news,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Halley's Comet has been sighted for the first time in over 70 years. Of course...
0:01:33 > 0:01:35People who had no interest in astronomy
0:01:35 > 0:01:39began to learn and become interested because of his own personality,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42they actually looked forward to seeing this crazy man on TV.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Good evening. Well, I'm afraid Burnham's Comet
0:01:45 > 0:01:47turned out to be something of a disappointment.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Quite a number of people wrote in to say they managed to see it all right,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54but it didn't really come up to expectations...
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Sir Patrick Moore was Britain's most famous astronomer,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00a much loved eccentric,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04he was a fixture on British television since 1957.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I can't, incidentally, resist quoting one letter.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Watched from 12 o'clock to 5 o'clock in the morning.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Meteors, from the sky, none.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15From the wife, plenty.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19He inspired generations of astronomers, and I was one of them.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22He was also a prolific author, an accomplished musician
0:02:22 > 0:02:25and a keen cricket player.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28- I was asked to hit for an 11. - An 11.- Yes.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30The wretched man hit the ball into the outfield,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33it went in a rabbit hole and the fielder forgot to call "lost ball"
0:02:33 > 0:02:35by the time it was found, they'd run 11.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41Born in 1923, Patrick became hooked on astronomy at the age of six.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45An only child, he was educated at home, due to a weak heart
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and when war broke out, he lied about his age, faked a medical
0:02:49 > 0:02:53and joined the RAF, serving with Bomber Command as a navigator.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57You were on active service in the war, weren't you?
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Well, I pottered about, not doing very much.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03I claim to be the only pupil navigator who pinpointed Bristol when he was actually over Norwich.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08War changed Patrick's life in several ways.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11His only girlfriend was killed in an air raid
0:03:11 > 0:03:13shortly after they were engaged.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14He never married.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18We were both happy. We had planned to have a son.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22It never got started at all. He would have been 60 now.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Yes. I'm a bachelor.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- That really is why you are a bachelor today?- Of course it is.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30These things happen, you've got to make the best of a bad job.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32She's not there, and that's it.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34He never really got over it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38He said that there was never another woman for him,
0:03:38 > 0:03:39but he never wanted
0:03:39 > 0:03:42another relationship with a woman like that.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45He said that was it, that was his one love and he didn't want another.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49After the war, Patrick turned down the state grant
0:03:49 > 0:03:52he needed to take up a place at Cambridge.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Whilst working as a teacher,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57he pursued astronomy in his spare time.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00You call yourself an amateur astronomer, I think a lot of people would say
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- that you're being unduly modest. - Not a bit of it.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05My only role in astronomy these days, if I've got one at all,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07is that I do a bit of observing here and there
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and I've written some stuff and all I can try and do, really,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15is to try and egg on those people who can do far better than I can.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Nonetheless, in 1953, he mapped the surface of the moon
0:04:19 > 0:04:23to produce the most comprehensive atlas of the time.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28It was Patrick's map which helped the Apollo astronauts
0:04:28 > 0:04:30to land on the moon.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34It was a guidance for the Russian space programme as well.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39And so this amateur project that had its origins
0:04:39 > 0:04:43in casual sketches of the moon then became this shot in the arsenal
0:04:43 > 0:04:47for NASA and the Russian space agency to do their things.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Patrick was very proud that the work that he did
0:04:49 > 0:04:52had this real fundamental importance in astronomy.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57In April 1957, Patrick was asked to front a new television series
0:04:57 > 0:05:02about astronomy, and The Sky At Night was born.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03Good evening.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06It was a great treat, because it was only on once a month.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Mercury and Venus and Mars are all so badly placed
0:05:10 > 0:05:13that, to all intents and purposes, they are out of view altogether.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Patrick had a liveliness that was not on a lot of television then.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Jupiter is making quite a brave show
0:05:19 > 0:05:22and you can see it in the southern part of the sky, late at night.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26You felt you were members of a sort of secret society, late at night
0:05:26 > 0:05:31and Patrick was the head boy, guiding us through everything.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34First of all, here is a globe to represent Uranus.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And here is a globe to represent the Earth on the same scale
0:05:37 > 0:05:40and you can see there's a very considerable difference.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I had a vivid picture of Patrick
0:05:42 > 0:05:44staring very intensely out from the screen
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and it was riveting. It was just absolutely riveting to say,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50"This is what you can see and if you go out there
0:05:50 > 0:05:51"you can see this in the sky."
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Saturn never has been shown on direct television before
0:05:54 > 0:05:56and it's a difficult object. Please don't imagine
0:05:56 > 0:05:59you're going to get as large and as detailed a picture
0:05:59 > 0:06:02as that very fine drawing that appeared in the Radio Times.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Because that was a drawing
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and it's a very different matter from getting a picture on screen.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10There it is. Yes, and there is Saturn
0:06:10 > 0:06:12for the first time on direct television. You can see...
0:06:12 > 0:06:15I was fascinated by astronomy as a kid
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and I think really it came from seeing Patrick on The Sky At Night.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21It awakened in me this absolute joy
0:06:21 > 0:06:23of looking up into the night sky, which I still have,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27I still have this childish awe looking at the stars
0:06:27 > 0:06:30and I actually decided that rather than be a train driver,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I would be an astronomer.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37That's really what I wanted to do, most in the world, alongside music.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41The Sky At Night started broadcasting
0:06:41 > 0:06:43at the dawn of the space age.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47For those like myself who were children in the 1950s,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49space travel was something futuristic,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52which really belonged on a cornflakes packet
0:06:52 > 0:06:53rather than anywhere else.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Of course, it was the Sputnik in 1957 which make this a reality,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02followed quickly by sending up the first people into space.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05You know, if I'd come on the air in 1957
0:07:05 > 0:07:07when we did the first of The Sky At Night programmes
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and said that within five years I'd be showing you pictures
0:07:10 > 0:07:14of the first man to go around the Earth in orbit in a spaceship...
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Well, I think you'd have regarded me as mad.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19He perhaps was born at the best time possible,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21because he saw incredible development
0:07:21 > 0:07:24throughout the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27'It's a very exciting place to live or work.'
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- Well, Patrick Moore, what did you think of that?- Quite incredible.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34One thing you've got to bear in mind, they were magnificent pictures,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I'm not going to say they show us more detail than the orbiters, but they probably do.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40This has been a fantastic few decades in astronomy,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44and Patrick had the joy to be able to report on it all.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48'We have lift-off. 32 minutes past the hour.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'Lift-off of Apollo 11.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:52The moon landing was such a huge thing for Patrick,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55because there's his moon that he's been studying in his telescope,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58suddenly there are people walking on it.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'We are setting down, Eagle.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03'The Eagle has landed.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06'Roger, Tranquillity. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08'We're breathing again. Thanks.'
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Well, this is the moment, if there ever was a moment,
0:08:12 > 0:08:13for Patrick Moore.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I feel absolutely overcome, I've lived with this idea all my life,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20now that it's really happened, I can hardly believe it.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23No admiration can be too great for those magnificent men
0:08:23 > 0:08:26who brought this strange, spidery module down on the moon.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29This obviously is a moment that humanity is never going to forget.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32That's one small step for man...
0:08:35 > 0:08:38..one giant leap for mankind.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43I think he was rather sad, as we all were, when the moon landings finished,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47but I remember a marvellous Sky At Night programme he did,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50with the last man on the moon, Gene Cernan,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52commander of Apollo 17,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and you really got a feel for what it was like to be there.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59What about navigational problems, did you have any?
0:08:59 > 0:09:04We studied, due to a great deal of your work, of course,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06on the mapping of the moon,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10we studied the area we were going to land so well,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15that I really believe I knew it at least from the air, from above,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17as well as I know my own backyard.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20- ASTRONAUTS:- # I was strolling on the moon one day
0:09:20 > 0:09:24# In the merry, merry month of December... #
0:09:24 > 0:09:25No, May.
0:09:25 > 0:09:31Oh, what a nice day. There's not a cloud in the sky.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35I think Patrick's enthusiasm and his passionate account
0:09:35 > 0:09:40of what was happening on the moon added a lot to our perception.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43He was able to interpret that for us and make it seem real,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46make it something we could understand.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48The way he came over, as this great enthusiast,
0:09:48 > 0:09:53this fast-talking, this person who was bubbling for the subject,
0:09:53 > 0:09:54was just the same as he was in real life.
0:09:54 > 0:10:00He always saw it as his role to be, if you like, the Mr Astronomy,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04the man who would try and encourage new generations of people
0:10:04 > 0:10:07to take up an interest in his subject.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11He had this instinct, this sense, to pick up young people,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and I was one of them,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17and to get them into astronomy, to realise their enthusiasm
0:10:17 > 0:10:18and he'd sort of nurture us.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Back in the 1960s when I was about to go into a career,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24I couldn't work out what to do.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I was a keen young, amateur astronomer when I was about 10,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30but I'd given it all up for rock bands and boys
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and the usual kind of stuff you get into.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Let me ask you one direct question.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Do you think there really is a black hole in the middle of the galaxy?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40I won't be positive, but I do think it's the one object,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42which at the moment fits all the observations.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Well, you could be right. Let's go and look.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- I'm game if you are.- Right.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48My mother actually said to me,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51"Why don't you become a professional astronomer?"
0:10:51 > 0:10:52and I said, "I haven't a clue what to do."
0:10:52 > 0:10:55She said, "Why don't you write to Patrick Moore?
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Well, we told you it was like science fiction! Good night!
0:10:59 > 0:11:01And I wrote to him and I said,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04"I was thinking of going into professional astronomy..."
0:11:04 > 0:11:06and put a PS at the end, "I'm a girl.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10"Is this a handicap?" Couldn't believe he replied to me.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12It says, "From Patrick Moore.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15"Dear Ms Couper, many thanks for your letter.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18"Let me assure you on one point.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21"Being a girl is no handicap at all!"
0:11:21 > 0:11:27I just thought that generosity of spirit was fantastic.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32It really urged me on to try for a career in astronomy.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34"Does this help? Let me know.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38"I will do everything I can to be of assistance.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43"With all best wishes, yours sincerely, Patrick Moore." Amazing.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Patrick responded to thousands of letters
0:11:46 > 0:11:48on an old-fashioned typewriter,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51which he refused to swap for a computer.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Most of the keys didn't work,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56it drove many publishers completely berserk.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58You would hear the typewriter going
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and probably six times out of ten he was answering letters,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05often from small boys or girls
0:12:05 > 0:12:07who were interested in astronomy and he replied to them all.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It was almost sacrosanct. It was something he consistently did
0:12:10 > 0:12:13right up to the time when he could hardly type.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19When I was a schoolboy, I joined a local astronomical society
0:12:19 > 0:12:21and Patrick made monthly visits to the society.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24I was from a working-class neighbourhood
0:12:24 > 0:12:29and to be able to see through the chink in the curtain
0:12:29 > 0:12:34to life beyond, that was something which I valued enormously.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Patrick, right up to his final years,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42was enthusing young people.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48He never married, of course. In many ways, we were all his family.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52We'd phoned him up and said, "We're a couple of boys at the local school
0:12:52 > 0:12:55"interested in astronomy, could we look through your telescope?"
0:12:55 > 0:12:58He said, "Please come down next clear night!"
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I was a very short lad and couldn't reach the eyepiece
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and Patrick lifted me up to the telescope
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and the first thing I looked at through the telescope
0:13:06 > 0:13:10was the planet Saturn, and it was just so beautiful.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13I was utterly transfixed.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14I'm walking along the rim
0:13:14 > 0:13:17of one of the most remarkable places in the entire world.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22This is Meteor Crater in Arizona, a huge gaping hole in the ground,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26over 4,000 feet across. Just look at it!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29The Sky At Night was commissioned for only three programs,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32but under Patrick it went on to become
0:13:32 > 0:13:35the world's longest-running TV series with the same presenter.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37The reason why people watch your programme
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- is as much for you.- No. - Oh, it is, Patrick.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42It's your performance. Am I not right?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Is not the performance as much as what he says?- AUDIENCE: Yes.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47People are fascinated by the way that you tell them things.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- Now, you can't deny that. You're being modest.- No, I'm not.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54It so happened that when astronomy, when I say metaphorically down-to-earth,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58and this was really in 1957, when the space age started,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I was the person who was doing it, so, there I've stayed,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03but astronomy is fascinating and if someone else was around at the time,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06they'd be on air and be sitting talking to you, not me.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09This month's Sky At Night is about the distances of the stars.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16He did fill the screen and he spoke machine-gun rapid,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19but articulate and entertaining.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Will you please close one eye, doesn't matter which one
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and then hold up your finger and line your finger up
0:14:27 > 0:14:31with my nose as you see it on the television screen, got that?
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Now, without moving anything, use the other eye
0:14:35 > 0:14:39and you will see that your finger is no longer lined up with my nose.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42If you keep everything quite still and flick your eyes around like that,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45you will see your finger apparently flashing to and fro.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49It was the sheer quirkiness of Patrick
0:14:49 > 0:14:52that really invited people to want to watch him.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55The tides as you know are influenced by the sun and the moon
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and when they pull together, as they are doing at the present moment,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01the pull is added, you see, and we get high tide.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Granted that forces are enormous, just how big are they?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07It's absolutely tremendous. There's no doubt at all.
0:15:07 > 0:15:13Also the tides are the biggest natural force in the entire world.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16As a communicator, he was the supreme professional
0:15:16 > 0:15:20in that you could stand him up in front of a camera,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23ask him to talk without hesitation, deviation or repetition
0:15:23 > 0:15:25for two and a half minutes about some subject,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28he could do this perfectly. Convey a lot of information,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31he could do it even if it was some new discovery
0:15:31 > 0:15:32he'd only heard about a few hours ago.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35He was approached one morning by CNN
0:15:35 > 0:15:38to do a broadcast for them and they said,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40"The person we were due to interview has dropped out.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42"Would you mind doing an interview for us?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44He said, "Not at all, not at all."
0:15:44 > 0:15:47They said, "How long will it take you to write the script?"
0:15:47 > 0:15:50He said, "Script? I don't work from a script!
0:15:50 > 0:15:53But there is one world apart from the Earth...
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Patrick was a perfectionist,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57but the downside of that was if it all went wrong,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00he got terribly frustrated and started making...
0:16:00 > 0:16:03using somewhat loose language, shall we say,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05which had to be edited out of the recordings.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Look at all that volcastic... Oh!
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Sorry!
0:16:15 > 0:16:16Blast and hell!
0:16:16 > 0:16:18When you watch yourself on television,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21one always sees one's own faults very clearly.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I do. I talk far too fast, I have to, to get things in,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I realise this perfectly well, but it's no good trying to slow down,
0:16:27 > 0:16:28It's just me.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30A lot of people have been writing to The Sky At Night,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33asking questions about astronomy and it's a fascinating subject.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35LAUGHTER
0:16:35 > 0:16:38People want to know why don't we put The Sky At Night on earlier
0:16:38 > 0:16:42in the summertime for children, we would put it on earlier,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45but we have to wait until it goes dark before we do the damn thing at all!
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Patrick's character and style lent itself to impersonation.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53Welcome to The Sky At Night.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I'm a very bad impression of Patrick Moore.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59He was often being copied by many impressionists and comedians,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02but I think it was the impersonation that Ronnie Barker did of him
0:17:02 > 0:17:06that was the one he loved, he really found that so funny.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Patrick was always laughing about the orrery,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17which they gave to The Two Ronnies to do the sketch.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20They apparently broke while doing the programmes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22I'm sorry to have to inflict myself on you like this,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26but Patrick couldn't be here, so he asked me to step into his shoes.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Why not, he's always wearing my suits!
0:17:29 > 0:17:32So, here I am, and he asked me to apologise to you for not being here,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35but he had to show his telescope to the local townswomen's guild.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38If they like it, they're going to knit him a cover for it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I think that you can both be prepared to sit up
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and gasp in amazement, because I happen to own
0:17:48 > 0:17:52the ultimate in telescopes, perfected after years of research.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54- Can we see it, please? - Of course you can.- Yes.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57LAUGHTER
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- If you just cast your eyes over that.- The ultimate in telescopes?
0:18:01 > 0:18:05- Oh, yes.- It's a very fine piece of equipment.- Of course it is!
0:18:05 > 0:18:07I'll tell you something, on a clear night,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09I can see the bottom of the bed!
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Many people, Patrick, might label you as being an eccentric,
0:18:13 > 0:18:14would you object to that?
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Not in the slightest, I'm sure it's perfectly true.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23- Is it a condition that you approve of?- Yes, I think it probably is.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25It's awfully difficult to tell, you know,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27does one nut think another nut is a nut or not?
0:18:27 > 0:18:29It's an interesting psychological point.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Something there for psychiatrists to work out, and no-one's nuttier than they are.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35The eccentricity was something that he played on,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39but I think also it made him a very lovable character.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Although having the monocle was something he had obviously
0:18:42 > 0:18:47ever since he was a boy, it added to the air of interest about him.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51What about the real eccentrics? Flat-Earthers, and people like that.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52How do you feel about them?
0:18:52 > 0:18:55I have the very greatest sympathy for them. Don't forget,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58many, many years ago, there was a man named Copernicus
0:18:58 > 0:19:02and Copernicus said the sun does not go round the Earth,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05the Earth goes round the sun, and everyone said he was a crank.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09But of course, the Earth does go round the sun, at least I think it does.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11MAN SPEAKS VENUSIAN
0:19:11 > 0:19:13What does that mean, actually?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16That means, "How are all you?
0:19:16 > 0:19:19"I am very pleased to see you this afternoon."
0:19:19 > 0:19:21How did you learn these languages?
0:19:21 > 0:19:27These languages have been a gift sent from me from the actual people.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Patrick's talking to this man who was speaking Venusian to him
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and Patrick is apparently taking it very seriously
0:19:33 > 0:19:37and he's being very polite, but Patrick was always very dismissive
0:19:37 > 0:19:39of anything which isn't pure science.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43..one of these small steroids chased us through the copse.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45And we tried in turn to chase it,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and it just went along there at a terrific pace.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50It was no bigger than a soup plate.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- It must've been a robot eye. - Yes, yes.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Or a beacon which was sent down from the craft.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I may well be missing something, I wonder.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08As well as astronomy, Patrick's other great passion was music.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Patrick was a good musician. You can see in his xylophone playing,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16he's no fool, piano playing as well.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20We're talking about a man who could have made that his profession if he wanted to.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24But his passion for astronomy overtook everything else.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34We talked about music quite a bit, we had some musical evenings
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and I always gave him our albums when they came out
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and he would always say, "Well, it's not my cup of tea,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43"but I absolutely appreciate it," you know,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48but for choice he'd be listening to his own operas and classical pieces.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Although he continued broadcasting, in his late 70s,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57arthritis forced Patrick to give up the things that he loved,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00playing music and using his telescopes.
0:21:01 > 0:21:07Patrick had this incredible fast mind that was racing
0:21:07 > 0:21:10and yet the body was slowly deteriorating
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and it was so sad for those of us who knew him well,
0:21:13 > 0:21:18to see this person who was so full of excitement and vigour still
0:21:18 > 0:21:21in a body that was just decaying around him.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24As he got older, he could find humour even when he was poorly.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27You've seen Halley's Comet both times, haven't you?
0:21:28 > 0:21:32When he was on Have I Got News For You, he thought it was amusing
0:21:32 > 0:21:34to be the butt of a bit of humour.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:21:43 > 0:21:45HE MUTTERS
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- So, where are we?- There's the sun.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54What's happened to Uranus?
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Patrick's always seeing the joke before they do,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59effectively sort of caricaturing himself.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Do you still need therapy?
0:22:01 > 0:22:04He even did for me, he did adverts for the air guitar collections
0:22:04 > 0:22:07which I do, where he actually plays air guitar and gets into it
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and does this, you know.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- No strings attached. - I think it's a really great quality.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Patrick was awarded an OBE in 1968,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18a CBE in 1998
0:22:18 > 0:22:20and 2001, he was knighted
0:22:20 > 0:22:23for services to science and broadcasting.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26When he got the letter from the palace,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29he was just so thrilled and then, of course, to get the BAFTA award
0:22:29 > 0:22:33as well in the same year and presented by Buzz Aldrin,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37the second man on the moon, this was such a thrill for Patrick.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44Not only has this man met every single lunar astronaut,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46he will modestly tell you that he's also
0:22:46 > 0:22:50met both the first man in space
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and the first man to fly an aeroplane.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I'm pleased to say that this special award
0:22:56 > 0:23:01is being presented to my good friend, Sir Patrick Moore.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03APPLAUSE
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Thank you so much.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13APPLAUSE
0:23:13 > 0:23:17I must say, I feel really overwhelmed.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22There are so many people here who have done so much more than I have.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25After all, I have merely done some commenting,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I did help, I suppose, in mapping the moon,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31but I have a sort of feeling that Buzz knows
0:23:31 > 0:23:33a bit more about the moon than I do.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37All I can say is, I don't think for one moment
0:23:37 > 0:23:40that I deserve this award, but I am more than grateful.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44All I can say, therefore, is, thank you very much indeed.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47It has been one of the great days of my life.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48Thank you.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51APPLAUSE
0:23:51 > 0:23:52Although a much-loved figure,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Patrick was not afraid of controversy.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57He was drawn to politics, but never stood for Parliament,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00stating he would make a poor candidate
0:24:00 > 0:24:03because he always said exactly what he thought.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06He was incredibly patriotic.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I am sorry to say that he was also slightly...
0:24:08 > 0:24:11antiforeigner in some of the things he said.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14But he was always somebody who was very passionately doing
0:24:14 > 0:24:15whatever he was doing.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Patrick wanted to see three things during his life.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21The flaming thing's stuck.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Each a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Halley's Comet,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29the transit of Venus across the sun
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and a total solar eclipse from Britain.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Patrick had seen eclipses from all over the world,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40from Yugoslavia and Siberia in the '60s
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and at sea, off the coast of Africa in 1973.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48One trouble is the fact that the boat will be swaying around.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50How will you cope with that?
0:24:50 > 0:24:55We made a home-made device from wood, which is based on pivots,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57so it will move in both directions.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00It looked as if you were balancing the camera on your teeth.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02No, strictly speaking, it was on my nose,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04quite hard on my nose, like this.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08As the time drew near, the light began to go down very rapidly.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13Within a few seconds, the whole ship was plunged into darkness.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17And there's the corona, and there's a brilliant prominence to the side of the sun.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19This is incredible, the best corona I think I've seen in my life.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Well, that was a breathtaking sight.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29In 1927, before the age of television,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32England saw its last total solar eclipse
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and now, we can bring you
0:25:34 > 0:25:37our first total solar eclipse from British soil.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41The day before the eclipse, it was a beautiful sunny day
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and we had this wonderful programme set up
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and then the day of the eclipse, we awoke.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49The weather was awful.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Patrick was pounding around like a bull with a sore head.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57His producers tried to persuade him to see the eclipse from somewhere
0:25:57 > 0:25:59where he would definitely see it, like Turkey or wherever it would be,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but he wanted to see it from England, his own country.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I must admit, I'm excited,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07because I've been looking forward to this eclipse
0:26:07 > 0:26:09for the last 70 years.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13All we need now, is for these wretched clouds to clear away
0:26:13 > 0:26:14and give us a nice clear sky.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Luckily, the BBC had seen fit
0:26:17 > 0:26:20to have an aircraft getting pictures from space.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25On the whole, at the moment, I fear it's a really rather gloomy scene,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28but don't give up yet, one never knows, it could still clear,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31and there's a slight lightening of the sky over there.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And there is the crescent sun
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and we've just had our first glimpse of the eclipse
0:26:36 > 0:26:38and the cloud is there, it's drifting,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42and not very long to go now. Oh, clouds, keep away please!
0:26:43 > 0:26:47And then there's the diamond ring and there, the lovely corona.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50CHEERING
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And that is the sight of a lifetime, and down here, sadly,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59we are still under total cloud and we're missing it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03That was so sad for Patrick,
0:27:03 > 0:27:04but it was an awful lot of fun to do,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07because he kind of could see the funny side,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10even though he was bitterly disappointed.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11At least we have been through
0:27:11 > 0:27:14the last English total solar eclipse of the millennium.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Here in my observatory in Sussex, the weather is absolutely perfect...
0:27:21 > 0:27:23One of the rarest events in the solar system
0:27:23 > 0:27:26is the transit of Venus across the sun.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Now, we know the transit is about to start.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30Nobody has ever seen one before,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33because there hasn't been one in any of our lifetimes,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36so it really was something rather exciting.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39There's Venus, just first contact,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41and there's no mistaking it now.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43This really is a one-off.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46It will always be one of my greatest memories of Patrick.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- There, is that the backdrop there?- That's it.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52It was a perfect day, beautiful blue sky.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54As soon as the transit was over, it clouded over,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58so we had a gift from God, really, that day.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01And so, from Brighton
0:28:01 > 0:28:04where the sky is now completely overcast, good night.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Patrick lives on in the minds and the memories
0:28:06 > 0:28:09of the people that he affected.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13Patrick's legacy is that he changed a lot of people's lives.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16And so it's glad to know, that Halley is on its way back,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19the wanderer has returned at last, good night.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Possibly the most generous man I've ever met in my life.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26I'll miss Patrick as a friend,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31such a kind and beneficent friend,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33and an inspiration.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36What about the 80th anniversary of The Sky At Night programme?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Will my successor be able to talk to you
0:28:38 > 0:28:41from a space station or the surface of the moon?
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Quite possibly.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45And of one thing we can be quite certain - whatever happens,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49it's going to be exciting. Good night.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.