The Sky at Night: Answers to Questions from Across the Universe PDF
Preview The Sky at Night: Answers to Questions from Across the Universe
Contents Cover About the Book About the Author Title Page Foreword Introduction Observing Naked-eye Observing Telescopes Astrophotography Light Pollution Radio Astronomy The Amateur Scientist Past and Future Skies The Moon Observations Orbit and Tides Eclipses Formation and Impacts Mysteries The Solar System Orbits and Rotations The Sun Planet Earth Mercury, Venus and Mars Jupiter Saturn The Outer Solar System Asteroids and Comets Magnetic Fields From Beginning to End Stars and Galaxies Distances Knowing Our Place Binary Stars and Star Clusters Birth, Life and Death Supernovae Galaxies Cosmology The Expansion of the Universe The Big Bang and the Early Universe Dark Matter and Dark Energy Origin of the Elements The End of It All The Multiverse and Extra Dimensions Other Worlds Other Planets Life Elsewhere Calling All Life Forms… Closer to Home Manned Space Exploration The Story So Far The View From Above The International Space Station Dangers of Space Travel The Foreseeable Future A Moon Base Living on Mars Worlds Apart The Distant Future Space Missions Space Navigation Rockets and Propulsion Systems Solar System Exploration The Bizarre and Unexplained Relativity and the Speed of Light Gravity Black Holes Unexplained Phenomena Patrick Moore and The Sky at Night Glossary References Picture Credits Index Acknowledgements Copyright About the Book Celebrating the 55th anniversary of The Sky at Night, this book collects questions sent in by viewers and fans, answered by Sir Patrick Moore and Sky at Night co-presenter Dr Chris North. With sections on the solar system, cosmology, the bizarre and unexplained, space missions, the Moon, and more, this is an exciting journey into space for the novice astronomer and the lifelong stargazer alike. Discover how scientists work out the gravity of planets, how we measure the distances to stars and how fast we’re moving through space. Find out what the ‘Great Attractor’ is, what makes planets spherical, and the basic principles of space navigation. Learn how to start observing the sky, what event inspired Patrick to take up astronomy, and just how many of his cats are named after celestial bodies. From comets to black holes, Orion to eclipses, and Mercury to meteors, The Sky at Night is the ultimate introduction to the wonders and mysteries of the Universe. About the Author Sir Patrick Moore, CBE, is a British amateur astronomer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter, and author of over 70 books on astronomy. He is a former president of the British Astronomical Association, and co-founder and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy. He is a specialist on observing the Moon, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and is one of Britain’s best-loved and most popular television personalities. Dr Chris North is an academic researcher at Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. His research primarily involves the design, build and operation of astronomical telescopes and instruments, though he also has a strong involvement in public outreach and education. He has worked on the Planck Satellite and the Herschel Space Observatory, and is one of the team behind Chromoscope, a popular online astronomy visualisation tool. Foreword The Sky at Night is the world’s longest-running programme with the same presenter. Every month, Sir Patrick Moore continues to extend this unique record, and I very much doubt he will ever be beaten by anyone else. The reason for The Sky at Night’s success is certainly Sir Patrick himself and the awesome subject that he so enthusiastically communicates. The first programme was aired on 24 April 1957 and helped usher in the space race. Since then every possible aspect of astronomy, from comets to quasars, has been covered. Sir Patrick’s good sense of humour helped him report on some unusual stories too, such as UFOs and little green men. Sir Patrick has always maintained that if an alien arrived in his garden, he would invite him into his study, sit him down and offer him a gin and tonic; a possibility I have never ruled out. For the past ten years, Sir Patrick has invited the BBC into his home to film The Sky at Night. Transforming his study into the programme set you see on TV every month is nerve-wracking. There are piles of precious documents and manuscripts, not forgetting the multitude of remote controllers and spectacles. It is organised chaos and, unfortunately, it is my job to see it is all put back in the ‘right’ place. Working on such a long-running programme, with such a rich heritage, has meant that milestones are being reached all the time. It seems only yesterday we celebrated fifty years of The Sky at Night with an edition titled ‘Time Lord’. We went back in time and visited the set of the first programme, where we met a young Patrick, played by the impressionist Jon Culshaw. We also went forward in time to join Brian May, the Queen guitarist and doctor of astronomy, in his Martian observatory on top of Olympus Mons, while fellow presenter and leading astronomer Chris Lintott played cricket in a spacesuit. As I remember it, Chris blamed the thin Martian atmosphere for affecting his spin. In 2011, The Sky at Night reached another landmark – its 700th programme. I have two memories from this unique show: Brian May and the Astronomer Royal Martin Rees passing each other behind the cameras, with the latter commenting he thought Brian looked just like Sir Isaac Newton; and Patrick reminiscing with ‘Patrick’ c.1982, aka Jon Culshaw. It was hard to know which Patrick to look at. Now we are celebrating the 55th anniversary of The Sky at Night, and my tenth year of making the programme. It’s been a pleasure, a privilege and an honour to work with such an exceptional presenter and on such a unique programme. I have many wonderful memories and look forward to gathering many more. Jane Fletcher Series Producer, The Sky at Night
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