The Sky at Night

[Chris Gilbert]

A friend and I were talking about The Sky at Night and realised its been on air for 50 years in April 2007.

As it first went out in April 1957 we doubt the first episode exists, maybe it went out live and was never recorded?

Does anyone know the state of the programme in the BBC archives?

Whats the earliest to still exist?

How many exist?

I imagine its probably like Top of the Pops, only a handful from the sixties but all held since 1978 e.t.c.

[Greg H]

Yeah, actually I would be very interested to hear more about this. Good old Patrick Moore is a British institution, it would be nice to see what still exists.

[Andrew Martin]

I'm sure there was a thread about this not too long ago (or was it on another site?).

INFAX Title List
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THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 17/09/58
THE SKY AT NIGHT:URANUS........................ 11/05/60
THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 27/09/60
THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 24/04/61
THE SKY AT NIGHT:50TH PROGRAMME................ 21/08/61
THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 22/11/61
THE SKY AT NIGHT:KEEPING SPACE CLEAN........... 10/09/62
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ECLIPSE OF THE SUN............ 21/07/63
THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 13/08/63
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE MOON...................... 05/06/64
THE SKY AT NIGHT:COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER .... 23/07/65
THE SKY AT NIGHT............................... 08/08/66
THE SKY AT NIGHT:TEN YEARS OF ASTRONOMY........ 28/04/67
THE SKY AT NIGHT:LORD ROSSE'S GREAT TELESCOPE.. 21/07/67
THE SKY AT NIGHT:CAMERAS ROUND THE MOON........ 12/10/67
THE SKY AT NIGHT:VENUS OBSERVED................ 10/11/67
THE SKY AT NIGHT:METEORS....................... 07/12/67
THE SKY AT NIGHT:FLIGHTS OF SPACE FANCY........ 26/04/68
THE SKY AT NIGHT:PULSARS....................... 19/07/68
THE SKY AT NIGHT:SIBERIAN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN... 09/09/68
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ECLIPSE....................... 07/10/68
THE SKY AT NIGHT:VENUS:THE HOT PLANET.......... 02/12/68
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE MOON...................... 27/01/69
THE SKY AT NIGHT:WHEN VENUS CROSSES THE SUN.... 16/06/69
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE SKY AT NIGHT SPECIAL: .... 03/08/69
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MOONQUAKES.................... 18/08/69
THE SKY AT NIGHT:RELATIVITY.................... 09/09/69
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MOON ROCK..................... 12/01/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ORION......................... 27/01/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:TOTAL ECLIPSE IN MEXICO....... 07/03/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:WHEN MERCURY CROSSES THE SUN.. 28/04/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:BACK GARDEN OBSERVATORY....... 26/05/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:STEERING BY THE STARS......... 16/06/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ASTRONOMERS IN THE SPACE AGE.. 25/08/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ROCKETS TO THE PLANETS........ 14/10/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:INFRA RED ASTRONOMY........... 18/11/70
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE APPROACH OF MARS.......... 13/01/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:RUSSIAN PROBES................ 03/02/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ORBITING SPACE-STATIONS....... 08/06/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:TRACING THE STARS............. 30/06/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:HOW FAR ARE THE STARS?........ 21/07/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MARS COMES CLOSE.............. 18/08/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:TARGET MARS................... 17/11/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:A TELESCOPE COMES HOME........ 08/12/71
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MARS-A DYNAMIC WORLD.......... 01/03/72
THE SKY AT NIGHT:FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY......... 12/04/72
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MIDSUMMER AND MEGALITHS....... 21/06/72
THE SKY AT NIGHT:TYCHO'S STAR.................. 04/12/72
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE ECLIPSE OF THE CENTURY.... 02/04/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE AFRICAN ECLIPSE........... 11/07/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:NAVIGATIONAL ASTRONOMY........ 01/08/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:VENUS:A CRATERED WORLD........ 29/08/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:MOON ILLUSION................. 18/09/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE VOLCANOES OF MARS......... 17/10/73
THE SKY AT NIGHT:LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE.......... 15/05/74
THE SKY AT NIGHT:LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE........ 02/10/74
THE SKY AT NIGHT:EROS-WANDERER IN SPACE........ 26/11/74
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE YEAR OF THE PLANETS....... 18/12/74
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ORION,THE HUNTER.............. 06/01/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE NEW NORTHERN HEMISPHERE... 06/02/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ALGOL:THE WINKING DEMON....... 05/03/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:ASTRONOMY OF THE INFRA-RED.... 10/04/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE OUTER PLANETS............. 30/04/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE MYSTERIOUS X-RAYS......... 30/05/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE HOT CLOUDS OF THE SUN..... 01/07/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE NEW MOON.................. 28/07/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE GALILEAN SATELLITES....... 28/08/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE.... 23/09/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:NEW STAR IN CYGNUS............ 22/10/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE ROCKS ON VENUS............ 12/11/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE SEARCH FOR LIFE IN TH .... 10/12/75
THE SKY AT NIGHT:THE CHANGING FACE OF MARS..... 21/01/76
After this they all exist... (NB not all of the above are complete episodes, some of the earlier ones are film or VT inserts only) 11/5/60 is the earliest complete episode.

[Chris Gilbert]

Wow! Thanks Andrew.

I have not seen this info before but I have only been a member for 6 months.

Thanks again, its great.

[Greg H]

Nice one!!
Pity the 50s show isnt complete, but it would still be fun to watch. Wonder if it will ever be possible to watch any of these??

[William Martin]

One epsode was given away as a quicktime on a cd with I think the december edition of sky at night magazine

[Greg H]

Really? I might have to see if anyone fancies bittorrenting that! Do you know what year it was from? Its always great to see Pat

[Peter Elliott]

Interesting to see what remains of this show!

Indeed archive editions have been and continue to be released as part of the aforementioned "Sky At Night" magazine. In fact the next issue is to contain a 1961 episode concerning the Pleiades star formation.

The first one they released was the 50th show. A most amusing chaotic little show which as everyone knows was a disaster since the intention was to show some planets live on air but kept getting clouded over... It got a great reaction from the readers, and it was decided to continue digging out shows from the archives so we were next treated to the earliest existing complete show, the show about Uranus. I didn't know this was the earliest complete show. A nice curiosity since theres a memorable moment where Patrick Moore plays piano, giving a taste of music written by Herschel (I think... I've forgotten!) the man who "discovered" Uranus a few centuries ago.

It also appears that insert films are being used and will continue to be used. Again, earlier this year a 1970 interview with Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto was featured on one of the discs in colour. So, hopefully at some point theres a possibility the 1958 insert film may be used. Anyone have any idea what this is and about?

Its an excellent magazine and each month you always get a CD Rom featuring episodes of the show from 2 months earlier. Every so often they will feature bonus episodes, like the BBC4 specials and archive shows.

Unfortunately from what I recall, the 50th show was a Quicktime file, but in recent months the video files have switched to MPEGS and are all the better for it.

Indeed, seen now, these vintage shows are rather charming and its fascinating seeing Patrick Moore in younger days. I think the back issues have sold out sadly, but future ones are well worth keeping an eye open for.

[Greg H]

Cheers for the heads up I will definitely keep an eye out for these in the future. Cheers dude!

[Andrew Martin]

Peter said:

It also appears that insert films are being used and will continue to be used. Again, earlier this year a 1970 interview with Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto was featured on one of the discs in colour. So, hopefully at some point theres a possibility the 1958 insert film may be used. Anyone have any idea what this is and about?

The 1958 material is an interview with Dr Harlow Shapeley "about his work in America on the centre of our galaxy and the possibility of life on other planets", according to Infax.

[Peter Elliott]

Thanks Andrew for the 1958 film insert info. Sounds an interesting item and given its subject matter could very well be featured on a future CD Rom with the magazine.

[John Ridley]

Also on the Sky at night disc this month is a speical show from 03/08/69 from the look of it it's on the same roll of film as 1961 programme as they appear one after the other

John

[Andrew Martin]

No, the film components aren't stored together - it must just be the way they've been compiled for the DVD.

[Peter Elliott]

Most interesting to see the 1969 special which appears to have been included by mistake though it does sit alongside the recent episode on the disc about Mars. Theres no mention of it in the magazine and came as a very pleasant surprise to me.

The editors page gives a clue as to what has possibly happened. He says that some months ago he looked at some archive shows to decide which to feature with the magazine. I guess then these copies of the two episodes were on the same tape or file and it was overlooked when the disc was created.

I must admit the 1969 show is in shocking quality sound and picture wise, but its still good to see and have them.

[Deleted]

From the archive listing you gave, Andrew, can you let us know which of these are whole editions? Also, at which point onwards are they on VT? Thanks if you can help.