The BEST episodes of The Sky At Night season 2012
Every episode of The Sky At Night season 2012, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Sky At Night season 2012!
Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012) began presenting The Sky at Night in April 1957. Airing a new episode every month, the show continues to explore our solar system and beyond. It is the longest running science show on TV. Many famous people have appeared on The Sky at Night, among them: Harlow Shapley, Carl Sagan and Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. Many astronauts have also appeared, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Recordings of most of the early episodes no longer exist.
#1 - Home-Grown Observatories
Season 2012 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/13/2012
Up and down the country amateur astronomers are out in their back-garden observatories looking at stars, galaxies and nebulae. The team visits some astronomers on their own turf, to find out what keeps them up late at night.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Citizen Astronomy
Season 2012 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/4/2012
A look at how amateur astronomers can help in the quest for knowledge of the cosmos.
Watch Now:Amazon#3 - Age of the Infrared
Season 2012 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/13/2012
Space telescopes such as Herschel and Spitzer are peering at the dusty, dark cosmos and with their infrared eyes they can see the cold parts of the sky where stars are being born. Sir Patrick Moore discusses why the infrared is full of hidden delights, whilst Dr Chris North talks to Dr Amy Mainzer about NASA's infrared WISE telescope.
Watch Now:Amazon
#4 - The Moore Marathon
Season 2012 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/10/2012
The Sky at Night celebrates 55 years with the second of its special programmes. Sir Patrick picked out 55 objects in the April sky and asked viewers to take part in his Moore Marathon. He finds out how everyone got on, with help from the team.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Curiosity at Mars
Season 2012 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/3/2012
The NASA rover, Curiosity, the size of a small car and nuclear-powered, landed on Mars in August and took its first view of the red planet. This ambitious mission hopes to find the building blocks of life as well as study the Martian climate and geology. Sir Patrick Moore discusses what Curiosity will be doing, as well as what to see in the September night sky.
#6 - The Story of Stuff
Season 2012 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/5/2012
Sir Patrick Moore, Dr Chris Lintott and Dr Chris North find out what the universe is made of, from the 'dark matter' that shapes our galaxies to the infinitesimally small particles that make up atoms. Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel show how to use a planisphere as a guide to the night sky and what objects can be ticked off on the 'Moore Winter Marathon'.
Watch Now:Amazon#7 - Other Solar Systems
Season 2012 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/9/2012
We now know there are other solar systems far away in space, but are they like ours and is there life on these strange worlds? Sir Patrick Moore goes on the quest for little green men.
Watch Now:Amazon#8 - Warp Factor 55
Season 2012 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/2/2012
Have you ever dreamed of travelling through space? Sir Patrick Moore takes us on an epic journey to the ends of our known universe, stopping en-route to take in the view. The team engage the warp drive and celebrate 55 years of The Sky at Night - at the speed of light.
#9 - Juice
Season 2012 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/4/2012
A European mission called JUICE has been announced which will visit Jupiter and its fascinating moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. Sir Patrick Moore finds out why these icy moons may harbour conditions suitable for life, and also has the latest news from the Cassini mission, currently sending back astounding images from Saturn.
#10 - Mercury and the Moon
Season 2012 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/3/2012
The tiny planet Mercury is in the morning sky and Sir Patrick Moore talks about the latest news from Messenger, the spacecraft which is over Mercury at the moment. Mercury is often compared to the moon, which was last visited by man in December 1972. Forty years on, Dr Chris Lintott looks at the legacy of that mission, Apollo 17, and what it has been able to tell us about the moon.
#11 - Venus and the Midnight Sun
Season 2012 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/2/2012
The Sky at Night travels to the Arctic Circle and the archipelago of Svalbard to see the transit of Venus. This astronomical wonder, where the planet Venus passes in front of the sun, is the last one in our lifetime, but as ever the clouds test the team's nerves.
#12 - Moore Winter Marathon
Season 2012 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/8/2012
Sir Patrick Moore selects celestial objects to observe in the winter night sky and challenges viewers to spot as many as possible. In the second part of the year's Moore Marathon, Sir Patrick has selected two lists to suit astronomers of all abilities - objects that can be seen with the naked eye or binoculars, and more remote ones observable only by telescope.