The Sky at Night: 1974
Season 18 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Sky at Night Season 17.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 18 Progress Shield
Positional Astronomy
Jan 27, 1974
Patrick Moore talks about what is on view in the night sky now, and discusses with Gilbert Satter thwaite the important subject of positional astronomy - the exact measurements and
Saturn - The Ringed Planet
Feb 17, 1974
Saturn is now very well placed in the evening sky, and a small telescope will show its ring system as well as some of the moons. Patrick Moore and Dr Garry Hunt examine the recent
The Milky Way
Mar 20, 1974
The Milky Way, made up of countless faint stars, can easily be seen in the evening sky this month. Tonight Patrick Moore describes this luminous band which stretches from one hori
Life in the Universe
May 15, 1974
How strong is the possibility of life existing in other worlds in our galaxy and elsewhere in the universe, and if it does, where is the nearest life likely to be and how could we
The Daylight Star
Jun 12, 1974
The Sun is the only star near enough for us to study in detail. Patrick Moore discusses with Dr Ron Maddison the mysterious cycles of activity which cause spots and vast looped pro
The Heart of the Scorpion
Jul 10, 1974
Patrick Moore describes the Red Giant star, Antares, in the constellation of Scorpio. It is now visible above the southern horizon; and although it looks like a dot, it is bigger t
Shooting Stars
Aug 7, 1974
At this time of the year shooting stars can be seen in profusion, for we are in the middle of the year's richest meteor-shower - The Perseids. Tonight Patrick Moore discusses thes
Choosing a Telescope
Sep 4, 1974
What can you see in the night sky with binoculars, or with a small telescope - and how much money must you spend if you need adequate equipment for 'the amateur astronomer'? Patri
Lord Rosse's Great Telescope
Oct 2, 1974
A century ago, the most powerful telescope in the world was the great 72-inch reflector at Birr Castle in Eire, with which its builder, the 3rd Earl of Rosse, discovered the spiral
The Changing Force of Gravity
Oct 30, 1974
Has gravity always been the same? There have been suggestions that the force of gravity today is weaker than it used to be. Patrick Moore and Colin Ronan discuss this fascinating t
Eros - Wanderer in Space
Nov 26, 1974
This winter the minor planet Eros is due to approach the Earth as closely as it will ever do. Patrick Moore talks with Gordon Taylor of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
The Year of the Planets
Dec 18, 1974
During 1974 there have been some important and spectacular space missions. In the spring Mariner 10 sent back the first close-range pictures of cloud-covered Venus and crater-scarr