The Sky at Night: 1976
Season 20 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 19.
- 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 20 Progress Shield
The Changing Face of Mars
Jan 21, 1976
The planet Mars is brilliantly visible in the sky at the moment. It has always been regarded as the one planet beyond earth upon which life might exist, and in 1976 we could find o
The Pole Star
Feb 18, 1976
Everyone has heard of the Pole Star - but how many people can find it, or know its importance? From his observatory at Selsey, Patrick Moore talks about this huge, remote sun which
Black Holes in Space
Mar 18, 1976
What is a Black Hole? Nobody can yet be sure; it may be the final state of a very massive star which has collapsed, surrounding itself with a ' forbidden zone' from which not even
The Rings of Saturn
Apr 21, 1976
The rings, easily visible with a small telescope, are now better displayed than they will be for some years to come. Patrick Moore talks about Saturn and describes what the America
The Sun and the Earth
May 20, 1976
The Sun sends us its light and heat, but it has many other effects on the earth too. It raises tides; it produces the lovely Polar lights; it has long-term effects on plant growth
Neutron Stars
Jun 14, 1976
Pulsars are among the most incredible objects known to man. They are composed of neutrons and are so dense that a pin's head of neutron star material would weigh as much as an ocea
Viking to Mars
Jul 15, 1976
Patrick Moore discusses the results of this historic mission with two leading experts Professor Geoffrey Eglinton and Dr Garry Hunt.
Viking on Mars
Aug 11, 1976
The first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars has started its programme of research. America's Viking 1 is now standing on the Martian surface, sending back information direct
How Far Can You See?
Sep 9, 1976
Patrick Moore brings news on the Viking missions to Mars and asks How Far Can You See? With the naked eye one can see 12 million, million, million miles. Patrick Moore talks about
Viking - The End of the Beginning
Sep 28, 1976
Mars has been reached. Both Vikings have not only landed successfully but have sent back information which is as exciting as it is unexpected. Now that the first results have been
A New Look from Old Greenwich
Oct 28, 1976
For many centuries Greenwich Observatory was the world's leading astronomical establishment, and it marks the 'zero for longitude', dividing the world into two hemispheres. More th
Quasars - the Remotest Objects in the Universe?
Nov 24, 1976
In 1963 astronomers identified ' quasars ' - star-like objects which were held to be the most remote and the most luminous ever seen. There have been doubts about the accuracy of t
The Evening Star
Dec 15, 1976
This winter Venus is a brilliant object in the evening sky. It is very like the Earth in size and mass, and until the Space Age it was thought to be capable of supporting life in s