The Sky at Night: 1984
Season 28 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 27.
- 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 28 Progress Shield
The Winter Sky
Jan 8, 1984
Winter is perhaps the best time for star-gazing; the nights are long and dark. Also the winter constellations, led by Orion the Hunter, are brilliant. Patrick Moore talks about the
At the Castle Gate
Feb 5, 1984
British astronomy has always been in the forefront of research. This is still true today, though the largest optical telescopes have been moved to sites with better climates, such
Venus Unveiled
Mar 11, 1984
For the past few months Venus has been a brilliant object in the morning sky. Though we cannot see through its dense, unbreathable atmosphere, space probes have sent back remarkabl
The Secret Lives of the Stars
Apr 1, 1984
The stars are suns; they have tremendously long lives, but they do not exist for ever. In this programme Patrick Moore and Heather Couper trace the stories of some typical stars wh
New Life for Solar Max
Apr 29, 1984
In February 1980 the Americans launched an important artificial satellite - Solar Max, designed to study the sun. After nine months it developed serious faults. Recently a daring r
Cooking the Elements
May 20, 1984
Most astronomers believe that the universe began with a big bang, perhaps 15,000-million years ago, and that all the familiar elements have since been built up out of the original
A Night with the INT
Jun 10, 1984
The Isaac Newton Telescope at the new observatory at La Palma, in the Canary Islands, is now ready for use. Patrick Moore has been there taking part in one of the first sets of obs
Missions to Comets
Jul 15, 1984
Interest is growing as Halley s Comet continues to draw in toward the sun. Already there have been trial runs in observing the much fainter Crommelin's Comet, and of course several
The Orange World of Titan
Aug 19, 1984
Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is one of the most remarkable bodies in the solar system. With its dense orange clouds and its nitrogen atmosphere it may have a deep ocean made up of
Shells Around the Stars
Sep 17, 1984
Do other solar systems exist? Information from the infra-red astronomical satellite, IRAS, indicates that they may well do so. Many stars - some of them similar to our sun - have b
Once Upon a Time
Oct 14, 1984
What is only 100 years old? What were the French finally forced to accept? And why do King Charles II, Sir Isaac Newton, Captain Cook, Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovel, the Great We
Reflection Nebulae
Nov 18, 1984
There is a tremendous amount of material spread thinly between the stars. If a star happens to pass into a cloud of denser gas and dust, it will illuminate it to produce a reflecti
Forgotten Constellations
Dec 9, 1984
Most people can recognise the major constellations such as Orion the celestial hunter, Hercules, Perseus, the Great Bear and others. But more constellations have been proposed from