The Sky at Night: 1961
Season 5 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 4.
- 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 5 Progress Shield
Storms in the Sun
Jan 30, 1961
Patrick Moore talks with W.M. Baxter, Secretary of the British Astronomical Association, about the mysterious dark areas, many thousands of miles across, on the sun's surface, know
Life on Mars
Mar 20, 1961
In this programme, postponed from February, Patrick Moore discusses with Dr. F. L. Jackson, of King's College Hospital Pathology Department, the results of certain experiments carr
Life on the Moon?
Apr 24, 1961
Following last month's programme on the possibility of life existing on Mars, Patrick Moore discusses whether very low forms of life may be found on the Moon, our nearest neighbour
Venus
May 15, 1961
As the Russian space probe approaches Venus, Patrick Moore discusses the little we know about this planet and what sort of world further exploration might reveal it to be.
Radio Astronomy and the Amateur
Jun 5, 1961
Frank Hyde has built and operated his own radio telescope at Clacton in Essex. Patrick Moore discusses with him the contributions an amateur can make in this latest field of astron
Cosmic Debris
Jul 10, 1961
Patrick Moore discusses meteors and meteorites with Dr. M. H. Hey of the British Museum of Natural History, and the latest versions of the suggestion that some may contain organic
Saturn Live?
Aug 21, 1961
To celebrate the fiftieth edition of "The Sky at Night", Patrick Moore looks around the night sky through George Hole's 24-inch telescope at Patcham and the 36-inch telescope at th
Astronomy in Space
Sep 18, 1961
Patrick Moore discusses with Dr. H. E. Butler how artificial satellites outside the earth's atmosphere can help astronomers, and what further discoveries they may lead to.
Has the Earth Three Moons?
Oct 30, 1961
From time to time it has been suggested that the Earth may have more than one natural moon. Any such satellite would be very small and faint; but searches for them have been carrie
How Many Stars in the Pleiades?
Nov 22, 1961
Patrick Moore talks about star clusters and asks viewers to help find out how many stars in the Pleiades are visible without a telescope.
A Telescope for Christmas
Dec 20, 1961
Patrick Moore describes how to set up a small home telescope, powerful enough for real astronomical use, and discusses with L. Marsland Gander the best way to use it. He also gives