The Sky at Night

The winter stars are more brilliant than those of any other season. Orion dominates the scene, together with his brilliant retinue. Two particularly interesting stars are visible; the Twins, Castor and Pollux - Pollux an orange giant and Castor a sort of stellar family, made up of no fewer than six sans. Patrick Moore talks about these unusual stars and gives the latest news about developments at the new observatory in La Palma and about the approach of Halley's Comet.

A week ago IRAS, the Infra-red Astronomical Satellite, was launched and is now moving round the Earth at a height of 560 miles. It will provide new information about objects ranging from super-giant stars, to the mysterious centre of our Galaxy. Patrick Moore talks about this exciting new project.

Mauna Kea, in the Hawaiian Islands, is almost 14,000 feet high. At its summit the air is thin and the skies are clear-which is why some of the world's largest telescopes have been set up there. Patrick Moore pays it a visit.

Patrick Moore talks about a strange pulsar to the Astronomer Royal, Professor Graham Smith.

A mile below the Black Hills of Dakota lies a huge tank of cleaning fluid deep inside a gold mine - the world's strangest observatory. It is designed to collect neutrinos sent out by the sun. But what do we really know about the sun? Some of our long-cherished theories seem to be wrong. Patrick Moore visits this unusual observatory and talks to Drs Raymond Davis and Keith Rowley about the results of their work.

The stars, many far bigger than our ' star the sun, are many millions of miles away and appear only as specks of light. Until recently it had been impossible to see any details of the stars. But thanks to a new technique called 'speckle interferometry' this can be done for the first time. Patrick Moore discusses the remarkable results with Professor Alec Boksenberg , Director of the The Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux.

Two rocket probes, Pioneers 10 and 11, are on their way out of the solar system. They are sending back new information about the heliosphere, that part of space in which the influence of the sun is dominant. Patrick Moore and Iain Nicolson talk about the outer heliosphere, and also the search for a possible planet moving beyond the paths of Neptune and Pluto.

First identified 20 years ago, quasars are probably the most dramatic objects in the universe. Though small compared with galaxies, they are extremely luminous, and some of them are so far away that they may lie near the edge of the observable universe. Patrick Moore discusses the latest researches with Dr John Beckman of Queen Mary College.

Vega has been known to astronomers for centuries. At least, astronomers thought they knew most things about this brilliant blue star. But Vega has been keeping a secret. It is surrounded by a planetary system in the early stages of development. This discovery is the latest in a series of unexpected finds by IRAS, the infra-red astronomical satellite launched in January 1983. Patrick Moore talks to astronomers Dr Aumann and Dr Gillette and discusses the importance of this major contribution to our knowledge of the universe.

IRAS, the Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite, continues on its triumphant way. and has now discovered a remarkable 20 million mile dust-tail associated with the faint Tempel's Comet. Patrick Moore discusses this new finding, and points out many objects which are now on view in the evening sky this month.

In 1917 astronomy entered a new era. The great 100-inch reflecting telescope on Mount Wilson in California was completed. It was far more powerful than any existing telescope, and it soon led to the discovery that we live in an expanding universe. Mount Wilson Observatory is still in full use. Patrick Moore visits the observatory and talks to some of the astronomers who are working there.

IRAS, the infra-red astronomical satellite, is proving to be one of the most successful of all space missions. Already it has carried out an all-sky survey in infra-red, discovering hundreds of thousands of new infra-red sources ranging from very young stars out to remote quasars. Patrick Moore talks about these striking developments with Dr Jim Emerson of Queen Mary College, a British member of the IRAS team which also includes specialists from Holland and the United States.

Black holes are almost certainly the most bizarre objects known. They cannot be seen but they betray their presence by their effects upon more normal stars. Now, for the first time, there has been an opportunity to weigh one of these strange objects. Patrick Moore talks about the latest developments with Dr Michael Penston.