The Sky at Night S24E08 · The Mapping of Venus

Overview

In December 1978 America's Pioneer Venus I reached its target. Since then it has been orbiting Venus, and mapping the planet's surface by means of radar. Venus is not the kind of world it was once believed to be; it has volcanoes, high plateaux, and deep canyons. In this programme Dr Garry Hunt joins Patrick Moore to describe the new findings, which have changed many of our past theories about this strange world.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. Mapping the Sky1980-01-10How many people know the meaning of terms such as ' right ascension' and ' declination '? And what exactly is the celestial sphere? Mapping the sky presents problems different from
2. 2 2. Saturn: The Disappearing Rings1980-02-07Saturn is generally regarded as the most beautiful object in the sky, but this year it has an unusual appearance. For the first time since 1966 the rings are edgewise-on to the Ea
3. 3 3. The Man Who Discovered a Planet1980-03-20Exactly 50 years ago, in 1930, the planet Pluto was discovered by a young research student named Clyde Tombaugh. Since that time Pluto has set puzzle after puzzle. It is smaller th
4. 4 4. The Multiple Mirror Telescope1980-04-17On the summit of Mount Hopkins, in Arizona, is the world's most revolutionary observatory, containing the multiple mirror telescope. Instead of one great mirror, there are six all
5. 5 5. Journey to the Centre of the Galaxy1980-05-13What lies at the centre of our galaxy? Are there masses of brilliant stars, or is there something even more significant, such as a Black Hole which is swallowing up any stars which
6. 6 6. Kitt Peak Observatory: the Solar Telescope1980-06-10The Solar Telescope ' Kitt Peak, in Arizona, is America's national observatory. One of its most important instruments is the ingeniously-designed telescope used for studying the su
7. 7 7. Quasars1980-07-10What are the quasars, which may be close to the edge of the universe as seen from Earth? Are they made up of exploding stars, or are they the centres of galaxies in which great out
8. 8 8. The Mapping of Venus1980-08-06In December 1978 America's Pioneer Venus I reached its target. Since then it has been orbiting Venus, and mapping the planet's surface by means of radar. Venus is not the kind of w
9. 9 9. Meteor Crater1980-09-04In Northern Arizona there is a vast hole in the desert, almost a mile across and 600 feet deep, known as Meteor Crater. It was blasted out in prehistoric times by a huge iron meteo
10. 10 10. Autumn Equinox1980-10-01Patrick Moore , with the aid of a sundial at his Selsey home, explains why equinoxes occur, and shows how the seasons of the year vary, due to the tilt of the Earth's axis. Other p
11. 11 11. The Scintars1980-10-28In the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle, there is a faint star known rather unromantically as SS433. Lately, however, it has proved to be very unusual. Probably the result of a t
12. 12 12. Voyager I Reaches Saturn1980-11-20After a journey of over three years, Voyager 1 has reached Saturn-800 million miles from Earth. Last year the spacecraft bypassed Jupiter and sent back the most spectacular images
13. 13 13. The Quadrantids1980-12-07Meteors or shooting stars are familiar objects in the night sky. Several times during the year showers of meteors occur. One of them, known as the Quadrantid shower, will be at its