The Sky at Night S30E11 · The Autumn Sky

Overview

Autumn skies may be less brilliant than those of other seasons, but there is plenty of interest. In this programme Patrick Moore discusses the main features, with special reference to binocular observations, and gives a timetable for the eclipse of the moon which will be seen on 17 October. And the continuing story of Halley's Comet. The latest stunning series of black and white pictures from Giotto's camera - seen for the first time on television - will give scientists the clues to exactly what organic materials the comet contains.

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Episodes

1. 1 1. Our Nearest Star1986-01-11How much is known about the sun? We know that it is a huge nuclear furnace that sends out electrified particles, which affect the tails of comets and much else. But there is still
2. 2 2. Voyager to Uranus1986-02-04The Voyager 2 probe by-passed the planet Uranus on 24 January. Though discovered in 1781, not much had been found out about Uranus - in many ways a mysterious world, with a strange
3. 3 3. Halley's Comet: The Encounter1986-03-13Tonight's news from the comet comes as Europe's Giotto spacecraft plunges deep into the glowing dust and gases of its coma. At 47 miles per second, every grain of dust strikes like
4. 4 4. The Spring Sky1986-04-06By spring evenings the brilliant winter constellations have vanished into the twilight, but there is still plenty to see. Patrick Moore talks about the spring constellations such
5. 5 5. The Story of Satum1986-04-27When the planet Saturn was first examined telescopically in 1610, it was believed by Galileo to be a triple world. Patrick Moore shows what can be seen this month, while Saturn is
6. 6 6. Halley - The End of the Tale?1986-05-25Two months ago the Giotto spacecraft passed through the head of Halley's Comet. It sent back the only close-range pictures ever taken of a nucleus, and more information about come
7. 7 7. The Summer Sky1986-06-29This is a favourable time for planetary enthusiasts, as all the bright planets are on view. There are also brilliant southern stars, such as the Scorpion with its red leader Antare
8. 8 8. The Death of a Star1986-07-27The southern galaxy Centaurus A is a peculiar system, crossed by a dark dust-lane. In it an Australian amateur astronomer has found a supernova - a colossal stellar outburst involv
9. 9 9. The Innermost Planet1986-08-17Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, is always difficult to study from earth, but it is at its best in the morning sky this month. So far the only space-probe to have bypassed i
10. 10 10. The Furthest Depths of the Universe1986-09-14Astronomers in Australia have just announced the discovery of the most remote object known to science. It is a quasar - an object whose nature is not known with certainty but which
11. 11 11. The Autumn Sky1986-10-12Autumn skies may be less brilliant than those of other seasons, but there is plenty of interest. In this programme Patrick Moore discusses the main features, with special reference
12. 12 12. Cosmic Lawn Sprinkler1986-11-10The unique object known to astronomers at SS433 looks at first sight like a dim star, but has proved to be as bizarre as anything known. Jets of material spreading out from it are
13. 13 13. The Galilean Moons1986-12-21Jupiter is now prominently visible in the evening sky. Any telescope will show it together with its four large satellites, known as the Galileans because they were studied in 1610