I met Patrick Moore on several occasions – once at a book signing, and the others when I acted as his chauffeur when the astronomy society I was then involved with brought him over for a lecture and no one else had a car they could lend for transport.

So it was with a great deal of sadness that I learned of his death at the age of 89 on Sunday. Over the previous couple of years, his deterioration was evident as he continued to present The Sky At Night. His mind was still sharp but his body was beginning to fail him. Patrick died peacefully at 12:25 pm at his home in Selsey on the southern English coast, it was announced by friends and colleagues. He had succumbed to an infection.

“After a short spell in hospital last week, it was determined that no further treatment would benefit him, and it was his wish to spend his last days in his own home,” they said.

“Over the past few years, Patrick, an inspiration to generations of astronomers, fought his way back from many serious spells of illness and continued to work and write at a great rate, but this time his body was too weak to overcome the infection which set in a few weeks ago,” the statement said.

It was signed by various staff members and friends, including Queen guitarist Brian May. May said Moore was irreplaceable and had stirred millions through his broadcasts.

Patrick was passionate about astronomy and exciting others’ interest in the topic. The Moon was his favourite night sky object and he mapped the Moon’s surface in the early 1950s. His lunar research was used by both the U.S. and Soviets space programs. In 1959, the Soviets used his charts to correlate the first Lunik 3 pictures of the far side of the Moon and Moscow ensured he was the first Westerner to see the results, which he received mid-broadcast. His early shows went out live, with Patrick once swallowing a fly on air. He was also involved in the lunar mapping in the run up to the NASA Apollo missions.

Patrick was well known for his long-running BBC television show “The Sky at Night,” which was credited for popularizing astronomy with generations of viewers. He had presented the show since April 24, 1957 missing only one programme due to being hospitalised for a food infection in 2004.


Patrick Moore hosting an early The Sky at Night programme

Running for 55 years, “The Sky At Night” is the longest running programme on TV anywhere which had the same host during its run. It’s a record that’s unlikely to be broken.

In its obituary, the Daily Telegraph reported that Patrick believed he was the only person to have met the first man to fly, Orville Wright, as well as the first man in space, Russian Yuri Gagarin, and the first man on the moon, the late Neil Armstrong (who died in August this year).

Patrick lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force at 16 and fight in World War II. He met Orville Wright and Albert Einstein while on leave in North America, once accompanying the violin-playing Einstein on piano.

His fiancee was killed by a bomb during the war, leaving him heartbroken. He died unmarried.

Patrick, who received a knighthood in 2001 for “services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting”, had recently celebrated the 55th anniversary of “The Sky at Night“. He was known for his trademark monocle and his occasional xylophone performances and his frequently professed love of cats.

He wrote dozens of books using a 1908 typewriter he received as a gift when he was 8. He was a Luddite where new technology was concerned and eschewed all attempts to get him to use a PC for his writing. He spent a large part of his days hammering out replies on his typewriter, to letters he received from children and those curious about astronomy, until this became impossible due to arthritis. It was this personal touch and the time he gave to people that so endeared him to them.

On Tuesday, the BBC ran a special broadcast of The Sky at Night in tribute to Patrick which attracted a bumper audience of 2.11 million (a 15.8% share) who stayed up after 10.35pm to watch it.

While Patrick had asked for a “quiet ceremony of interment”, a farewell event is planned in March, for what would have been his 90th birthday.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what will happen with The Sky at Night now, as it was so synonymous with him. Due to his failing health over recent years, other presenters were drafted in to host segments, especially pieces that required travel. Long-time so-presenters like Chris Lintott, Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel may inherit The Sky st Night or perhaps the BBC will see fit to cease production of the programme now that its much-loved presenter has died.

I think that would be a shame. Patrick did make the occasional comment, when talking about the near-to-far-off-future, about himself not being around to see things (e.g. the first Man on Mars) and that coverage of that would fall to his successor on The Sky at Night. So he certainly saw the programme continuing on without him. A continuing The Sky at Night would be a lasting legacy to the enthusiasm exhibited by one of the last great eccentrics for the subject he was so passionate about.

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