The Sky at Night TV show, past, present and future
Inside the Sky at Night
Since February 2014, Maggie Aderin-Pocock has helped present The Sky at Night. She reflects back on her nine years with the show
As a child I used to watch The Sky at Night. My parents gave me special permission to stay up late to watch the programme and I loved it. Growing up in London, you don’t see that many stars because of the light pollution, so Patrick Moore used to give me an insight into what I might be able to see in the night sky. As I was living close to Hampstead Heath, on the way back from school sometimes it would be dark and I’d be able to have a clear view of the night sky. I’d think, “Oh my goodness! Patrick mentioned that and now I can see it.” So he brought the night sky to life for me.
His was a wonderful legacy, so it was slightly daunting when I got the job to present the show myself. It was a moment of great excitement when the call came through asking if I would like to do the programme. I had mentioned that it was something I would love to do. At that time I’d done quite a bit of work with the BBC – I’d made a documentary about the Moon – and I’ve done talks to around 370,000 kids in the last 12 to 14 years, so I was hoping that my credentials would be good enough, but didn’t think anything would come of it. Then, when I was filming a television programme called CBeebies Stargazing, a call came in asking, “Hey, would you like to do the programme?”
For the first episode, I was very much like a rabbit in the headlights. This was the iconic Sky at Night.
Patrick had done the programme for over 55 years – the longest serving TV presenter in the world on the longest-running television programme, and here is little Maggie. The little girl in me was very excited, but there is also a moment of terror because those were very big boots to fill. Luckily, Chris Lintott and Pete Lawrence had been doing this for many years and even though I was the new kid on the block, I was welcomed into the family.
Looking back
There are three highlights that spring to mind from my eight years on the show. The first one is being at the European Space Agency (ESA) when the Philae lander came down onto Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. I was still relatively new to the programme and it was wonderful to be part of the press team. We spoke to people in the UK who were making the instruments, which was great as my history is in making instrumentation for space-and ground-based telescopes. Then we went to Darmstadt to the European Space Operations Centre for the landing. That was a rollercoaster ride of an experience – to be there and see it unfolding in front of your eyes was brilliant.
Another highlight that springs to mind is when we filmed a programme from the Vatican. We were speaking to some priest astronomers who were showing us various artefacts. They took us behind the velvet ropes, going into places where people don’t usually get to go. It was fascinating to get that juxtaposition between science and religion.
Finally, there was NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and its approach to Pluto. We went to NASA headquarters for when the approach started, and saw the images were coming in – it was another amazing, pivotal moment of scientific discovery.
It’s been great to be a part of the television show, as I think seeking to understand our place in the Universe is something fundamental in all of us. During lockdown many people were stuck at home and couldn’t get out. I was invited to do quite a few interviews about looking up at the night sky because sometimes, if you’re feeling enclosed and hemmed in or you had a busy day, then getting a view of the night sky can really transform your mood.
I hope my role on The Sky at Night will help other people connect with the night sky, just as Patrick did for me when I was younger.
Looking back: The Sky at Night
7 April 1984
On the 7 April 1984 episode of The Sky at Night, Patrick was joined by Heather Couper, who took us on a tour of the spring night sky to see every phase of a star’s life.
They began at the Orion Nebula, where – buried in its red glow of nebulosity – new stars were being born like clutches of eggs. As these infant stars grow, the gas of the nebulae around them gets blown away. Though initially some traces might remain, as can be seen around the Pleiades, M45, eventually it will disappear completely to leave a crisp collection like the Beehive Cluster, M44.
Stars born together then stay together in groups known as associations, such as those found in the five central stars of The Plough.
These will travel through space together for much of their lives.
When the stars begin to reach the end of their lifespan, however, they run out of fuel and their outer layers swell to form a red giant, like Betelgeuse in Orion. These outer layers then blow away over time, creating a planetary nebulae like M57, with a white dwarf star at its centre.
A more violent end awaits larger stars, though, as they explode in supernovae, creating chaotic remnants like the Crab Nebula, M1. Over time, however, this gas goes on to form the new stellar nurseries that are the birthing grounds for the next generation of stars, continuing the cycle.
Welcome back
The Sky at Night returns after a short two-month hiatus. In April’s episode, Maggie and Chris look at the astronomy and spaceflight stories that have made the headlines since the show has been off air, including a look at how the James Webb Space Telescope is faring since its launch. Pete Lawrence reveals what to see in the night sky this month and the team discuss the big stories for the rest of 2022.
BBC Four, 10 April, 10pm (first repeat BBC Four, 14 April, 7:30pm)
Check www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight for more up-to-date information
