fbpx
Wikipedia

Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore CBE HonFRS FRAS[a] (/ˈkɔːldwɛl/; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012[1]) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter.[2][3][4]


Patrick Moore

Moore in 2002 at the opening of the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre
Born
Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore

(1923-03-04)4 March 1923[1]
Pinner, Middlesex, England
Died9 December 2012(2012-12-09) (aged 89)
Selsey, West Sussex, England
Resting placeChichester, West Sussex
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
Institutions
Influenced
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1940–1945
RankPilot officer
Battles/warsSecond World War

Moore was president of the British Astronomical Association; co-founder and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy; author of over seventy books on astronomy; and presenter of the world's longest-running television series with the same original presenter, BBC's The Sky at Night (from 1957). He became known as a specialist in Moon observation and for creating the Caldwell catalogue. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television.

Outside his field of astronomy, Moore was known for his role on the video game television show GamesMaster. Moore was also a self-taught xylophonist and pianist, as well as an accomplished composer. He was an amateur cricketer, golfer and chess player. In addition to many popular science books, he wrote numerous works of fiction. He was an opponent of fox hunting, an outspoken critic of the European Union and a supporter of the UK Independence Party, and he served as chairman of the short-lived anti-immigration United Country Party. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

Early life

Moore was born in Pinner, Middlesex, on 4 March 1923[5] to Capt. Charles Trachsel Caldwell-Moore MC (died 1947)[6] and Gertrude (née White) (died 1981).[6] His family moved to Bognor Regis, and subsequently to East Grinstead where he spent his childhood. His youth was marked by heart problems, which left him in poor health and he was educated at home by private tutors.[5][7] He developed an interest in astronomy at the age of six[8] and joined the British Astronomical Association at the age of eleven.[9] He was invited to run a small observatory in East Grinstead at the age of 14, after his mentor, William Sadler Franks – who ran the observatory – was killed in a road accident.[10] At the age of 16 he began wearing a monocle after an oculist told him his right eye was weaker than his left.[11] Three years later, he claimed, he began wearing a full set of dentures.[12]

During World War II, Moore joined the Home Guard in East Grinstead where his father had been elected platoon commander.[13] Records show that he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in December 1941 at age 18 and was not called up for service until July 1942 as an Aircraftman, 2nd Class.[14] After basic training at various RAF bases in England, he went to Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and completed training at RAF Moncton in New Brunswick as a navigator and pilot.[15] Returning to England in June 1944, he was commissioned as a pilot officer[16] and was posted to RAF Millom in Cumberland, where he claimed to have been a navigator in the crew of a Vickers Wellington bomber, engaged in maritime patrolling and bombing missions to mainland Europe,[17] though in fact he was still in training at Millom and was only posted to Bomber Command five days before the end of the war in Europe.[18] After the end of hostilities, Moore became an adjutant and then an Area Meteorological Officer, demobilising in October 1945 with the rank of flying officer.[19]

Career in astronomy

After the war, Moore rejected a grant to study at the University of Cambridge, citing a wish to "stand on my own two feet".[9] He wrote his first book, Guide to the Moon (later retitled Patrick Moore on the Moon) in 1952 and it was published a year later.[9] He was a teacher in Woking and at Holmewood House School in Langton Green[20] from 1945 to 1953.[21] His second book was a translation of a work of French astronomer Gérard de Vaucouleurs (Moore spoke fluent French).[22] After his second original science book, Guide to the Planets, he wrote his first work of fiction, The Master of the Moon,[23] the first of numerous young adult fiction space adventure books (including the late 1970s series the Scott Saunders Space Adventure); he wrote a more adult novel and a farce titled Ancient Lights, though he did not wish either to be published.[24] Moore also translated the book Quanta by J Lochak and Andrade E Silva, published in 1969, from the French.

While teaching at Holmewood he set up a 12½ inch reflector telescope at his home, which he kept into his old age.[10] He developed a particular interest in the far side of the Moon, a small part of which is visible from Earth as a result of the Moon's libration; the Moon was his specialist subject throughout his life.[10] Moore described the short-lived glowing areas on the lunar surface, and gave them the name transient lunar phenomena in 1968.[25]

His first television appearance was in a debate about the existence of flying saucers following a spate of reported sightings in the 1950s; Moore argued against Lord Dowding and other UFO proponents.[26] He was invited to present a live astronomy programme and said the greatest difficulty was finding an appropriate theme tune; the opening of Jean Sibelius's Pelléas et Mélisande was chosen and used throughout the programme's existence.[27] The programme was originally named Star Map before The Sky at Night was chosen in the Radio Times.[27] On 24 April 1957, at 10:30 pm, Moore presented the first episode about the Comet Arend–Roland.[27] The programme was pitched to casual viewers up to professional astronomers, in a format which remained consistent from its inception.[28] Moore presented every monthly episode except for one in July 2004 when he suffered a near-fatal bout of food poisoning caused by eating a contaminated goose egg and was replaced for that episode by Chris Lintott.[29] Moore appears in the Guinness World Records book as the world's longest-serving TV presenter having presented the programme since 1957. From 2004 to 2012, the programme was broadcast from Moore's home, when arthritis prevented him from travelling to the studios. Over the years he received many lucrative offers to take his programme onto other networks, but rejected them because he held a 'gentlemen's agreement' with the BBC.[30]

In 1959 the Russians allowed Moore to be the first Westerner to see the photographic results of the Luna 3 probe, and to show them live on air.[31] Less successful was the transmission of the Luna 4 probe, which ran into technical difficulties and around this time Moore famously swallowed a large fly; both episodes were live and Moore had to continue regardless.[32] He was invited to visit the Soviet Union, where he met Yuri Gagarin, the first man to journey into outer space.[33] For the fiftieth episode of The Sky at Night, in September 1961, Moore's attempt to be the first to broadcast a live direct telescopic view of a planet resulted in another unintended 'comedy episode', as cloud obscured the sky.[34]

 
Patrick Moore signing his book "The Astronomy of Birr Castle" at NIHE - 1985

In 1965, he was appointed director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland, a post he held until 1968.[35] His stay outside England was short partly because of the beginning of The Troubles, a dispute Moore wanted no involvement in.[36] He was appointed Armagh County secretary of the Scout movement, but resigned after being informed that Catholics could not be admitted.[37] In developing the Planetarium, Moore travelled to Japan to secure a Goto Mars projector.[38] He helped with the redevelopment of the Birr Telescope in the Republic of Ireland.[39] He was a key figure in the development of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath.[40]

In June 1968 he returned to England, settling in Selsey after resigning his post in Armagh.[41] During the NASA Apollo programme, presenting on the Apollo 8 mission, he declared that "this is one of the great moments of human history", only to have his broadcast interrupted by the children's programme Jackanory.[42] He was a presenter for the Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 missions, and a commenter, with Cliff Michelmore and James Burke, for BBC television's coverage of the Moon landing missions.[42] Moore could not remember his words at the "Eagle has landed" moment, and the BBC has lost the tapes of the broadcast.[43] A homemade recording reveals that the studio team was very quiet during the landing sequence, leaving the NASA commentary clear of interruptions. Some 14 seconds after "contact" Burke says "They've touched". At 36 seconds he says "Eagle has landed". Between 53 and 62 seconds he explains the upcoming stay/no-stay decision and NASA announces the T1 stay at 90 seconds after contact. At 100 seconds the recorded sequence ends. Thus any real-time comment Moore made was not broadcast live and the recording ends before Burke polls the studio team for comment and reaction. Moore participated in TV coverage of Apollo missions 12 to 17.[44]

"Patrick was the last of a lost generation, a true gentleman, the most generous in nature that I ever knew, and an inspiration to thousands in his personal life, and to millions through his 50 years of unique broadcasting. It's no exaggeration to say that Patrick, in his tireless and ebullient communication of the magic of astronomy, inspired every British astronomer, amateur and professional, for half a century. There will never be another Patrick Moore. But we were lucky enough to get one."

Brian May, speaking shortly after Moore's death[45]

He was elected a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1966;[46][47] having twice edited the Union's General Assembly newsletters.[48] He attempted to establish an International Union of Amateur Astronomers, which failed due to lack of interest.[49] During the 1970s and 80s, he reported on the Voyager and Pioneer programs, often from NASA headquarters.[50] At this time he became increasingly annoyed by conspiracy theorists and reporters who asked him questions such as "Why waste money on space research when there is so much to be done here?". He said that when asked these type of questions "I know that I'm dealing with an idiot."[51] Another question that annoyed him was "what is the difference between astronomy and astrology?"[52] Despite this he made a point of responding to all letters delivered to his house, and sent a variety of standard replies to letters asking basic questions, as well as those from conspiracy theorists, proponents of hunting and 'cranks'.[53] Despite his fame, his telephone number was always listed in the telephone directory and he was happy to show members of the public his observatory.[54]

He compiled the Caldwell catalogue,[b] of 109 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers.[55] In 1982, asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour.[56] In February 1986 he presented a special episode of The Sky at Night on the approach of Halley's Comet, though he later said the BBC's better-funded Horizon team "made a complete hash of the programme."[57] In January 1998, a tornado destroyed part of Moore's garden observatory; it was subsequently rebuilt.[58] Moore campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in 1998.[59] Among Moore's favourite episodes of The Sky at Night were those that dealt with eclipses, and he said "there is nothing in nature to match the glory of a total eclipse of the Sun."[60]

 
Moore with his co-presenter Chris Lintott and Brian May, astrophysicist and Queen guitarist, at AstroFest in 2007

Moore was a BBC presenter for the total eclipse in England in 1999, though the view he and his team had from Cornwall was obscured by cloud.[61] Moore was the patron of the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre, and he attended its official opening in 2001.[62]

On 1 April 2007, a 50th anniversary semi-spoof edition of the programme was broadcast on BBC One, with Moore depicted as a Time Lord and featured special guests, amateur astronomers Jon Culshaw (impersonating Moore presenting the first The Sky at Night) and Brian May. On 6 May 2007, a special edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on BBC One, to commemorate the programme's 50th anniversary, with a party in Moore's garden at Selsey, attended by amateur and professional astronomers. Moore celebrated the record-breaking 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex on 6 March 2011. He presented with the help of special guests Professor Brian Cox, Jon Culshaw and Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal.[63]

It was reported in January 2012 that because of arthritis and the effects of an old spinal injury he was no longer able to operate a telescope. However, he was still able to present The Sky at Night from his home.[64]

Activism and political beliefs

Moore was known for his conservative political views. In the 1970s, he was chairman of the anti-immigration United Country Party, a position he held until the party was absorbed by the New Britain Party in 1980. He campaigned for the politician Edmund Iremonger at the 1979 general election, as they agreed the French and Germans were not to be trusted.[65] Iremonger and Moore gave up political campaigning after deciding they were Thatcherites.[65] Moore campaigned on behalf of Douglas Denny (UKIP) for the Chichester constituency in 2001.[66] A Eurosceptic, he was a supporter and patron of the UK Independence Party.[67]

Moore briefly supported the Liberal Party in the 1950s, though condemned the Liberal Democrats, saying he believed they could alter their position radically and that they "would happily join up with the BNP or the Socialist Workers Party ... if [by doing so] they could win a few extra votes."[66] He admired the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and was briefly their financial adviser.[68] He wrote in his autobiography that Liechtenstein – a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince – had the best political system in the world.[69] Moore was a critic of the Iraq War,[70] and said "the world was a safer place when Ronald Reagan was in the White House".[71]

Proudly declaring himself to be English (rather than British) with "not the slightest wish to integrate with anybody",[68] he stated his admiration for British politician Enoch Powell.[72] Moore devoted an entire chapter ("The Weak Arm of the Law") of his autobiography to denouncing modern British society, particularly "motorist-hunting" policemen, sentencing policy, the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and the "Thought Police/Politically Correct Brigade".[73] He wrote that "homosexuals are mainly responsible for the spreading of AIDS (the Garden of Eden is home of Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve)".[74]

In an interview with Radio Times, he said the BBC was being "ruined by women", commenting that: "The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the golden days." In response, a BBC spokeswoman described Moore as being one of TV's best-loved figures and remarked that his "forthright" views were "what we all love about him".[75] During his June 2002 appearance on Room 101 he banished female newsreaders into Room 101.[76]

I may be accused of being a dinosaur, but I would remind you that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time.

— Moore responds to those who criticise his right-wing beliefs[77]

Moore cited his opposition to fox hunting, blood sports and capital punishment to rebut claims that he had ultra right-wing views.[68][78] Though not a vegetarian, he held "a deep contempt for people who go out to kill merely to amuse themselves."[79] He was an animal lover, supporting many animal welfare charities (particularly Cats Protection). He had a particular affinity for cats and stated that "a catless house is a soulless house".[80]

Moore was opposed to astronomy being taught in schools. In an interview he said:

You see, anyone who is interested in astronomy will gravitate to it, as I did. If you start teaching it as a school subject, it's going to be taught badly, like everything else these days, and enthusiasm is going to be killed.[81]

Other interests and popular culture

Because of his long-running television career and eccentric demeanour, Moore was widely recognised and became a popular public figure. In 1976 it was used to good effect for an April Fools' Day spoof on BBC Radio 2, when Moore announced a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event that meant that if listeners could jump at that exact moment, 9.47 a.m. they would experience a temporary sensation of weightlessness.[82] The BBC received many telephone calls from listeners alleging they experienced the sensation.[82] He was a key figure in the establishment of the International Birdman event in Bognor Regis, which was initially held in Selsey.[83]

Moore appeared in other television and radio shows, including the BBC Radio 4 panel show Just a Minute. From 1992 until 1998, he played the role of GamesMaster, a character who knew everything about video games, in the Channel 4 television series GamesMaster.[84] GamesMaster would issue video game challenges and answered questions about cheats and tips. The show's host, Dominik Diamond, said that Moore did not understand anything he said on the show, but recorded his contributions in single takes.[85]

Moore was a keen amateur actor, appearing in local plays.[86] He appeared in self-parodying roles, in several episodes of The Goodies and on the Morecambe and Wise show, and broadcast with Kenneth Horne only a few days before Horne's death.[87] He had a minor role in the fourth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a lead role in the BBC Radio 1 sci-fi play, Independence Day UK in which amongst other things, Moore fills in as a navigator.[88] Among other shows, he appeared in It's a Celebrity Knockout, Blankety Blank and Face the Music, and in the Q.E.D. episode "Round Britain Whizz".[89]

He expressed appreciation for the science fiction television series Doctor Who and Star Trek, but stated that he had stopped watching when "they went PC - making women commanders, that kind of thing".[90] Despite this he made a cameo appearance in the Doctor Who episode "The Eleventh Hour" in 2010, which was Matt Smith's debut as the Eleventh Doctor.[91] In the 1960s, Moore had been approached by the Doctor Who story editor Gerry Davis to act as a scientific advisor on the series to help with the accuracy of stories, a position ultimately taken by Kit Pedler.[92]

A keen amateur chess player, Moore carried a pocket set and was vice president of Sussex Junior Chess Association.[93] In 2003, he presented Sussex Junior David Howell with the best young chess player award on Carlton Television's Britain's Brilliant Prodigies show. Moore had represented Sussex in his youth.[33]

Moore was an enthusiastic amateur cricketer, playing for the Selsey Cricket Club well into his seventies.[94] He played for the Lord's Taverners, a cricketing charity team, as a bowler with an unorthodox action. Though an accomplished leg spin bowler, he was a number 11 batsman and a poor fielder.[95] The jacket notes to his book "Suns, Myths and Men" (1968) said his hobbies included "chess, which he plays with a peculiar leg-spin, and cricket." He played golf, and won a Pro-Am competition in Southampton in 1975.[96]

Until forced to give up because of arthritis, Moore was a keen pianist and accomplished xylophone player, having first played the instrument at the age of 13.[97] He composed a substantial corpus of works, including two operettas.[98] Moore had a ballet, Lyra's Dream, written to his music. He performed at a Royal Command Performance, and performed a duet with Evelyn Glennie.[99]

In 1998, as a guest on Have I Got News for You, he accompanied the show's closing theme tune on the xylophone and as a pianist, he once accompanied Albert Einstein playing The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns on the violin (no recording was made).[100] In 1981 he performed a solo xylophone rendition of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." in a Royal Variety Performance.[101] He did not enjoy most popular music: when played ten modern rock songs by such artists as Hawkwind, Muse and Pink Floyd, in a 2009 interview with journalist Joel McIver, he explained, "To my ear, all these songs are universally awful."[102]

Before encountering health problems he was an extensive traveller, and had visited all seven continents, including Antarctica; he said his favourite two countries were Iceland and Norway.[103] On 7 March 2006 he was hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker because of a cardiac abnormality.[104]

He was a friend of Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, who was an occasional guest on The Sky at Night.[105] May bought Moore's Selsey home in 2008, leasing it back to him for a peppercorn rent the same day to provide financial security.[106] May, Moore and Chris Lintott co-wrote a book Bang! The Complete History of the Universe. In February 2011, Moore completed (with Robin Rees and Iain Nicolson) his comprehensive Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy for Cambridge University Press. In 1986 he was identified as the co-author of a book published in 1954 called Flying Saucer from Mars, attributed to Cedric Allingham, which was intended as a money-making venture and practical joke on UFO believers;[107] Moore never admitted his involvement.

Moore believed himself to be the only person to have met the first aviator, Orville Wright, the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong.[108]

In March 2015, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 45-minute play based on the life of Moore, The Far Side of the Moore by Sean Grundy, starring Tom Hollander as Moore and Patricia Hodge as his mother.[109]

Moore is portrayed by Daniel Beales in the Netflix series The Crown.[110][111]

Honours and appointments

 
Bronze bust of Moore at the National Space Centre, Leicester

In 1945, Moore was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), and in 1977 he was awarded the society's Jackson-Gwilt Medal. In 1968, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and promoted to a Commander (CBE) in 1988. In 1999 he became the Honorary President of the East Sussex Astronomical Society, a position he held until his death. Moore was knighted for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting" in the 2001 New Year Honours.[112]

In 2001, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (HonFRS), the only amateur astronomer ever to achieve the distinction.[113] In June 2002, he was appointed as the Honorary Vice-President of the Society for the History of Astronomy. Also in 2002, Buzz Aldrin presented him with a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for services to television.[114] He was patron of Torquay Boys' Grammar School in south Devon. Moore had a long association with the University of Leicester and its Department of Physics and Astronomy, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science (HonDSc) degree in 1996 and a Distinguished Honorary Fellowship in 2008, the highest award that the university can bestow.[115]

Personal life and death

World War II had a significant influence on Moore's life – he said his only romance ended when his fiancée Lorna, a nurse, was killed in London in 1943 by a bomb which struck her ambulance. Moore subsequently remarked that he never married because "there was no one else for me ... second best is no good for me ... I would have liked a wife and family, but it was not to be."[116] In his biography of Moore, Martin Mobberley expressed doubts over this account, as it was not possible to identify Lorna, saying that Moore told varying stories about her.[117] In his autobiography, he said that after sixty years he still thought about her, and because of her death "if I saw the entire German nation sinking into the sea, I could be relied upon to help push it down."[118] In May 2012, Moore told the Radio Times magazine, "We must take care. There may be another war. The Germans will try again, given another chance." He also said, in the same interview, that "the only good Kraut is a dead Kraut".[119]

Moore said he was "exceptionally close" to his mother Gertrude,[6] a talented artist who shared his home at Selsey, West Sussex, which was decorated with her paintings of "bogeys" – little friendly aliens – that she produced and sent out annually as the Moores' Christmas cards.[120] Moore wrote the foreword for his mother's 1974 book, Mrs Moore in Space.[121]

On 9 December 2012, Moore died aged 89 at his home in Selsey.[122] On 9 December 2014 it was reported that the Science Museum, London had acquired a large collection of his objects and manuscripts and memorabilia, including The Sky at Night scripts, and about 70 of his observation books, over more than 60 years, and manuscripts for astronomy and fiction books, and a 12.5-inch reflecting telescope.[123]

Bibliography

Moore wrote many popular books. From 1962 to 2011 he also edited the long-running annual Yearbook of Astronomy, He was also editor for many other science books in that period. He also wrote science fiction novels for children; and under the pen-name R. T. Fishall, wrote humorous works.[124] The list below is therefore not exhaustive.

  • A Guide to the Moon, 1953, ISBN 978-0-393-06414-8
  • Mission to Mars, 1955
  • The Planet Venus, 1956
  • The Voices of Mars, 1957
  • A Guide to the Planets, 1960, ISBN 0-393-06319-4
  • Stars and Space, 1960
  • A Guide to the Stars, 1960, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 60-7584
  • Oxford Children's Reference Library Book 2: Exploring the World, 1966
  • The Amateur Astronomer's Glossary, 1966 (reprinted as The A-Z of Astronomy)
  • Moon Flight Atlas, 1969[125]
  • Observer's Book of Astronomy, 1971, ISBN 0-7232-1524-3
  • Challenge of the Stars, 1972, ISBN 0528830457
  • Can You Speak Venusian?, 1972, ISBN 0-352-39776-4
  • How Britain Won the Space Race, 1972 (with Desmond Leslie)
  • Mastermind (Book 1), (edited by Boswell Taylor), the sections on Astronomy, 1973, republished 1984, ISBN 0-907812-64-3
  • Next Fifty Years in Space, 1976, ISBN 0-86002-033-9
  • Astronomy Quiz Book, 1978, ISBN 0-552-54132-X
  • The Scott Saunders series (six juvenile science fiction novels), late 1970s
  • Bureaucrats: How to Annoy Them (humour) (writing as R.T.Fishall), 1982, ISBN 0-09-929370-6
  • New Observer's Book of Astronomy, 1983, ISBN 0-7232-1646-0
  • Armchair Astronomy, 1984, ISBN 0-85059-718-8
  • Travellers in Space and Time, 1984, ISBN 0-385-19051-4
  • Stargazing: Astronomy Without A Telescope, 1985, ISBN 0-906053-92-7
  • Explorers of Space, 1986, ISBN 0-86134-092-2
  • The Astronomy Encyclopaedia, 1987, ISBN 0-85533-604-8
  • Astronomers' Stars, 1987, ISBN 0-393-02663-9
  • Television Astronomer: Thirty Years of the "Sky at Night", 1987, ISBN 0-245-54531-X
  • Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars, 1988, ISBN 0-521-36866-9
  • Space Travel for the Under Tens, 1988, ISBN 0-540-01179-7
  • The Universe for the Under Tens, 1990, ISBN 0-540-01209-2
  • Mission to the Planets, 1991, ISBN 0-304-34088-X
  • New Guide to the Planets, 1993, ISBN 0-283-06145-6
  • The Sun and the Moon (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0-09-967911-6
  • The Guinness Book of Astronomy, 1995, ISBN 0-85112-643-X
  • The Stars (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0-09-967881-0
  • The Sun and the Moon (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0-09-967911-6
  • The Planets (Starry Sky), 1996, ISBN 0-09-967891-8
  • Eyes on the Universe: Story of the Telescope, 1997, ISBN 3-540-76164-0
  • Exploring the Earth and Moon, 1997, ISBN 1-85361-447-5
  • Philip's Guide to Stars and Planets, 1997, ISBN 0-540-07235-4
  • Brilliant Stars, 1997, ISBN 0-304-34972-0
  • Patrick Moore on Mars, 1998, ISBN 0-304-35069-9
  • Patrick Moore's Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse , 1999, ISBN 0-7522-1814-X
  • Countdown!, or, How nigh is the end?, 1999, ISBN 0-7181-2291-7
  • Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars, 2000, ISBN 9780521793902
  • The Star of Bethlehem, 2001, ISBN 0-9537868-2-X
  • 80 Not Out: The Autobiography, 2003, ISBN 978-0-7509-4014-6
  • 2004 The Yearbook of Astronomy, 2003, ISBN 0-333-98941-4 (editor)
  • Our Universe: Facts, Figures and Fun, 2007, ISBN 1-904332-41-2
  • Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy, 2011, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-89935-2 and ISBN 978-1-107-67165-2

See also

  • Jack Horkheimer, host of the astronomy show Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer (American counterpart)

Notes

  1. ^ This British person has the barrelled surname Caldwell-Moore, but is known by the surname Moore.
  2. ^ Moore used the first of his two surnames, Caldwell, to name the list, since the initial of Moore is already used for the Messier catalogue.

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "MOORE, Sir Patrick (Alfred) Caldwell". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black. 2012.(subscription required)
  2. ^ "BBC iPlayer – Sir Patrick Moore: Astronomer, Broadcaster and Eccentric". Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore obituary". Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  4. ^ Melinda C. Shepherd. "Sir Patrick Moore (British amateur astronomer, author, and television personality) dies". Britannica.com. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 1
  6. ^ a b c Moore 2003, p. 4
  7. ^ May, Alex; Longair, Malcolm (2019). "Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 67: 143–152. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2019.0029. In press.
  8. ^ Moore 1997, p. 1
  9. ^ a b c Moore 2003, p. 3
  10. ^ a b c Moore 2003, p. 12
  11. ^ Moore 2003, p. 35
  12. ^ Moore 2003, p. 60
  13. ^ Mobberley 2013, p. 21
  14. ^ Mobberley 2013, pp. 23–24
  15. ^ Mobberley 2013, pp. 30–33
  16. ^ "No. 36653". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 August 1944. pp. 3758–3761.
  17. ^ Mobberley 2013, p. 33
  18. ^ May, Alex; Longair, Malcolm (1 December 2019). "Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore. 4 March 1923—9 December 2012". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 67: 143–152. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2019.0029.
  19. ^ Mobberley 2013, p. 39
  20. ^ Moore 2003, p. 6
  21. ^ "The teacher who studied the stars went on to have a stellar career". Kent & Sussex Courier. No. 27 July 2012 (Tonbridge ed.). p. 44.
  22. ^ Moore 2003, p. 15
  23. ^ Moore 2003, p. 16
  24. ^ Moore 2003, p. 18
  25. ^ Moore 2003, p. 14
  26. ^ Moore 2003, p. 21
  27. ^ a b c Moore 2003, p. 23
  28. ^ Moore 2003, p. 24
  29. ^ Moore 2003, p. 257
  30. ^ Moore 2003, p. 28
  31. ^ Moore 2003, p. 39
  32. ^ Moore 2003, p. 40
  33. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 41
  34. ^ Moore 2003, p. 42
  35. ^ Moore 2003, p. 54
  36. ^ Moore 2003, p. 56
  37. ^ Moore 2003, p. 57
  38. ^ Moore 2003, p. 58
  39. ^ Moore 2003, p. 61
  40. ^ Moore 2003, p. 113
  41. ^ Moore 2003, p. 62
  42. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 67
  43. ^ Moore 2003, p. 69
  44. ^ Moore 2003, p. 70
  45. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore, astronomer and broadcaster, dies aged 89". BBC News. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  46. ^ Moore 2003, p. 151
  47. ^ "Individual Membership" (PDF). International Astronomical Union. 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  48. ^ Moore 2003, p. 166
  49. ^ Moore 2003, p. 154
  50. ^ Moore 2003, p. 140
  51. ^ Moore 2003, p. 145
  52. ^ Moore 2003, p. 155
  53. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 189–92
  54. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 194–98
  55. ^ O'Meara 2002
  56. ^ Moore 2003, p. 101
  57. ^ Moore 2003, p. 119
  58. ^ "Town picks up the pieces after tornado". BBC News. 9 January 1998. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  59. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 175–86
  60. ^ Moore 2003, p. 121
  61. ^ Moore 2003, p. 139
  62. ^ Moore 2003, p. 260
  63. ^ "The Sky at Night". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  64. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore: 'I can't operate my telescope anymore'". The Daily Telegraph. London. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  65. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 167
  66. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 168
  67. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  68. ^ a b c Moore 2003, p. 169
  69. ^ Moore 2003, p. 171
  70. ^ "Interviews: Patrick Moore". b3ta. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  71. ^ Moore 2003, p. 172
  72. ^ Moore 2003, p. 170
  73. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 197–201
  74. ^ Moore 2003, p. 223
  75. ^ Adam Sherwin (8 May 2007). "The BBC is being ruined by women, says Patrick Moore". The Times. Retrieved 15 March 2015.(subscription required)
  76. ^ Moore 2003, p. 253
  77. ^ Moore 2003, p. 173
  78. ^ "Patrick Moore attacks hunting law". BBC News. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  79. ^ Moore 2003, p. 86
  80. ^ Moore 2003, p. 244
  81. ^ "Eagle Star Interview: Patrick Moore" in Eagle, 27 November 1982.
  82. ^ a b Moore 2003, p. 252
  83. ^ Moore 2003, p. 254
  84. ^ Moore 2003, p. 188
  85. ^ Gibson, Ellie (31 August 2014). "GamesMaster: The Inside Story". Eurogamer. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  86. ^ Moore 2003, p. 246
  87. ^ Moore 2003, p. 247
  88. ^ Mobberley 2013, p. 408
  89. ^ Mobberley 2013, pp. 397–411
  90. ^ "Moore blames women for 'banal' TV". BBC News. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  91. ^ Martin, Daniel (3 April 2010). "Doctor Who: Matt Smith's debut in The Eleventh Hour - the verdict". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  92. ^ Graeme Burk; Robert Smith (2013). Who's 50: 50 Doctor Who Stories To Watch Before You Die - An Unofficial Companion. ECW Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1770411661.
  93. ^ Herbert Scarry. "Sussex v. Ireland Junior Match 2002". The Irish Chess Union. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  94. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore: In tune with music of the spheres". The Independent. London. 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  95. ^ Moore 2003, p. 78
  96. ^ Moore 2003, p. 81
  97. ^ Moore 2003, p. 103
  98. ^ Moore 2003, p. 108
  99. ^ Moore 2003, p. 107
  100. ^ Moore 2003, p. 31
  101. ^ The Daily Telegraph – 21 August 1981, pg 21, "Xy-Moore-phone"
  102. ^ McIver, Joel (29 June 2009). "Space Rock The Final Frontier: Sir Patrick Moore on Pop". The Quietus. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  103. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 202–218
  104. ^ "Pacemaker for Sir Patrick Moore". BBC News. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  105. ^ Moore 2003, p. 249
  106. ^ "Sir Patrick helped by music star". The Argus. Brighton. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  107. ^ Allan, C. and Campbell, S. Flying Saucer from Moore's?, Magonia v. 23 (July 1986): pp 15–18
  108. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore dies aged 89". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 December 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  109. ^ "Far Side of the Moore". BBC. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  110. ^ Morgan, Peter (2019). "Moondust". The Crown. Season 3. Netflix.
  111. ^ "Apollo 11 first moon landing receives royal treatment in 'The Crown'". collectSPACE. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  112. ^ "Knights Batchelor etc". BBC News. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  113. ^ Moore 2003, p. 258
  114. ^ Moore 2003, p. 72
  115. ^ "Patrick Moore". Leicester University. 2012. from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  116. ^ "Obituary: Patrick Moore". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  117. ^ Mobberley 2013, p. 25-28
  118. ^ Moore 2003, p. 5
  119. ^ Furness, Hannah. "'The only good Kraut is a dead Kraut,' Sir Patrick Moore says". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  120. ^ Moore 2003, p. 242
  121. ^ Moore 1974
  122. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore, astronomer and broadcaster, dies aged 89". BBC News. 9 December 2012.
  123. ^ "Sir Patrick Moore archive acquired". BT.com.
  124. ^ "Moore, Patrick". Worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  125. ^ Moore, Patrick. Moon Flight Atlas Hardcover. 48 pages. SBN 54005064-4. First published in Great Britain in 1969 by George Philip, & Son Ltd. 98 Victoria Road, N.W.10.

Sources

External links

  • Bang! The Complete History of the Universe by Brian May, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott

patrick, moore, other, people, named, disambiguation, patrick, alfred, caldwell, moore, honfrs, fras, ɔː, march, 1923, december, 2012, english, amateur, astronomer, attained, prominence, that, field, writer, researcher, radio, commentator, television, presente. For other people named Patrick Moore see Patrick Moore disambiguation Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell Moore CBE HonFRS FRAS a ˈ k ɔː l d w ɛ l 4 March 1923 9 December 2012 1 was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer researcher radio commentator and television presenter 2 3 4 SirPatrick MooreCBE HonFRS FRASMoore in 2002 at the opening of the South Downs Planetarium amp Science CentreBornPatrick Alfred Caldwell Moore 1923 03 04 4 March 1923 1 Pinner Middlesex EnglandDied9 December 2012 2012 12 09 aged 89 Selsey West Sussex EnglandResting placeChichester West SussexKnown forThe Sky at NightGamesMasterAwardsCommander of the Order of the British EmpireHonorary Fellow of the Royal SocietyFellow of the Royal Astronomical SocietyScientific careerInstitutionsRoyal Air ForceBBCBritish Astronomical AssociationInfluencedBrian MayChris LintottMilitary careerAllegiance United KingdomService wbr branchRoyal Air ForceYears of service1940 1945RankPilot officerBattles warsSecond World WarMoore was president of the British Astronomical Association co founder and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy author of over seventy books on astronomy and presenter of the world s longest running television series with the same original presenter BBC s The Sky at Night from 1957 He became known as a specialist in Moon observation and for creating the Caldwell catalogue Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television Outside his field of astronomy Moore was known for his role on the video game television show GamesMaster Moore was also a self taught xylophonist and pianist as well as an accomplished composer He was an amateur cricketer golfer and chess player In addition to many popular science books he wrote numerous works of fiction He was an opponent of fox hunting an outspoken critic of the European Union and a supporter of the UK Independence Party and he served as chairman of the short lived anti immigration United Country Party He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II Contents 1 Early life 2 Career in astronomy 3 Activism and political beliefs 4 Other interests and popular culture 5 Honours and appointments 6 Personal life and death 7 Bibliography 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 10 1 Citations 10 2 Sources 11 External linksEarly life EditMoore was born in Pinner Middlesex on 4 March 1923 5 to Capt Charles Trachsel Caldwell Moore MC died 1947 6 and Gertrude nee White died 1981 6 His family moved to Bognor Regis and subsequently to East Grinstead where he spent his childhood His youth was marked by heart problems which left him in poor health and he was educated at home by private tutors 5 7 He developed an interest in astronomy at the age of six 8 and joined the British Astronomical Association at the age of eleven 9 He was invited to run a small observatory in East Grinstead at the age of 14 after his mentor William Sadler Franks who ran the observatory was killed in a road accident 10 At the age of 16 he began wearing a monocle after an oculist told him his right eye was weaker than his left 11 Three years later he claimed he began wearing a full set of dentures 12 During World War II Moore joined the Home Guard in East Grinstead where his father had been elected platoon commander 13 Records show that he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in December 1941 at age 18 and was not called up for service until July 1942 as an Aircraftman 2nd Class 14 After basic training at various RAF bases in England he went to Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and completed training at RAF Moncton in New Brunswick as a navigator and pilot 15 Returning to England in June 1944 he was commissioned as a pilot officer 16 and was posted to RAF Millom in Cumberland where he claimed to have been a navigator in the crew of a Vickers Wellington bomber engaged in maritime patrolling and bombing missions to mainland Europe 17 though in fact he was still in training at Millom and was only posted to Bomber Command five days before the end of the war in Europe 18 After the end of hostilities Moore became an adjutant and then an Area Meteorological Officer demobilising in October 1945 with the rank of flying officer 19 Career in astronomy EditAfter the war Moore rejected a grant to study at the University of Cambridge citing a wish to stand on my own two feet 9 He wrote his first book Guide to the Moon later retitled Patrick Moore on the Moon in 1952 and it was published a year later 9 He was a teacher in Woking and at Holmewood House School in Langton Green 20 from 1945 to 1953 21 His second book was a translation of a work of French astronomer Gerard de Vaucouleurs Moore spoke fluent French 22 After his second original science book Guide to the Planets he wrote his first work of fiction The Master of the Moon 23 the first of numerous young adult fiction space adventure books including the late 1970s series the Scott Saunders Space Adventure he wrote a more adult novel and a farce titled Ancient Lights though he did not wish either to be published 24 Moore also translated the book Quanta by J Lochak and Andrade E Silva published in 1969 from the French While teaching at Holmewood he set up a 12 inch reflector telescope at his home which he kept into his old age 10 He developed a particular interest in the far side of the Moon a small part of which is visible from Earth as a result of the Moon s libration the Moon was his specialist subject throughout his life 10 Moore described the short lived glowing areas on the lunar surface and gave them the name transient lunar phenomena in 1968 25 His first television appearance was in a debate about the existence of flying saucers following a spate of reported sightings in the 1950s Moore argued against Lord Dowding and other UFO proponents 26 He was invited to present a live astronomy programme and said the greatest difficulty was finding an appropriate theme tune the opening of Jean Sibelius s Pelleas et Melisande was chosen and used throughout the programme s existence 27 The programme was originally named Star Map before The Sky at Night was chosen in the Radio Times 27 On 24 April 1957 at 10 30 pm Moore presented the first episode about the Comet Arend Roland 27 The programme was pitched to casual viewers up to professional astronomers in a format which remained consistent from its inception 28 Moore presented every monthly episode except for one in July 2004 when he suffered a near fatal bout of food poisoning caused by eating a contaminated goose egg and was replaced for that episode by Chris Lintott 29 Moore appears in the Guinness World Records book as the world s longest serving TV presenter having presented the programme since 1957 From 2004 to 2012 the programme was broadcast from Moore s home when arthritis prevented him from travelling to the studios Over the years he received many lucrative offers to take his programme onto other networks but rejected them because he held a gentlemen s agreement with the BBC 30 In 1959 the Russians allowed Moore to be the first Westerner to see the photographic results of the Luna 3 probe and to show them live on air 31 Less successful was the transmission of the Luna 4 probe which ran into technical difficulties and around this time Moore famously swallowed a large fly both episodes were live and Moore had to continue regardless 32 He was invited to visit the Soviet Union where he met Yuri Gagarin the first man to journey into outer space 33 For the fiftieth episode of The Sky at Night in September 1961 Moore s attempt to be the first to broadcast a live direct telescopic view of a planet resulted in another unintended comedy episode as cloud obscured the sky 34 Patrick Moore signing his book The Astronomy of Birr Castle at NIHE 1985 In 1965 he was appointed director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland a post he held until 1968 35 His stay outside England was short partly because of the beginning of The Troubles a dispute Moore wanted no involvement in 36 He was appointed Armagh County secretary of the Scout movement but resigned after being informed that Catholics could not be admitted 37 In developing the Planetarium Moore travelled to Japan to secure a Goto Mars projector 38 He helped with the redevelopment of the Birr Telescope in the Republic of Ireland 39 He was a key figure in the development of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath 40 In June 1968 he returned to England settling in Selsey after resigning his post in Armagh 41 During the NASA Apollo programme presenting on the Apollo 8 mission he declared that this is one of the great moments of human history only to have his broadcast interrupted by the children s programme Jackanory 42 He was a presenter for the Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 missions and a commenter with Cliff Michelmore and James Burke for BBC television s coverage of the Moon landing missions 42 Moore could not remember his words at the Eagle has landed moment and the BBC has lost the tapes of the broadcast 43 A homemade recording reveals that the studio team was very quiet during the landing sequence leaving the NASA commentary clear of interruptions Some 14 seconds after contact Burke says They ve touched At 36 seconds he says Eagle has landed Between 53 and 62 seconds he explains the upcoming stay no stay decision and NASA announces the T1 stay at 90 seconds after contact At 100 seconds the recorded sequence ends Thus any real time comment Moore made was not broadcast live and the recording ends before Burke polls the studio team for comment and reaction Moore participated in TV coverage of Apollo missions 12 to 17 44 Patrick was the last of a lost generation a true gentleman the most generous in nature that I ever knew and an inspiration to thousands in his personal life and to millions through his 50 years of unique broadcasting It s no exaggeration to say that Patrick in his tireless and ebullient communication of the magic of astronomy inspired every British astronomer amateur and professional for half a century There will never be another Patrick Moore But we were lucky enough to get one Brian May speaking shortly after Moore s death 45 He was elected a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1966 46 47 having twice edited the Union s General Assembly newsletters 48 He attempted to establish an International Union of Amateur Astronomers which failed due to lack of interest 49 During the 1970s and 80s he reported on the Voyager and Pioneer programs often from NASA headquarters 50 At this time he became increasingly annoyed by conspiracy theorists and reporters who asked him questions such as Why waste money on space research when there is so much to be done here He said that when asked these type of questions I know that I m dealing with an idiot 51 Another question that annoyed him was what is the difference between astronomy and astrology 52 Despite this he made a point of responding to all letters delivered to his house and sent a variety of standard replies to letters asking basic questions as well as those from conspiracy theorists proponents of hunting and cranks 53 Despite his fame his telephone number was always listed in the telephone directory and he was happy to show members of the public his observatory 54 He compiled the Caldwell catalogue b of 109 star clusters nebulae and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers 55 In 1982 asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour 56 In February 1986 he presented a special episode of The Sky at Night on the approach of Halley s Comet though he later said the BBC s better funded Horizon team made a complete hash of the programme 57 In January 1998 a tornado destroyed part of Moore s garden observatory it was subsequently rebuilt 58 Moore campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the Royal Observatory Greenwich in 1998 59 Among Moore s favourite episodes of The Sky at Night were those that dealt with eclipses and he said there is nothing in nature to match the glory of a total eclipse of the Sun 60 Moore with his co presenter Chris Lintott and Brian May astrophysicist and Queen guitarist at AstroFest in 2007 Moore was a BBC presenter for the total eclipse in England in 1999 though the view he and his team had from Cornwall was obscured by cloud 61 Moore was the patron of the South Downs Planetarium amp Science Centre and he attended its official opening in 2001 62 On 1 April 2007 a 50th anniversary semi spoof edition of the programme was broadcast on BBC One with Moore depicted as a Time Lord and featured special guests amateur astronomers Jon Culshaw impersonating Moore presenting the first The Sky at Night and Brian May On 6 May 2007 a special edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on BBC One to commemorate the programme s 50th anniversary with a party in Moore s garden at Selsey attended by amateur and professional astronomers Moore celebrated the record breaking 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex on 6 March 2011 He presented with the help of special guests Professor Brian Cox Jon Culshaw and Lord Rees the Astronomer Royal 63 It was reported in January 2012 that because of arthritis and the effects of an old spinal injury he was no longer able to operate a telescope However he was still able to present The Sky at Night from his home 64 Activism and political beliefs EditMoore was known for his conservative political views In the 1970s he was chairman of the anti immigration United Country Party a position he held until the party was absorbed by the New Britain Party in 1980 He campaigned for the politician Edmund Iremonger at the 1979 general election as they agreed the French and Germans were not to be trusted 65 Iremonger and Moore gave up political campaigning after deciding they were Thatcherites 65 Moore campaigned on behalf of Douglas Denny UKIP for the Chichester constituency in 2001 66 A Eurosceptic he was a supporter and patron of the UK Independence Party 67 Moore briefly supported the Liberal Party in the 1950s though condemned the Liberal Democrats saying he believed they could alter their position radically and that they would happily join up with the BNP or the Socialist Workers Party if by doing so they could win a few extra votes 66 He admired the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and was briefly their financial adviser 68 He wrote in his autobiography that Liechtenstein a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince had the best political system in the world 69 Moore was a critic of the Iraq War 70 and said the world was a safer place when Ronald Reagan was in the White House 71 Proudly declaring himself to be English rather than British with not the slightest wish to integrate with anybody 68 he stated his admiration for British politician Enoch Powell 72 Moore devoted an entire chapter The Weak Arm of the Law of his autobiography to denouncing modern British society particularly motorist hunting policemen sentencing policy the Race Relations Act Sex Discrimination Act and the Thought Police Politically Correct Brigade 73 He wrote that homosexuals are mainly responsible for the spreading of AIDS the Garden of Eden is home of Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve 74 In an interview with Radio Times he said the BBC was being ruined by women commenting that The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows soap operas cooking quizzes kitchen sink plays You wouldn t have had that in the golden days In response a BBC spokeswoman described Moore as being one of TV s best loved figures and remarked that his forthright views were what we all love about him 75 During his June 2002 appearance on Room 101 he banished female newsreaders into Room 101 76 I may be accused of being a dinosaur but I would remind you that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time Moore responds to those who criticise his right wing beliefs 77 Moore cited his opposition to fox hunting blood sports and capital punishment to rebut claims that he had ultra right wing views 68 78 Though not a vegetarian he held a deep contempt for people who go out to kill merely to amuse themselves 79 He was an animal lover supporting many animal welfare charities particularly Cats Protection He had a particular affinity for cats and stated that a catless house is a soulless house 80 Moore was opposed to astronomy being taught in schools In an interview he said You see anyone who is interested in astronomy will gravitate to it as I did If you start teaching it as a school subject it s going to be taught badly like everything else these days and enthusiasm is going to be killed 81 Other interests and popular culture EditBecause of his long running television career and eccentric demeanour Moore was widely recognised and became a popular public figure In 1976 it was used to good effect for an April Fools Day spoof on BBC Radio 2 when Moore announced a once in a lifetime astronomical event that meant that if listeners could jump at that exact moment 9 47 a m they would experience a temporary sensation of weightlessness 82 The BBC received many telephone calls from listeners alleging they experienced the sensation 82 He was a key figure in the establishment of the International Birdman event in Bognor Regis which was initially held in Selsey 83 Moore appeared in other television and radio shows including the BBC Radio 4 panel show Just a Minute From 1992 until 1998 he played the role of GamesMaster a character who knew everything about video games in the Channel 4 television series GamesMaster 84 GamesMaster would issue video game challenges and answered questions about cheats and tips The show s host Dominik Diamond said that Moore did not understand anything he said on the show but recorded his contributions in single takes 85 Moore was a keen amateur actor appearing in local plays 86 He appeared in self parodying roles in several episodes of The Goodies and on the Morecambe and Wise show and broadcast with Kenneth Horne only a few days before Horne s death 87 He had a minor role in the fourth radio series of The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy and a lead role in the BBC Radio 1 sci fi play Independence Day UK in which amongst other things Moore fills in as a navigator 88 Among other shows he appeared in It s a Celebrity Knockout Blankety Blank and Face the Music and in the Q E D episode Round Britain Whizz 89 He expressed appreciation for the science fiction television series Doctor Who and Star Trek but stated that he had stopped watching when they went PC making women commanders that kind of thing 90 Despite this he made a cameo appearance in the Doctor Who episode The Eleventh Hour in 2010 which was Matt Smith s debut as the Eleventh Doctor 91 In the 1960s Moore had been approached by the Doctor Who story editor Gerry Davis to act as a scientific advisor on the series to help with the accuracy of stories a position ultimately taken by Kit Pedler 92 A keen amateur chess player Moore carried a pocket set and was vice president of Sussex Junior Chess Association 93 In 2003 he presented Sussex Junior David Howell with the best young chess player award on Carlton Television s Britain s Brilliant Prodigies show Moore had represented Sussex in his youth 33 Moore was an enthusiastic amateur cricketer playing for the Selsey Cricket Club well into his seventies 94 He played for the Lord s Taverners a cricketing charity team as a bowler with an unorthodox action Though an accomplished leg spin bowler he was a number 11 batsman and a poor fielder 95 The jacket notes to his book Suns Myths and Men 1968 said his hobbies included chess which he plays with a peculiar leg spin and cricket He played golf and won a Pro Am competition in Southampton in 1975 96 Until forced to give up because of arthritis Moore was a keen pianist and accomplished xylophone player having first played the instrument at the age of 13 97 He composed a substantial corpus of works including two operettas 98 Moore had a ballet Lyra s Dream written to his music He performed at a Royal Command Performance and performed a duet with Evelyn Glennie 99 In 1998 as a guest on Have I Got News for You he accompanied the show s closing theme tune on the xylophone and as a pianist he once accompanied Albert Einstein playing The Swan by Camille Saint Saens on the violin no recording was made 100 In 1981 he performed a solo xylophone rendition of the Sex Pistols Anarchy in the U K in a Royal Variety Performance 101 He did not enjoy most popular music when played ten modern rock songs by such artists as Hawkwind Muse and Pink Floyd in a 2009 interview with journalist Joel McIver he explained To my ear all these songs are universally awful 102 Before encountering health problems he was an extensive traveller and had visited all seven continents including Antarctica he said his favourite two countries were Iceland and Norway 103 On 7 March 2006 he was hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker because of a cardiac abnormality 104 He was a friend of Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May who was an occasional guest on The Sky at Night 105 May bought Moore s Selsey home in 2008 leasing it back to him for a peppercorn rent the same day to provide financial security 106 May Moore and Chris Lintott co wrote a book Bang The Complete History of the Universe In February 2011 Moore completed with Robin Rees and Iain Nicolson his comprehensive Patrick Moore s Data Book of Astronomy for Cambridge University Press In 1986 he was identified as the co author of a book published in 1954 called Flying Saucer from Mars attributed to Cedric Allingham which was intended as a money making venture and practical joke on UFO believers 107 Moore never admitted his involvement Moore believed himself to be the only person to have met the first aviator Orville Wright the first man in space Yuri Gagarin and the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong 108 In March 2015 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 45 minute play based on the life of Moore The Far Side of the Moore by Sean Grundy starring Tom Hollander as Moore and Patricia Hodge as his mother 109 Moore is portrayed by Daniel Beales in the Netflix series The Crown 110 111 Honours and appointments Edit Bronze bust of Moore at the National Space Centre Leicester In 1945 Moore was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society FRAS and in 1977 he was awarded the society s Jackson Gwilt Medal In 1968 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE and promoted to a Commander CBE in 1988 In 1999 he became the Honorary President of the East Sussex Astronomical Society a position he held until his death Moore was knighted for services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting in the 2001 New Year Honours 112 In 2001 he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society HonFRS the only amateur astronomer ever to achieve the distinction 113 In June 2002 he was appointed as the Honorary Vice President of the Society for the History of Astronomy Also in 2002 Buzz Aldrin presented him with a British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA award for services to television 114 He was patron of Torquay Boys Grammar School in south Devon Moore had a long association with the University of Leicester and its Department of Physics and Astronomy and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science HonDSc degree in 1996 and a Distinguished Honorary Fellowship in 2008 the highest award that the university can bestow 115 Personal life and death EditWorld War II had a significant influence on Moore s life he said his only romance ended when his fiancee Lorna a nurse was killed in London in 1943 by a bomb which struck her ambulance Moore subsequently remarked that he never married because there was no one else for me second best is no good for me I would have liked a wife and family but it was not to be 116 In his biography of Moore Martin Mobberley expressed doubts over this account as it was not possible to identify Lorna saying that Moore told varying stories about her 117 In his autobiography he said that after sixty years he still thought about her and because of her death if I saw the entire German nation sinking into the sea I could be relied upon to help push it down 118 In May 2012 Moore told the Radio Times magazine We must take care There may be another war The Germans will try again given another chance He also said in the same interview that the only good Kraut is a dead Kraut 119 Moore said he was exceptionally close to his mother Gertrude 6 a talented artist who shared his home at Selsey West Sussex which was decorated with her paintings of bogeys little friendly aliens that she produced and sent out annually as the Moores Christmas cards 120 Moore wrote the foreword for his mother s 1974 book Mrs Moore in Space 121 On 9 December 2012 Moore died aged 89 at his home in Selsey 122 On 9 December 2014 it was reported that the Science Museum London had acquired a large collection of his objects and manuscripts and memorabilia including The Sky at Night scripts and about 70 of his observation books over more than 60 years and manuscripts for astronomy and fiction books and a 12 5 inch reflecting telescope 123 Bibliography EditMoore wrote many popular books From 1962 to 2011 he also edited the long running annual Yearbook of Astronomy He was also editor for many other science books in that period He also wrote science fiction novels for children and under the pen name R T Fishall wrote humorous works 124 The list below is therefore not exhaustive A Guide to the Moon 1953 ISBN 978 0 393 06414 8 Mission to Mars 1955 The Planet Venus 1956 The Voices of Mars 1957 A Guide to the Planets 1960 ISBN 0 393 06319 4 Stars and Space 1960 A Guide to the Stars 1960 Library of Congress Catalog Card No 60 7584 Oxford Children s Reference Library Book 2 Exploring the World 1966 The Amateur Astronomer s Glossary 1966 reprinted as The A Z of Astronomy Moon Flight Atlas 1969 125 Observer s Book of Astronomy 1971 ISBN 0 7232 1524 3 Challenge of the Stars 1972 ISBN 0528830457 Can You Speak Venusian 1972 ISBN 0 352 39776 4 How Britain Won the Space Race 1972 with Desmond Leslie Mastermind Book 1 edited by Boswell Taylor the sections on Astronomy 1973 republished 1984 ISBN 0 907812 64 3 Next Fifty Years in Space 1976 ISBN 0 86002 033 9 Astronomy Quiz Book 1978 ISBN 0 552 54132 X The Scott Saunders series six juvenile science fiction novels late 1970s Bureaucrats How to Annoy Them humour writing as R T Fishall 1982 ISBN 0 09 929370 6 New Observer s Book of Astronomy 1983 ISBN 0 7232 1646 0 Armchair Astronomy 1984 ISBN 0 85059 718 8 Travellers in Space and Time 1984 ISBN 0 385 19051 4 Stargazing Astronomy Without A Telescope 1985 ISBN 0 906053 92 7 Explorers of Space 1986 ISBN 0 86134 092 2 The Astronomy Encyclopaedia 1987 ISBN 0 85533 604 8 Astronomers Stars 1987 ISBN 0 393 02663 9 Television Astronomer Thirty Years of the Sky at Night 1987 ISBN 0 245 54531 X Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars 1988 ISBN 0 521 36866 9 Space Travel for the Under Tens 1988 ISBN 0 540 01179 7 The Universe for the Under Tens 1990 ISBN 0 540 01209 2 Mission to the Planets 1991 ISBN 0 304 34088 X New Guide to the Planets 1993 ISBN 0 283 06145 6 The Sun and the Moon Starry Sky 1996 ISBN 0 09 967911 6 The Guinness Book of Astronomy 1995 ISBN 0 85112 643 X The Stars Starry Sky 1996 ISBN 0 09 967881 0 The Sun and the Moon Starry Sky 1996 ISBN 0 09 967911 6 The Planets Starry Sky 1996 ISBN 0 09 967891 8 Eyes on the Universe Story of the Telescope 1997 ISBN 3 540 76164 0 Exploring the Earth and Moon 1997 ISBN 1 85361 447 5 Philip s Guide to Stars and Planets 1997 ISBN 0 540 07235 4 Brilliant Stars 1997 ISBN 0 304 34972 0 Patrick Moore on Mars 1998 ISBN 0 304 35069 9 Patrick Moore s Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse 1999 ISBN 0 7522 1814 X Countdown or How nigh is the end 1999 ISBN 0 7181 2291 7 Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars 2000 ISBN 9780521793902 The Star of Bethlehem 2001 ISBN 0 9537868 2 X 80 Not Out The Autobiography 2003 ISBN 978 0 7509 4014 6 2004 The Yearbook of Astronomy 2003 ISBN 0 333 98941 4 editor Our Universe Facts Figures and Fun 2007 ISBN 1 904332 41 2 Patrick Moore s Data Book of Astronomy 2011 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 89935 2 and ISBN 978 1 107 67165 2See also EditJack Horkheimer host of the astronomy show Jack Horkheimer Star Gazer American counterpart Notes Edit This British person has the barrelled surname Caldwell Moore but is known by the surname Moore Moore used the first of his two surnames Caldwell to name the list since the initial of Moore is already used for the Messier catalogue References EditCitations Edit a b MOORE Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell Who s Who 2013 A amp C Black 2012 subscription required BBC iPlayer Sir Patrick Moore Astronomer Broadcaster and Eccentric Retrieved 12 December 2012 Sir Patrick Moore obituary Retrieved 12 December 2012 Melinda C Shepherd Sir Patrick Moore British amateur astronomer author and television personality dies Britannica com Retrieved 15 March 2015 a b Moore 2003 p 1 a b c Moore 2003 p 4 May Alex Longair Malcolm 2019 Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell Moore 4 March 1923 9 December 2012 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 67 143 152 doi 10 1098 rsbm 2019 0029 In press Moore 1997 p 1 a b c Moore 2003 p 3 a b c Moore 2003 p 12 Moore 2003 p 35 Moore 2003 p 60 Mobberley 2013 p 21 Mobberley 2013 pp 23 24 Mobberley 2013 pp 30 33 No 36653 The London Gazette Supplement 11 August 1944 pp 3758 3761 Mobberley 2013 p 33 May Alex Longair Malcolm 1 December 2019 Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell Moore 4 March 1923 9 December 2012 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 67 143 152 doi 10 1098 rsbm 2019 0029 Mobberley 2013 p 39 Moore 2003 p 6 The teacher who studied the stars went on to have a stellar career Kent amp Sussex Courier No 27 July 2012 Tonbridge ed p 44 Moore 2003 p 15 Moore 2003 p 16 Moore 2003 p 18 Moore 2003 p 14 Moore 2003 p 21 a b c Moore 2003 p 23 Moore 2003 p 24 Moore 2003 p 257 Moore 2003 p 28 Moore 2003 p 39 Moore 2003 p 40 a b Moore 2003 p 41 Moore 2003 p 42 Moore 2003 p 54 Moore 2003 p 56 Moore 2003 p 57 Moore 2003 p 58 Moore 2003 p 61 Moore 2003 p 113 Moore 2003 p 62 a b Moore 2003 p 67 Moore 2003 p 69 Moore 2003 p 70 Sir Patrick Moore astronomer and broadcaster dies aged 89 BBC News 9 December 2012 Retrieved 9 December 2012 Moore 2003 p 151 Individual Membership PDF International Astronomical Union 2011 Retrieved 29 December 2011 Moore 2003 p 166 Moore 2003 p 154 Moore 2003 p 140 Moore 2003 p 145 Moore 2003 p 155 Moore 2003 pp 189 92 Moore 2003 pp 194 98 O Meara 2002 Moore 2003 p 101 Moore 2003 p 119 Town picks up the pieces after tornado BBC News 9 January 1998 Retrieved 3 April 2007 Moore 2003 pp 175 86 Moore 2003 p 121 Moore 2003 p 139 Moore 2003 p 260 The Sky at Night bbc co uk BBC Retrieved 5 December 2016 Sir Patrick Moore I can t operate my telescope anymore The Daily Telegraph London 24 January 2012 Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 28 January 2012 a b Moore 2003 p 167 a b Moore 2003 p 168 UKIP Dorset Party Patrons Page Archived from the original on 6 February 2007 Retrieved 8 May 2007 a b c Moore 2003 p 169 Moore 2003 p 171 Interviews Patrick Moore b3ta Retrieved 11 August 2007 Moore 2003 p 172 Moore 2003 p 170 Moore 2003 pp 197 201 Moore 2003 p 223 Adam Sherwin 8 May 2007 The BBC is being ruined by women says Patrick Moore The Times Retrieved 15 March 2015 subscription required Moore 2003 p 253 Moore 2003 p 173 Patrick Moore attacks hunting law BBC News 11 March 2009 Retrieved 27 December 2011 Moore 2003 p 86 Moore 2003 p 244 Eagle Star Interview Patrick Moore in Eagle 27 November 1982 a b Moore 2003 p 252 Moore 2003 p 254 Moore 2003 p 188 Gibson Ellie 31 August 2014 GamesMaster The Inside Story Eurogamer Retrieved 15 March 2015 Moore 2003 p 246 Moore 2003 p 247 Mobberley 2013 p 408 Mobberley 2013 pp 397 411 Moore blames women for banal TV BBC News 8 May 2007 Retrieved 18 August 2015 Martin Daniel 3 April 2010 Doctor Who Matt Smith s debut in The Eleventh Hour the verdict The Guardian London Retrieved 18 August 2015 Graeme Burk Robert Smith 2013 Who s 50 50 Doctor Who Stories To Watch Before You Die An Unofficial Companion ECW Press p 38 ISBN 978 1770411661 Herbert Scarry Sussex v Ireland Junior Match 2002 The Irish Chess Union Retrieved 17 February 2008 Sir Patrick Moore In tune with music of the spheres The Independent London 30 January 2011 Archived from the original on 25 May 2022 Retrieved 13 October 2010 Moore 2003 p 78 Moore 2003 p 81 Moore 2003 p 103 Moore 2003 p 108 Moore 2003 p 107 Moore 2003 p 31 The Daily Telegraph 21 August 1981 pg 21 Xy Moore phone McIver Joel 29 June 2009 Space Rock The Final Frontier Sir Patrick Moore on Pop The Quietus Retrieved 9 December 2012 Moore 2003 pp 202 218 Pacemaker for Sir Patrick Moore BBC News 8 March 2006 Retrieved 25 February 2011 Moore 2003 p 249 Sir Patrick helped by music star The Argus Brighton 17 December 2012 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Allan C and Campbell S Flying Saucer from Moore s Magonia v 23 July 1986 pp 15 18 Sir Patrick Moore dies aged 89 The Daily Telegraph London 9 December 2012 Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2015 Far Side of the Moore BBC Retrieved 20 June 2015 Morgan Peter 2019 Moondust The Crown Season 3 Netflix Apollo 11 first moon landing receives royal treatment in The Crown collectSPACE 18 November 2019 Retrieved 18 November 2019 Knights Batchelor etc BBC News 30 December 2000 Retrieved 2 March 2009 Moore 2003 p 258 Moore 2003 p 72 Patrick Moore Leicester University 2012 Archived from the original on 26 February 2017 Retrieved 2 April 2015 Obituary Patrick Moore www bbc co uk BBC 9 December 2012 Retrieved 15 April 2017 Mobberley 2013 p 25 28 Moore 2003 p 5 Furness Hannah The only good Kraut is a dead Kraut Sir Patrick Moore says The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 27 December 2015 Moore 2003 p 242 Moore 1974 Sir Patrick Moore astronomer and broadcaster dies aged 89 BBC News 9 December 2012 Sir Patrick Moore archive acquired BT com Moore Patrick Worldcat org Retrieved 11 December 2012 Moore Patrick Moon Flight Atlas Hardcover 48 pages SBN 54005064 4 First published in Great Britain in 1969 by George Philip amp Son Ltd 98 Victoria Road N W 10 Sources Edit Moore Gertrude L 1974 Mrs Moore in Space Cassel amp Co Ltd ISBN 0 304 29426 8 Moore Patrick 1997 Exploring the night sky with binoculars Cambridge England Cambridge University Press ISBN 1 85361 447 5 Moore Patrick 2003 The Autobiography Sutton Publishing ISBN 978 0 7509 4014 6 Mobberley Martin 2013 It Came from Outer Space Wearing an RAF Blazer A fan s biography of Sir Patrick Moore Springer ISBN 978 3 319 00608 6 O Meara Stephen James 2002 The Caldwell Objects Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 82796 6 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Patrick Moore Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patrick Moore Bang The Complete History of the Universe by Brian May Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott Portals Biography Books Astronomy Stars Education Media Science Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Patrick Moore amp oldid 1129650409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.