The Sky at Night

Patrick Moore investigates comet tails, meteorites and asteroids and discovers the terrible consequences of a cosmic collision with the Earth.

Mercury is a world of extremes and enigmas - the closest one to the Sun. The spacecraft Messenger, which has just reached it after a four year journey, now offers enthralling pictures of its hidden side, which has never been seen before. Sir Patrick Moore looks at the latest images from this exciting mission, while Dr Chris Lintott looks forward to the lunar eclipse this month.

With a new era of lunar exploration dawning as more probes are launched to try to unlock the Moon's darkest secrets, Patrick Moore finds out about British ambitions to get there. Dr Chris Lintott travels to NASA to hear about plans to blast a crater in the lunar surface and and meets the astronauts who may be the next men on the Moon.

It's the start of a new solar cycle, and the spacecraft Ulysses faces retirement, but solar missions Stereo and SOHO are still revealing our nearest star in a new light.

The world of astronomy. Gamma ray bursts are some of the largest explosions in the universe, and Sir Patrick Moore discovers how some of these monstrous events mark the spectacular deaths of the first stars. Also, Dr Chris Lintott visits the NASA Phoenix team fo find out the latest from the Mars Polar explorer.

Patrick Moore wonders if there is life beyond Earth, and Chris Lintott visits SETI.