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The Sky at Night

BBC Four Documentary Not rated yet

What it is

Our team of astronomers tell us what's on view in the night sky. From comets to quasars, there is always something fascinating to discuss in the Universe.

Episode highlights

Last episode

Big Black Holes and Little Red Dots

s2026e05 · 2026-08-10

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Episode guide

10 this season · 838 total
s2021e01 Pick of the Year 2021-01-17 22:00

Pick of the Year

s2021e01 · 2021-01-17 · 22:00

Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Chris Lintott look back at some of the biggest stories featured on the programme in 2020, with the help of special guests who have chosen their favourite moments.From the launch of Solar Orbiter to the discovery of phosphine on Venus, the team relive the astronomy highlights of a highly unusual year. 

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s2021e02 Mars and Meteorites 2021-04-11 20:30

Mars and Meteorites

s2021e02 · 2021-04-11 · 20:30

In February, orbiters from China and the UAE settled into their positions above Mars, and Nasa's Perseverance rover touched down on its surface. Maggie Aderin-Pocock reviews the astonishing footage the rover has already sent back, and talks with its legendary chief designer Adam Seltzer about the challenges of missions to the red planet.Chris Lintott reveals the incredible ‘track-and-trace' story behind the discovery of the Winchcombe Meteorite, and is given special access to the labs at the Natural History Museum to see the meteorite itself. Chris meets Dr Ashley King, who is co-ordinating UK-wide research into the rocky interloper, which it is hoped might tell us more about the early universe and reveal clues to the origin of life.Pete Lawrence is on hand with a guide to viewing planets in the night sky, and to tell us what to look out for over the course of the rest of the year, and Maggie pays tribute to her childhood hero, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person in space 60 years ago this month.

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s2021e03 Mapping the Milky Way 2021-05-09 21:00

Mapping the Milky Way

s2021e03 · 2021-05-09 · 21:00

The Gaia space telescope is not just create the ultimate star map of the Milky Way. It is also showing us our galaxy's past and how it will change in the future.The Sky at Night team takes a look at the history of astrometry and meets the scientists now able to prove that change is the only constant in the universe.

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s2021e04 Space Boom Britain 2021-06-13 21:00

Space Boom Britain

s2021e04 · 2021-06-13 · 21:00

The Sky at Night team visit the companies spearheading the boom in Britain's space industry, a sector with an annual income of £16.4bn and which employs over 45,000 people.

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s2021e05 ET and the BBC 2021-07-11 21:00

ET and the BBC

s2021e05 · 2021-07-11 · 21:00

Chris and Maggie dive into the archives to discover how the hunt for extra-terrestrial life in the universe has been reported by the BBC over six decades. Such luminaries as Patrick Moore, Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, James Burke and Alan Whicker discuss the eternal question of whether we are alone. The story of how the BBC has covered advancements in this scientific field is told from the birth of radio astronomy in the 1960s to the discovery of the first planets outside of our own solar system in the 1990s, and right up to probes exploring our neighbouring planets in the present day. There are also some rather more offbeat claims of UFO sightings, alien abductions and accounts of humanoid-like beings that supposedly live on Venus.

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s2021e06 Exploring Jupiter 2021-08-08 21:00

Exploring Jupiter

s2021e06 · 2021-08-08 · 21:00

August 2021 marks ten years since Nasa's mission to Jupiter, Juno, was launched. The mission – to uncover the mysteries surrounding Jupiter's formation – was expected to end this year with the $1.1 billion satellite deorbiting into the planet's gassy atmosphere. But thanks to the ingenuity of its engineering, the robust spacecraft has surpassed expectations and been granted an extension to its life.The Sky at Night looks at the amazing research that has resulted from this mission, expanding our understanding of the gas giant and explaining how Juno will now use its extra time in orbit to gather information for future Jupiter-bound missions – Nasa's Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency's Juice mission.

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s2021e07 Question Time 2021-09-19 21:00

Question Time

s2021e07 · 2021-09-19 · 21:00

A special ‘Question Time' edition of the programme, recorded at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford, as part of the British Science Association's annual science festival.Planetary scientist Dr Carly Howett and cosmologist Professor Hiranya Peiris join Chris Lintott, Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Pete Lawrence to answer questions from viewers covering all things astronomical – from the size of the universe to the possible nature of alien life.Chaired by Dallas Campbell.

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s2021e08 The Forgotten Solar System 2021-10-10 21:00

The Forgotten Solar System

s2021e08 · 2021-10-10 · 21:00

Of the 100 probes that have been sent out into space, only one probe - Voyager 2 in 1989 - has ever sent back any information about the solar system's outer planets. From afar, they seem featureless and devoid of any significant geological activity.Since then, long-range telescopes have shown that there is much more to Neptune and Uranus than previously thought and that they both warrant closer inspection. Time, however, is of the essence. Deep-space missions are dependent on Jupiter. The slingshot effect it provides to move probes along the way is only available to us every 25 years.

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s2021e09 Telescopes through Time 2021-11-14 22:00

Telescopes through Time

s2021e09 · 2021-11-14 · 22:00

The Sky at Night team explore the history of the telescope – from Harriot and Galileo's lunar observations to the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes – revealing how developments in the power of lenses have increased our understanding of our place in the cosmos.

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s2021e10 Review of the Year 2021-12-12 22:00

Review of the Year

s2021e10 · 2021-12-12 · 22:00

Chris and Maggie look back at some of the stories they have covered in 2021 in the Sky at Night's big review of the year.

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