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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

8 this season · 838 total
s2025e01 Asteroid Strike? 2025-04-14 21:00

Asteroid Strike?

s2025e01 · 2025-04-14 · 21:00

The team explore one of the biggest stories in space news, the ‘city killer' asteroid 2024 YR4. How well did the planet respond to this potential natural disaster?

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s2025e02 Secrets of the Red Planet 2025-05-12 21:00

Secrets of the Red Planet

s2025e02 · 2025-05-12 · 21:00

The team explore what the latest research is revealing about Mars. Could life have once thrived there? And will a return trip to our neighbouring planet ever be possible?

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s2025e03 Greenwich: A Journey Through Space and Time 2025-06-09 20:50

Greenwich: A Journey Through Space and Time

s2025e03 · 2025-06-09 · 20:50

The team celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory, recreating history at a special dinner party, where they are joined by a glittering line-up of science communicators.

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s2025e04 Exoplanets - Strange New Worlds 2025-07-14 21:00

Exoplanets - Strange New Worlds

s2025e04 · 2025-07-14 · 21:00

The team go on a cosmic adventure, exploring one of the newest areas of modern astronomy – the search for exoplanets, the distant bodies that orbit stars beyond our own solar system. These strange new worlds are transforming our understanding of how planets form, where we can look for potentially habitable ones and just how unique, or not, our own Earth may be.This captivating new field intrigued presenter George Dransfield so much that she left her secure teaching job to go back to university to study for a PhD, and so she was thrilled by the opportunity to travel to Germany, where ESA's Plato spacecraft is being built. This cutting-edge mission will study exoplanets like never before. Dubbed 'the planet hunter', Plato will use its 26 cameras to scan over 2,000 sun-like stars to search for rocky Earth-like planets. With each camera capturing 81.4-megapixel images, the resulting two-billion-pixel overall view will be the largest ever for a space mission. George meets ESA's Thomas Walloschek and OHB's Pablo Jorba Coloma, to talk about the engineering challenges they have overcome, before going to see the space craft in the clean room where it is being built.Back in the UK, Chris Lintott takes us on a quick tour through 30 years of exoplanet discovery and shares a possibly endless list of the strange new worlds that have been found. He also meets Dr Edward Bryant, from the University of Warwick, whose recent discovery of planet TOI-6894 b was published in June. This Saturn-sized gas giant, orbiting a tiny red dwarf star, defies current models of planet formation and raises new questions about how such massive planets can form around such small stars. Could our models be missing something fundamental?Meanwhile, Maggie Aderin-Pocock explains the mystery of the exoplanet Radius Valley - with the help of some sweets, of course! She then speaks to Larissa Palethorpe, whose PhD research in this area led to the discovery of Gliese 12 b, the closest Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone found to date.As ever, Pete Lawrence is on hand with practical stargazing tips for the summer months, including how to spot and photograph the 'moon illusion' - an optical trick that makes the moon appear unusually large when it's near the horizon. With the moon sitting low in the sky during this phase of its 18.6-year cycle, it's the perfect time to try capturing this stunning effect.Finally, we conclude this episode with a celebration of Chris Lintott's 25 years since his first appearance on the programme.The strange new worlds being uncovered through exoplanet research offer a rich and thought-provoking glimpse into the incredible diversity of planets across the universe and prompt us to consider just how rare, or common, our place in it might be, and this programme takes you on a journey to explore them from the comfort of your own sofa!

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s2025e05 Queen of Pulsars 2025-08-11 21:00

Queen of Pulsars

s2025e05 · 2025-08-11 · 21:00

The team delve into the enigmatic world of pulsars and hear the inspiring story of their discoverer, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, direct from the subject herself.

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s2025e06 The Expanding Universe 2025-09-08 21:00

The Expanding Universe

s2025e06 · 2025-09-08 · 21:00

The team explores one of the greatest discoveries of modern astronomy that our universe is expanding, and the new questions it raises about how the cosmos works. Maggie Aderin-Pocock investigates a different cosmic speedometer.

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s2025e07 Brits in Space 2025-10-13 21:00

Brits in Space

s2025e07 · 2025-10-13 · 21:00

The team delve into the world of astronaut training, discovering what it takes to become a European Space Agency astronaut. With special guest Helen Sharman.

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s2025e08 Space Mysteries: The Sky at Night Meets Curious Cases 2025-11-10 22:00

Space Mysteries: The Sky at Night Meets Curious Cases

s2025e08 · 2025-11-10 · 22:00

In a spectacular season finale, the team are joined by Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain in front of a live studio audience to answer viewers' burning queries about space.

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