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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.

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Big Black Holes and Little Red Dots

s2026e05 · 2026-08-10

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Episode guide

5 this season · 838 total
s2026e01 Destination Moon 2026-04-13 21:00

Destination Moon

s2026e01 · 2026-04-13 · 21:00

The team explore Nasa's Artemis II mission, the first crewed journey towards the moon since 1972. They also look into robotic landers and new scientific clues from lunar samples.

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s2026e02 Jodrell Bank: Tuning Into the Universe 2026-05-11 21:00

Jodrell Bank: Tuning Into the Universe

s2026e02 · 2026-05-11 · 21:00

The team explore the remarkable story of Jodrell Bank Observatory and its towering Lovell Telescope, which scientists have used to listen to the cosmos for almost 70 years.

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s2026e03 Space Weather: The Perfect Storm 2026-06-08 21:00

Space Weather: The Perfect Storm

s2026e03 · 2026-06-08 · 21:00

The team uncover a danger that humanity is only just waking up to – space weather. They meet the dedicated people working to keep us safe from the very worst that the sun can throw at us.

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s2026e04 The Aliens Next Door? 2026-07-13 21:00

The Aliens Next Door?

s2026e04 · 2026-07-13 · 21:00

Could alien life exist closer than we think - perhaps right next door? A paper published in 2025 suggested that strange markings discovered on Mars could provide some of the strongest evidence yet that life once existed on the Red Planet. The Sky at Night team travels across Great Britain to investigate this and other evidence that suggests the search for life beyond Earth may lie within our own solar system.Off the east coast of Scotland, Chris Lintott meets Dr Claire Cousins, who explains the fundamental conditions needed for life. She then turns to the ground beneath their feet, where the red rocks along the North Berwick coastline are marked with patterns similar to those seen on Mars. To find out more about how these markings could have formed here - and possibly on Mars - Chris heads to Edinburgh, where Dr Sean McMahon is investigating whether similar patterns can be recreated in the lab.Meanwhile, in Cardiff, George Dransfield speaks with Professor Jane Greaves, whose paper on the detection of phosphine in the clouds of Venus six years ago caused a stir. Did the phosphine truly exist, and could it point to life? Ongoing research is continuing to build the case for unusual chemistry - and possibly life - on our closest planetary neighbour.Further out in the solar system, the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn offer another compelling possibility. Maggie Aderin-Pocock is in Milton Keynes to meet Dr Mark Fox-Powell, whose team are recreating these freezing conditions in the lab to understand how chemistry behaves there. Their work is helping identify what future missions to these icy worlds should look for as potential signs of life - and has even led to the discovery of a new mineral that can only form in such extreme environments.Across Mars, Venus and the icy moons, one theme emerges: life may not require Earth-like conditions in the way we once assumed. Instead, it could thrive in unexpected environments.Finally, Pete Lawrence rounds off the programme with a tour of the summer night sky, and we are reminded of how vast our galaxy is and how small our place within it really is.So, are we alone? The search continues - right here on our cosmic doorstep.

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s2026e05 Big Black Holes and Little Red Dots 2026-08-10 21:00

Big Black Holes and Little Red Dots

s2026e05 · 2026-08-10 · 21:00

Professor Brian Cox joins the team to explore the mind-bending mysteries of black holes discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope's most exciting new observations.

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