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Fans' fury at BBC threat to axe The Sky At Night: Popular astronomy programme could go just a year after Sir Patrick Moore's death<h2>Fans' fury at BBC threat to axe The Sky At Night: Popular astronomy programme could go just a year after Sir Patrick Moore's death</h2><ul style="font-weight: bold;"> <li><font style="font-size:1.4em;">BBC confirmed that discussions are currently ongoing over show's future</font></li> <li><font style="font-size:1.4em;">Monthly astronomy programme could be pulled as early as December</font></li> <li><font style="font-size:1.4em;">Sir Patrick Moore presented the show's first episode on 24 April 1957 and continued until he died in December 2012, aged 89</font></li></ul><p class="author-section byline-plain">By /home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Simon+Cable+for+The+Mail+on+Sunday </p> <p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Published:</span> <time datetime="2013-09-24T00:19:54+0100"> 00:19 GMT, 24 September 2013 </time> </span> <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Updated:</span> <time datetime="2013-09-24T00:32:28+0100"> 00:32 GMT, 24 September 2013 </time> </span> </p><p> </p><div data-preferred-shared-network-enabled="" id="articleIconLinksContainer?"> <ul> <b><li class="share-facebook-long"></li></b> <li class="share-twitter"></li> <li class="share-pinterest"></li> <li class="share-flipboard"> </li> <li class="share-fbmessenger"> </li> <li class="share-email"> mailto:?subject=Read this: Fans' fury at BBC threat to axe The Sky At Night: Popular astronomy programme could go just a year after Sir Patrick Moore's death&body=Fans%27%20fury%20at%20BBC%20threat%20to%20axe%20The%20Sky%20At%20Night%3A%20Popular%20astronomy%20programme%20could%20go%20just%20a%20year%20after%20Sir%20Patrick%20Moore%27s%20death%0A%0AThe%20popular%20monthly%20astronomy%20programme%20could%20even%20be%20pulled%20by%20as%20early%20as%20December%2C%20a%20decision%20which%20has%20caused%20widespread%20anger%20among%20viewers.website <span class= </li> <li data-anchor="tl" data-twitter-status=" website via @MailOnline?" data-formatted-headline="Fans\' fury at BBC threat to axe The Sky At Night: Popular astronomy programme could go just a year after Sir Patrick Moore\'s death" data-hide-email="true" data-article-id="2430228" data-article-channel-follow-button="MailOnline?" data-is-channel="false" id="shareLinkTop?" class="share-icons" data-placement="top" website <a href="#socialLinks"> </li> </ul> /news/article-2430228/The-Sky-At-Night-cancelled-just-year-Sir-Patrick-Moores-death.html#comments </div> <!-- ad: website --> <p></p><div class="floatRHS"> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" website height="423" width="306" alt="Axed: Sir Patrick Moore's famous astronomy show The Sky At Night could be pulled from ours screens by December" class="blkBorder" style="max-width:100%"> <noscript> <img website height="423" width="306" alt="Axed: Sir Patrick Moore's famous astronomy show The Sky At Night could be pulled from ours screens by December" class="blkBorder"> </noscript> <p class="imageCaption">Axed: Sir Patrick Moore's famous astronomy show The Sky At Night could be pulled from ours screens by December</p></div> <p> <font style="font-size:1.2em;">The Sky at Night is facing the axe after 56 years on television and just a year after the death of Sir Patrick Moore.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">The popular monthly astronomy programme could even be pulled by as early as December, a decision which has caused widespread anger among viewers.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">The BBC confirmed yesterday that discussions are currently ongoing over the future of the show, which is scheduled to run until the end of the year.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Sir Patrick presented the show's first episode on 24 April 1957, and continued until 7 January 2013, when his final episode was broadcast following his death 9 December 2012 at the age of 89.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">He presented a total of 721 episodes, only ever missed one broadcast, in July 2004, when he was taken ill with a severe bout of food poisoning. This made it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">As well as covering general astronomical and space-related topics such as black holes and meteor showers, the programme has also covered the Apollo Moon landings of 1969 and the UK's total solar eclipse in 1999.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Explaining the show's enduring appeal, Moore said: ‘Astronomy's a fascinating subject.You look up, you can't help getting interested and it's there. We've tried to bring it to the people. It's not me, it's the appeal of the subject.'</font></p><p><font style="font-size: 1.2em;">As well featuring many of the world's leading astronomers, other high-profile guests have included  Arthur C.Clarke, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.</font></p><div data-track-module="am-related_carousel^related_carousel" data-track-selector=".rotator-panels a:not([class*=external])" data-dm-rotator-rotate="false" data-track-pos="static" data-preferred-shared-network-enabled="" data-dm-rotator-auto-init="" id="p-20" class="related-carousel with-fb-or-tw news half" data-dm-rotator-active-class="active" data-dm-rotator-page-count="1.0" data-dm-social-article-auto-init="" data-dm-rotator-page-size="1"> <div class="rotator bdrcc"> <div class="rotator-title"> <h2>RELATED ARTICLES</h2> <ul class="rotator-pages link-xocc"> <li class="rotator-prev"> # </li> <li> # </li> <li class="rotator-next"> # </li> </ul> </div> <ul class="rotator-panels link-bogr1 linkro-ccox"> <li> /sciencetech/article-2425043/Astronomy-Photographer-Year-winners-stellar-array-images.html /femail/article-1362648/The-tragic-end-love-affair-left-Patrick-Moore-bachelor-wartime-espionage-role.html </li> </ul> </div> <i><u></u></i> <div class="fb"> <i><u></u></i> <h2>Share this article</h2> <div class="share"> <span class="wai">Share</span> </div> </div> </div> <p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Since Sir Patrick's death, the show has since been co-presented by cosmologists Lucie Green and Chris Lintott. In recent years, ratings for the programme hovered around the 500,000 mark.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">A spokesman said last night: ‘Sky at Night is on air until the end of the year.Plans for subsequent series are being discussed.'</font></p><p><font style="font-size: 1.2em;">By last night thousands of furious fans had taken to Twitter to try and save the programme from being taken off the air. Hundreds had signed an online petition pleading with BBC bosses not to axe the long-running show.</font></p><div class="clear"> </div><div class="artSplitter"> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" website height="744" width="634" alt="Long-standing: The programme was presented by Moore, pictured here on the show in 1961, from 1957 until he died in 2012" class="blkBorder" style="max-width:100%"> <noscript> <img website height="744" width="634" alt="Long-standing: The programme was presented by Moore, pictured here on the show in 1961, from 1957 until he died in 2012" class="blkBorder"> </noscript> <p class="imageCaption">Long-standing: The programme was presented by Moore, pictured here on the show in 1961, from 1957 until he died in 2012</p> </div><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">David Smith  wrote: ‘All but officially announced the BBC is cancelling The Sky at Night.Would the last non-celeb science show please turn out the lights?'</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Steve Walker said: ‘The decision to axe The Sky at Night is an insult to the legacy if the program. Shame on you BBC.' https://essayfreelancewriters.com/topics/astronomy-research-paper-topics/ wrote: ‘Why would you want to scrap it, BBC?Please, please, please don't scrap The Sky At Night. Just don't. Please.'</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">The series began before the ‘space age' - but the launch of the world's first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, saw interest in astronomy grow.</font></p><p><font style="font-size: 1.2em;">The BBC first commissioned the series in 1957, with senior producer Paul Johnstone choosing Moore, a well-known author of astronomy books, as his presenter.At the time he was paid 25 guineas per fifteen-minute episode.</font></p><div class="clear"> </div><div class="artSplitter"> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" website height="449" width="634" alt="Legend: Moore was paid just 25 guineas per 15-minute episode of the show when it began in the fifties" class="blkBorder" style="max-width:100%"> <noscript> <img website height="449" width="634" alt="Legend: Moore was paid just 25 guineas per 15-minute episode of the show when it began in the fifties" class="blkBorder"> </noscript> <p class="imageCaption">Legend: Moore was paid just 25 guineas per 15-minute episode of the show when it began in the fifties</p> </div><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">This included a £21 appearance fee and a £5 payment - £550 in today's money - for ‘provision of materials' including photographs and diagrams which were used in the broadcast.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Moore had been fascinated by astronomy from the age of six after picking up a book on the subject belonging to his mother.By the age of 11, Moore was elected to the British Astronomical Association - 50 years later, he would become its president.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">Royal Astronomical Society spokesman Peter Bond has previously told that The Sky at Night had inspired a generation of astronomers.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">‘Just about everybody who's involved with astronomy started out thanks to Patrick - he's a kind of figurehead for astronomy in this country,' he said.</font></p><p><font style="font-size:1.2em;">‘I bought my first astronomy book in the 1950s and it was written by Patrick - I think The Sky At Night had just started at that time.'</font></p><p> </p> <div class="clear"> </div><!-- ad: website -->