The sky at night over Sir Patrick Moore's Sussex garden was a pinkish-grey slab of damp blotting paper. The promised meteor shower may well have been streaking across the heavens, thick as hailstones, but once again the main event had evaded the cameras of the oldest television science series in the world.
Instead, Chris Lintott, out in the cold garden, and Sir Patrick, snug in his warm study, talked imperturbably about what they would have seen if they could see anything.
In 1957, a writer, fine musician, useful cricketer and amateur astronomer was invited by producer Paul Johnstone - his other spectacular recruit was David Attenborough - to present one live astronomy show a month, for three months. A star was born.
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1974206,00.html
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The Sky at Night enters 50th year
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6238447.stm