Armchair astronomers gaze skyward to remember Moore

Patrick Moore was the astronomer who, more than any other scientist living or dead, could explain to the world at large the marvels and intricacies of the universe — and beyond.

TV personalities come and go, but Moore, famous for his monocle, outlasted them all. For more than 40 years, he presented BBC TV’s popular The Sky At Night programme, a wonderland of information for the expert, the novice and his huge army of fans who had no particular scientific bent at all. It became the longest-running TV series with the same presenter.

His knowledge of outer space was prodigious and he possessed a unique ability to transmit that knowledge in a comprehensible and attractive form to the layman.