Moore, Patrick (1923-2012), was a British television broadcaster and an author who spread the popularity of astronomy, particularly in the United Kingdom, through his monthly TV program, “The Sky at Night.” His many successful books on astronomy include The Amateur Astronomer (1957) and Moon Flight Atlas (1969).
Moore was born on March 4, 1923, in Pinner, England. Because of illness, he was educated privately. He served as a navigator in the Royal Air Force during World War II (1939-1945). From 1945 until 1952, he was a teacher. He then became a full-time writer. In 1965, he was appointed director of Armagh Planetarium, a post he held until 1968, when he returned to full-time writing and broadcasting. In 2001, Moore was knighted, and he became a member of the Royal Society, one of the world’s foremost scientific organizations. Moore died on Dec. 9, 2012.
