Sky at Night

When the first episode of The Sky at Night was transmitted in April 1957, it was still thought that Mars could be home to advanced life, the Space Age was yet to begin, and the Big Bang was just a controversial theory. So to celebrate its 60th anniversary, this special programme looks at how our knowledge of the universe has been transformed in the last six decades - from the exploration of the solar system to the detection of black holes and planets orbiting distant stars.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Chris Lintott look back at some of the biggest stories featured on the programme in 2020, with the help of special guests who have chosen their favourite moments. From the launch of Solar Orbiter to the discovery of phosphine on Venus, the team relive the astronomy highlights of a highly unusual year.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock interviews astronaut Jessica Meir, who returned from 205 days on the International Space Station to a world she barely recognised. They also discuss Jessica's experiments in micro-gravity, growing lettuce in space and the first all-female spacewalk. Chris Lintott meets the astronomer who recently announced the discovery of the closest black hole to Earth. Pete Lawrence photographs the dark side of Venus and Lucie Green investigates whether Elon Musk's constellation of Starlink satellites are ruining the night sky.

Of the 100 probes that have been sent out into space, only one probe - Voyager 2 in 1989 - has ever sent back any information about the solar system's outer planets. From afar, they seem featureless and devoid of any significant geological activity.

Britain's space industry is booming. According to UK Space Agency, its annual income now stands at ?16.4bn, and it employs over 45,000 people. Britain has always been a leader in the world's aerospace industries. Airbus's huge manufacturing plant in Stevenage was originally owned by de Havilland, where they made 'Blue Streak', Britain's intercontinental ballistic missile which became part of the ESA's 'Europa' rocket.

August 2021 marks ten years since Nasa's mission to Jupiter, Juno, was launched. The mission – to uncover the mysteries surrounding Jupiter's formation – was expected to end this year with the $1.1 billion satellite deorbiting into the planet's gassy atmosphere. But thanks to the ingenuity of its engineering, the robust spacecraft has surpassed expectations and been granted an extension to its life.

In February 2021, orbiters from China and the UAE settled into their positions above Mars, and Nasa’s Perseverance rover touched down on its surface. Maggie Aderin-Pocock reviews the astonishing footage the rover has already sent back, and talks with its legendary chief designer Adam Seltzer about the challenges of missions to the red planet.

The Sky at Night looks back at the last ten years of astronomy and ponders the most significant milestones and revelations. With the help of six distinguished astronomers, Chris and Maggie consider the state of astronomy in 2020 and wonder what new, exciting discoveries await us across the rest of the decade, as a host of new ground and space telescopes come online. Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees is among the guests to walk along the Astronomical Wall of Discovery in this one-hour special.

Comets and asteroids are the building blocks of the planets, relics from the early days of the solar system. They have been witnessed in our skies for millennia - tantalising, yet too small and too distant to study. However, over the course of the past 60 years, developments in astronomy and space exploration have allowed scientists to now see these tiny, mysterious worlds up close - and the Sky at Night has been there every step of the way.

Mars has fascinated us ever since we first looked up to the heavens. We have imagined alien civilisations, exotic life forms and even dreamed of travelling there ourselves. But after the first probes flew past the Red Planet, and with each subsequent mission that has orbited or landed on its surface, that vision has changed. We have come to realise that the planet is, most likely, dead. But that hasn’t dimmed our hopes for finding evidence of past life. And our desire to travel there and colonise the Red Planet still endures. From the very beginning of this exploration, the BBC has recorded our shifting perception of Mars.