page_title: Patrick Moore
section_title: Honours and appointments
hierarchical_section_title: Patrick Moore / Honours and appointments
caption_attribution_description: Took the boy to the National Space Museum in Leicester. He loved it. So did I. On the way out there's this bronze bust of the late Sir Patrick. We will return.
context_page_description: Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore CBE HonFRS FRAS was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter.
  Moore was president of the British Astronomical Association; co-founder and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy; author of over seventy books on astronomy; and presenter of the world's longest-running television series with the same original presenter, BBC's The Sky at Night. He became known as a specialist in Moon observation and for creating the Caldwell catalogue. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television.
  Moore was also a self-taught xylophonist and pianist, as well as an accomplished composer. He was an amateur cricketer, golfer and chess player. In addition to many popular science books, he wrote numerous works of fiction. He was an opponent of fox hunting, an outspoken critic of the European Union and a supporter of the UK Independence Party, and he served as chairman of the short-lived anti-immigration United Country Party. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.
context_section_description: In 1945, Moore was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), and in 1977 he was awarded the society's Jackson-Gwilt Medal. In 1968, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and promoted to a Commander (CBE) in 1988. In 1999 he became the Honorary President of the East Sussex Astronomical Society, a position he held until his death. Moore was knighted for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting" in the 2001 New Year Honours.
  In 2001, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (HonFRS), the only amateur astronomer ever to achieve the distinction. In June 2002, he was appointed as the Honorary Vice-President of the Society for the History of Astronomy. Also in 2002, Buzz Aldrin presented him with a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for services to television. He was patron of Torquay Boys' Grammar School in south Devon. Moore had a long association with the University of Leicester and its Department of Physics and Astronomy, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science (HonDSc) degree in 1996 and a Distinguished Honorary Fellowship in 2008, the highest award that the university can bestow.
caption: Bronze bust of Moore at the National Space Centre, Leicester
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