Patrick Moore

{{bronze}}[[File:Sir Patrick Moore.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Sir Patrick at home.]]{{Astronomy|1}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Patrick Moore (Greenpeace)|Patrick Moore]], the founder-turned-critic of [[Greenpeace]].}}
{{cquote|I'm only a four-dimensional creature. Haven't got a clue how to visualise infinity. Even Einstein hadn't. I know because I asked him.|Patrick Moore}}

Sir '''Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore''' (4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an [[England|English]] [[Astronomy|astronomer]], professional eccentric and hendecasyllabic [[popular science|science populariser]], perhaps best known for being the presenter of the monthly [[BBC]] TV series ''The Sky At Night'' (on which his [[Cat|cat(s)]] sometimes appeared) for over 55 years since it first aired in April 1957. Unlike many [[scientist]]s, he was noted for having a sense of [[humour]]. 

His astronomical work was widely respected, particularly his lunar mapping, and he worked as a consultant with both the [[American]] and [[Soviet]] space programmes. Amongst the people he met were Orville Wright, [[Albert Einstein]], [[Yuri Gagarin]] and other cosmonauts, and Neil Armstrong, [[Buzz Aldrin]], and other American astronauts. Thus he was one of the few people, perhaps the only person, to have met the first man to fly an aeroplane, the first in [[space]], and the first on the [[Moon]].

He was also a good friend of Brian May (a fellow astronomer and frequent guest on ''The Sky At Night'') from the band Queen, despite hating rock music for some reason.<ref name=Queen>[http://www.queenonline.com/en/news-archive/sir-patrick-moore-brian-may-tribute/ Sir Patrick Moore: Brian May Quote; Sir Patrick Moore: Statement from Julia Knight, Peter Cattermole, David McCahearty, Brian May, Iain Nicolson, and Patrick’s staff and friends.]</ref>

==Early life==	
Little is known of Moore's early life. He grew up with heart problems, and was often bedridden in childhood. As a child, Moore was given membership of a local astronomical society, which sparked his lifelong passion for the subject.
 
During [[World War II]], he lied about his age, and his health, and entered the Royal Air Force. During this period, his fiancée, Lorna, was killed in a [[German]] bombing raid. This scarred him for the rest of his life, and perhaps accounts for some of his political attitudes, such as his feelings about the [[European Union]], particularly his strong anti-German sentiments.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2137829/He-saw-appalling-slaughter-inflicted-Germany-Europe-wonder-Patrick-Moores-sour-Krauts.html</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9238579/The-only-good-Kraut-is-a-dead-Kraut-Sir-Patrick-Moore-says.html</ref>

In the post-war period, however, Moore really began to flourish. In the 1950s, he was given the job of host of the BBC's ''The Sky at Night''. His Lunar Atlas, published in 1953, was so good that [[NASA]] was using it in 1969, and even the [[Soviet Union]] made use of it for their moon projects.<ref>[http://blog.sfgateway.com/index.php/remembering-sir-patrick-moore/ Remembering Sir Patrick Moore]</ref>

==Scepticism==
{{cquote|"I'm sure there must be life elsewhere, We're on an ordinary planet, going round an ordinary star. There's no need to suppose we are unique. We're not."}}

Moore appears to have once written a book under the pseudonym Cedric Allingham, claiming to have [[contactee|had a conversation]] with some [[Mars|Martians]]. The book turned out to be a [[hoax]]; Moore was a passionate opponent of [[ufology|UFO enthusiasts]], and his book was an attempt to parody their best-known source material at the time - the works of [[George Adamski]], and his curious ilk.<ref>{{see-wp|Cedric Allingham}}</ref><ref>[http://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2012/12/09/sir-patrick-moore-1923-2012-astronomer-and-flying-saucerer/ Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012): astronomer and flying-saucerer]</ref> He also devoted one episode of his programme to an epic takedown of the [[Moon landing hoax]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/moonlandings/7620.shtml The programme in question]</ref> Despite this trouncing of the gullible, he was no unwavering supporter of scientific consensus, being one of the last holdouts for the view that the Moon has active volcanoes — very much a minority view in astronomical circles. He also once predicted the arrival of humans on the [[Moon]] in 1980, making him one of many experts in the field to be out by a few years.

Moore sometimes referred to himself as a "free-lance thinker."<ref name=Singapore>http://www.astro.sg/2012/12/remembering-sir-patrick-moore.html</ref> One way to annoy him was to refer to him as an [[Astrology|astrologer]]: as he once said to a [[Singapore]] audience, "Astronomy is an exact science… Astrology is [[superstition]]."<ref name=Singapore/>

===''One Pair of Eyes''===
In 1969, he made a one-off special for the BBC, called ''One Pair of Eyes'', featuring what Moore called "independent thinkers". These included a man from the [[The Aetherius Society|Aetherius Society]] who claimed to be able to speak [[Venus]]ian and [[Pluto]]nian and another man who thought that the Moon was made out of phosphorus and the [[Sun]] was cold.
{{#ev:youtube|YjpcZPT1-NA|300}}

==Hobbies and non-astronomical interests==
He had a preference for using imperial measurements for everyday use, and before illness made it too difficult to do so, used a typewriter rather than a [[computer]]. He was a mean xylophone player<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXPBga7fa_4&t=9m13s Have I got xylophones for you!]</ref> and claimed to have perfect pitch. He was also a keen amateur cricketer and chess player.

Not averse to parody or send-up, he appeared on various British comedy shows including ''Morecambe and Wise''. He also had cameos in various other programmes including ''[[Fun:Dalek|Doctor Who]]''.

In the late 70s he was a member of a minor political party, the United Country Party, one of whose policies was opposition to [[immigration]].<ref>[http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/8220/the_politicshome_celebcount.html Yes, this is the best info I could find]</ref> Later he was involved with [[United Kingdom Independence Party|UKIP]]. Earlier he had been involved with the British [[Liberal Party#British Liberal Party|Liberal Party]].

He was strongly against fox hunting, cruelty to animals and [[capital punishment]] and also helped raise money for victims of the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami with his good friend, [[Arthur C. Clarke]], resident of Sri Lanka.

Moore could also be... odd, and sometimes it is difficult to see whether what he was saying was a genuine belief, or [[Asshole|trying to rub people up the wrong way]]. Despite being [[Euroskepticism|anti-EU]], he knew enough [[French]] to translate books from its [[language]], and despite his apparent [[wingnut]] politics, he had many friends in the scientific community of the Soviet Union. And despite accusations (and well-deserved ones) of being a rampant [[sexist]], he once replied to a letter from a young Heather Couper that being a girl was no impediment to becoming an astronomer. And despite making a controversial statement about [[AIDS]], he was also a friend of Brian May's, who famously helped organise a massive AIDS awareness concert in 1991.<ref name=Queen/>

Moore also wrote a few [[science fiction]] novels.

==Quotes, including both the good and the awful==
*On astronomy - "Grab a pair of binos, go outside, and learn your way around the sky."
*On [[Brian Cox]] (astrophysicist, not the actor) - "I've met him, he's been on my show and I've been on his. No competition there at all. He's not an astronomer, he's a particle physicist."
*On [[extraterrestrial]] life - "In our galaxy there are a hundred, thousand, million stars, many of them with planets, and we can see a thousand million galaxies and that's only a tiny fraction, so there must be life. If a [[flying saucer]] landed in my garden and a [[Extraterrestrial|green man]] came out, I'd offer him a tea or coffee and try to get him straight into the television studio."
*On whether he'd ever seen evidence of aliens - "No, and nor has anyone else.’
*On [[Europe]] - "We must take care, there may be another war. The Germans will try again, given another chance. A Kraut is a Kraut is a Kraut. The Germans tried to conquer us. The French betrayed us. The [[Belgium|Belgians]] did very little and the [[Italy|Italians]] made us our ice cream. The English are best. Stand up for England!" 
**"The only good Kraut is a dead Kraut. There may be some good Germans, but I haven't met any."
*On Arthur C. Clarke - "He was ahead of his time in so many ways. Quite apart from artificial satellites there were other things too. A great science fiction writer, a very good scientist, a great prophet and a very dear friend, I'm very, very sad that he's gone."
*On the "[[Bullshit|feminisation]]" of the BBC - "The trouble is the BBC now is run by women and it shows soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the [[Golden age|golden days]]. I would like to see two independent wavelengths - one controlled by women, and one for us, controlled by men."
*On science fiction - "I used to watch ''Doctor Who'' and ''[[Star Trek]]'', but they went [[Political correctness|PC]] - making women commanders, that kind of thing. I stopped watching."
*On his more [[reactionary]] views - "I may be accused of being a [[dinosaur]], but I would remind you that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time."<ref group=note>Insert [[extinction]] joke here.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Carl Sagan]]
*[[Hilton Ratcliffe]]

==External links==
*[http://www.lady.co.uk/people/profiles/60-sir-patrick-moore Interview with Patrick Moore in ''The Lady'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601716/ Patrick Moore on IMDb]
*[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PatrickMoore Patrick Moore] on [[TV Tropes]]

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Astronomers]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Popular science]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Patrick}}

Categories: Astronomers, British people, Popular science