Sir Patrick Moore

No mystery really. Patrick Moore has never claimed to be a "professional
astronomer".
He is proud of the appellation "amateur" and so should all of us.
Other than his days in WW2 as an RAF navigator and a brief spell as Director
of the Armagh Planetarium, PM has always been an author and broadcaster.
John Bell
"Alasdair Baxter" wrote in message
...
I went to hear a lecture about Mars by Sir Patrick in person at the
Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham this evening. It was most
interesting and informative. He is a remarkable chap but a bit of a
mystery.

I also bought one of his books but was surprised to note that the only
degree shown behind his name is an honorary D.Sc. I always thought he
was a professor of astronomy before he retired and expected him to
have, at least, a B.Sc if not a Ph.D. His actual qualificatiions,
according to the book, are CBE, FRS, D.Sc (Hon) and FRAS.

Now, Sir Patrick is famous as the presenter of "The Sky at Night" on
TV but does anyone know what he did for a living during his earlier
days?
--

Alasdair Baxter, Nottingham, UK.Tel +44 115 9705100; Fax +44 115 9423263

"It's not what you say that matters but how you say it.
It's not what you do that matters but how you do it"

Dear john,
So how did he get into the royal society? What great discovery did he make? It
must be something pretty impressive.
best
penny

No mystery really. Patrick Moore has never claimed to be a "professional
astronomer".

His actual qualificatiions,
according to the book, are CBE, FRS, D.Sc (Hon) and FRAS

Dear jim,
This-- I want to read.
best
Penny

Head on over to Amazon and pick up a copy of '80 Not Out' - it's his
autobiography and a darn good read.

"PSmith9626" wrote in message
...
Dear john,
So how did he get into the royal society? What great discovery did he
make? It
must be something pretty impressive.
best
penny

Something to do with his mapping of the moon perhaps ? I think both NASA
and the Russians used his maps to plan lunar landings.

AG

You could argue that he is a professional in that he makes his living
from it.

In message , john m bell
writes
No mystery really. Patrick Moore has never claimed to be a "professional
astronomer".
He is proud of the appellation "amateur" and so should all of us.
Other than his days in WW2 as an RAF navigator and a brief spell as Director
of the Armagh Planetarium, PM has always been an author and broadcaster.
John Bell
"Alasdair Baxter" wrote in message
.. .
I went to hear a lecture about Mars by Sir Patrick in person at the
Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham this evening. It was most
interesting and informative. He is a remarkable chap but a bit of a
mystery.

I also bought one of his books but was surprised to note that the only
degree shown behind his name is an honorary D.Sc. I always thought he
was a professor of astronomy before he retired and expected him to
have, at least, a B.Sc if not a Ph.D. His actual qualificatiions,
according to the book, are CBE, FRS, D.Sc (Hon) and FRAS.

Now, Sir Patrick is famous as the presenter of "The Sky at Night" on
TV but does anyone know what he did for a living during his earlier
days?

--
"Forty millions of miles it was from us, more than forty millions of miles of
void"

On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 23:23:25 +0100, "john m bell"
wrote:

No mystery really. Patrick Moore has never claimed to be a "professional
astronomer".
He is proud of the appellation "amateur" and so should all of us.
Other than his days in WW2 as an RAF navigator and a brief spell as Director
of the Armagh Planetarium, PM has always been an author and broadcaster.
John Bell

Didn't Patrick do some real scientific work imaging the Moon? - I seem
to remember the data he (& others no doubt) generated at the Pic Du
Midi was used by NASA when selecting potential Apollo landing sites.

ChrisH

UK Astro Ads: http://www.UKAstroAds.co.uk

"PSmith9626" wrote in message
...
Dear jim,
This-- I want to read.
best
Penny

Head on over to Amazon and pick up a copy of '80 Not Out' - it's his
autobiography and a darn good read.

Yes it's a good read, although if you are one of those "modern politically
correct types" then the book might wind you up a bit.

I think Sir Patrick was actually part of a "team" that assisted NASA in the
moon project (the mapping issue) but he did have a significant involvment.
Interesting that he actually got to interview Neil Armstrong on the Sky at
Night after the first moon landing. Armstrong did not like publicity and
has tended to shy away from interviews since the first moon landing. Also
Buzz Aldrin presented Sir Patricks special TV award a couple of years back.

I don't think Sir Patrick can be called a professional astronomer as he
makes a living writing and presenting books/TV shows about astronomy.
Murray Walker was not a professional F1 racing driver, although he make a
living writing and commentating about it. To me a professional astronomer is
someone who's main "professional" activity is undertaking tasks involving
astronomy itself.

Martin

although if you are one of those "modern politically
correct types" then the book might wind you up a bit.

But if you are one of those "old fashioned intolerant bigot" types you will
really enjoy it!

"Geoff Smith" wrote in message
...
although if you are one of those "modern politically
correct types" then the book might wind you up a bit.

But if you are one of those "old fashioned intolerant bigot" types you
will
really enjoy it!

Note that Sir Patrick's causes are not all right-wing. He's against fox
hunting.