BBC Sky at Night

Looking back: The Sky at Night 15 May 1974

On the 15 May 1974 episode, Patrick Moore spoke with US astronomer Carl Sagan about the many investigative strands when looking for alien life.

“One is laboratory work on the question of thethe molecules which [would]… lead eventually to us,” said Sagan. Today, lab work investigates how molecules present at our planet’s birth could grow into the complex chemistry seen today.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from BBC Sky at Night

BBC Sky at Night3 min read
Build A Parallax-measuring Tool
Hold up a finger and look at it with just one eye, then switch to just the other and you'll see your finger appear to ‘jump’ from side to side. The further away the finger, the smaller the jump. This apparent shift of a nearby object against a distan
BBC Sky at Night2 min read
The Coronal Heating Problem
Unlike on Earth, where ‘temperature’ and ‘heat’ mean similar things in everyday language, in space the two concepts are very different. In the vacuum of space, an object’s temperature can be thousands of degrees without it feeling hot. That’s because
BBC Sky at Night1 min read
On Facebook
Many of you headed to Facebook to welcome the return of The Sky at Night to our TV screens in April: Stuart Sumner At last. Lawrence Craus Love this programme. David Simmons Great news. A bright, intelligent programme amongst so much dross! Christoph

Related Books & Audiobooks