Farewell Patrick Moore

Those of us who grew up in the fifties, sixties or even later, and who have had any interest at all in science, but especially in the planets and stars, will be saddened by the passing of a man who was a childhood hero for so many of us, Sir Patrick Moore.

While we almost take for granted the level of knowledge we have about the solar system, and the moon itself is hardly worth visiting these days, it's only within our lifetimes that we, as a species, have become so complacent. A generation or two ago, we didn't know if the moon was inhabited or what was hidden on the far side. And even NASA, with their enormous resources and ingenuity, and driven by competition with the Soviet Union, would not have made it to the moon without the dedicated work of amateurs who helped to map its surface.

Among those 'amateurs' was one Patrick Moore. If you were alive to see the coverage of the Apollo missions you will have seen Patrick Moore as one of the presenters, but he was much more than a TV presenter and amateur astronomer. He was a lunar specialist and expert whose advice was sought and valued by possibly the greatest collection of scientific and engineering minds ever assembled for a single project.

There are not many people about whom you could say that.

Now we can watch robots surveying the Martian soil, analysing its composition and maybe finding signs of life, a trip to the planets seems once again to be not entirely out of the question. But how many of us had our ethusiasm and excitement for astronomy and space travel - and crucially, our education and love of the science - fired by the extraordinary passion, intelligence and presenting skills of the unique man that was Sir Patrick Moore?