The Sky at Night - Season 55 / Year 2011

The planets and moons of our solar system are covered in volcanoes, some billions of years old and seven times the height of Mount Everest. Sir Patrick Moore discovers the havoc that volcanoes can wreak on our own planet, as well as elsewhere in our solar system.

The great winter constellation of Orion is easily visible, with its ruby red star Betelgeuse and distinctive shape. It is also home to the Orion nebula, our nearest stellar nursery, where thousands of stars are being born. Sir Patrick Moore and the Sky at Night team take us on a tour of this magnificent constellation and its jewels.

Sir Patrick Moore celebrates the 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex, with the help of special guests Professor Brian Cox, impressionist and amateur astronomer Jon Culshaw and Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal. A stellar panel of astronomers gathers to answer vexing questions from the viewers, while Sir Patrick has a close encounter with his younger self.

Sir Patrick Moore joins an unlikely star party in the heart of London, where enthusiastic astronomers are cutting through the light pollution to see the planets and stars. Dr Chris Lintott also drops in on another star party - the 88th birthday celebrations for the nation's most famous astronomer.

In the atmosphere of Saturn there is a gigantic storm, which is bigger than Earth itself. This month Sir Patrick Moore looks at the ringed planet, which can be seen in our night sky now. He talks to Paul Abel and Dr Chris North about these violent eruptions in the atmospheres of other worlds.

And Jon Culshaw, Dr Lucie Green and Pete Lawrence travel to north Norway in search of the aurora borealis.

The summer constellation of Cygnus will soon be flying overhead in our night sky. With its rich array of nebulae and star clusters, it is a delight for astronomers to look at in the warm summer evenings. Sir Patrick Moore looks at the yellow star Albireo with its superb azure blue companion, while Chris North goes in search of the Milky Way.

Sir Patrick Moore visits the South Downs Planetarium and discovers how the stars appeared to the ancient Egyptians, whilst Pete Lawrence explains what to look out for in the summer night sky.

The Nasa spacecraft Dawn is getting up close and personal with the asteroid Vesta. Sir Patrick Moore discusses the first fly-by images of this most unusual asteroid, which will tell us more about how our solar system formed some 4.5 billion years ago. Paul Abel and Pete Lawrence their guide to the August night sky, including the return of the red planet Mars.

The future of manned space flight is entering an uncertain phase, our once vivid dreams of returning to the Moon and landing on Mars shattered by budget cuts and lack of will. This month on The Sky at Night, Sir Patrick Moore discusses the demise of the shuttle programme with astronaut Piers Sellers, whilst also going on an interstellar journey with Project Icarus, the visionary idea of how man might one day visit other worlds.

Two of the great autumn constellations of Andromeda and Pegasus will soon be gracing our night skies. The maiden Andromeda, chained to her rock, awaits her fate whilst the winged horse Pegasus gallops across the celestial skies. Full of interesting stars, nebulae and galaxies, these constellations are rich pickings for astronomers.

As Mars returns to the night skies, Sir Patrick Moore discusses its four faces. Dr Chris Lintott travels to Nantes in France to a world gathering of planetary scientists to find out about Curiosity - the NASA mission which will soon leave for the red planet, in search of signs of life.

The outer limits of the solar system are a dark, cold and mysterious place, which only the Voyager spacecraft have visited. Sir Patrick Moore discusses the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, while Chris Lintott has an early Christmas treat - a lost episode of The Sky at Night from 1963 which has been returned to the BBC, in which Arthur C Clarke talks about his vision of bases on the moon and speculates when man will be on Mars.