 |
| Patrick Moore at our 50th anniversary meeting in 2003 |
 |
| Patrick, together with Margaret Penston and Sir Arnold Wolfendale, cuts our 50th anniversary cake |
 |
| Though he did occasionally use a computer, Patrick much preferred writing on a typewriter, such as here when he was reporting at the IAU’s Manchester meeting in 2000 |
The Society for Popular Astronomy records with great sadness the death today, 9 December 2012, of its last surviving founder member, Sir Patrick Moore.
Patrick has had an enormous influence on British amateur astronomy since the 1950s. Generations of budding stargazers have been encouraged to take up the subject through his many books and Sky at Night TV programme. In 1953, Patrick and several other astronomers decided that not enough was being done to help beginners to the subject. Within weeks they had founded the Junior Astronomical Society, whose aim was to help not just youngsters but anyone who wanted to find out more about the subject. In 1994 the society’s name was changed to the Society for Popular Astronomy.
Patrick Moore was a former President and Editor of the society’s magazine. In recent years he did not attend many meetings, but he did come along to our 50th anniversary meeting in 2003 and was due to be at our 60th in January 2013.
The society’s President, Prof. Derek Ward-Thompson, of the University of Central Lancashire, appeared several times on the Sky at Night TV programme. He said today: ‘Patrick’s death is a great personal blow to me. He was a truly great man who inspired generations of British astronomers.’
‘He was a great personal friend and did more than any single individual in the popularisation of our subject. We will probably never see his like again and I for one will miss him greatly.’
Vice President Robin Scagell said: ‘To most amateur astronomers in the UK, the word ‘Patrick’ means just one person. When I attended my first meeting of the then JAS in 1963, I well remember the room coming to life when Patrick bustled in. On one occasion, he brought science-fiction legend Arthur C Clarke with him, who gave an impromptu talk.
‘Patrick was always ready to help a new astronomer, and was a prodigious correspondent, replying with letters and postcards in his neat handwriting or wonky typewriting to anyone who had a question about the subject. Nothing was too much trouble, and he put the subject of astronomy before his own personal gain. He would often cross the country to give a talk to a small society or group, at his own expense, or even visit a young astronomer in hospital to cheer them up. In later years, when he could no longer drive, he hired a local taxi to take him around.’
The entire Council and membership of the SPA owe an enormous debt to Patrick Moore, whose passing brings to a close a great era of amateur astronomy. He saw the subject change from one which was of interest to a small community, but where individuals were still able to make discoveries simply by gazing up at the sky or making drawings of what they saw through their telescopes, to the modern era of planetary probes, space telescopes and enormous popular interest. His Sky at Night TV programmes have brought the subject of astronomy to millions. No-one can replace him.