To British television viewers, the name ‘Patrick Moore’ has been synonymous with Astronomy and Space Travel since he first appeared on The Sky at Night in 1957. To amateur astronomers he has been a source of inspiration, joy, humour and even an eccentric role model since that time. Most people know that his 55 years of presenting The Sky at Night is a world record, but what was he really like in person?  What did he do away from the TV cameras, in his observatory, and within the British Astronomical Association, the organisation that inspired him as a youngster? Also, precisely what did he do during the War Years, a subject that has always been shrouded in mystery? Martin Mobberley, a friend of Patrick Moore’s for 30 years, and a former President of the British Astronomical Association, has spent ten years exhaustively researching Patrick’s real life away from the TV cameras. His childhood, RAF service, tireless voluntary work for astronomy and charity and his endless book writing are all examined in detail. His astronomical observations are also examined in unprecedented detail, along with the battles he fought along the way and his hatred of bureaucracy and political correctness. No fan of Sir Patrick Moore can possibly live without this work on their bookshelf!

Martin Mobberley holds a BSc in Electronic Engineering from Brunel University and worked as an electronics/software engineer for Marconi for 22 years. He is the author of eight practical astronomy books for Springer, as well as three small children’s space books with Top That! Publishing. He has authored over 300 articles for Astronomy Now, The Journal of the British Astronomical Association, BBC Sky at Night and various other publications. He is the author of the Comet, Eclipse and Minor Planet sections of Macmillan’s ‘Patrick Moore Yearbook of Astronomy’ and the former president of the British Astronomical Association (BAA). Martin was the BAA Goodacre Medal winner of 2000 and appeared as a guest on Patrick Moore’s Sky at Night TV program a total of ten times. He was a personal friend of Sir Patrick Moore for 30 years.