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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-10/british-astronomer-patrick-moore-dies-aged-89/4417624
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British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore dies aged 89
British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, who was known for his work mapping the Moon’s surface, has died at the age of 89.
The eccentric astronomer presented the BBC program The Sky At Night for over 50 years, making him the longest-running host of the same television show.
Sir Patrick wrote dozens of books on astronomy and his research was used by the US and the Russians in their space programs.
A statement released by friends and colleagues says he had succumbed to an infection and died peacefully at his home in Selsey on the southern English coast.
“After a short spell in hospital last week, it was determined that no further treatment would benefit him, and it was his wish to spend his last days in his own home,” it said.
Sir Patrick died in the company of close friends and carers and his cat, Ptolemy, the statement said.
“Over the past few years, Patrick, an inspiration to generations of astronomers, fought his way back from many serious spells of illness and continued to work and write at a great rate, but this time his body was too weak to overcome the infection which set in, a few weeks ago,” it said.
“He was able to perform on his world record-holding TV programme “The Sky at Night” right up until the most recent episode.
“His executors and close friends plan to fulfil his wishes for a quiet ceremony of interment, but a farewell event is planned for what would have been Patrick’s 90th birthday in March 2013.”
He believed he was the only person to have met Orville Wright, the first man to fly; Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon.
Queen Elizabeth knighted him in 2001 for “services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting”.
Besides his skill at explaining the intricacies of the universe, his monocle, wit and idiosyncratic style of speech endeared him to an army of fans spanning the generations.
At the age of eight he was given a 1908 typewriter on which his multitude of books and papers were written throughout his life.
Besides his astronomy, writing and broadcasting, Sir Patrick was a skilled xylophone player and a useful cricketer.
