Patrick Moore in the 1950s; Moore argued against Lord Dowding and other UFO proponents. He was invited to present a live astronomy programme and said the greatest difficulty was finding an appropriate theme tune; the opening of Jean Sibelius's "Pelléas et Mélisande" was chosen and used throughout the programme's existence. The programme was originally named "Star Map" before "The Sky at Night" was chosen in the "Radio Times". On 24 April 1957, at 10:30 pm, Moore presented the first episode about the Comet Arend–Roland. The programme was pitched to casual viewers up to professional astronomers, in a format which remained consistent from
Patrick Moore of "The Sky at Night", in September 1961, Moore's attempt to be the first to broadcast a live direct telescopic view of a planet resulted in another unintended 'comedy episode', as cloud obscured the sky. In 1965, he was appointed director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland, a post he held until 1968. His stay outside England was short partly because of the beginning of The Troubles, a dispute Moore wanted no involvement in. He was appointed Armagh County secretary of the Scout movement, but resigned after being informed that Catholics could not be admitted. In developing