The Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock: 'In space, race doesn't matter'

The space scientist who is about to replace Patrick Moore on how Spock, Sherlock Holmes and physics inspired herAs a child, space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock was allowed to stay up late and watch one programme, The Sky at Night. She mainly grew up in light-polluted London, unable to see much outside the window of her family's council flat in Camden, but still she had a fascination with space. Some long winter nights, walking home from school across Hampstead Heath, she would look up and think, "Patrick talked about that constellation, I can see it now."Patrick Moore presented the astronomy programme for more than 50 years; from next month, Aderin-Pocock will present the series, with astrophysicist Chris Lintott, in a new monthly slot on BBC4. "It's a wonderful opportunity, but with a bit of fear and trepidation as well," she says. "[Patrick] was just such an iconic figure. There is no way I could fill his shoes, it's just trying to continue the legacy really."But she is a wonderful choice. Aderin-Pocock has a talent for sharing her enthusiasm, having spent the last few years giving talks to more than 100,000 schoolchildren, particularly at inner city schools, and delivering lectures all over the world. She has already presented two documentaries; one on satellites, the other about the moon. Quite apart from her obvious passion and charisma – in person, as on screen, she is warm and funny, every sentence seemingly delivered with a smile – it is gratifying to see a black...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: The Guardian Astronomy Educational TV Culture Television & radio Media Star Trek Features Patrick Moore The news on TV Interviews Factual TV Science Space amp; radio Source Type: news