Developments in Amateur Astronomy Details: Four disc DVD-R set – 7 hours running time Region: DVD regions 1 and 2 (USA and Europe) options Price: £14 (BAA members) or £18 (non members)
Available from: http://britastro.org/pm_at_ri_2009

At the end of last year Patrick Moore celebrated 75 years of unbroken membership in the British Astronomical Association. To celebrate this happy and remarkable event the BAA booked the historic Royal Institution Faraday lecture theatre for Saturday November 21st. The tickets sold out very quickly and ten speakers (including myself, covering planetary imaging) were invited to talk about ‘Developments in Amateur Astronomy – Past, Present and Future’. High quality video recordings of these talks form the bulk of this splendid four DVD set. The other speakers were: Peter Cattermole (Lunar craters); Tony Morris (DSLRs); Richard Miles (Comets and Asteroids); Stan Waterman (Exoplanets); Nick Hewitt (Deep Sky); David Boyd (Photometry); Karen Holland (CCDs); Robin Leadbeater (Spectroscopy); Nick James (Remote Observing).

Everyone will have their own favourite speakers and I cannot possibly comment on my own performance, but there is something for everyone in this DVD set. I suspect Peter Cattermole’s joint talk with Patrick will be everyone’s favourite though, with both of these life long friends bringing out the best in each other. Patrick’s closing address resulted in a one minute standing ovation in front of some very moist- eyed fans and it is all on the recording.

However, the extras on this DVD will, perhaps, please the viewer even more than the talks. All the speakers gave a five minute interview to the camera after the meeting and these are fascinating to watch, because they reveal how much Patrick’s influence has literally changed so many lives. Other interviews with Allan Chapman, Mike Maunder and Chris Doherty are also captured.

The event’s brilliant organiser, John Mason, also takes the viewer on an entertaining guided tour of Patrick’s garden and observatories and has a relaxed chat with Patrick, and his cat Jeannie, in the famous Selsey study. But maybe the most memorable clip (on disc 4) is Patrick on the 1994 solar eclipse trip with all the projection equipment failing and the great man bopping with the local Peruvian dancing girls – hysterical! A ‘must buy’ for all Patrick Moore fans. BAA member Roger Perry, who edited and produced this DVD, has surely created a masterpiece!

Martin Mobberley