He compiled the Caldwell catalogue of astronomical objects and in 1982 , asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour . In February 1986 he presented a special episode of '' The Sky at Night '' on the approach of Halley 's Comet , though he later said the BBC 's better-funded '' Horizon '' team " made a complete hash of the programme . " In January 1998 , a tornado destroyed part of Moore 's garden observatory ; it was subsequently rebuilt . Moore campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the Royal Observatory , Greenwich in 1998 . Among Moore 's favourite episodes of '' The Sky at Night '' were those that dealt with eclipses , and he said " there is nothing in nature to match the glory of a total eclipse of the Sun . " Moore was a BBC presenter for the total eclipse in England in 1999 , though the view he and his team had from Cornwall was obscured by cloud . Moore was the patron of the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre , which opened in 2001
total eclipse in England in 1999
Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999
Patrick Moore