British astronomer Patrick Moore dies aged 89

Astronomer Patrick Moore, renowned for his work mapping the Moon's surface and for having popularised his subject with the British public, died Sunday at the age of 89, friends and colleagues announced. Moore, whose lunar research was used by both the US and Soviets space programmes, died peacefully at 12:25pm (1225 GMT) at his home in Selsey on the southern English coast. He had succumbed to an infection, colleagues said in a statement. "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," they said. Besides his skill at explaining the universe, his monocle, wit, raised eyebrow and idiosyncratic style of speech endeared him to an army of space fans. Moore fronted the monthly BBC programme "The Sky At Night" from its launch in 1957 and still running today, making him the world's longest-running presenter of the same television show. His last programme was broadcast on Monday. Moore only ever missed one episode, in 2004, laid low by a contaminated egg. In 1959, the Soviets used his charts to correlate the first Lunik 3 pictures of the far side of the Moon. Moscow ensured he was the first Westerner to see the results, which he received mid-broadcast. His early shows went out live, with Moore once swallowing a fly on air. He was also involved in the lunar mapping in the run up to the NASA Apollo missions. "My own research -- mapping the Moon -- now belongs to the past, and my role, if I have one, is to try and urge others to do things which I could never do myself," he said in later life. "This century will be very interesting," he added. "The first man on Mars has probably already been born." Moore believed he was the only person to have met aviation pioneer Orville Wright; Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space; and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin, who accompanied Armstrong to the lunar surface, told the BBC in 2009 that Moore put astronomy "into perspective so that ordinary people understand the enormity of the universe". Moore first became fascinated with the stars aged six and two years later he was given the 1908 typewriter on which his vast array of books, papers and children's novels were written. He lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force at 16 and fight in World W