Eight's coverage reached unprecedented heights in 1985 with the live broadcast of the return of Halley's Comet and the Space Probe 8 specials.
A celestial event that only occurs every 76 to 79 years, it was no
wonder Arizona astronomers at Lowell Observatory, Arizona State
University, the University of Arizona and the Planetary Science
Institute positioned telescopes throughout the state to monitor the
activity of the famous comet. Because of the excellent observational
facilities in the state and a climate conducive to astronomical
observations, Arizona quickly became a world-wide hub for tracking the
comet.
Space Program 8 aired
weeknights on HORIZON over a six-month period from October 1985 to
April 1986. Among the specials segments were: a retrospective on
Halley's comet and Lowell Observatory; live reports from Kitt Peak
including a conversation with Dr. Fred L. Whipple of Harvard
University, who formulated our modern theories on comets; regular
updates on the position and best viewing times of Halley's comet;
interviews with amateur astronomers with live broadcasts from their
observing sites; and discussions about the nature of the universe
through interviews with a cross section of prominent astronomers
including Carl Sagan and Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto.
Space Probe 8 included
profiles of the planets of our solar system; reports on the important
contributions of Arizona's amateur astronomers; segments featuring
Apollo astronaut Ron Evans, the last American to orbit the moon; and
visits to Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where the Voyager
spacecraft is controlled.
The Voyager spacecraft, whose spectacular pictures of Jupiter were used in the movie 2010,
passed by the planet Uranus, and Arizona scientists at the University
of Arizona and Arizona State University were among the top research
scientists in the country who analyzed Voyager’s photos of the giant
planet.
In Flagstaff, the program visited the U.S. Naval Observatory, talked
with astrogeologists at the U.S. Geological Survey, Astrogeology
Branch, where photos that came back from Voyager were examined and
interpreted, and looked at the Meteor Crater, the best preserved
example on Earth of a collision with an object from outer space.
From the ancient past of Meteor Crater and Casa Grande, where
archaeologists have discovered evidence pointing to a Hohokam
astronomical observatory, to the spacecraft missions to the planets, Space Probe 8
presented a continuing, thought-provoking, imaginative and stimulating
series featuring Arizona's important part in the drama of galactic
discovery.
Original airdate: October 1985
Over the last 50 years, we've seen our share of changes... but what hasn't changed has been Eight's commitment to quality television programming and services for the Arizona community. Now, you can help Eight celebrate 50 years of broadcasting in Arizona. When you make a contribution to Eight of $50, we'll say thank you by sending you the 
