PATRICK MOORE ON THE MOON

"When I began studying the moon, in the 1930s... space travel was officially dismissed as science fiction," says British astronomical fixture Moore, who has been host of BBC TV's The Sky at Night for 40-plus years, is a fellow and former president of the Royal Astronomical Association and is the author of Guide to the Moon, first published 50 years ago. Moore clearly and cheerfully expounds on the moon's origins, features, atmosphere, structure, eclipses, human visitors and relationship to the earth, as well as lunar myth and study across the ages. Illus. (Aug.)