The UK's largest planetarium at the National Space Centre in Leicester has been renamed in honour of the famous astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. He visited the centre to mark the occasion.

The Space Theatre will now be known as the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, where visitors watch shows about the universe on a huge ceiling domed screen.

Sir Patrick said: "What I've tried to do is introduce astronomy and bring people in, which I hope I've done and I've thoroughly enjoyed doing it."

Kevin Yates, from the National Space Centre, said: "There's been a real buzz, it's the closest you get to astronomical royalty having Sir Patrick in the building. It's been a great honour dedicating the planetarium to him."

The well-known astronomer also presented a new show, Tour of the Night Sky, and a series of "best of" clips, hosted by himself, for the visitor experience.

The new content includes 16 choices by Sir Patrick of things he has enjoyed discovering over his 55 years of presenting the television series The Sky at Night on the BBC.

Mr Yates said: "Before each of the main feature shows people will be able to see him giving them a tour of one particular objects that's important to him over his long career. Sir Patrick will also be telling people what to look out for when they go out at night."

Sir Patrick, who is an author of more than 70 books on astronomy, was awarded an honorary fellowship by the University of Leicester in 2008 for his work promoting astronomy.