Welcome to StarDate
Home of America’s longest-running national daily astronomy radio feature.
And so much more.
Stardate:
April 21, 2025Radio: Today’s Episode
Distant Light
A monster masquerading as a star
Premium Same-Day Audio Access lets you stream episodes of StarDate the same day they air.
Log in or subscribe now to listen!
Radio: Yesterday’s Episode
Lyrid Meteors
Meteors now, meteors later
/RSS Feed
Stargazing
Distant Light
The most amazing object visible through a small telescope looks like a star, yet it packs the power of 10 trillion Suns. 3C 273 is a quasar-a disk of superheated gas around a monster black hole. It’s in Virgo, a third of the way up in the southeast at nightfall.
Lyrid Meteors
The Lyrid meteor shower should reach its peak tomorrow night. Under a dark sky, you might see up to a couple of dozen meteors per hour between midnight and dawn. Unfortunately, the Moon will be in the sky then, so its light will compete with the fainter meteors.
Messier 3
Messier 3 is a cluster of about 500,000 ancient stars. It’s 34,000 light-years away, in Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs. The cluster isn’t bright enough to see with the eye alone, but is an easy target for binoculars.
Moon Phases
At the new Moon phase, the Moon is so close to the Sun in the sky that none of the side facing Earth is illuminated (position 1 in illustration). In other words, the Moon is between Earth and Sun. At first quarter, the half-lit Moon is highest in the sky at sunset, then sets about six hours later (3). At full Moon, the Moon is behind Earth in space with respect to the Sun. As the Sun sets, the Moon rises with the side that faces Earth fully exposed to sunlight (5).
Today’s Sponsor
Stardate Magazine
Current Issue: May/JUNE 2025
Night Vision
by Stephen Hummel & Emily Howard
In this issue, we peer into some especially dark skies, and tell you how to find them. We also feature the life and work of Nancy Grace Roman, a NASA pioneer who is the namesake for the next big space telescope.The issue also will offer Merlin’s answers to your questions, skywatching tips, exciting astronomy news, and more.
Shop
Combos – Bundle and Save
-
Digital Magazine & Audio ComboFrom: $45.00 / year -
Magazine Combo SubscriptionFrom: $45.00 / year
Popular
-
2025 Sky Almanac$6.00 -
2024 Sky Almanac$6.00 -
StarDate: March/April 2024$6.00
Explore
Featured Images
Fun Factoid
More fun facts in our Astro Field Guide!
Star Teachers
Stars and Galaxies
Galaxies contain billions of stars. Do galaxies collide? Do the stars within them collide?