Radio’s Guide to the Universe

StarDate host Billy Henry

StarDate debuted in 1978, making it the longest-running national radio science feature in the country. It airs on more than 300 radio stations. It has been hosted by Billy Henry since July 2019.

StarDate tells listeners what to look for in the night sky, and explains the science, history, and skylore behind these objects. It also keeps listeners up to date on the latest research findings and space missions. And it offers tidbits on astronomy in the arts and popular culture, providing ways for people with diverse interests to keep up with the universe.

StarDate is a production of The University of Texas McDonald Observatory, which also produces the bi-monthly StarDate magazine.

The Voice of StarDate

Billy Henry, a voice talent, musician, composer, and college lecturer in Austin is the third narrator of the StarDate radio program. Read more »

The Music of StarDate

The StarDate background music was written by Bill Harwell and Patterson Barrett specifically for StarDate.

More Than 40 Years and Counting!

StarDate is radio’s longest-running nationally aired science program. It began in 1977 as a daily telephone message service by McDonald Observatory. It was picked up by Austin radio station KLBJ-FM, and aired as “Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?” beginning in June 1977. With a grant from the National Science Foundation, the program became “Star Date,” and began airing nationally, seven days per week, on October 1, 1978. It quickly reached more than 1,000 stations across the country. Read more »

Today’s Episode

Cosmic Voids

The universe is put together like Swiss cheese – some regions are the cheese; others are the holes. The “cheese” consists of clusters and superclusters of galaxies. The “holes” are just that – cosmic voids. The largest voids span more than a billion light-years.Cosmic voids were discovered half a century ago. Astronomers were looking deep enough into the universe to map its structure on the largest scale. They’d expected the universe to look the same in all directions – a smooth blend of galaxies. Instead, they found a web – overlapping filaments of galaxies, with big spaces between.The voids might be there because there were tiny differences in the density of matter in the early universe – especially dark matter. The gravity in the denser regions pulled material together to make stars and galaxies. That left the less-dense regions almost empty. They contain a few galaxies, some gas and dust, and some dark matter, but not much else.More than 6,000 voids have been cataloged. They clump together to make supervoids. One of the closest is the Boštes Void – “the Great Nothing.” It’s centered about 700 million light-years away, and it spans more than 300 million light-years – a giant “hole” in the universe.Boštes climbs into view in early evening. Look for the bright yellow-orange star Arcturus, which is low in the east by 9 or 10 o’clock. The Great Nothing stretches to the upper left of Arcturus.Script by Damond Benningfield
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Upcoming Topics

  • March 31-April 6: Moon Meanderings

    he Moon passes by the bright planets Mars and Jupiter this week, plus the brighter stars of Taurus and Gemini, and we’ll have details. Please join us for the Moon, plus a “snap” decision in space and much more.

  • March 24-30: Clusters and Voids

    Virgo is home to both a giant cluster of galaxies and a giant cosmic void — the “Great Nothing.” Please join us for Virgo’s cosmic treasures, plus a solar eclipse, solar attacks, and much more

  • March 17-23: Springtime

    The spring equinox arrives in the northern hemisphere this week, and we’ll talk about the Sun’s position at the equinox, and an amazing spot for watching the equinox.

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