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

Lyrid Meteors

The mild nights of spring are good times for skywatching. Only one thing is missing: a great meteor shower. The best showers are clustered in fall and winter, with the Perseids of August sometimes joining the list. Although the season doesn’t offer a great shower, a pretty good one should reach its peak tomorrow night: the Lyrids. Under a dark sky, you might see up to a couple of dozen meteors per hour between midnight and dawn. The number of meteors increases closer to dawn, as your part of Earth turns more directly into the meteor stream. Unfortunately, by then the waning Moon will be in the sky, so its light will compete with the fainter meteors. One good thing about meteors, though, is that you don’t have to wait for a shower to see them. A shower occurs when Earth passes through a stream of small bits of dust and rock shed by a comet or asteroid. There are many showers through the year, but only a few are noticeable. But bits of rocky debris are scattered throughout the solar system. So on any dark night, you can see several meteors zipping across the sky. And these “random” meteors can come from any direction and blaze across any part of the sky. So if you have a chance, look for the Lyrid meteor shower in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. If not, then take advantage of just about any clear, dark night to look for meteors flashing across the heavens. Tomorrow: a steady light far across the galaxy. Script by Damond Benningfield
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Upcoming Topics

  • April 21-27: Rings and Crescents

    The crescent Moon and the crescent planet Venus decorate the dawn sky this week. So does the ringed planet Saturn, and we’ll fill you in on the details. Please join us for crescents, rings and much more.

  • April 14-20: Stars that Share

    Many of the stars in our galaxy have close companions. And some of them are especially close — they’re actually touching each other. Please join us for “sharing” stars, plus an encounter with an asteroid and more

  • April 7-13: Observatories

    People have been building observatories for watching the stars for millennia, and we’ll talk about two of the most beautiful this week. We’ll also talk about the first stars, stellar metals, and much more.

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