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

Tight Family

A quadruple star system in Cygnus takes the concept of a close-knit family to extremes. It consists of three big, heavy stars packed into a region smaller than the orbit of Mercury, the Sun’s closest planet. A fourth star is looking on from a wider separation – about the distance between the Sun and Jupiter, the fifth planet. The system was discovered by a planet-hunting space telescope. Over several years, it revealed two of the stars, then three, and now, four. Astronomers say the stars probably formed together, from the same cloud of gas and dust. That means the four stars are siblings. All three of the central stars are bigger, brighter, and hotter than the Sun. Two of them form a binary – they orbit each other once every three days. The more massive of those stars is already nearing the end of its life. It’s beginning to puff up. It should get so big that it will engulf its close companion. That will begin a complicated process in which all three stars should merge. Within about 300 million years, all that will be left of them is a single, heavy “corpse” known as a white dwarf. The fourth star will remain on its own. It’s about the same size and mass as the Sun. It’ll continue to shine for billions of years. Then it, too, will expire, forming another white dwarf. So this brilliant quartet will be reduced to a faint duo – two dead stars cooling and fading across the eons. Script by Damond Benningfield
Go to episode

Upcoming Topics

  • June 15-21: Lunar Liaisons

    The Moon swings by three bright planets and a bright star this week, and we’ll have details. We’ll also talk about an astronomy pioneer, the changing of the seasons, and much more.

  • June 8-14: Seeing Double

    The planets Venus and Jupiter team up in the evening sky this week. They’re the brightest points of light in the night sky, creating a beautiful case of “double vision.” Please join us for this evening meet-up and more.

  • June 1-7: Colorful Skies

    The Sun has been especially active the past couple of years, creating some especially bright and colorful auroras. We’ll talk about the colors, and about some ancient tales of what they mean.

Shopping Cart

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top