''StarDate'' is a science

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Te ...

McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional fac ...

, broadcast on over 360 radio stations. It is a daily guide to the night sky and breaking astronomical news. Typically heard without formal introduction, ''StarDate'' is a self-contained science news feature interwoven with routine radio programming. It is the longest-running science outreach program on U.S. radio. Created in 1978 by science journalist

Deborah Byrd Deborah Byrd (born March 1, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American science journalist. She is editor-in-chief of EarthSky, which presents science news and night sky information. The website served more than 21 million users in 2019, accordin ...

of the McDonald Observatory, the short (2-minute) format of ''StarDate'' sprang Byrd's scripts written for a telephone hot line on astronomy, which had started a year earlier. The telephone scripts had attracted the notice of a producer at radio station KLBJ-FM in Austin, who had turned them into a radio show that was broadcast for a year under the name "Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?" — a reference to the song co-written by Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship. With the support of Harlan James Smith, McDonald Observatory's director, and after securing funding from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, Byrd changed the name to Star Date (invoking the term " stardate" used in the opening monologue of the 1960s television series ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'') and began the series' national distribution in 1979. The niche broadcasting position of ''StarDate'' has always been its quick but relaxed, diary-like delivery which allows it to be interspersed with regular programming. Byrd produced the show, and Joel Block hosted it, until 1991, when a change in management at McDonald led both to depart and start another syndicated radio series, ''

Earth & Sky ''Earth & Sky'' was a daily radio series that presented information about science and nature. It began broadcasting in 1991 and ceased operations in 2013. ''EarthSky'' is the ongoing website, serving 21 million users in 2019, according to Google ...

'', which aired from 1991 to 2013 and was heard on about 1,000 radio stations. Since 1991, ''StarDate'' has been produced by Damond Benningfield, and hosted by Sandy Wood, a

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radio personality who was one of the first female

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s in the southwestern United States. After Wood's retirement on July 16, 2019, the host position was assumed by Billy Henry, an Austin-based musician and educator

Stations that broadcast ''StarDate'' include affiliates and owned stations of

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and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...

, totaling approximately 300 stations. The program is also available as a downloadable podcast.StarDate Podcasts
"Listen to StarDate"
/ref> ''Universo'', the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

version of ''StarDate'', first aired on April 1, 1995. ''StarDate Magazine'' was first known as ''McDonald Observatory News'' in 1972. It became a bimonthly magazine in 1988.

References

External links

* {{University of Texas at Austin American radio programs Science radio programmes Astronomical observatories in Texas University of Texas at Austin 1977 radio programme debuts

See also

References

External links