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

Frances Baily

Be careful what you say — a single phrase can define a legacy.Consider Frances Baily. He served four terms as president of the Royal Astronomical Society and compiled some of the most important star catalogs in history. But he’s best known for five little words: “like a string of beads.”Baily was born 250 years ago today, in England. As a young man, he traveled to the wilds of North America, then joined the London Stock Exchange. He was especially good at the mathematical side of things, compiling guides about annuities and life insurance. He made a fortune, then retired in 1825 to spend all of his time on astronomy.Baily had already helped establish the forerunner of the royal society. He used his skills from his days in business to compile star catalogs — work that required a lot of tedious calculations. One of them was the leading publication of its time.In 1836, Baily watched a solar eclipse from Scotland. Just before the Sun vanished, he noticed little points of light around the edge of the Moon. Edmond Halley had seen the same thing more than a century earlier. Halley even explained those points: they’re sunlight shining through gaps between lunar mountains and craters.To his fellow astronomers, Baily described them as “a row of lucid points, like a string of beads.” So today, the points are known as “Baily’s beads” — insuring a bit of immortality for an insurance expert-turned-astronomer.Script by Damond Benningfield
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Upcoming Topics

  • April 29-May 5: Planet Parade

    The Moon will pass by a parade of planets in the dawn sky late this week, and we’ll have details. We’ll also talk about a protective “blanket” around Earth, a small discovery, and more.

  • April 22-28: Taking a Trip

    A trip around the world would take a while, even in a passenger jet. But it’s the blink of an eye compared to the time it would take to go around a supergiant star.

  • April 15-21: A Cosmic “Dusting”

    Earth is headed through a ribbon of “comet dust” — debris that causes the Lyrid meteor shower. And some of that dust may have been found at the bottom of a river, and we’ll have details.

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