[Excepted from the Star Date Home Page]
The Star Date radio series is celebrating its sixteenth anniversary
this year. It is the longest running science feature in the country.
Every day, this daily series of two-minute programs, which airs on
about 200 radio stations in the United States, its territories, and
Canada, informs millions of listeners about the universe.
Star Date explores the night sky in a style that is both informative
and entertaining. It tells listeners about the stars and planets,
about the history and evolution of the Universe, the space program,
and about our own Earth. It explains the complicated events in our sky
in intelligent yet easy-to-understand language. Star Date also
describes the latest astronomical research, the history of astronomy,
and milestones in the human exploration of space. And it passes on the
rich and beautiful skylore from many cultures.
Star Date is produced by The University of Texas at Austin McDonald
Observatory, a major international research center and a leading
education and public information source.
Star Date began in 1977 as a telephone message service and quickly
went on the air in Austin as a daily radio program. With a grant from
the National Science Foundation (NSF No. OSS-7824651) the series began
national distribution in late 1978. With NSF support, it was
distributed to stations free, and within two years was heard on 1,000
radio stations in the United States, its territories, and Canada.
Prior to the end of the grant period in 1981, Star Date began charging
radio stations a subscription fee so that the program's costs could be
covered after NSF support ended. Star Date is currently funded in part
by NASA and in part by charging an acquisition fee in order to cover
Star Date has received several major awards from both science
organizations and broadcasters. In 1993 Star Date received the gold
medal from the New York Festivals International Radio Competition in
the science and technology category and in 1994 it received the bronze
medal. It has also received the Ohio State Award for "excellence in
public information broadcasting," the prestigious Dorothea
Klumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for
"outstanding contributions to the public's appreciation and
understanding of astronomy," and a first-place award from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting for "excellence in informational
programming."
Star Date is distributed on compact discs, which provide the greatest
possible fidelity through their digital format. Star Date receives many
thousands of letters each year from adults and children who are motivated
to learn more about space after hearing one or more Star Date episodes.
Listeners who write receive a copy of Star Date Magazine, a full-color,
bi-monthly publication that provides in-depth information on astronomical
research as well as skywatching tips. Based on letters received in the
past from listeners, we know that Star Date has a significant impact on
scientific literacy.
STAR DATE CONTENT
Each month, Star Date offers a balance of astronomy and space-science
topics. About one-half of each month's programs are related to
skywatching: eclipses, meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, stars
and constellations, and so on. These scripts contain both pertinent
observational details -- when and where to look, and what to look for
-- and scientific background. For example, a script on a planetary
conjunction might emphasize that, while two planets appear near each
other in the sky, they are really tens or hundreds of millions of miles
apart. Or a script on a particular star might relate information about
the star's temperature and composition, or about its mythology.
Mythologies are not limited to those of the Greeks or other western
European cultures; Star Date strives to incorporate the skylore of
American Indian tribes, African tribes, Oriental cultures, and other
civilizations.
Other topics are related to important anniversaries -- the birthdays
of important astronomers, or anniversaries of key scientific
discoveries or space-exploration accomplishments. These scripts not
only describe the events, they try to place them in the appropriate
context. A script on the birthday of Copernicus, for example, would
describe how his findings revolutionized human understanding of the
universe, and of humanity's place in the cosmos.
A third topic area is recent discoveries in astronomy, astrophysics,
and physics. We try to convey the latest research results on
everything from quasars to extrasolar planets to neutrinos.
Star Date also looks inward, toward planet Earth. We discuss how Earth
interacts with the space environment, how scientific satellites
examine Earth from orbit, and how Earth compares to the other planets
in our solar system.
Finally, Star Date covers a variety of topics that may be related only
peripherally to the core subject of astronomy, but that help place
astronomy in a broader historical, scientific, and cultural
perspective. These topics include information on the evolution of the
calendar, pieces on artistic works related to the heavens, and any
other topic that conveys information on the importance of astronomy to
our history, culture, and our daily lives.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The StarDate Radio Script Archive is available at URL:
http://www.as.utexas.edu:80/PIO/SD_scripts/
The McDonald Observatory home page is available at URL:
http://www.as.utexas.edu/PIO/PIO_page.html
For more information about the StarDate Radio show or the monthly
StarDate magazine, call 1-800-NIGHT-SKY (1-800-644-4875).
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- T o d d E. V a n H o o s e a r -
``'''vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu - vanhoose@msu.edu - vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu
(._.) Michigan State University - East Lansing, MI USA
(_) Computer Laboratory - Department of Communication
`---' <A HREF="http://lalaland.cl.msu.edu/~vanhoose/">My Home Page</A>
"Grad school: it's not just a job, it's an indenture."
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