StarDate — the longest-running science feature in the country — celebrated its 25th anniversary as a national program in 2003. StarDate began as a telephone message service and soon went on the air in Austin in 1977 as a daily radio program, "Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?" With a new name and a grant from the National Science Foundation, the series began national distribution in 1978.

Each month, StarDate offers a balance of astronomy and space-science topics. About half of each month's programs are related to skywatching: eclipses, meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, stars and constellations, and so on.

Other topics are related to important anniversaries (the birthdays of important astronomers or anniversaries of key scientific discoveries or space-exploration accomplishments); recent discoveries in astronomy, astrophysics, and physics; Earth's place in the cosmos; and 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.

Sandy Wood, a veteran radio broadcaster and voice talent, became StarDate announcer in September 1991. She has been a radio disc jockey and talk-show host, and has written scripts for national and local radio productions. She also is an accomplished radio voice talent, and has recorded radio spots and other programming for national, regional, and local clients.

See what's on today's Stardate

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Airs: Daily at 7:57 a.m. on KPAC and 7 p.m., 9:57p.m. and 2:57a.m. on KPAC and KTXI
Website: stardate.org