The Texas Star Party ( TSP ) is a large annual star party in the United States .
17-577: TSP was started by Deborah Byrd , members of the Austin Astronomical Society, and McDonald Observatory in August 1979. It was a weekend gathering of amateur astronomers at Davis Mountains State Park near McDonald Observatory in far west Texas. In 1982, TSP was reorganized as a week-long event and was held at the Prude Guest Ranch near Fort Davis, Texas . For one year only, in 1997, the event
34-561: A pin and in some cases another award. The binocular programs are usually a regular binocular program, an advanced binocular program, and a binocular program "from hell". While at TSP 1996, Brian A. Skiff named one of the asteroids that he had previously discovered. That asteroid, 4932 Texstapa ( 1984 EA 1 ), was discovered on March 9, 1984, and was named for the Texas Star Party on the occasion of its 18th anniversary in May 1996. The TSP
51-535: 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 , Byrd changed the name to Star Date (invoking the term " stardate " used in the opening monologue of
68-732: Is run by around 50-70 volunteers each year, drawn mostly from amateur astronomy clubs with support from the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory. The 42nd TSP was cancelled in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . It was deferred to 2021. 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, according to Google Analytics. On March 1, 1951, Byrd
85-531: Is the longest-running science outreach program on U.S. radio. Created in 1978 by science journalist Deborah Byrd of the McDonald Observatory, the short (2-minute) format of StarDate sprang from 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
102-485: The 1960s television series Star Trek ) 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 , which aired from 1991 to 2013 and
119-601: The American Astronomical Society, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the education of the public, students, and/or the next generation of professional astronomers. Byrd was recognized for her contributions to the Texas Star Party, the University of Texas McDonald Observatory's StarDate radio program and magazine, and the Earth & Sky radio program and website, "all of which epitomize her advocacy for science and her lifetime of service in educating and inspiring
136-531: The TSP History page listed below. The TSP's observing fields at the Prude Ranch are the central field, the upper field, the upper-upper field, and the lower field. The TSP holds telescope programs of varying levels, binocular programs, a novice program, and an advanced observing program. The programs require the participant to observe a certain number of specified objects, and completion of a program will be awarded by
153-462: The auspices of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory . In 1979, Byrd founded the annual Texas Star Party in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. It remains a week-long astronomy festival, with hundreds of attendees yearly from around the world. Byrd has won numerous awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. Byrd
170-585: The production of video programming on science for YouTube, science programming for children, and audio and video programs in Spanish for Univision. In 1976, Byrd founded the astronomy hot line that, in 1978, became the syndicated astronomy radio series StarDate . Byrd secured the National Science Foundation grants that made StarDate's national distribution possible. [1] She produced StarDate, with host Joel Block, until 1991. StarDate continues, under
187-494: The public with the wonders and beauty of astronomy." StarDate StarDate is a science radio program of The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory , broadcast on over 300 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
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#1732852197094204-490: The website continued). Earth & Sky was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and other sponsors. Byrd wrote, produced and co-hosted – or oversaw the production of – more than 8,000 radio spots in 90-second, 60-second and 8-minute formats, with 13 million daily media impressions for astronomy in English on 1,800+ broadcast outlets, mostly U.S., but also Voice of America to Asia. During these years, Byrd also oversaw
221-648: Was an early winner of the Klumpke-Roberts Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . In 2003, under Byrd's leadership, Earth & Sky became the first radio show ever to win a Public Service Award from the U.S. National Science Board "for its achievement in broadcasting explanations of research and everyday science to a worldwide audience". In 2020, Byrd was awarded the Education Prize from
238-402: Was born in San Antonio, Texas . Byrd's father was Kenneth Byrd, a long-time editor of the now-defunct San Antonio Light . Her mother, Rosetta Schroeder Byrd, was a painter. With Joel Block, Byrd created the internationally syndicated Earth & Sky radio series in 1991. She served as executive producer and cohost of the daily radio series until 2013, when the radio series ended (although
255-551: Was heard on about 1,000 radio stations. Beginning in 1991, StarDate was produced by Damond Benningfield and hosted by Sandy Wood , a San Antonio radio personality who was one of the first female disc jockeys 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 CBS Radio and National Public Radio , totaling approximately 300 stations. The program
272-453: Was held at Alto Frio Baptist Encampment, on the banks of the Frio River , 40 miles north of Uvalde, Texas . Also in 1997, " Texas Star Party, Inc. " was registered as a Texas Non-Profit Corporation. In 1998, TSP returned to Prude Ranch, where it continues to be held annually in late April or in May near the time of new moon . By 2007, the event attracted 580 attendees, even though the weather
289-927: Was very poor. Attendees mostly come from across North America, and some from far overseas. Activities include dark sky observing and imaging, an astrophotography contest, guest speakers, tours of McDonald Observatory, commercial vendors, and the opportunity to view numerous home built telescopes and gadgets. TSP is well known for its very dark skies due to its elevation in the Davis Mountains of around 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and it remoteness from artificial light sources. It has strongly supported efforts to reduce light pollution . Two annual awards have traditionally been presented at TSP: The Lone Star Gazer Award (for personal achievement, accomplishment, and expertise) and The Omega Centauri Award (for public awareness and/or promotion of astronomy). Complete lists of all past award winners as well as past guest speakers may be found on
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