DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!
I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.
JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE,
FLORIDA.
THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE FOR DEAN AND I BECAUSE THIS WEEK MARKS THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY
OF STAR GAZERS!
DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT JAMES. 40 YEARS AGO, JACK HORKHEIMER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MIAMI
SPACE TRANSIT PLANETARIUM BEGAN, STAR GAZERS.
BACK THEN, IT WAS CALLED STAR HUSTLER AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE FANCY TECHNOLOGY WE
DO TODAY.
AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, PLUTO WAS STILL A PLANET!
JAMES: THAT'S RIGHT, DEAN!
SO, WERE GOING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS WEEK.
WERE GOING TO TAKE YOU ON A STELLAR TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE AND FILL YOU IN ON SOME OF THE
HISTORY OF STAR GAZERS!
LETS SHOW YOU!
JAMES: OK, WE'VE GOT OUR SKY SET TO NOVEMBER 4TH, 1976, AND ON THAT DAY, WPBT-2 LAUNCHED
A BRAND NEW TELEVISION SERIES CALLED STAR HUSTLER WITH COSMIC TOUR GUIDE, JACK HORKHEIMER.
DEAN: JACK WAS A TREMENDOUS POPULARIZER OF ASTRONOMY, AND HIS FOCUS FOR STAR HUSTLER
WAS TO TURN PEOPLE ON TO THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THE BEAUTY OF THE COSMOS.
JAMES: THE SHOW WAS A SPIN-OFF FROM A 30 MINUTE PROGRAM CALLED HORKHEIMER'S HEAVENS, BUT TO
MAKE THE SHOW MORE ATTRACTIVE AND TIMELY, IT WAS SHORTENED TO THE CURRENT 5-MINUTE AND
1-MINUTE VERSIONS WE HAVE TODAY.
DEAN: AS JACK LIKED TO PUT IT, STAR HUSTLER WAS LIKE A CELESTIAL HORS DOEUVRE, GIVING
YOU A TASTE OF THE COSMOS THAT MAKES YOU HUNGER FOR MORE.
JAMES: I WAS 9 YEARS OLD WHEN STAR HUSTLER STARTED AND IT
WOULD ALWAYS COME ON JUST BEFORE WPBT-2 SIGNED OFF FOR THE DAY.
TELEVISION STATIONS DON'T REALLY END THEIR PROGRAMMING DAY ANYMORE, BUT NEVERTHELESS,
YOU COULD ALWAYS COUNT ON JACK TO TELL YOU WHAT WAS UP IN THE NIGHT SKY.
DEAN: IN THE MID-1980S, STAR HUSTLER WENT NATIONAL, AND JACK BECAME A MUCH MORE ENERGETIC
CHARACTER.
BEING THE FIRST (AND ONLY) WEEKLY PROGRAM ON NAKED EYE ASTRONOMY, FOR THE PERSON-ON-THE-STREET,
STAR HUSTLER TOOK ON A BROADER APPEAL.
JAMES: THEN CAME THE INTERNET, AND STAR HUSTLER FOUND ITSELF IN A QUANDARY.
SCHOOL TEACHERS WANTING TO USE THE ONLINE VERSIONS OF STAR HUSTLER FOR THEIR CLASSES
COULD NO LONGER PULL UP THE SHOW IN SEARCH ENGINES.
THE TERM HUSTLER WAS NO LONGER FAMILY FRIENDLY AND MANY SCHOOLS BLOCKED WEBSITES WITH PAGES
CONTAINING THE WORD HUSTLER.
DEAN: SO, IT WAS DECIDED TO CHANGE THE NAME TO JACK HORKHEIMER: STAR GAZER, AND THE STAR
GAZERS TITLE THAT WE USE TODAY IS IN HONOR OF THAT.
DEAN: WITH THE ADVANCE OF TECHNOLOGY, STAR GAZERS WENT FROM USING THE PRACTICAL SETS
THAT JACK HAD IN THE BEGINNING, TO USING CHROMA KEY (ALSO KNOWN AS GREEN SCREEN) TECHNOLOGY.
THIS ALLOWS THE POST-PRODUCTION GRAPHICS TEAM TO PLACE US IN ANY SITUATION THEY WANT.
JAMES: I PARTICULARLY ENJOY USING THE SKY BOARDS.
I'VE ASKED THE TEAM HERE AT IF I COULD TAKE ONE HOME WITH ME, AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME
THAT I'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL IM OLDER
DEAN: IN USING GREEN SCREEN TECHNOLOGY, WE CAN'T WEAR CLOTHING THAT HAS ANY GREEN IN
IT.
OTHERWISE, THAT PIECE OF CLOTHING WILL GET REPLACED BY ANY BACKGROUND THAT WE HAVE.
AS JAMES WILL DEMONSTRATE.
HEY!
WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO?
AND THUS, THE CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY WAS INVENTED!
JAMES: SADLY, IN AUGUST 2010, JACK PASSED AWAY.
HOWEVER, HIS LEGACY LIVES ON THROUGH THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF STAR GAZERS BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU,
THE BENEFACTORS OF SOUTH FLORIDA PBS, AND DONORS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION.
DEAN: IN OCTOBER 2011, JAMES AND I BECAME PART OF THE STAR GAZERS TEAM ALONG WITH MARLENE
HIDALGO, ONE OF THE LOCAL SCIENCE TEACHERS HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
JAMES: AFTER TWO YEARS OF HELPING US SHARE THE NIGHT SKY WITH ALL OF YOU, MARLENE AND
HER FAMILY MOVED TO THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES IN EARLY 2014.
DEAN: THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND STAR GAZERS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GO OUTSIDE
AND LOOK UP.
THERE'S SO MUCH WONDER IN THE NIGHT SKY, YET WE FAIL TO MAKE IT A DAILY PART OUR LIVES.
JAMES: SO THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE US ON TV, OR ONLINE, TAKE YOUR FAMILY OUTSIDE AFTER
THE SHOW AND LOOK UP.
MAKE THE STARS YOUR OWN AND SHARE THE WONDER OF THE COSMOS WITH THE NEXT GENERATION.
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!