Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer

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Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer/Hustler
Format	astronomy, science
Starring	Jack Foley Horkheimer (Host)
Theme music composer	Claude Debussy / Isao Tomita
Opening theme	Arabesque No. 1
Country of origin	USA
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	31
No. of episodes	1,500+
Production
Location(s)	WPBT Studios, Miami
Camera setup	Chroma key
Running time	0:05 or 0:01 (per episode), 52 episodes yearly
Broadcast
Original channel	WPBT (Channel 2), Miami, Florida, syndicated to PBS
Picture format	480i SDTV
Original run	November 4, 1976 – present
External links
Official website

Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer is a five-minute astronomy show on public television hosted by Jack Foley Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium^[1]. In the weekly program, Horkheimer informs the viewer of significant astronomical events for the upcoming week, including key constellations, stars and planets, lunar eclipses and conjunctions, as well as historical and scientific information about these events. Star Gazer has been in weekly production since 1976, and has produced over 1,500 episodes as of September 2006.

[edit] History

Star Gazer first appeared on the air in 1976 on PBS stations in Florida. The show later went national in 1985 and started appearing in foreign markets by 1989. It was originally designed to air on PBS stations just before sign-off, but since many PBS stations now stay on the air continuously, the show is often aired in between other shows. Additionally, WPBT now provides a one-minute "capsule" version of each episode with a brief summary of the week's events, and both versions are available for free download from the Star Gazer website and as video podcasts via Apple's iTunes Store.

From its inception until 1997, the show was named Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler. With the rise of the Internet, however, viewers began reporting that search engines were leading children to the website of the more popular Hustler adult magazine. As a result, the producers quickly renamed the show Star Gazer to avoid the confusion^[2].

The show's theme song is Isao Tomita's electronic rendition of Claude Debussy's Arabesque No. 1, from Tomita's album Snowflakes Are Dancing. According to the Star Gazer website, this is the most frequently asked question the producers receive^[2]. Horkheimer's appearances on the show are always marked with his opening line, "Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers!", and his signature closing line, "Keep looking up!"

Horkheimer also appeared on bumpers and commercials for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoon Fridays in 1999.