CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE

Cincinnati Observatory astronomer Dean Regas does not consider himself a “classically trained” astronomer.  

He has never even stepped foot in an astronomy class. 

“That sounds bad,” he laughs.  

But it isn’t. Regas’ expertise is based on self-taught techniques and is grounded in a genuine appreciation for the subject. Because of that, he can explain what he knows to other people without getting caught up in science-talk, which can confuse or alienate those who aren’t experts themselves. 

“I’m just teaching people the way I learned,” he said. 

Regas will continue to do that even after his last episode of “Star Gazers” at the end of this month. Regas has co-hosted the show with James Albury, who is also leaving, for the last nine years, writing and starring in over 900 episodes during his tenure. 

Regas told WVXU the show’s producers wanted to consult with new hosts and other content editors to create something more appealing to the YouTube generation.

A star is born

Jack Horkheimer hosted “Star Gazers” – which originated as “Star Hustlers” in the 1970s – until his death in 2010. 

At that time, Regas came down to south Florida for a test screening. He said he never thought his career would land him on the big screen. 

[ Subscribe now for unlimited access to Cincinnati.com ]

“I was nervous as all can be,” Regas said. “You know, you’re reading from a teleprompter and I just felt like my eyes were gigantic and I was stiff and all this stuff. And at the end of the– I guess, ‘audition,’ I thought, ‘OK, well, I bombed that.’ And they said, ‘Want to come back next month?'” 

Every other month since then, Regas has flown from Cincinnati to south Florida to shoot two months-worth of episodes for “Star Gazers.” His episodes have explained the mythology behind certain stars and constellations, shown what it would be like if humans could to fly to Venus (we would melt), transformed the constellation Orion into a portrait of Elvis Presley and explored what might happen if someone fell into Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. 

Regas said it was exciting to have the freedom to write pretty much whatever he wanted. But the coolest part was watching the green screen make his ideas come to life. 

“You can see yourself on the TV screen sitting in space,” he said, smiling. “It was kind of surreal watching yourself on the screen doing all that.” 

Identifying what’s next

At the observatory, Regas often investigates calls that come in regarding UFOs – unidentified flying objects. 

But Regas has yet to run into one.  

“All of them have been identifiable,” he laughs. “Never seen any aliens, yet. But that’s a pretty common question we get.” 

He’s taken to calling them “IFOs” instead. He says they are always a planet, a shooting star, a normal star or some other identifiable space object. 

Regas will continue sharing these stories and other tips on what you can find in the night sky through the NPR podcast he co-hosts, “Looking Up.” He will also continue to write books about his findings.

“I’m very proud of what we accomplished in the last nine years and how we inspired so many people around the country to get outside and look up at the night sky,” Regas said of his time on “Star Gazers.”

“To be able to do that on a nightly basis has been an astronomical honor.” 

Regas’ last episodes will air the week of Nov. 25 through Dec. 1 on PBS.  The Cincinnati Observatory will host a watching party on Nov. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m., showcasing memorable episodes, a virtual appearance from co-host Albury and a viewing of Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE

Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/11/15/cincinnati-observatory-astronomer-moves-pbss-star-gazers/2511944001/