Morehead Planetarium
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| Morehead Planetarium and Science Center | |
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  Shown within North Carolina
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| Established | May 10, 1949 |
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| Location | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Type | Planetarium |
| Director | Todd R. Boyette |
| Public transit access | Chapel Hill Transit |
| Website | http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/ |
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. First opened in 1949, the planetarium was used to train Gemini and Apollo program astronauts in celestial navigation. Until the late 1990s, it contained one of the largest working Copernican orreries in the world. The facility was donated to the university by alumnus John Motley Morehead III.
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[edit] History
Morehead Planetarium opened in 1949 after seventeen months of construction. The first planetarium in the South, it was only the sixth to be built in the United States. Designed by the same architects who planned the Jefferson Memorial, the cost of its construction, more than $23,000,000 in today’s dollars, made it the most expensive building ever built in North Carolina at the time. Morehead Planetarium was officially dedicated during a ceremony held on May 10, 1949.
Since Zeiss, the German firm that produced planetarium projectors, had lost most of its factories during World War II, there were very few projectors available at the time. Morehead had to travel to Sweden, where he had previously served as American ambassador, to purchase a Zeiss Model II to serve as the heart of North Carolina’s new planetarium.
While Let There Be Light was the Planetarium's first show, it would be followed later in 1949 by another show that is more familiar to Morehead Planetarium and Science Center's visitors: Star of Bethlehem. While Star of Bethlehem has undergone extensive revisions throughout the years (most recently in 2002), some version of the show has run at the Morehead Center every holiday season since 1949 — the longest streak for any holiday show at any planetarium in the United States.
[edit] Planetarium
Morehead Planetarium features a Carl Zeiss Model VI Planetarium Projector, installed in 1969. The projector displays about 8,900 different stars on the dome overhead. The Planetarium dome is 68 feet (21 m) in diameter and 44 feet (13 m) tall. Planetarium shows are a combined effort of the Zeiss projector, slide projectors, and video projectors working together to form a multimedia experience. The planetarium seats about 250.
Morehead Planetarium features shows for children and adults of all ages. Among the planetarium's shows are Magic Tree House: Space Mission, Destination: Space, Sol & Company, Extinction!, and Star of Bethlehem.
[edit] Exhibits
On February 23, 2007, Morehead opened its first interactive exhibit, Zoom In: Science at the Extremes. It features current science at the extremes of size and scale, including research done by UNC scientists.
"The Ancient Carolinians" opened on November 17, 2007. This exhibit explores the lives of the first people to live on the land now known as North Carolina, interpreting the use of 10,000-year-old artifacts from the Hardaway archaeological site. This exhibit is supported in part by the Alcoa Foundation, which donated the artifacts to the university.
[edit] NASA Digital Theater
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center offers live, educator-led programs in its NASA Digital Theater. Science LIVE! shows present the foundations of science through experiments and demonstrations that often involve volunteers from the audience. Science 360 programs are focused on bringing current science to audience members through images, video, demonstrations, and audience interaction.
[edit] Morehead Observatory
Morehead Observatory, located on the top floor of the Morehead building east end, houses a 24-inch (61 cm) reflecting telescope operated by the UNC Physics and Astronomy Department.
