Johannesburg Planetarium

The Johannesburg Planetarium is a planetarium owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, located on the University's East Campus in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. It was the first full-sized planetarium in Africa, and the second in the southern hemisphere.^[1]

History

The idea of setting up a planetarium in Johannesburg was first discussed in 1956 when the Festival Committee — which had been instituted to organise the celebrations of Johannesburg's seventieth anniversary — decided to raise the funds necessary to buy and house a Zeiss planetarium to be set up for the celebrations. As there was too little time to obtain a new instrument, it was decided to buy an existing planetarium from Europe.

After lengthy negotiations, the Festival Committee was successful in persuading the City Council of Hamburg to sell a planetarium which had been in use there since 1930. The Hamburg City Council, however, imposed as its conditions that the planetarium's projector be fully modernised in the Zeiss factory at Oberkochen, and that Johannesburg would in due course have a new planetarium built for Hamburg. The Hamburg projector was immediately dismantled and moved to Oberkochen for an overhaul, and was in time completely rebuilt.

Soon, the responsibilities of the Festival Committee were taken over by the Johannesburg City Council, which after further negotiations, sold the projector to the University of the Witwatersrand for use as both an academic facility for the instruction of students, and as a public amenity. Plans for a new building to house the projector were first drawn up in 1958, and construction began in 1959. The planetarium finally opened on 12 October 1960.^[2]

The Johannesburg Planetarium is often consulted by the media, and the public, in order to explain unusual occurrences in the skies over South Africa.^[3][4] In 2010, the Johannesburg Planetarium celebrated its golden jubilee.^[5]

External links

• Johannesburg Planetarium Official Website

v t e University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg People Chancellor: Dikgang Moseneke Vice-Chancellor: Adam Habib Notable academics Notable alumni History South African School of Mines Transvaal University College Schmerenbeck Educational Centre for Gifted and Talented Children Faculties Commerce, Law and Management Engineering and the Built Environment School of Architecture and Planning Health Sciences Humanities Science Knowledge Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research Marang Centre for Mathematics and Science Education South African Institute of International Affairs African Centre for Gene Technologies Philosophical Papers Campus Life Campuses Planetarium Wits Theatre Complex Wits Vuvuzela VoW FM Bidvest Stadium Wits University F.C. Varsity Cup Wits Solar Car Affiliated Hospitals Charlotte Maxeke Hospital Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Helen Joseph Hospital Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital University People

References