Record #:

8624

Author(s):

Bittner, Denise

Abstract:

Industrialist John Motley Morehead wanted to do something special and educational for North Carolina children. In 1949, he gave the state the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill. At the planetarium, celestial recognition and stellar navigation training was given to all of the American astronauts in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz missions. In 1969, during its installation, Neil Armstrong inaugurated the planetarium's projector, the Zeiss Model VI Projector, which is used for indoor stargazing. In 1974, NASA struck a commemorative medal marking the planetarium's significance in space research. The medal features both the planetarium's building and its Zeiss projector.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 50 Issue 10, Mar 1983, p24, il

Subject(s):

Planetariums--Chapel Hill

Record #:

12147

Author(s):

Old Trudge

Abstract:

Visited by more than 725,000 North Carolinians, the Morehead Planetarium at UNC Chapel Hill is the sixth installation of its type in the Western Hemisphere. \r\n

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 24 Issue 14, Dec 1956, p10-11, 35-36, il

Subject(s):

Planetariums--Chapel Hill; Morehead Planetarium (Chapel Hill)

Record #:

16055

Author(s):

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Personnel

Abstract:

The state was actively involved with sending the first astronauts to the moon. Astronauts were trained in understanding the celestial environment at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill under the guidance of director A. F. Jenzano. Two of those astronauts were also native North Carolinians; Major Charles Moss Duke, Jr. and Dr. William Edgar Thornton.

Source:

Tar Heel Junior Historian (NoCar F 251 T3x), Vol. 8 Issue 4, May 1970, p2-5, il

Subject(s):

Astronauts; Planetariums--Chapel Hill

Record #:

18480

Author(s):

Byrne, Monica

Abstract:

Until 1975, every American astronaut, including Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and John Glenn, received training at the Morehead Planetarium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There they learned celestial navigation, which was essential should their onboard navigation system fail. Anthony Jenzano, the planetarium's director, was their instructor.

Source:

Our State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 80 Issue 8, Jan 2013, p39-40, 42-43, il, por Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Astronauts; Planetariums--Chapel Hill; Morehead Planetarium (Chapel Hill)