Skywatching
Interested in a private Skywatching Science Night for your group? Click here!
Take a guided tour of the night sky
Explore the night sky with Morehead each month with our free skywatching events! Morehead educators along with our partners, RAC (Raleigh Astronomy Club) and CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observational Society), bring telescopes and guide you through observations of stars, planets, moons, nebulae, and other celestial objects. You might even see a few meteors! Morehead educators also facilitate hands-on astronomy activities to extend your learning.
Download the August/September 2023 star chart and use it on clear nights in your own backyard!
Skywatching events are very informal and family friendly. Each event is usually scheduled for two hours, but you can arrive and leave at any time during the session. During the evening, you might do any of these things:
- Peek through telescopes for up-close views of celestial objects
- Take a laser-guided “star tour” of the night sky
- Learn where to look for major constellations
- Participate in hands-on astronomy activities
- Ask the astronomers for answers to all the astronomy questions you have
Still have questions about our skywatching events? Check out our Skywatching FAQs.
Morehead skywatching sessions are offered at a variety of sites throughout the Triangle region.
Currently, our main sites are:
- Little River Regional Park, off of Guess Road at the Durham/Orange county border (click here for directions)
- Dorothea Dix Park located in downtown Raleigh, at the Big Field on Blair Drive (click here for directions)
Skywatching sessions may also be hosted at Historic Stagville, The Durham Hotel, the Morehead Sundial, and other special locations. Please see the calendar events for location details.
To request a skywatching session at another location, contact mpsc_tickets@unc.edu.
As part of our Morehead At Home series, our educators virtually explored the night sky using Stellarium and discussed celestial happenings and other astronomy-related topics like how to identify constellations, measuring distances between objects in the sky, and more. You can check out the recordings of these sessions on our YouTube channel here.
You can also explore Morehead At Home for other educational resources to try at home.
Do you still have questions about skywatching? Check out our Skywatching FAQs!
Morehead Planetarium Box Office
mpsc_tickets@unc.edu
919.843.7997
