Visions of the Universe
Yesterday (22 June 2013) we went to see Visions of the Universe, an exhibition of astronomical images at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The pictures are mostly photographs, but there are some drawings as well, from the pre-telescope era.
The images have been chosen mainly for visual appeal, with some for historical significance - for instance, Galileo's drawings of the moons of Jupiter, and the first photograph of a heavenly body (our own moon, by John W Draper in 1839). Some will be familiar - the "Pillars of Creation" from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the "Eye of God" image of the Helix Nebula. Others are less well-known, such as the first colour photograph from the surface of Venus, taken by Venera 13, and a photo taken by Edwin Hubble that gave the first proof of the existence of galaxies outside our own.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a 13-metre screen showing panoramas taken by the three rovers currently operating on Mars (Opportunity, Spirit and Curiosity). The detail in these is stunning, but oddly, apart from the colourless sky and the absence of vegetation, they could've been taken on Earth.
Tickets are priced at about £8, which is reasonable for London, and you should allow an hour, or maybe an hour and a half, to see all of it. The exhibition should appeal to anyone who likes beautiful pictures, not just to astronomy buffs. Visions of the Universe runs until 15 September.
The images have been chosen mainly for visual appeal, with some for historical significance - for instance, Galileo's drawings of the moons of Jupiter, and the first photograph of a heavenly body (our own moon, by John W Draper in 1839). Some will be familiar - the "Pillars of Creation" from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the "Eye of God" image of the Helix Nebula. Others are less well-known, such as the first colour photograph from the surface of Venus, taken by Venera 13, and a photo taken by Edwin Hubble that gave the first proof of the existence of galaxies outside our own.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a 13-metre screen showing panoramas taken by the three rovers currently operating on Mars (Opportunity, Spirit and Curiosity). The detail in these is stunning, but oddly, apart from the colourless sky and the absence of vegetation, they could've been taken on Earth.
Tickets are priced at about £8, which is reasonable for London, and you should allow an hour, or maybe an hour and a half, to see all of it. The exhibition should appeal to anyone who likes beautiful pictures, not just to astronomy buffs. Visions of the Universe runs until 15 September.
No comments have been added yet.
