Observation by Alex Pratt: The Moon exhibition, National Maritime M...

Uploaded by

Alex Pratt

Observer

Alex Pratt

Observed

2020 Jan 02 - 13:30

Uploaded

2020 Mar 13 - 15:30

Objects

The Moon

Equipment

Mobile 'phone

Location

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Target name

The Moon

Title

The Moon exhibition, National Maritime Museum

About this image

The 2019 Autumn Conference and AGM of the Society for the History of Astronomy had a lunar theme, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing and to illustrate our natural satellite's influence on our lives, culture and science.

One of these really interesting talks was given by Drs Melanie Vandenbrouck and Louise Devoy, entitled 'The Moon as muse: the ideas and inspiration behind The Moon exhibition, Royal Museums Greenwich'.

I visited this exhibition at the National Maritime Museum shortly before it closed and it was one of the most enjoyable I have seen. It presented our connections with the Moon in pre-history, art, music, calendars, the development of the telescope, lunar sketching, photography and mapping, science fiction and science fact (books and films), through to the Space Race and the Apollo missions and future prospects for its colonisation, use as an observatory, as a spaceport and for mining.

One highlight for me was to see Thomas Harriot's composite Moon map which pre-dates Galileo's drawings and looked to be a clearer representation of the lunar features.

I purchased the exhibition book and also H. P. Wilkins' Map of the Moon (I already have a copy of Wilkins' and Moore's "The Moon").

What a shame this exhibition had to close and let's hope its comprehensive website remains accessible for months to come.

Files associated with this observation

The Moon exhibition.jpg (609.7 kB)

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Jeremy Shears, Peter Carson, Graham Winstanley, Mr Leonard Entwisle, David Basey, Mr Michael Alan Frost, Callum Potter, Andy Wilson, Lyn Smith, Andrew Dumbleton, Alex Pratt

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