Museum of the Moon wows visitors

The Museum of the Moon in Marlborough College chapel has created a spectacular start to Marlborough Dark Skies Fest. Measuring seven metres in diameter, the Moon features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. It is suspended from the chapel ceiling and seems to float effortlessly in the centre of the chapel allowing visitors a close up of the Moon’s surface and creating an other-worldly experience.

The installation is a touring art work by UK artist Luke Jerram and combines lunar imagery, moonlight and a surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones. The Museum of the Moon highlights the latest Moon science, personal responses, stories and mythologies. Storyteller Roger Day will be holding a storytelling session for children which incorporate myths and legends about the Moon from all over the world under the installation on Saturday October 30 and Sunday October 31.

The scale of the installation is approximately 1:500,000. Each centimetre represents 5km of the Moon’s surface. Pointing out different features on the Moon installation to visitors, Charles Barclay, Head of Astronomy and Director of the Blackett Observatory at Marlborough College, said, “The detail is incredible. Internationally there are eight such installations. There’s an Earth and one of Mars but the Moon is the ‘star’ of the show.”

As visitors enter the chapel they are presented first with the near side of the Moon, the side we see from Earth. Charles Barclay pointed out the Sea of Tranquillity and the location of the first Apollo Moon landing. He explained that the other side of the Moon is known as the far side and that ‘dark side’ is a misnomer.

Tickets for the Museum of the Moon are free and can be booked here. The installation is open all week until October 31. An astronomer will be on hand to answer any questions vistors may have.