Photo exhibit is out of this world

Photo exhibit is out of this world

A historic shot of a comet featured at a GVSU space-photography exhibit. Courtesy GVSU

From the earliest black-and-white photographs of the moon to the most recent images taken from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, The History of Space Photography exhibition features 50 noteworthy images from the last 50 years of space exploration.

The exhibit will be on display at the Grand Valley State University Art Gallery, located on the Allendale campus, from Jan. 13-March 21.

The exhibit begins with a grainy black and white image of “The Great Comet of 1882,” photographed from Cape Town, South Africa, by David Gill.

More recent images include views of the Earth that reveal Brazil’s rainforest clearings and images that illustrate the coastline of Japan, before and after the 2011 tsunami.

Astronauts, astronomers and data visualization experts captured the out-of-this-world visuals, including video projections of celestial animations.

Images from this exhibit will become part of Grand Valley’s permanent collection and be displayed primarily in the new science laboratory building on the Allendale campus, expected to be completed by fall 2015.

The California/International Arts Foundation organized the exhibition. The vast majority of images are from 1960-2011, with one vintage print from 1840, and others as recent as 2012.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with extended hours to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is free and open to the public.