Explore the universe through NASA's photos
Expressions Whirinaki is hosting an Evolving Universe exhibit which is coming from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Supernovas, stars and nebulae will leave your head swirling when Expressions Whirinaki opens its exclusive new exhibit.
Evolving Universe, a series of photographs taken through the world's largest telescopes, comes from Washington DC's Smithsonian and will be shown only at the Upper Hutt gallery.
The exhibit opens on June 10 and runs through until August 27.
Both ground-based and space-based telescopes were used to catch glimpses of the universe.
The photos have mostly been taken by NASA and include close-ups of stellar nurseries, galaxy clusters and nebulae.
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Both ground-based and space-based telescopes were used to catch glimpses of the universe.
Expressions director Leanne Wickham has been working with the Smithsonian for months to secure the photos for the gallery and said they looked "gorgeous".
"The farther we peer into space with powerful telescopes, the farther back into the history of the universe we see."
"The light from our sun - a mere 150 million kilometres away - takes only a few minutes to reach Earth. But then we look at stars and galaxies in the night sky, we are seeing light that has travelled for millions, even billions of years to reach us.
"It makes you feel very, very small."
The exhibition will show visitors how stars and galaxies change throughout their life times and space enthusiasts can find out how Smithsonian scientists explore space.
Evolving Universe was developed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, where scientists work with some of the most powerful telescopes in space, including the Spitzer Space telescope, often considered a "cousin" to the Hubble Space telescope.
The images come from our own galaxy as well as ones a bit further from home, such as the Andromeda, Whirlpool and Centaurus A galaxies.
The travelling exhibition has made it to New Zealand with partial funding from the American Embassy.
- Stuff
