Giant replica of moon set up in Kolkata, visitors gather at Victoria Memorial for a look

The giant moon, which knocked people’s doorstep at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, now comes knocking to Kolkata. The touring 3-D artwork of the giant moon is now installed at the Victoria Memorial lawns in Kolkata.

The 3-D installation of the moon has been made by using imagery from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, one of the exhibition organisers said.

The Museum of the Moon, as it is known, is a project by the British Council, with the support of the Ministry of Culture. The Director of the British Council East, Debanjan Chakrabarti, told PTI, “It has been put on display at the Victoria Memorial Hall in the city for the weekend visitors.”

The 3-D artwork, created in partnership with the UK Space Agency, was unveiled on Saturday in the presence of the British Council, India director Alan Gemmell, Jayanta Sengupta, the secretary and curator of Victoria Memorial, and Debiprasad Duari, the director of MP Birla Planetarium.

Chakraborty said, “The 23-feet-wide replica of the moon is half a million times smaller than the real moon. It has been put together by British artist Luke Jerram. This is an important project for British Council, it merges science with art.”

Also Read: Moon at your doorstep! Giant Lunar replica unveiled at Gateway of India, Mumbai

Debiprasad Duari, the director of MP Birla Planetarium, said, “The artwork will foster interest about astronomy among the youngsters. It is also interesting that the Museum of the Moon project came to Kolkata 17 days after the total lunar eclipse.”

Avantika Shah, a class 10 student who was among the hundreds who gathered at the Victoria Memorial lawns on Saturday to watch the giant moon, said, “the surface images of the moon look so lifelike. I will opt for space research in future.”

The tour of the Museum of the Moon has been completed in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Udaipur.

(With PTI inputs)