By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs Daytime Tour

This tour is also available on:

• Tues., Sept. 10, 12:00 p.m.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon presents a select survey of lunar photographs, including Warren de la Rue’s glass stereograph of the full moon from the 1850s, Lewis Rutherfurd’s 1865 albumen prints capturing the moon’s different phases, and a suite of Charles le Morvan’s rich, velvety photogravures from 1914 which attempted to map the entire visible lunar surface.

On display are images transmitted by the unmanned spacecrafts, American Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter. These otherworldly photographs capture not only of the lunar areas visible from Earth, but also of the moon’s far side. Learn about the actual photographic process, from single frames taken by the Ranger camera just before the craft crashed on the moon, pictures from Surveyor beamed from a television camera mounted on the outside of the spacecraft, and the Lunar Orbiter images which were developed onboard the spacecraft.

From Apollo 11, glass stereographs taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin show close-up views of the lunar surface; and see iconic photographs of the astronauts take before and after the mission.

General Information

• Meet your Smithsonian Associates Rep by the Information Desk, no later than listed start time.
• While there is metered street parking and several parking lots and garages near the museum, space is limited, your best bet is using METRO.