MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: JPL -- Martha J. Heil (818) 354-0850
       Huntington Library -- Dan Lewis (626) 405-2141

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 6, 2001

HUNTINGTON LIBRARY TRACES HUMAN FASCINATION WITH SPACE

       Vintage telescopes, astronomy manuscripts dating back to the 13th century, a Moon rock and NASA pictures of distant galaxies are displayed at the Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif., in an exhibit exploring humanity's quest to understand the cosmos.

       The exhibit, called "Star Struck: One Thousand Years of the Art and Science of Astronomy," features images taken by NASA/JPL planetary missions over the past four decades, along with historic astronomical instruments and important works by Galileo, Cassini, Huygens and other early astronomers.

       "NASA and JPL have been part of creating a new era of observing the universe by sending probes to the planets in our solar system and putting telescopes in space that can observe the universe in much greater detail," said Dr. Edward Stone, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Stone advised the Huntington Library in assembling the exhibit.

       The three astronomical themes included in the exhibit, Stone said, are: What is our place in the universe? How do we observe the universe to understand that? What have we seen that has allowed us to understand better our place in the universe?

       Visitors to the exhibit, which runs until May 13, will also see the first hand-drawn star map of the southern hemisphere and a 1913 letter from Albert Einstein asking astronomer George Ellery Hale, founder of the Mount Wilson and Palomar Mountain observatories, to review his new theory of general relativity.

       This exhibit is the first in "The Universe" series of space-related events in the Pasadena area in coming months. Other institutions and organizations taking part are the California Institute of Technology, Armory Center for the Arts, Art Center College of Design, Norton Simon Museum, One Colorado, Pacific Asia Museum and Southwest Chamber Music.

       For hours, admission and more information on the Huntington Library, see http://www.huntington.org . For information on space exploration and astronomical objects, see JPL's website at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov . JPL, a NASA center, is a division of Caltech.

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NOTE TO BROADCASTERS: A VIDEO FILE TO ACCOMPANY THIS ADVISORY WILL AIR ON NASA TELEVISION ON TUESDAY, FEB. 6 AT 3, 6, AND 9 P.M. EDT. NASA TELEVISION IS BROADCAST ON GE-2, TRANSPONDER 9C, LOCATED AT 85 DEGREES WEST LONGITUDE. THE FREQUENCY IS 3880.0 MHZ. POLARIZATION IS VERTICAL AND AUDIO IS MONAURAL AT 6.8 MHZ. FOR GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NASA VIDEO FILE, CONTACT FRED BROWN, NASA TELEVISION, WASHINGTON, D.C. (202) 358-0713. FOR THE CURRENT VIDEO FILE SCHEDULE SEE http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/breaking.html .

2/6/01 JP
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