On view August 29 - October 24, 2010

Each day, high above the clouds, dozens of sophisticated imaging satellites circle the Earth. These high-tech machines are capable of capturing extraordinary conditions and events that are nearly impossible to document from the surface of the planet. These remarkable images, which reveal the awesome beauty of the planet’s surface through the “eyes” of a space satellite, are on display in the Smithsonian exhibition Earth from Space.

The Port Arthur Historical Society invites the public to the opening of this new traveling exhibition at the Museum of the Gulf Coast on Sunday, August 29, 2010. Featuring 40 beautifully detailed satellite images of the planet—from the swirling arms of a massive hurricane and the grid-like pattern of Kansas farmland to the triangular shadows cast by the Great Pyramids and the sinuous channels entering the Arctic Ocean – Earth From Space illustrates how satellite imagery is gathered and used to expand mankind’s understanding of life on Earth. It also explores the remote sensing technology used to gather the images and discusses the individual satellites whose images are on display.

A Magic Planet digital video globe – a digital display with a sphere-shaped screen – complements the traveling exhibition. The animations on this tool will allow visitors to observe the global extent of images returned from orbiting satellites.

The free opening event will feature a guest presentation by Dr. William L. Stefanov, Senior Geoscientist at NASA Johnson Space Center. Stefanov became interested in both rocks and dinosaurs at an early age. His childhood home was located in a fairly rural area with easy access to woods, streams and wildlife – all of which sparked the desire to understand how nature works, and more recently how human beings modify those workings. With an undergraduate degree in environmental science and MS and PhD degrees in geology, Stefanov served as the lead remote sensing scientist for both the Urban Environmental Monitoring/100 Cities Project and the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research Project, until 2004. He then relocated to Houston, TX to take the position of Senior Geoscientist with the Crew Earth Observations group at NASA Johnson Space Center as part of the Jacobs Technology, Inc. Engineering and Science Contract. As part of the Crew Earth Observations group, Dr. Stefanov trains International Space Station (ISS) astronauts and cosmonauts in Earth System Science, performs mission operations related to obtaining astronaut photography from the ISS, and assists with the online astronaut photography database at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/. He is an active researcher and author in remote sensing of urban geological and ecological processes.

Earth from Space will inspired a wide variety of public programs for all ages including a Family Fun Day, a Girl Scout Overnight, free school tours and more. An educational companion website: www.earthfromspace.si.edu contains an online version of the exhibition, as well as additional images and information. It also provides numerous educational resources, including lesson plans, classroom activities, Web site links and available publications. Earth from Space will remain on view in the Museum’s Dunn Gallery through October 24, 2010.

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