British artist creates replica of moon's lunar surface

LONDON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Earthlings will be able to get their closest ever view of the moon this week, and they won't even have to be propelled through space.

A stunning 7-meter wide model of the earth's closest neighbor has been installed in the Great Hall at the University of Bristol in southwest England.

British artist Luke Jerram has created the replica of the moon's lunar surface using detail imagery from the U.S. space agency NASA.

The university revealed Monday the Museum of the Moon artwork, will fill the Great Hall in its iconic Wills Memorial Building to mark the arrival ceremony Wednesday for the university's new Chancellor, Sir Paul Nurse.

The university said the public are invited to marvel at the ethereal sight on March 25 and March 26.

A spokesman at the university said: "The impressive structure features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. At a scale of 1:500,000, each centimeter will represent 5km on the surface of the Earth's largest natural satellite.

Jerram said: "This is an opportunity for the public to have a close encounter with the moon, to study every detail of its surface and to bathe in moonlight. The Great Hall is such an amazing space to present the Museum of the Moon and I'm really grateful for the university's support to present this artwork."