People across East Lancashire should be prepared to be wowed by the extraordinary art exhibition that has arrived at Blackburn Cathedral.

The ‘Museum of the Moon’ show gets under way today, November 5, and the display is truly breath-taking, equipped with a surround sound musical composition created by BAFTA-winning composer, Dan Jones.  

Luke Jerram is the artist behind the work, which is 23 feet in diameter, created using NASA imagery, with each centimetre representing three miles of lunar terrain.

Peter Howell-Jones, the Dean at Blackburn Cathedral said: “It is really special to see this this evening, we have been working for over a year and to see it actually now in this space is awesome.

“I think one of our key messages or mission is to help to inspire people to be curious about the wonders of life and the world in which we live.

“It is really important to be doing these sorts of things. It helps the local economy, and we know over 8,000 people are booked in for a number of events.

“We expect the footfall to be 25,000 over the next month. And that is not just great for us but the whole the local community.”

The moon will be open for viewings every day and there will also be seven displays at night, which Peter thought was the best light to see it in.

Additionally, there are diverse special events planned and include live music concerts, choral performances, yoga and tai chi, talks, silent discos, classical concerts and theatre productions.

Peter added: “From my perspective, I have been dean for almost eight years and one of the reasons I came in is I wanted to see the development and see it grow.

“Over the last two years, we have been working hard to deliver exhibitions like this and over the next two years we have some amazing exhibitions for the people of East Lancashire and Blackburn.”

As part of the exhibition’s tour, which has been seen by 20million worldwide, it has also visited Bolton Library and Rotherham Cathedral.

Peter added: “Since the beginning of time the human species has been fascinated by the moon and the stars.

“Here at Blackburn Cathedral, we are committed to working in partnership with so many organisations and work with the local council, who work hard with us to make Blackburn a thriving place to live.”

Further details and the full events calendar can be found on Blackburn Cathedral’s website.

Throughout the exhibition there is no charge for daytime entry to the Cathedral, although a suggested donation of £3 to £5 per person is encouraged, which will go towards the cost of hosting the event and the upkeep of Blackburn Cathedral.

The Museum of the Moon by Luke Gerram is at Blackburn Cathedral until December 2.