“Spirits Dancing” Exhibit Opening & Book Launch

Join us for the book launch of “Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, and Living Connections to the Cosmos”, an exploration of human connection to the aurora, the Milky Way, and the wonder of the universe above us, with stunning photographs by a master photographer. For millennia, humans have marveled at the night sky: the wonder of the aurora, the glory of the Milky Way, and the peace that comes with stargazing. In this remarkable book, Travis Novitsky’s photographs portray these majestic phenomena, while astrophysicist Annette S. Lee discusses how Western science and Indigenous knowledge can work together to provide a deeper understanding of our place in the universe. Light appetizers will be available at this launch. The book will be available for sale in the museum store and the photographer will sign copies of the book.

The event is also the opening of a companion exhibit “Spirits Dancing: Photographs of the Night Sky by Travis Novitsky,” which will be located in the museum’s central Mill Commons, and is free and open to the public during regular museum hours through April 7, 2024.

Novitsky has been photographing the night sky for decades, and his vibrant images reflect and transmit the experiences he has had under the night sky. Astrophysicist and artist Annette S. Lee has been teaching about the stars and creating art that shows them for more than 30 years. She provides a brief but thorough overview of how Western science explains the aurora, from the 17th-century astronomers who first studied sunspots to the 21st-century acoustic scientist who recorded their sounds. Lee also presents examples of the ways Indigenous skywatchers have seen the sky and our place in it.