Horsham Museum is introducing a new exhibition trail this summer, featuring photography by Horsham based astrophotographer, Claire Bradshaw FRAS.
The trail will present ten photographs of celestial objects in space, which will track the lifecycle of a star, from star-forming nebulae to supernovae remnants which appear after their death. Alongside the photographs are ten artefacts from the Horsham Museum collection which represent the distance (light years) that the light captured has travelled in order to be depicted in these images.
Claire Bradshaw, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, photographs deep-sky imagery from her home in Horsham. Using professional telescopes, she captures impressions of these objects through multiple exposures. This process takes many hours and, in some cases, even weeks to create.
The centrepiece of the trail is Claire’s image of the Sun, which is displayed in its own ‘sun-room’. Our Sun is essential to all life on Earth, but it is something that we can never look at directly, so her photograph is an opportunity to safely see what our closest star looks like in detail.
The Museum artefacts displayed alongside Claire’s artworks help to represent the magnitude of these objects and the enormity of their distance from us. An image of the Rosette Nebula, which is 5,000 light years away from us, is accompanied by a Neolithic Axe Head dating from 4,000 – 2,300 BCE (6,000 – 4,300 years ago). This photograph is made up of light which left its source at the same time as our prehistoric ancestors began to evolve from hunter-gatherers into farmers.
Alongside this exhibition an event - The Eclipse-nic , will be held on Wednesday 12 August in Horsham Park where people can gather in the Human Nature Garden to come together to experience the partial eclipse. Claire Bradshaw, and members of Horsham Astronomy Group (HoAG), will be on hand to explain the science behind the partial eclipse.
Booking is not required but do check the event listing in advance as the event can only go ahead if the sky is visible.
Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Culture and Green Spaces Cllr Tony Frankland commented: “I’m delighted to see Horsham Museum hosting such an inspiring and imaginative exhibition. Museum of Time offers a unique opportunity to explore the wonders of our universe while connecting them to our own human history.
It’s particularly exciting that the exhibition coincides with a real-life astronomical event. I’d encourage everyone to visit the Museum to experience Claire Bradshaw’s remarkable work, and then join us in Horsham Park for the Eclipse-nic to witness the partial eclipse together.
“It promises to be a fantastic way to bring our community together,combining science, nature and shared discovery, with expert guidance on hand to help make sense of what we see in the night sky.”
Claire Bradshaw, FRAS, Astrophotographer commented: “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity for people to experience things virtually invisible to the naked eye. The night sky is actually awash with colour from light that set off thousands, sometimes millions, of years ago.
“I hope you enjoy following this trail as you follow the life of a star – as I make the invisible visible through these photographs."
Museum of Time: An Astrophotography Trail is open during normal museum opening hours from Tuesday 16 June until Saturday 29 August 2026 with free entry to the Museum and exhibition.
The Eclipse-nic event will take place on the evening of Wednesday 12 August, from 5-7.30pm.