San Diego can travel to the edge of the universe without leaving Balboa Park. At the Fleet Science Center, the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition invites visitors to journey through the infinite cosmos in 31 high-quality images of our galaxy and everything beyond it.
Produced by Royal Museums Greenwich, the show presents the winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year, described by the Fleet as the world’s most prestigious astronomy competition, now in its 17th year. These are some of the highest-quality images of the cosmos ever captured, made by leading astronomy photographers around the world, and seeing them large is a very different experience from scrolling past them on a phone.
The Fleet has given the exhibition a stage worthy of its subject: its new basement gallery, specially low-lit so the stars can shine. In that gentle darkness, nebulae, galaxies and night skies glow at full strength, and visitors can get up close and personal with the universe, no spacesuit required.
The exhibition is part of a newly refreshed Fleet, in the heart of Balboa Park at 1875 El Prado, where longtime family favorites and new experiences fill the galleries. For anyone who has ever looked up on a clear San Diego night and felt that pull of wonder, this is that feeling, framed and lit beautifully, and it makes an easy, uplifting stop on your next Balboa Park day.
Photo: Fleet Science Center
