Since the dawn of time, the moon has exerted a tremendous influence over the earth and its inhabitants, both scientifically and artistically. The earliest astronomers expended much energy in their attempts to map the moon and imagine what it must be like to travel there, and globally the moon has a central role in virtually all mythologies, from Amazonian Indians to the ancient Egyptians to the Celts. Poets, painters and musicians have taken the moon as the inspiration for great extraordinary works of art.