Astronaut & National Geographic Author Terry Virts in Toms River

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE AND THE GRUNIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCE ASTRONAUT AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUTHOR TERRY VIRTS IN TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY

Tickets for “View from Above” with Terry Virts on sale now.

TOMS RIVER (January 24, 2020) — National Geographic Live, National Geographic’s touring speaker series, and the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College are proud to announce “View from Above” with Terry Virts, a celebrated NASA astronaut and National Geographic author. Virts will share his unique stories and stunning photographs taken from a place many will never visit — space. The event will take place at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 6, 2020, at the Grunin Center.

As a NASA astronaut, pilot of the space shuttle Endeavour, and crew member on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, Virts spent 200 consecutive days in space as commander of the International Space Station—one of the longest continuous space missions of any NASA astronaut.

More recently, Virts appeared in the 2016 IMAX film A Beautiful Planet, a breathtaking portrait of Earth from space that features stunning footage—much of it shot by Virts while aboard (and outside) the International Space Station—of our magnificent blue planet and humanity's impact on it. His photography, which provides incredible aerial views of Earth and the vast space that surrounds it, is featured in the National Geographic book, VIEW FROM ABOVE: An Astronaut Photographs the World.

National Geographic Live is the live events division of National Geographic. With a broad roster of talent including renowned photographers, scientists, authors, filmmakers and adventurers, National Geographic Live’s critically acclaimed programs have connected with audiences worldwide for over a century. Currently, National Geographic Live events are held in a variety of cities around the world, including, Seattle, Tampa, Los Angeles, and Calgary. In each of these cities, speakers share behind-the-scenes stories from the front lines of exploration onstage alongside stunning imagery and gripping footage. For more information, visit natgeolive.com.

For tickets and information, please call 732-255-0500 or visit grunincenter.org.

About the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts

The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, located on the campus of Ocean County College, is a performing arts center dedicated to providing art and entertainment to Ocean County and the Jersey Shore. Featuring premiere acts from across the globe, the Grunin Center’s intimate venue allows patrons to experience once-in-a-lifetime from venerated artists, hometown musicians, and unique entertainers. Music performances of all genres, theatre, film, and dance make their way to the Grunin Center stage each season. The Grunin Center is also the home to young performers from various educational performing arts organizations, including Ocean County College students from the performing arts and fine arts programs, and the Ocean County and NJ State Teen Arts Festivals. Our Art Galleryhighlights local artists by displaying several collections throughout the year. Additionally, the Garden State Philharmonic is the Orchestra-in-Residence. For more information, visit grunincenter.org.

About National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 132 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.