It's all eyes on the Nothe Fort as the Museum of the Moon has arrived in Weymouth.

The exhibition, which features a giant Moon sculpture suspended in the air over the courtyard of Nothe Fort, opened to the public yesterday.

But some visitors were disappointed as organisers were forced to take the Moon down from 8pm on Friday over safety concerns due to strong gusts of wind.

It was meant to be on display until midnight.

Performances and events planned as part of the exhibition still went ahead.

The Moon will be back in position for Saturday and Sunday viewings, open midday to midnight (admission free).

One visitor said: "We got there at 9.50pm on Friday and joined the queue and entered at 10pm. We were given headphones for the performance but there was no Moon and no explanation." 

Another visitor said: "I was told the Moon had been taken down due to public safety concerns because of the wind."

The artist who created the Moon, Luke Jerram, said that the attraction is back up now and should be fine for the rest of the weekend.

"It's not a big deal," he said.

"It only takes 20 minutes to take it down and we had to bring it down because of high gusts but the weather is looking good for the rest of the weekend.

"Visitors will see the awesome sight of this vast model as they enter the courtyard, where they can see up close an accurate image of the surface of our Moon.

This unique attraction, which has been seen around the world before coming to Dorset, is free to attend and can be seen at the Nothe today and tomorrow, open from midday to midnight.

Over the weekend, there will also be displays from other local artists as part of the Dorset Moon exhibition.

The project, which has been in the works for four years, is being put on display around the time of the 50th anniversary of the July 1969 Moon landings, when Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the Moon.

Luke Jerram, the artist behind the project, said: "It’s a great pleasure to bring the Moon to Weymouth for the first time.

"We chose the Nothe because it is a large public space and it is quite a dramatic setting with the architecture. Being next to the sea is also nice because of the relationship between the tides and the sea and the Moon."

He added: "This month is very busy for us because everybody wants it for the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings but we are pleased to be a part of the Dorset Moon events."

The Dorset project was produced by Inside Out Dorset, Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival and B-Side.

It was funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Arts Council England and was commissioned by the Arts Development Company.

Alan Rogers, executive director of B-Side, said: "Inside a church or inside a space, it looks like the Moon is illuminated. Here, it looks as if it is solid. It works both in the day and in the night time. We would encourage people to come back a couple of times to see it at various times of the day."

Members of the public attending on Friday afternoon reacted positively to the display.

Tom Fairbrother from Weymouth said: "I think it is wonderful and most informative. It makes you think. Kids start thinking about it. It makes you somehow feel so close to it."

James Ostridge, also from Weymouth, said: "It is something different. I have come down before for the B-Side stuff. It is good to do it in somewhere people can come and see something else. It is quite nice to see something a bit different from the normal stuff in Weymouth."

The Moon sculpture will next appear at Maumbury Rings in Dorchester for Moonbury Rings celebrations on Friday, July 19.

For further information, visit dorsetmoon.com