Dr Robert Massey is Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, where he spends his days making the case for astronomy to the wider world. Before joining the RAS, his career took him from PhD research in Manchester on the Orion nebula to teaching, local politics, and then a stint as Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. In his spare time he teaches his nine year old daughter about science, enjoys running, hiking, cycling, cooking and when babysitting allows spends time with his wife enjoying the cultural life of his home city of Bristol. With the art historian Dr Alexandra Loske, he recently published Moon: Art, Science, Culture to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.

Talk: Moon: The Art, Science and Culture of the Moon

A source of light in the dark of night and our ever-changing cosmic companion, the Moon has fascinated humankind since we first gazed into the sky.

In this extensively illustrated and illuminating volume, art historian Alexandra Loske and astronomer Robert Massey present a rich and curious history. From its violent birth through to the exhilarating story of the Space Race and current exploration efforts, discover the many faces of the Moon and how they have shaped humanity’s existence.