The public is invited to attend a free presentation "Under Desert Skies: How Tucson Mapped the Way to the Moon and Planets" by KNAU science reporter Melissa Sevigny on Friday, July 26, at 3:00 p.m. at the Polly Rosenbaum State Archives and History Building, 1901 W. Madison Street, Phoenix. You can read her book on our free eBook platform Reading Arizona or request it from our catalog using your library's ILL service.

Fifty years ago, Apollo astronauts walked on the moon. But to get there, they needed help from an upstart laboratory in southern Arizona, where a diverse group of scientists were forging a brand-new field called "planetary science." Melissa Sevigny tells this fascinating history in her book Under Desert Skies: How Tucson Mapped the Way to the Moon and Planets. Come celebrate Apollo's legacy and hear about Arizona's continued role in the exploration of our solar system.

Melissa L. Sevigny grew up in Tucson, Arizona where she fell in love with the Sonoran Desert’s ecology, geology and dark desert skies. Her lyrical nonfiction and poetry explores the intersections of science, politics, and history, with a focus on the American Southwest. She is the author of two nonfiction books, Under Desert Skies and Mythical River, and is the science reporter at KNAU (Arizona Public Radio) in Flagstaff. 

This event is part of the 2019 Arizona Author Series, hosted by Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Arizona Secretary of State. Please be advised that there is no food or drink allowed in the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building. Free parking and convenient bus access is available.