Amateur Broken Hill astronomer wins Astronomical Society of Australia award

A Broken Hill amateur astronomer has won a national award for his contribution to a broad range of planetary science, particularly his work observing Saturn.      

Trevor Barry was awarded joint winner of the Astronomical Society of Australia’s 2022 Berenice and Arthur Page Medal at the weekend.

The award is given to amateur astronomers who have contributed significantly to the science.

Mr Barry said he was amazed he picked up the medal given his background, which included working in the local mines for a number of years.

“We’re such a small community, we’re very isolated but Broken Hill people have actually excelled in such a wide range of fields … obviously mining and the arts and sport,” he said.

The other winner of this year’s award was the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search (BOSS) team — a group that has found around 200 confirmed supernovas.

From ground to sky

Mr Barry’s pathway to national astronomy recognition is an unusual one.

The former mine worker is also a passionate local greenkeeper, and was selected as a finalist in the Volunteer of the Year category at last year’s Bowls SA Awards.

He said he was also exploring the depths of space with his own custom-built observatory. 

“I’m not doing my work with professionally made equipment,” he said.

“I love what I do. I claim to be the only ‘astronomer-greenkeeper’ in Australia.”

‘Remarkable’ efforts

Astronomical Society of Australia President John Lattanzio said Mr Barry’s work analysing Saturn had contributed to a number of research papers.

Professor Lattanzio said the work was helping astronomers understand a hexagonal feature in the planet’s atmosphere.

“His data has been used by NASA and the Cassini mission in particular to fill in places when they can’t see things,” he said.

“It’s led to a huge amount of data. I think he’s got almost nine years of monitoring this.

He said while Mr Barry might not be a professional scientist, he was still contributing important scientific work. 

“That’s sort of the aim of this medal, to recognise people who aren’t being paid for doing this but are making significant advances, and that’s exactly what Trevor’s been doing,” he said. 

“Heartiest congratulations to him. He’s an excellent role model for us all.”