Broken Hill-based astronomer Trevor Barry has received a prestigious award for his contribution to science.
Last week, he was presented with the Berenice and Arthur Page Medal by the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA).
Mr Barry, accompanied by his wife Cheryl and son Christopher travelled to Hobart to accept the award at the ASA’s annual scientific meeting.
He said it is a “pretty amazing” feeling to receive the acknowledgement and ranks highly among his achievements in the field.
“It’s right up there,” Mr Barry said. “To get that recognition from the national body is humbling.”
The medal is the highest honour the ASA can give an amateur for work that has advanced the field of astronomy.
It recognised Mr Barry’s general contribution to planetary science, particularly on Saturn.
It included special mention of his study of the rotation rate of Saturn’s North Polar Hexagon over the period of 3115 Earth days.
“To get that recognition from the national body is humbling,” Mr Barry said. “It’s a once in a lifetime award.”
His research data has been used by NASA and the Cassini mission and was also featured in a TV feature on Channel 9’s 60 minutes program.
The program captured images of his local observatory that he built over the years.
The former mine worker is honoured to call Broken Hill home and paid tribute to the city’s wealth of knowledge.
“I am very proud of my Broken Hill heritage,” Mr Barry said.
“We may live in the remote outback and our numbers are small but we certainly punch above our weight in so many different fields.”
The science enthusiast is busy analysing data that he said will remain a passion. He is keen to continue producing world-class data.
“I want to make a contribution and this is how I want to do it in my chosen field.”
“It keeps my brain active and I’m always learning.”
