Spotlight On Member - David Barry

Greetings to all! I am 58 years of age, Roman Catholic from birth and devoutly practicing my faith. I am happily married 32 years with 4 adult children ages 27 - 18 years. I am a Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service 33 years. I am a musician and composer, mainly in Catholic Liturgy. I play guitar and sing and dabble with piano. When I was much younger, I was a very highly successful low brass instrumentalist. I entered the University of Maryland with a music scholarship, playing the euphonium and trombone. My youngest son, Mitchell, is now using the same horn I used to do exactly as I did at his age. This is my most rewarding experience as a father.

Beginning Interest in Astronomy

It was because of Mitchell I became interested in astronomy. He would always seek out and find telescopes belonging to relatives and friends and tinker with them during visits. That is what gave my wife, Janine, and I the idea to buy him one of his own for Christmas in 2016 when he was 16. It is a great blessing to know Mark Spearman as a friend of the family and as a postal patron. He helped me pick out a good quality primary scope and necessary accessories. Needless to say, it was one of the greatest gifts to impact and change our lives for the better. Mitchell became obsessed with learning about the cosmos and naturally led us to becoming members of the Brazos Valley Astronomy Club in the Fall 2017. At that time, Mitchell did not yet have a drivers license, so I would make it a priority to be able to drive him to the meetings myself. As fate would have it, I became more and more immersed and interested to the point that if Mitchell had other obligations that kept him from attending BVAC meetings, I would go anyway. I have found personally that astronomy and being a part of BVAC is a great hobby. Because of Mitchell, I got hooked on astronomy!

The telescopes Mark Spearman had suggested were 8 and 10 inch Dobsonians. I decided to go with the 8 inch “Sky Watcher” (Diameter 200 mm X 1200 mm Focal Length). This is a great entry level choice and is the scope we are currently using. The initial added accessories include a Telrad finder sight, and a laser Collimator. Since then we added about 4 or 5 various lenses and filters to add to our viewing pleasure and success. The two most important lenses being a 2” barrel 38 mm X 70 degree wide angle and a 1.25” Teleview 24 mm PanOptic. We also have a 58 degree X 5 mm for high power magnification and 8 - 24 mm zoom to round out the lens category. We have nebula, moon and solar filters. Mitchell gave me a right angle view finder to keep me from bending over too much. A nice addition to equipment is a laser pointer and an accessories case. A quality adjustable viewing chair is on the wish list although the seat we have now is sufficient.

Trip to West Texas

We always look forward to the new moon and clear skies for optimum opportunity. Planning ahead is always a roll of the dice. We decided to roll the dice with a trip to west Texas last January when Mitchell was out of school, I had leave from work, and there was a new moon. As luck would have it, the was a big cold front that brought lots of clouds and rain, threatening our planned reservations made we 3 months earlier in October. We decided to go anyway, hoping it will clear out eventually. What a blessing, as we drove the six hour drive to the X-Bar Ranch in Eldorado, TX. The rain and overcast conditions dissipated and JACKPOT! We had the clearest 3 nights one could ever dream combined with Bortle class 2 dark skies. It made for the best astronomy trip ever. Mitchell was able to go previously in July when I had to work. In his opinion, July is unquestionably a more desirable time with many different additional viewing opportunities.

Sharing Astronomy Opportunities

I am always looking forward to any opportunities to share in all the joy I have found in astronomy. Right now, the sharing of astronomy by me to others seems happen more frequently by chance here at home with visiting friends and neighbors. In the future, I hope to be of service to others as the BVAC does organized outreach programs. I know with more experience and availability, I will be more involved in outreach than I am now. Outreach can always be more effective in a larger group. Just as our star parties are much more enjoyable the larger the group, mostly because of the greater knowledge of the more experienced members of our club combined with their equipment. More scopes equals more targets and more awe.

Meaning of Celestial Beauty

The celestial beauty continually reveals God's glory. I am in awe, and continually discovering how small a part of the universe we are. Yet, as small as we may be, we have always been of such infinite value to God, that He sent His only Son as Savior to redeem us all, that through His death we may have life eternal with Him in heaven. These stars we see now are just a beginning.