Outback Astronomer: The extraordinary story of how an amateur astronomer's unwavering passion for the cosmos propelled him from the mines of Broken Hill to working with NASA

by Trevor Barry

Born and raised in remote Broken Hill, Trevor Barry left school after year ten to work in the mines. Years later, a single glimpse of Saturn through a colleague's telescope knocked Trevor's world completely off its axis, turning his whole life upside down.


With his newfound passion and armed with decades of outback know-how, Trevor set about building an observatory in his backyard using bits and pieces from his shed, a second-hand washing machine motor, rainwater tank parts and an old catamaran wire. It took some canny negotiations with his wife, Cheryl, 'the Gorgeous and Adorable', whose prized garden took a battering - especially when he decided to add a second storey - but before long Trevor was not just gazing at the stars but capturing extraordinary images of the planets.

Over the years, Trevor's love affair with Saturn, 'the ringed jewel of the solar system', only grew more passionate, and in his early fifties he did a degree in astronomy, topping his class. When he recorded a massive storm on Saturn from his backyard observatory, he alerted NASA. The world's greatest space agency took note and invited Trevor to contribute to its interplanetary research - leading to opportunities far beyond Broken Hill and even Trevor's wildest dreams.

Today, when he's not tending the greens at his local bowls club, Trevor can usually be found in his backyard, collecting data for international research projects. His work is held in high regard by professional astronomers, and his observations are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals around the world.

Genres: Nonfiction

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2025

Reviews

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating memoir.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. Trevor along with his wife are such incredibly fun people with such an excellent story. Told with good humour about their beautiful life in Broken Hill and what Trevor has achieved in his backyard astronomy centre.

[Lidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming and (ironically) down-to-earth story of how love can bring you to the most extraordinary places. While Barry's main focus was on Saturn I, too, love the cosmos and my life has been significantly changed by this. His resilience, perseverance and hands-on skills in literally crafting his own world is something I could only dream of. It was supremely impressive to hear that he built HIS OWN TELESCOPE by what he learnt from his trade, TAFE classes and BOOKS. Like there was no YouTube tutorial for this. It was also really sweet to hear him talk about how much of a support person his wife, Cheryl was, although I couldn't help but think whether, if the roles were reversed, his life would be turned upside down to buttress her pursuit of something she loved. I think there is a lot to say about allowing each person the right to claim their success as a product of their own work, but I'm reflecting more and more how much the silent labour of others is critical to the acclaim of those they support.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely, heart-warming book! Loved reading about Trevor's life and love of Saturn, and the night sky!
It was endearing and funny. Loved Cheryl's contributions. Loved how it captured Trevor's voice. Can't believe he built his own telescope and observatory - so cool!

An inspiring read for an amateur astronomer at the very beginning of my journey!

Finished on the same day that I got my very first telescope!! When the conditions were perfect for me to spot Saturn for the very first time!!! 🪐🩷

Loved it!

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦.
𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘶𝘮, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.

[Nikki Balzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting couple of Aussies to read about. How to reach for the stars without losing your grounding. Really enjoyed this and then went and looked up the Cassini mission photos and Saturn's hexagon storm, Jupiter info all sorts of rabbit holes. I already look up at the stars a lot but without binoculars or telescopes. Might start a new hobby....

[Alyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

He seems like a lovely guy and what he has achieved is impressive but I do not feel like there was actually a story here that needed to be told and it lacked any real momentum - because it was building towards nothing.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting story!

[Daniel]

A real page-turner, I couldn't put it down!

[Anna Ciddor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened on audio, surprisingly intriguing!

[Ben Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely story!

I’m off to look up!