Brad Perry, NASA astronomer and engineer, was a special guest speaker at this year’s Big Springs Dedication Picnic on April 25. He was on ranch for the event during a week’s visit to help prepare the Ranch’s new "Baby Hubble" telescope and to celebrate the dedication of the Brinton-Franklin Observatory, the most recent addition to the educational facility at Big Springs Ranch for Children.

After receiving the necessary funding for the telescope and observatory, HCYR Executive Director Gary Priour said, "We realized we were going to need someone to show us how to use this, and lo and behold, a friend of the late NASA Astronomer Henry Brinton was there to meet our needs."

Perry is head of the Science Support Office at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he formulates ideas for new planetary science missions.

"The observatory we are dedicating today is going to bring new vistas of opportunity for the children and all those involved here at the Big Springs Ranch for Children," Perry said, "and I’m excited to be a part of it myself."

"I was privileged to know and work with Henry Brinton. He was a wonderful man. He was like a father to me, a mentor, a professional associate," Perry said. "He worked closely with me in evaluating a number of key NASA mission concepts. These are missions that are flying today, such as the New Horizons Mission that is on its way to Pluto as we speak.

"Henry worked with me on concepts for the Near Infrared Camera which will fly on the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled to launch in 2013. This is the so-called Hubble Space Telescope successor, which will help us see back closer to the Big Bang, closer than we’ve ever seen before of the early stages of the formation of the universe.

"This telescope we are installing is an integral part of a science research study program that will begin with visual observation. Later this summer we will be adding the digital imaging capability, which will enable us to make specific measurements and help us understand how objects are evolving," Perry said. "We can do much finer resolution work with this equipment than we could with the bare retina. So I’m excited about the possibilities here.

"There are wonderful opportunities here for youth to develop excellent career choices, and it is my hope that some of them may pursue a career in astronomy," Perry said. "Whatever they choose however, this observatory presents a unique opportunity for them to learn about God’s universe."

Perry showed a series of wonderful photographs taken by a similar model telescope to give the gathered donors, staff and students a taste of what they will see once the scope has been calibrated and is in full use.

Perry quoted Mary Loraine Brinton, widow of Henry, on a verse she uses to describe the telescopes she has helped fund. It is Psalm 19:1 – "The heavens declare the glory of God."

The scope, once completely enabled will be linked via computer network to classrooms in the Brune and Cailloux Schools, and will be accessible remotely from the computers of staff who are utilizing its functions.

Because it can be remotely managed, it will be a part of a NASA network available for use by their scientists as well as cooperating astronomers around the world. A queue will be developed and prioritized such that students are first in line for its use, but will also allow for the most efficient use by researchers.

Also installed on the telescope is a digital camera capable of taking ultra-high resolution photos of the universe. This will allow more in-depth study of objects seen during searches.

The observatory is the culmination of an early dream by Priour – one he mapped out on the first rough map he drew of the future Ranch facility. A fortuitous sequence of events, started in motion by Oma Bell Perry’s cousin Emily Bierschwale, brought Mrs. Brinton to us with the offer of a telescope. The telescope was a gift in honor of her late husband, a pioneer space exploration specialist and NASA engineer.

Henry won his high school science fair for creating a device that measured movement of celestial bodies, and he later built his own first telescope. "The first time I took it out on the porch, I saw the four moons of Jupiter and then the rings of Saturn." he said. "It had a profound effect on my life."

After graduate school at the University of Maryland, Brinton went to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and then joined NASA when the space race was just getting under way. He was director of NASA’s Research Division and Planetary Science Program.

Will Franklin, a Kerrville Tivy High School graduate, and his wife Liz, read about our need for funding for an observatory to house the telescope, and graciously provided the funds to house this special gift, including the road to access it and the utilities and infrastructure necessary to bring it to life.