Voices of the Bay

Westport’s Star Man

Roger Menard on the wonders of Westport’s deep dark sky

The Bay Magazine ·

Roger Menard likes to remind people to look up. The Westport resident has always been interested in astronomy, but it was not until he and his wife Judy moved from Middletown where they had raised their three sons to the rural southeastern Massachusetts town nine years ago that he started devoting more time to his lifelong curiosity. The couple had lived in town for two years when driving home late one evening Roger noticed the very dark Westport sky, a key ingredient for stargazing. Newly retired after a 37-year career with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), he purchased a new telescope and started spending late evenings observing. Four years later he designed and constructed an observatory on his property.

For Roger, a graduate of Lowell Technological Institute (now known as the University of Massachusetts Lowell) where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, astronomy has allowed him to combine his natural aptitude for science and engineering. A member of the Astronomical Society of Southern New England, Roger shares his passion for the night sky as an instructor with The Second Half Lifelong Learning Institute, an affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth operated out of Fall River.

Roger, who spent 20 years as a competitive show horse jumper, currently sits on the Westport Zoning Board and continues to swim and compete with the U.S. Masters Swimming program. Questions about astronomy? Roger can be contacted at menarde@charter.net

Judy and I met at a party at her college. The first thing we did was go outside and look up at the stars, and she still dated me! I was always the nerdy kind of guy, read a lot of books about science and engineering. I really enjoy solving problems, which is what engineering is all about. If I could have been an astronaut that would have been great. For our 10th wedding anniversary Judy gave me an eight-inch telescope.  I loved it and had a lot of fun with it for many years. Then Home Depot moved into our neighborhood, 50 feet away. They kept the lights on all night. When it’s that bright you cannot see the stars. I gave up viewing for many years because of the light pollution.  In Westport there is no industry or street lights so it is very dark. I bought a new telescope [and] built the observatory. Along the way I had learned about the Astronomical Society of Southern New England. All of our meetings are open to the public; you don’t have to be a member to attend. We are really trying to foster interest in astronomy, which is a really good retirement hobby because there are so many things you can do.

My whole goal with the Second Half Learning course is to awaken people to everything you can see in the sky. It surprises people what can be seen with the naked eye, binoculars or a small telescope. My last course had primarily all women, retired, who asked phenomenal questions. You don’t know something until you try to teach it. You may think you know it, and know it to satisfy yourself, but knowing it enough to teach it to someone else requires another level of understanding.

I try to get out observing three to four nights a month. [It’s] amazing how few nights a month since you cannot see anything on a cloudy night and you can’t do it when the moon is out because it’s so bright and dims everything.  My goal is not to fool myself in thinking I will make a discovery. What really excites me is just being able to identify and understand the significance of deep space objects such as galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. 

Roger Menard, stargazing, westport MA, nina murphy, the bay magazine, voices of the bay, Astronomical Society of Southern New England, The Second Half Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,