Adventure to the Sun

Randy Metcalf Arizona Daily Wildcat Independent contractor Demosthenes Galanos, who helps maintain the large telescope at the Flandrau Science Center, shows students from San Carlos Jr. High School solar flares on the sun. There has been free viewing of sunspots and gas eruptions since Monday.

About 600 eyes have peered up at the sun this week after retired aerospace engineer Demosthenes Galanos brought special telescopes to allow University of Arizona community to contemplate the cosmos.

"I would like to take a trip to the sun," quipped Jeffery Cooke, a UA post-graduate student. "I would like to be the first astronaut to land on the sun's surface."

Galanos, 55, donated his time and equipment, bringing his telescopes to the UA in an effort to educate the public about the sun's lesser-known aspects. His equipment, including telescopes that view the sun's explosions and gas layers, cost about $14,000.

"It is strictly my time here, this week, for the enjoyment of the public," Galanos said. "That is really the fun - to allow them to look through telescopes that they normally wouldn't."

About 60 to 70 percent of the exhibit visitors think the sun is on fire - an incorrect assumption, Galanos said. Many viewers are also unaware that the sun is a star.

"The sun is merely a boiling ball of gas," he said.

The free viewing allowed the public to peek at the sun and ask science questions. The viewing is also available today from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The public saw spots on the bright red sun, along with explosions projecting from its side.

Flandrau Director William Buckingham said visitors are responding positively to the center's event.

"Large numbers of people are coming by, asking questions and observing the sun for themselves," Buckingham said.

Many people are unaware of the scientific projects available for Tucsonans to discover, said Michael Terenzoni, the astronomy education director.

"I don't think people are really aware of all that goes on and all the opportunities available to the community," Terenzoni said. "I would hope the people in the Legislature and other areas would see that a little more than they have."

Flandrau officials said they timed the event to coincide with the sun's 11-year cycle, which reaches a climax in about two years. They also wanted to hold the event before students fled Tucson for spring break.

"If you catch it in the high point of the cycle you see that much more," Buckingham said.

Safety lenses on the telescopes allowed the public to see the sun without damaging their eyes, Galanos said. Because light takes eight minutes to reach the Earth, the public is seeing slightly delayed images, he added.

About 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. is a good time to see the sun because the sidewalk temperature and air temperature are fairly stable, Buckingham said.

"Ideally you want calm, steady air to give you the (best) vision of the sun," he said.

Buckingham added that Flandrau offers a permanent display, except on cloudy days, of the elements that are a part of the sun.

"This is the most powerful technology astronomers have studying the universe," he said.

The exhibit shows that sodium, calcium, hydrogen, oxygen and carbon among other elements are present in the sun, he said.

Cooke said Galanos interested him in the subject of plasma energy form.

"He has planted a seed that I will be asking all my teachers about," Cooke said, adding that he would like to figure how to use hydrogen to fuel automobiles and power plants.

University Medical Center nurse Meg Breshears, 35, said she brought her two children, along with her niece and nephew, to help the children get an early start understanding science.

"Being exposed to it, whether they learn it or not, they'll remember coming today," Breshears said.

Communications and creative writing sophomore Danny Clifford said looking through the lens "is amazing."

"I've never seen an activity on the sun," Clifford said. "I'm glad that the university makes this possible."

San Carlos Junior High School students traveled about two and a half hours to view the sun.

"I've never seen it so close before," said Lenette Brown, a San Carlos Junior High sixth-grader. "I thought it was cool and the stuff was funny."

San Carlos Junior High seventh-grader Christy Hudson was mesmerized by the experience.

"It looked like you were really there," she said.