daily%nerald
Vol. 80, No. 104
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Wednesday, February 21, 1979
Science robs solar eclipse of its zest
By ROBERT SCHEYER
Of the Emerald
When the moon’s shadow passes over the Pacific
Northwest on Feb. 26 local astronomers will observe the
sun’s disappearance with only a tourist’s curiosity.
“Nowadays an eclipse has lost its zest," says as
tronomy Prof. Robert Zimmerman. “Twenty years ago
an eclipse was studied to observe the sun’s corona (a
bright gaseous cloud emitted by the sun), but that condi
tion can now be created artificially."
The corona is the reflection of small particles off the
sun, says University astronomer Greg Boeshaar. Called
the solar wind, it can be as hot as a million degrees.
Boeshaar’s wife Pat, also an astronomer, says, “A
total eclipse is probably one of the most spectacular
events you can ever catch because it’s the best way to
get a look at the sun’s corona.”
All three astronomers stress the importance of not
looking at the sun for any length of time before or after
totality with the naked eye.
“It’s all right to look at the sun during totality, but at
any other time you will burnout part of the (eye’s) retina.
Unless you're sure (of totality) I wouldn’t look,” Greg
Boeshaar says.
“In Eugene the eclipse will reach 99 percent of
totality," Pat Boeshaar adds, “but even then it (the sun)
will not be safe to look at.”
Safe methods of viewing the eclipse include using a
modified telescope or using a pin-hole camera with part
of the side cut out to see the sun’s reflection.
In using a telescope, place a white card about 5
inches from the viewing end and watch the shadow of
the tube for the beam of emerging light to be intercepted
on the white surface.
A ‘pin-hole reflector’ can be made by taking a flat
mirror and covering it with a piece of paper that has a
hole in it the size of a dime. The mirror should be
mounted to reflect sunlight 50 feet or so onto a shaded
wall, which can even be indoors. The 6-inch solar image
can be studied close up by a large audience. Making the
hole bigger increases the brightness; making it smaller
improves sharpness.
The planets of Mercury, Venus and Mars will be
While most of North America will experience only a
partial eclipse, much of northern Oregon will view
visible flanking the sun during totality.
Venus will be the brightest object in the sky, Greg
Boeshaar says, but Mercury will be the most unusual
since it is rarely seen because of its closeness to the
sun.
Astronomers also will try to prepare, for bad
weather. Zimmerman plans to be in Eastern Washing
ton where the chances of good weather are much better,
while Pat and Greg Boeshaar will be over the clouds in
an airplane above Portland. They hope to be able to stay
on the ground for better photographs. Pat Boeshaar
suggests that the best place to see the eclipse is Gol
dendale, Wash., on the Columbia River gorge.
“There is an observatory there and plenty of camp
IIImI
Photo courtesy Boyun USA
“eclipse totality." Those under the full shadow of the
moon will see only the sun’s corona.
sites. The man who runs the observatory should be very
helpful to anyone wishing to know about the eclipse,
she says.
Willamette Valley residents have a 20 percent
chance of seeing the sun because of notorious winter
weather; and, as Greg Boeshaar put it, predicting the
weather is “like asking for a prediction of the end of the
world.”
To those interested in a better chance of good
viewing weather the University’s Outdoor Program is
offering trips to Montana, Idaho, Eastern Washington,
Mt. Hood and the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon.
The Outdoor Program s office is located in Suite 2
of the EMU.
New ALERT boss plans revised program
Faramarz Akbarinejad
By TAMARA SWENSON
Of the Emerald
An ASUO program for the handicapped
has gained a new director and new staff to
help prop up the faltering organization.
Faramarz Akbarinejad, who was hired as
ALERT’S new director Tuesday, hopes the
program will develop into something
“worthwhile” for students.
Also named as additions to the ALERT
staff were Jeanne Knight, who will act as
associate director, and Kelly Jamison, who
will be the program’s administrative assis
tant.
Knight and Jamison have been working
with Akbarinejad since Monday, writing
goals for the program and preparing to take
the program back before the Incidental Fee
Committee.
The ALERT program had been pre
sumed dead after controversy arose over
the performance of both former director
Bruce McPhun and the program. On Feb. 1
the IFC rejected the goals "of the program
and froze its funds, the ASUO later dismis
sing McPhun.
The program was cited at that time as
being ineffective and poorly run, but Ak
barinejad hopes he and his new staff can
turn that opinion around.
Included in the reorganization are new
goals, which Knight said tentatively include
support and referral services, intern and
employment programs for the handicapped
and eventual elimination of architectural
barriers for the handicapped.
Akbarinejad, expressing the position of
the ALERT staff, said he had a “strong feel
ing that they (the handicapped) can do any
thing if we just provide them the way.” He
added that Eugene, unlike Europe, was not
geared for the handicapped and must work
for a “fully geared society.”
The new ALERT staff also intends to
make the program a service for all students,
not just the disabled.
For example, Knight said, the program
could provide information on disabilities.
Another program emphasis, Knight said,
will be on aiding those who are either emo
tionally or temporarily physically disabled.
But currently, the ALERT staff is focusing
on the IFC reconsideration hearings. The
fee committee will vote tonight on whether
to reconsider the goals of the revived pro
gram. If approved, the goals themselves
would still have to be approved.
If they fail, the program will have little
recourse. And, even gaining reconsidera
tion may be difficult, because the IFC must
suspend its rules to take any action on the
matter.
Meanwhile the ALERT office will be open
for at least 40 hours each week in Suite 1 of
the EMU and staff members will be availa
ble in crisis situations. The office Akbarine
jad said, must be “accessible to the stu
dent. Someone will always be available."
today_
Quitapyun celebrates the memory of Victor
Jara, symbol of the Chilean people's struggle for
freedom, with a full house in the EMU ballroom.
Stories on Page 6A.
A coalition of environmental groups is lobby
ing the Oregon legislature on issues ranging from
herbicides to expansion of the river system. See
Page 9A.
Eugene Mountain Rescue operates with 50
volunteers, who risk their lives to make the Cas
cade Mountain safer for mountaineers. The story
of a recovery of a light plane begins on Page 1B.