Perseids likely to be out of sight
- Source: Global Times
- [08:36 August 11 2010]
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By Shen Weihuang and Zheng Yunying
Smog, dust and light pollution mean sky watchers in the city are once again unlikely to get a good view of the annual Perseids meteor shower, which peaks from Thursday night through to Friday morning, according to experts.
"Those two days will be the best time to see the shower," Tang Haiming, deputy secretary of the Shanghai Astronomical Society, told the Global Times Tuesday. "But residents in the city shouldn't get their hopes up because they will barely be able to see the meteors, even in outlying areas, mainly due to heavy light pollution."
In fact, Tang and his fellow astronomy enthusiasts at local amateur society the Venus League are so pessimistic about their chances of catching sight of the shower in Shanghai that they are going to stay overnight on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
The Perseids meteor shower - so named because the meteors appear to emanate from the constellation of Perseus - occurs in August every year as the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
A staff member at Sheshan Observatory, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times Tuesday it has not held events to view the Perseids for several years due to the poor conditions.
The Sheshan Observatory was built in 1901 on Sheshan Mountain some 38 km west of downtown Shanghai, when the location was regarded as the perfect spot for astronomical observation, but over the decades as light pollution worsened, even employees at this once-coveted spot are unable to star-gaze at night, the staff member added.
Local meteor shower enthusiasts like Chen Baijie and his friends, however, are still holding out hope despite the negative news. Chen said they plan to pitch a tent in the suburbs and stay up all night to watch whatever they can of the phenomenon.
"We're going to keep our fingers crossed," the 28-year-old local resident told the Global Times Tuesday.
But Chen and company will need nothing short of a miracle Thursday evening, if they are to get a decent glimpse of the shower.
The last meteor shower that was widely viewed in the city was the 2001 Leonid shower, caused by the trail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, when over 1,000 meteors swept the sky each hour. The next time that the Leonids are expected to be as spectacular is in 2017.
With experts reckoning that the light pollution problem in the city is irreversible, there is unfortunately no silver lining on the horizon.
"Growing light pollution is an inevitable part of urbanization, as the demand for lighting during the night increases," Dai Xingyi, a professor from the environmental science and engineering department of Fudan University, told the Global Times Tuesday.
Dai added that there is little the government can do to tackle the problem, as it is a consequence of the living patterns of the general public.
According to Guo Qihao, a doctor from psychiatric department of Shanghai Huashan Hospital, light pollution is also contributing to the increasing cases of sleeping disorders affecting patients around the city.
"Light pollution is aiding insomnia," he told the Global Times. "This is a growing problem, and is dangerous because people who suffer from insomnia over a long period of time are more susceptible to depression, having a nervous breakdown, and a reduced sex drive."
Guo said that the effects of light pollution are relatively understudied as it is a newer development, and that more research needs to be given to this arena.
