Smog blinds us to universe’s wonders

• Source: Global Times
• [22:26 July 20 2009]
• Comments

By Ryan Ulrich

Illustration: Zhang Yuewei

Recently I received an e-mail from a friend telling me that he was coming to China, specifically Shanghai and Nanjing, because this area would be one of the best places to view the solar eclipse on July 22. I gave him some advice about where to go and what to see, but the thing I didn’t tell him was that he probably wouldn’t be able to see the solar eclipse at all.

This solar eclipse is a big deal. It will be the longest that will occur in the 21st century with a total duration of up to six minutes and 39 seconds. China will have a particularly good vantage point with cities such as Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Nanjing and Shanghai being ideal places to view the full solar eclipse, when the moon will totally block out the sun’s rays.

The next solar eclipse of this magnitude and duration will not occur until June 13, 2132. Many people travel to see the eclipse, chasing it across the world to find the best, and clearest, spot to view it from.

Many people are coming for the eclipse as astrological tourists. This is a first, but it’s important for China. There may be other events, like the passing of a comet, lunar eclipses and opportunities to view planets at special opportune times when they come into alignment. These could all be good opportunities for stargazers from other countries, and China as well, to appreciate the cosmos and learn more about it.

It is a dire shame that this won’t be possible in much of China. Last year’s Beijing Olympics clearly demonstrated that China has the ability to reduce pollution and smog, but only when the gains outweigh the costs. A small group of stargazers probably won’t justify halting the production of factories around Shanghai for several weeks.

Science, however, is suffering. I remember taking a telescope out to the park in front of my house in New Jersey to see Halley’s Comet, a comet that can be seen with the naked eye once every 76 years. Other nights I could easily observe craters on the face of the moon with a small telescope. It’s only now, living in Shanghai and only intermittently seeing the stars, moon and even the sun, that I appreciate how important those things are. Being able to explore the universe simply by walking out my door definitely increased my interest in the natural sciences.

There are many days in Nanjing and Shanghai where I’m lucky if I can see the sun at all. On the rare day when I can see it, I often turn to my friends and ask them while pointing toward the sky, “Hey, what’s that?” If I see two or three stars it’s a good night, but mostly I feel lucky if I can see the lights of the Orient Pearl TV Tower in the distance.

The solar eclipse may be another victim of pollution. It will last more than six minutes, but the real eclipse happens on a daily basis when the bright yellow sun disappears behind a sheet of haze. I look forward to the day when I’ll be able to watch a sunset in China and see the moon rise up into a clear night’s sky surrounded by crisp summer stars, all from the balcony of an apartment in Shanghai.

I hope I’m wrong and that the solar eclipse will be able to be seen clearly and that my friend will be glad he came to China, but I’m not optimistic.

How terrible would it be for people to come all the way around the world but not be able to appreciate any of China’s natural beauty because of the pollution? Instead, people may start coming to China just to see the smog.

The author is an MA candidate studying international politics at Johns Hopkins University – Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies