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Leaving the bright lights behind for out-of-this-world views
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In Chinese myth, these two stars symbolize the cowherd Niulang and the weaver girl Zhinv. According to legend dating back more than 2,000 years, the rural pair were in love but forbidden to marry. The goddess of heaven banished them to opposite sides of the Silver River, which symbolized the Milky Way. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, a flock of magpies would form a bridge over the river to unite the lovers for one day.
There is indeed something romantic about a clear night, when stars, meteor showers and even planets reveal celestial wonders that have always captivated man’s imagination.
Living in a metropolis like Shanghai makes stargazing a bit tricky. The lights of the city, often combined with pollution, blur the view skyward. To avoid those impediments, it’s necessary to get out of town a bit into a more rural area.
Two weeks ago, I did just that, taking an overnight excursion to the Dongtan Wetlands on Chongming Island with a colleague and guides from the Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Management Station.
The sky was already dark when we arrived at about 8pm. The first stars were beginning to twinkle. A few clouds in the sky threatened to ruin our stargazing. After checking the hourly weather report, we decided to wait another hour, when the clouds were due to move on. We were rewarded by an accurate forecast.
Though hardly as dramatic as the scene Vincent van Gogh depicted in his painting “Starry Night,” the Chongming sky did soon light up with stars. Following instructions from our guides, we tried to identify as many as we could.
The smartphone app The Night Sky, which is available for iOS and Android, is also helpful if you don’t have a seasoned guide to direct your search.
We identified the Summer Triangle, formed by the three bright stars Altair, Vega and Deneb, thanks to the app.
Chongming Island is one of the best stargazing sites in Shanghai. It is 1,411 square kilometers, sitting at the mouth of the Yangtze River and away from the urban glare of downtown Shanghai. Pollution here is also less frequent.
Every summer, from mid-July to late August, the annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the brightest of the year, draws thousands to the island. Luckily, our visit coincided with the height of the annual display of shooting stars. It’s not quite Disney animation at its best, but the shower is magical to see with the naked eye. We even managed to get a few photos by keeping our camera shutter open a little longer.
“Oh look! There’s Saturn!” our guide exclaimed, looking through his monocular before passing it to us and pointing in the right direction. Through the lens, the planet appeared small, but its spectacular ring was clearly visible. It took my breath away.
“As long as one has an optical aid, be it binoculars, a monocular or a telescope with magnification of at least 30 times, you should be able to see the Saturn and its ring,” our guide explained.
There are four other planets visible to the naked eye at certain times of celestial positioning: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
On our way back at midnight, we came across a group of high school students from Shanghai Jincai High School. Carrying their own telescopes and tents, they planned to spend the night observing the sky and then sleeping under the stars.
“We are here for the Perseid meteor shower,” said Zhang Tianqing, former president of the school astronomy club and now a sophomore majoring in physics and astronomy at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
“There are 22 of us and this is a routine observation field trip for the club,” he said.
According to Zhang, the club organizes trips to observe prominent astronomical phenomena, such as eclipses and meteor showers. Several club members said they also delight in watching the sunsets and sunrises in the park.
“We always come to Dongtan because our high school is located in Pudong and this is the best observation site at the shortest distance,” he said.
The summer nights at Dongtan are ideal for camping outdoors. The temperature remains at about 26 degrees Celsius. The only drawback are the mosquitoes. It’s best to bring insect repellent if you want a good night’s sleep.
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