Thousands of spectators were treated to a visual feast of bright "supermoon" glowing over surging tidal bore along the banks of the Qiantang River in east China’s Zhejiang Province on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on Tuesday this year.
The traditional festival, celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, fell on Sept 17 this year. It is a joyous time when families come together to appreciate the full moon and usually coincides with the highest waves of the Qiantang River tidal bore.
People gathering at the Guanchao (Tide-watching) Resort Park in Yanguan Town, Haining City cheered when the much-anticipated full moon slowly rose, and lighted up the night sky and the entire riverbank at around 18:00 local time.
As the moonlight sprinkled on the surface of the Qiantang River, the night tidal bore started staging a dramatic display, with ever-changing waves rushing forward and crashing against the shore with a thunderous roar.
Known for the world's largest tidal bore, the Qiantang River offers a variety of tidal types that can be observed from different vantage points, creating awe-inspiring scenes that draw countless visitors every year.
The annual Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of the most significant traditional festivals in China. According to the lunar calendar, the moon is at its fullest and brightest on that day.
Stunning full moon, surging tidal bore captivate spectators in Zhejiang
Members of the Shenzhou-19 crew aboard China's Tiangong Space Station successfully completed their second series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) at 01:12 (Beijing Time) on Tuesday, after performing multiple tasks including the installation of space debris protection devices and an extravehicular inspection.
Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze worked for over eight hours to complete the tasks, with Cai and Song undertaking spacewalk duties. They were assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.
Song stepped out of Tiangong's Wentian lab module at 16:55 on Monday. Cai exited the module about two hours later to join Song on device installation tasks. Meanwhile, Wang stayed in the station's core module to provide support.
"The primary task is to install debris protection devices outside the module to safeguard its external cables from debris impact. Given the increasingly severe risk of space debris collisions in the orbital environment, we have carefully selected appropriate materials and made specialized designs. Additionally, the protection devices are designed to be easily and securely installed on the exterior of the space station, ensuring effective protection," said Li Zhihai, an aerospace engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
During their previous extravehicular mission in December, the Shenzhou-19 crew primarily installed protective devices for the external pipelines and cables of the Tianhe core module. Their second spacewalk put a focus on strengthening the Wentian lab module.
"Since the operational area for this mission differs from the previous one, the entire path planning process for the robotic arm must take into account the specific conditions around the Wentian module. It is essential to avoid any interference or collisions with the module itself or its solar panels. This requires maintaining a safe distance, which necessitates optimization in the design phase on the ground, along with extensive testing and validation," Li said.
The crew has completed all tasks smoothly and the two astronauts conducting the EVAs have returned to the Wentian lab module safely.
"The astronauts showed exceptional efficiency and speed throughout the entire process, and all installations were done perfectly," Li said.
The Shenzhou-19 crew have completed nearly half of their space journey and are scheduled to carry out a significant number of in-orbit scientific experiments and technological tests, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
Shenzhou-19 crew strengthens Tiangong station's debris protection in second spacewalk