Rare sightings of Himalayan peaks: Boy, prof bust claims

MUMBAI: For centuries, the majestic

Himalayas

are believed to have yielded rare sightings of many mountain peaks from hundreds of kilometres away on a clear day. Now claims about such high visibility have been challenged by a student researcher and his mentor.


The lockdown was the most recent phase when a substantial drop in atmospheric particulate matter is believed to have cleared the way for a view of peaks normally obscured by pollution. But these claims of sightings of the Dhauladhar from Jalandhar and Mt Jomolhari in eastern Himalayas from Bhagalpur were questioned by the duo in a paper validated by a leading scientific journal.

Arnav Singh, a boy barely out of high school, and his mentor, Professor Vijay Singh, president of the

Indian Association of Physics Teachers

, revisited long-established reports of the sightings. Based on calculations of the distance and size of object and the intensity of light, they inferred that such sightings are unlikely to be true. The observer would have mistaken a larger or taller range for something else.

Arnav and his mentor found that, due to the earth’s curvature, the maximum distance one could see from the peak of Mt Jomolhari was 301km. “This was short of the distance of 366km between the peak and Bhagalpur,” said Singh, former faculty of IIT Kanpur. The finding was surprising since the 1785 observation of Jomolhari from Bhagalpur by Sir William Jones, known to be the greatest Orientalist of all times and founder of the

Royal Society

of Bengal, has been quoted often and recently in a famous book of John Keay’s called the ‘Great Arc’.

So which peak did Sir William Jones see? By analysing the observations of his successor to the Royal Society of Bengal, Henry Colebroke, Arnav and Singh surmised that in all probability it was Mt Kanchenjunga. As viewed from Bhagalpur, this mountain is in the same direction as Mt Jomolhari. It is also closer (297 km) and more visible and also taller (8,586km), debunking the claim.

The work by the duo was published last month by the American Journal of Physics. The referees and the American editor expressed delight while confirming acceptance of the collaborative research undertaken by a 17-yearold student and a 71-year-old professor.


Based on calculations of the distance and size of object and the intensity of light, the duo inferred that such sightings are unlikely to be true. The observer would have mistaken a larger or taller range for something else


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