Following the display of a Titan II ICBM missile and an exhibition about the FORMOSAT satellites, last Tuesday the National Space Organization (NSPO) donated Dagik Earth, a 3D presentation system of the earth for global geoscience data, to the Tropic of Cancer Solar Exploration Center in Chiayi County’s Shueishang Township. The system projects data images onto a spherical screen such as a white balloon, simulating real-life images in a way that actually feels like you are in space looking at the planets and planetary changes. The system is also highly portable. All you need is the Dagik Earth computer software, a projector, and a white spherical screen.
Major planning and construction for the Solar Exploration Center began during former Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen’s term as county commissioner around a decade ago. Since then it has become the main institution for space education in the Chiayi and Yunlin areas. On average around 200,000 people visit the center every year.
The NSPO’s Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jeng was present at the event during which his agency donated the system to the center last Tuesday, and there to officially receive it was deputy county commissioner Lin Mei-chu. The achievements of agencies and personnel working in science education were also lauded during the event.
Photo: Wu Shih-tsung, Taipei Times
照片:自由時報記者吳世聰
The individual who acquired Dagik Earth from Kyoto University, where it was developed, NSPO chief scientist Liu Jann-yeng, says that the most valuable part of the system is its software, the rights for which Taiwan has obtained for educational purposes. The system collects planetary images, transformations and climate data from satellites and then simulates real-life 3D images in real time, making it a four-dimensional system. When connected with the Central Weather Bureau’s Web site, the system allows real-time observations of landslides and rainfall, for example.
Chen Shu-juan, head of the center, says that since the center is currently in need of more space, they obtained around three hectares of state-owned land to the southeast of the center, where they plan to open a second location — the “Southern Solar Astronomy Education Center.” Since the second location will be on the opposite side of the north-south railway line, they are also working to reopen the Tropic of Cancer Station. The center expects to get subsidies from the Ministry of Education to cover the estimated cost of NT$60 million needed to build the new location, she says.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
北回歸線太陽館繼泰坦二號火箭及福爾摩沙衛星展之後,上週二再添國家太空中心捐贈的「四次元地球數位展示系統」,透過投射白色球體,虛擬出衛星所蒐集的影像,真實呈現,有如從太空看星球及各種變化。只要有電腦軟體、投影機及白球體,系統就能帶著「趴趴走」教學。
北回歸線太陽館,從十年前前嘉義縣長陳明文時代開始大規模開發,已經成為雲嘉地區重要的天文教育重鎮,每年吸引近二十萬人次參訪。
國家太空中心上週二捐贈「四次元地球數位展示系統」給館方展出,國太中心副主任余憲政等人與會,由副縣長林美珠代表接受。會中也表揚協助科教活動有功單位及人員。
從日本京都大學引進「四次元地球數位展示系統」的國太中心首席科學家劉正彥說,此系統最珍貴的是軟體,台灣已經被授權可用於教學,將衛星蒐集的星球景象、變化及天候等虛擬實際的狀況立體呈現,加上時間的變化,所以是四次元,如與中央氣象局連線,包括土石流、雨量等都能即時觀察。
館長陳淑娟表示,現有場區空間不足,縣府已經取得東南方約三公頃的國有地,希望闢建第二園區成為「南區太陽天文教育中心」,因隔著縱貫鐵路,也將爭取北回歸線車站復站,預估所需經費約新台幣六千萬元,將向教育部爭取補助。
(自由時報記者吳世聰)
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its