The directors of two of the world’s top astronomy organizations — the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the East Asian Observatory (EAO) — yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) vowing to enhance collaboration and exchanges in the field of astronomy.
At a meeting presided over by Academia Sinica in Taipei, EAO director-general and Academia Sinica research fellow Paul Ho (賀曾樸) signed the MOU with ESO director-general Tim de Zeeuw as a token of future collaborations.
Under the MOU, the two organizations are to pool and manage resources to bolster multinational collaborations, the scientists said.
The signature event also saw Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics director Chu You-hua (朱有花) sign an MOU with her EAO counterparts, including National Astronomical Observatory of Japan director-general Masahiko Hayashi, Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute representative Young Chol Minh and Peking University Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics director Luis Ho (何子山).
Chu said that the EAO, despite being a nascent organization, comprises four of Asia’s top-caliber research institutes in astronomy.
Chu said that astronomy nowadays is no longer confined to “gazing at stars,” but involves a high degree of technical support from other fields; for example, from mechanics and electricians, on ambitious astronomy projects.
Therefore, the EAO would seek to learn from the ESO — which celebrates its 51st anniversary this year — and seek to achieve the “lofty” goal of aspiring to its status as a global leader in astronomy, Chu said.
Zeeuw said that the ESO operates mainly in Paranal, Chile, where the organization’s Very Large Telescope is located, but seeks to explore collaboration possibilities in the northern hemisphere, especially on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii where the EAO’s James Clerk Maxwell Submillimeter Telescope (JCMT) is situated.
He said that the ESO hopes to raise its current level of engagement in scientific projects related to JCMT and likewise hopes to work more closely with the EAO on projects regarding the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a collaborative project between North America, East Asia and the EU.
The ESO last year embarked on a project to build the world’s largest optical telescope, the European Extremely Large Telescope, which would span 39m and is scheduled to be completed in 2024, Zeeuw said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS