Skywatchers have a lot to look forward to this year, as a series of astronomical events are to take place.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is expected on Friday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said.
The Quadrantids — one of the three annual major meteor showers — have a zenithal hourly rate of 120 meteors, the museum said.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Astronomical Education Area
Friday night would be perfect to observe the Quadrantids, as there would be no moon, it said.
The two other major meteor showers are the Perseids in mid-August and the Geminids in mid-December.
Following the Quadrantid meteor shower, a partial solar eclipse is to occur at 8am on Sunday, the museum said, but it can only be observed north of Tainan, as it has a small magnitude.
People observing the solar eclipse should use proper eye protection, the museum said, adding that they can also watch a live broadcast of the event on the museum’s Web site.
Another partial solar eclipse is to take place on Dec. 26, which would be visible nationwide, it said.
People who missed the “blood moon” in July last year would have another chance to see a total lunar eclipse on Jan. 21, the museum said.
However, the eclipse, which is expected to last five hours and 15 minutes, can be observed in North and South America, western Europe and Africa, but not in Taiwan, the museum said.
Planet 171381 Taipei, a minor planet, is expected to come closest to the Earth tonight, the museum said.
The planet was named “Taipei” as it was jointly discovered in 2006 by Taiwanese researcher Lin Hong-chin (林宏欽) and Chinese astronomer Ye Quanzhi (葉泉治) while they were working at the Lulin Observatory at National Central University.
Although it would be at its closest to the Earth, it would still be about 320 million kilometers away and can only be observed through a large telescope, the museum said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS