ASTRONOMY
Shooting stars expected
There is a good chance that shooting stars could be visible on Monday and Tuesday as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The optimum time to view the meteor shower would be from 10pm on Monday into the early hours of Tuesday morning, the museum said, adding that the Eta Aquarids are known for their brightness and high speed. The days before and after the peak period are still good observation times, the museum added. Without the interference of moonlight, and weather permitting, up to 40 meteors per hour could be visible from a northerly direction, it said. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower takes place annually from April 19 to May 28, when the Earth encounters debris from Halley’s Comet, named after astronomer Edmond Halley, who determined the comet’s periodicity and contributed to our understanding of the solar system.
AVIATION
Thai Vietjet Air to add flights
Thai Vietjet Air, a low-cost Thai airline and a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Vietjet Air, yesterday said it would increase its number of flights between Taichung and Bangkok to meet demand during the peak summer season. Starting on June 20, Thai Vietjet Air said it is to offer daily flights from Taichung by adding services on Tuesdays and Fridays. Since the airline entered the Taiwanese market in November last year, its has been concentrated solely on Taichung airport. The parent airline operates on seven routes between Taiwan and Vietnam, mainly from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
DIPLOMACY
AIT shuts Xinyi Road office
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) officially closed its operations at its old compound on Taipei’s Xinyi Road at noon on Wednesday in preparation for the grand opening of its new compound at 100 Jinhu Road in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) on Monday. “From this location, AIT has worked tirelessly to enhance the US-Taiwan partnership in all areas, from trade and investment to promotion of shared values, from security and law enforcement cooperation to education and sharing our cultural heritage,” the AIT said on Facebook. The AIT, established in 1979 to manage US relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said the US and Taiwan have accomplished a great deal over the past four decades from “a modest, leaky old building.” “Think of what we can accomplish from our new, state-of-the-art facility in Neihu,” it added. For emergency services ahead of the opening, Americans can call (02) 2162-2000.
NATURE
New sea snail unveiled
A retired elementary-school teacher in Kinmen County on Thursday unveiled a new species of sea snail found in Lieyu Township (烈嶼). Hung Ching-chang (洪清漳), 61, a longtime observer of marine animals, discovered the new species at Liaoluo Port in December 2016 while participating in a survey commissioned by the Kinmen National Park Headquarters to document organisms inhabiting the township. The mollusk, which grows to about 8mm and has a hard, pyramid-shaped shell encircled with colorful pearly papules, was given to species identification experts Huang Shih-i (黃式毅) and Fu I-feng (傅譯鋒) for evaluation last year. It was entered in the World Register of Marine Species database last month. Hung named the species, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae, Calliostoma hungi Huang & Fu, 2019.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it