Star Trek actor George Takei has been chosen as the namesake of the asteroid formerly known as the 1994 GT9.
The asteroid, located between Mars and Jupiter, has been renamed 7307 Takei in honor of the actor, who is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series.
"I am now a heavenly body," Takei said while laughing. "I found out about it yesterday.... I was blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky - just like an asteroid."
PHOTO: AP
The celestial rock, discovered by two Japanese astronomers in 1994, joins the 4659 Roddenberry (named for the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry) and the 68410 Nichols (for costar Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura). Other main-belt asteroids are already named for science fiction luminaries Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
"It's in general considered quite an honor," Lars Lindberg Christensen, spokesman for the International Astronomical Union, said of the latest renaming.
About 14,000 asteroid names have been approved by the panel, while about 165,000 asteroids have been identified and numbered, he said.
Under the committee's policies, whoever discovers an asteroid has 10 years in which to propose a name. After that, the panel considers other suggestions, although it warns would-be namers to avoid anything "in questionable taste" and any names honoring political or military figures sooner than 100 years after their deaths.
Most recently, the 70-year-old Takei has appeared on NBC's Heroes, playing Hiro Nakamura's father. He also appears regularly on Howard Stern's satellite radio show. (AP)
《星際迷航》演員喬治．武井的名字已經取代原來「1994 GT9」的代號，成為這顆小行星的新名字。
這顆小行星位於火星與木星之間，已經被重新命名為「7307武井」，以表達對這位在《星際迷航》影集裡飾演光．蘇魯的武井的敬意。
武井笑說：「我現在是個天體了。」他說：「我昨天才得知…我很震驚。這[消息]是從晴朗的藍天而來-如一顆小行星般。」
這顆天體巨石是一九九四年由兩名日本天文學家發現的，其他還有以劇集創始人吉．羅登伯里的名字命名的「4659羅登伯里」，及以在劇中飾演尤烏拉的女星尼切爾．尼科爾斯的名字命名的「68410尼科爾斯」。其他在主要小行星帶的小行星也已經以科幻小說傑出作家羅伯特．漢萊與以撒．艾西莫夫之名命名。
據國際天文學聯合會發言人拉爾斯．林德伯格．克里斯騰森在最近的行星命名場合上說：「一般而言，這被認為是份殊榮。」
他說聯合會審查小組已核可大約一萬四千顆小行星的命名，另外還有大約十六萬五千顆小行星已被天文學家們確認並予以編號。
在此委員會的政策下，發現一顆行星的人可以在十年內為之命名。而後，審查小組會考慮其他的意見。不過該小組也提醒準指定命名者應避免任何「會引起質疑」的事物，以及任何頌揚近百年內才過世的政治或軍事人物的名字。
最近，七十歲的武井在美國國家廣播公司的《英雄》電視影集中飾演中村弘的父親。他也定期上霍華德．史德恩的衛星廣播節目。（美聯社／翻譯：艾利斯）
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 I stand by the Miluo River as dusk falls. The court betrayal is too much. I served Chu with loyalty. I forged alliances and fought corruption. But the whispers of jealous courtiers, the murmurs of treason, spoke louder. The king cast me out. The water looks calm. It promises peace. I step in. The river is cold against my legs. I hear shouts behind me — fishermen calling my name. I keep walking. The calls grow louder, but I do not turn around. The water rises to my chest. It pulls at me. I
In Taiwan, people can use a platform to rent a power washer for a weekend or share unused garage space for someone’s storage needs. These are examples of the sharing economy, a consumption model that has gained widespread adoption worldwide. This approach allows people to rent or share assets like cars, homes or even services, typically through online platforms. This innovative model poses a simple yet powerful question: why purchase infrequently used items when sharing is more practical? By making useful but idle resources accessible, the sharing economy turns them into sustainable opportunities. Internationally, platforms like Airbnb and Uber have popularized
A: Recently, I’ve been seeing mosquitoes flying around in front of my eyes. The doctor said it’s the “flying-mosquito disease.” B: Flying mosquitoes? What a strange name. A: They’re actually called “floaters” in English, meaning floating debris. When fibrous substances in the vitreous body inside the eyeballs increase, floaters can appear in the visual field. B: Oh my goodness. Can you get rid of them? A: According to ophthalmologist Horng Chi-ting’s research, taking the enzymes of certain fruits is likely to help reduce floaters. A: 我最近一直覺得眼前有蚊子飛來飛去，結果醫生說是「飛蚊症」。 B: 飛蚊症？好奇怪的病名。 A: 英文名稱叫「floaters」， 也就是漂浮物的意思。 因為眼球的玻璃體中纖維化物質增多，導致視野出現漂浮物。 B: 天啊！要怎麼把蚊子趕走？ A:
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Many people may be familiar with flapjack octopuses thanks to Pearl, a charming character from the Pixar film Finding Nemo. However, her portrayal presents several scientific inaccuracies. In reality, flapjack octopuses are deep-sea creatures, which are unsuitable for the brightly lit shallow reef environment depicted in the film. Their primary defense mechanism relies on their reddish coloration, which would be ineffective in the well-lit shallows. Pearl’s famous line, “You guys made me ink,” is another fictional detail that is not consistent with the observed actions of real flapjack octopuses. As common as it is in many other octopus
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