Taipei Astronomical Museum

The celestial curtain-raiser for the start of 2026 will be the Quadrantids meteor shower, which is set to peak this Sunday. Throughout January, skywatchers can also look forward to Jupiter at opposition and two close encounters between first-magnitude stars and the Moon, making the new year’s night sky rich with highlights. Astronomy enthusiasts are encouraged to seize the opportunity to observe these events.One of the three major meteor showers of the year, the Quadrantids are expected to reach their maximum on Sunday, January 4, with an estimated zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of about 80 meteors per hour. However, this year the peak occurs close to a full Moon, and bright moonlight will obscure many fainter meteors, reducing the actual number visible to roughly 25 per hour. According to the Taipei Astronomical Museum, the best viewing time will be from the early hours of January 4 until dawn. Despite the moonlight, the Quadrantids are known for producing bright fireballs, making them well worth watching. It is also worth noting that “Quadrans” is a historical constellation name that was discontinued after the redefinition of constellations in 1922, though the meteor shower name remains in use today.On Saturday, January 10, Jupiter will reach opposition, when it is closest to Earth and shines at a brightness of magnitude –2.7. Visible throughout the night after sunset, this is the best time of the year to observe Jupiter. With a telescope, observers can try to spot Jupiter’s cloud bands and the famous Great Red Spot, while binoculars are sufficient to clearly distinguish the four Galilean moons orbiting the planet.In addition, January features two striking lunar conjunctions with bright stars. In the early morning of Wednesday, January 7, the Moon will pass close to Regulus, and in the early morning of Thursday, January 15, it will approach Antares. Both first-magnitude stars will come within about one degree of the Moon, making the sights especially eye-catching with the naked eye or binoculars. For more astronomical information, please visit the Taipei Astronomical Museum website.

Topic:In the Interstice of LightDate:2025.12.18-2026.3.1Time:09:30-16:00Content:Light not only makes objects visible, but also reveals what is otherwise unseen.This exhibition brings together four works – “Evidence of Light”, “The Discontinuous Senses”, “Between Skies”, and “Dust 002” – to construct a field of “visibility” through the flow, refraction, and transformation between light and images. The works reproduce the world through imagery, while allowing the world itself to emerge: photons are converted into signals by photosensitive elements, invisible air currents become materialized, and skies at opposite sides of the earth are juxtaposed in the same moment; stardust drifts with shifting air currents. Together, these elements form a special exhibition that intertwines astronomical concepts, physical optics, and artistic interpretation.The four works draw attention to the interstices within our spatial experience, using the physical behavior of light as an intervention to reveal subtle and undefined layers. The artists maintain a fluid relationship between creation, observation and medium. Through the natural changes within the exhibition environment, viewers engage bodily in the formation of images, co-creating an ongoing act of writing with light.

Nobita and his friends heard Suneo boast about how moving the starry sky he saw in Hawaii was. Nobita, who had never seen a starry sky, felt dejected and asked Doraemon for help. Doraemon took out a secret gadget called the "Travel Projector," which allows people to experience the feeling of traveling while indoors, and projected the Hawaiian starry sky into Nobita's room. Doraemon told that since ancient times, people have looked up at the stars, thought about them, and created various "models of the universe" in an attempt to understand the universe.To see what the universe truly looks like, Nobita and his friends enter the "Celestial Globe," which perfectly reproduces the real universe through miniature replication. They embark on a journey through space aboard a spaceship. However, they get too close to a black hole and face the danger of being pulled in! Will Nobita and his friends be able to return to Earth safely!? Screening Date: July 2, 114 to June 30, 115Duration: about 36 minutes