Celestial Spectacle: Super Moon, Saturn, and the Beishi Planetarium Unite in a Rare Mid-Autumn Festival Alignment

Mid-Autumn Festival: Witness the Super Moon and Saturn Conjunction

The Taipei Municipal Planetarium has announced that this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival will not only feature a super moon but also a rare Saturn-moon conjunction. The planetarium will broadcast the night sky live through professional telescopes and introduce astronomical knowledge through a collaboration with industrial research institutes called “AI Moon Watcher”.

According to the Taipei Municipal Astronomy Science Education Center’s weather forecast, the Saturn-moon conjunction will occur at 6:22 PM on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Observers can witness the process of the two celestial bodies gradually separating after conjunction.

Astronomical forecasts also show that this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival night will not be a full moon, but the next day will feature a super moon at perigee at 10:34 am. This will provide a relatively large and spectacular view of the moon.

The planetarium will start live streaming on the “Taipei Planetarium YT” YouTube channel at 7:30 PM on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival through a professional telescope. The live broadcast will be conducted by the natural language-generated artificial intelligence virtual robot “AI Moon Watcher” and a real host, who will introduce astronomical knowledge related to the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In addition to the live broadcast, the planetarium will hold a special moon-viewing event, including free and extended opening of the exhibit hall until 8 PM, a live band performance in the outdoor square, and the installation of multiple astronomical telescopes for moon viewing.