Scientists registered “first light” signals with locally assembled Band-1 receivers at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile on Aug. 14, demonstrating that Taiwan’s antenna technology is on par with that of Europe, the US and Japan, Academia Sinica’s Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics said.
“First light” describes the first signal that passes through the entirety of a radio telescope, from the antenna to a computer screen.
The ALMA is on the Chajnantor plateau in the Atacama Desert, and its 66 radio telescopes allow it to “see” a wide range of light wavelengths, the institute said.
Photo courtesy of Academia Sinica’s Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Aeronautical Systems Research Division
The array was previously equipped with eight receivers, covering frequencies from 84 gigahertz (GHz) to 950 GHz, it said.
The institute said that the Band-1 receivers are capable of ultrawide frequency reception — 35GHz to 50GHz — and are considered one of the most sensitive antennas in the world.
Ninety-nine percent of the receivers were built and assembled in Taiwan, it added.
In a first test on Aug. 14, astronomers conducted observations of the edge of the moon, followed by a first successful interferometry test using two Band-1 receivers on Aug. 17 and the acquisition of the first radio spectrum on Aug. 27, it said.
The Band-1 receivers are the lowest-frequency receivers used on the telescopes and should be able to better observe red-shifted celestial bodies that are more distant, it said.
Academia Sinica assistant researcher Yen Shih-wei (顏士韋) said the Band-1 receivers would allow scientists to observe regions of star formation, and examine how dust particles as small as 1cm accrete, grow and eventually form planets.
The remainder of the 66 receivers, to be fitted on each radio of the array’s telescopes, along with seven spare units, are expected at the site by the end of next year, the institute said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS