Special stargazing program set for Qixi Festival

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) A free stargazing program will take place during the Qixi Festival on Aug. 9 -- the Chinese version of Valentine's Day -- at the Taipei Astronomical Museum to introduce the two famous stars featured in the Qixi story, the museum said Thursday.

The museum said it will arrange two large optical telescopes between 7-9 p.m. that day for the public to check out the stars Altair and Vega, also known as the "cowherd" and the "weaver girl" in the Qixi love story.

According to legend, the couple was banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (the Milky Way) because their romance was forbidden. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day.

There will be Qixi night sky introduction sessions and stargazing lessons given at 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., the museum said, inviting the public to experience the romantic holiday from a different perspective.

(By Lee Hsin-Yin)ENDITEM/ke