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CarolynPorco_2007-_卡罗琳_波科带我们傲游土星_
In the next 18 minutes, I'm going to take you on a journey . 在接下来的18分钟里,我会带大家
journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行;
And it's a journey that you and I have been on for many years now, and it began some 50 years ago, when humans first stepped off our planet. 踏上一个你我都没停下脚步的旅程, 50多年前,人类首度迈出地球。
And in those 50 years, not only did we literally physically set foot on the moon, but we have dispatched robotic spacecraft to all the planets -- all eight of them -- 在这50年间,人类不仅迈向月球, 还向所有8个行星发送机器人,
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: set foot on:踏上; dispatched:v.派遣;调遣;派出;发出,发送;(dispatch的过去式和过去分词) robotic:adj.机器人的,像机器人的;自动的;n.机器人学; spacecraft:n.[宇]宇宙飞船;航天器;
and we have landed on asteroids , we have rendezvoused with comets , and at this point in time, we have a spacecraft on its way to Pluto , the body formerly known as a planet. 我们的足迹遍布小行星,我们还同彗星有亲密接触, 现在,我们正有一个飞船驶向冥王星, 过去冥王星也被认作行星之一。
asteroids:n.[天]小行星(asteroid的复数); rendezvoused:n.约会;约会地点;集结地;vi.会合;约会;vt.在指定地点与…相会; comets:n.[天]彗星(comet的复数); Pluto:n.冥王;冥王星; formerly:adv.以前;原来;
And all of these robotic missions are part of a bigger human journey: a voyage to understand something, to get a sense of our cosmic place, to understand something of our origins , and how Earth, our planet, and we, living on it, came to be. 所有这些机器人探测计划都是人类征程的一部分: 一个为理解而出发的征程,为理解我们置身的宇宙, 为理解人类的起源,为理解地球、 和人类的发展。
missions:n.任务; v.给…交代任务; (mission的复数) voyage:v.航行;远行;(尤指)远航;n.航行;(尤指)航海; cosmic:adj.宇宙的; origins:n.起源; (origin的复数)
And of all the places in the solar system that we might go to and search for answers to questions like this, there's Saturn . And we have been to Saturn before -- we visited Saturn in the early 1980s -- 在太阳系中我们足迹可以遍及的各个角落 我们寻找答案, 人类曾登上过土星-- 早在上世纪80年代初--
solar system:[天]太阳系; Saturn:n.[天]土星;农业之神(罗马神话中的一个形象);
but our investigations of Saturn have become far more in-depth and detailed since the Cassini spacecraft, traveling across interplanetary space for seven years, glided into orbit around Saturn in the summer of 2004, 人类对土星的探索变得更加深入、透彻 自打7年前罗西尼号探测器遨游在星际间 2004年罗西尼正式进入土星轨道,
investigations:n.调查(investigation的复数); in-depth:adj.彻底的,深入的; interplanetary:adj.太阳系内的;行星间的; glided:n.滑翔;滑行;滑移;滑音;vt.滑翔;滑行;悄悄地走;消逝;vi.使滑行;使滑动; orbit:n.轨道;眼眶;势力范围;生活常规;vi.盘旋;绕轨道运行;vt.绕…轨道而行;
and became at that point the farthest robotic outpost that humanity had ever established around the sun. 成为当时 人类在太阳系走的最远的探测器。
outpost:n.前哨;警戒部队;边区村落; humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科; established:adj.已确立的;著名的;v.建立;创立;设立;(establish的过去分词和过去式)
Now, the Saturn system is a rich planetary system. 现在,土星是一个丰饶的行星系统。
It offers mystery, scientific insight and obviously splendor beyond compare , and the investigation of this system has enormous cosmic reach. 她的神秘感、她带给科学的新视角及她无与伦比的光环 带给宇宙探索无限的新发现。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; insight:n.洞察力;洞悉; splendor:n.光彩;壮丽;显赫; compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较; enormous:adj.庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的;
In fact, just studying the rings alone we stand to learn a lot about the discs of stars and gas that we call the spiral galaxies . 光是研究她的光环,我们就学到很多 我们把那些星星的环状聚集体称为螺旋星系
spiral:n.螺旋;旋涡;螺旋形之物;adj.螺旋形的;v.使成螺旋形;vi.盘旋;螺旋形上升; galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
And here's a beautiful picture of the Andromeda Nebula , which is our closest, largest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way . 这张令人惊艳的照片是仙女座星系 仙女座星系距地球最近,同时也是银河中最大的螺旋星系
Andromeda:n.[天]仙女座;安德洛墨达(希腊神话中的埃塞俄比亚公主); Nebula:n.星云;角膜云翳; galaxy:n.银河;[天]星系;银河系;一群显赫的人; Milky Way:na.[天]银河;
And then here's a beautiful composite of the Whirlpool Galaxy, taken by the Hubble space telescope . 这是哈伯太空望远镜拍摄的漩涡星系 一张美丽的图片
composite:n.复合材料;合成物;菊科;adj.复合的;合成的;菊科的;vt.使合成;使混合; Whirlpool:n.漩涡,涡流;混乱,纷乱; telescope:n.望远镜;v.(使)叠套缩短;精简;
So the journey back to Saturn is really part of -- and is also a metaphor for -- a much larger human voyage to understand the inter-connectiveness of everything around us, and also how humans fit into that picture. 所以去土星的旅程实际上是--打个比方 人类征程的放大 要了解与周围万物的内在关联性 以及人类在其中的作用
metaphor:n.暗喻,隐喻;比喻说法;
And it pains me that I can't tell you all that we have learned with Cassini -- 不能向大家展示所有卡西尼传回的信息,我很难受
I can't show you all the beautiful pictures that we've taken in the last two-and-a-half years, because I simply don't have the time. 因为时间缘故 我无法向大家展示过去两年半拍摄的美丽照片
So I'm going to concentrate on two of the most exciting stories that have emerged out of this major exploratory expedition that we are conducting around Saturn, and have been for the past two and a half years. 不过,我会着重于 过去两年半 探索土星旅程中 两个最激动人心的方面
concentrate on:集中精力于;全神贯注于; emerged:v.(从隐蔽处或暗处)出现;暴露;露出真相;显现;(emerge的过去分词和过去式) exploratory:adj.勘探的;探究的;考察的; expedition:n.远征;探险队;迅速; conducting:v.组织;安排;实施;指挥;引导;导游(conduct的现在分词)
Saturn is accompanied by a very large and diverse collection of moons. 土星被一组庞大而多样的卫星所环绕
accompanied:v.陪同;陪伴;与…同时发生;为…伴奏;(accompany的过去式和过去分词) diverse:adj.不同的;多种多样的;变化多的;
They range in size from a few kilometers across to as big across as the US. 它们当中,有的仅几千米大,有的有美国从东南到北那么大
Most of the beautiful pictures we've taken of Saturn, in fact, show Saturn in accompaniment with some of its moons. Here's Saturn with Dione, and then here's Saturn showing the rings edge-on , showing you just how vertically thin they are, with the moon Enceladus. 其实,最美丽的照片 是那些有卫星环绕的土星照片。这是一张土星和土卫四 这是一张土星光环侧向地球 这光环实际上纵向是很浅薄的,旁边是土卫二
accompaniment:n.伴奏;伴随物; edge-on:adv.侧立; vertically:adv.垂直地;
Now, two of the 47 moons that Saturn has are standouts . 土星47个卫星中有两个是很突出的
standouts:n.杰出的人;突出度;adj.杰出的;出色的;
And those are Titan and Enceladus. Titan is Saturn's largest moon, and until Cassini had arrived there, was the largest single expanse of unexplored terrain that we had remaining in our solar system. 土卫六和土卫二。土卫六是土星最大的卫星 直到卡西尼进入其轨道 这是对太阳系未知领域的 又一次重大探索
Titan:n.巨人;提坦;太阳神; expanse:n.宽阔;广阔的区域;苍天;膨胀扩张; unexplored:adj.[地质]未勘查过的; terrain:n.[地理]地形,地势;领域;地带;
And it is a body that has long intrigued people who've watched the planets. 对于研究行星的人这可是一个令人朝思暮想的形体
intrigued:adj.感兴趣的; v.密谋; (intrigue的过去式和过去分词)
It has a very large, thick atmosphere , and in fact its surface environment was believed to be more like the environment we have here on the earth, or at least had in the past, than any other body in the solar system. 它有一个巨大、浑厚的大气 事实上它的气候 与地球大气非常接近 至少过去相较于其他行星来说是这样的
atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格;
Its atmosphere is largely molecular nitrogen , like you are breathing here in this room, except that its atmosphere is suffused with simple organic materials like methane and propane and ethane. 它的大气有分子态氮组成,就像我们现在这个房间一样 不过它的大气中充满 甲烷、丙烷和乙烷等有机材质
largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地; molecular:adj.[化学]分子的;由分子组成的; nitrogen:n.氮;氮气; suffused:vt.充满;弥漫; organic:adj.有机的;不使用化肥的;绿色的;有机物的;n.分子有机体; methane:n.[有化]甲烷;[能源]沼气; propane:n.[有化]丙烷;
And these molecules high up in the atmosphere of Titan get broken down, and their products join together to make haze particles . 土卫六上这些分子含量很高 这些分子分解后形成烟雾
molecules:n.[化学]分子,微粒;[化学]摩尔(molecule的复数); haze:n.薄雾;烟雾;迷蒙;迷糊;v.(使)笼罩在薄雾中;戏弄; particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
This haze is ubiquitous , it's completely global and enveloping Titan. 这些烟雾无处不在,弥漫于整个土卫六
ubiquitous:adj.普遍存在的;无所不在的; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; enveloping:n.包络;v.包封;遮盖(envelop的ing形式);
And that's why you cannot see down to the surface with our eyes in the visible region of the spectrum . 在我们肉眼可辨识的范围内 其表面是不可见的
visible:adj.明显的;看得见的;现有的;可得到的;n.可见物;进出口贸易中的有形项目; region:n.地区;范围;部位; spectrum:n.光谱;频谱;范围;余象;
But these haze particles, it was surmised , before we got there with Cassini, over billions and billions of years gently drifted down to the surface and coated the surface in a thick organic sludge . 但这些雾气的存在不过是推测 在卡西尼探测的数亿年前 这些雾气悬浮于地表后附着其上 形成有机污垢
surmised:v.推测;猜测;(surmise的过去分词和过去式) gently:adv.轻轻地;温柔地;温和地; drifted:v.漂流;漂移;缓缓移动;缓慢行走;(drift的过去分词和过去式) sludge:n.烂泥;泥泞;泥状雪;沉淀物;(海上)小浮冰;
So like the equivalent , the Titan equivalent of tar, or oil, or what -- we didn't know what. 类似于地球上的焦油,或油什么的,我也不清楚
equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物;
But this is what we suspected . And these molecules, especially methane and ethane, can be liquids at the surface temperatures of Titan. 我们是这样推测的。这些分子 尤其是甲烷和乙烷,在土星地温下是液态的。
suspected:v.怀疑;不信任;(suspect的过去分词和过去式) especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分;
And so it turns out that methane is to Titan what water is to the earth. 我们发现甲烷就是土星的水。
It's a condensable in the atmosphere, and so recognizing this circumstance brought to the fore a whole world of bizarre possibilities. You can have methane clouds, OK, 在大气里是可以凝缩的 这一发现 为许多稀奇古怪的设想提供了可能。土星有甲烷云层。
condensable:adj.可凝结的;可压缩的;可缩短的; recognizing:v.认识;认出;承认;接受,赞成(recognize的现在分词) circumstance:n.环境,情况;事件;境遇; fore:adj.以前的; n.前部; v.在前面; prep.在前; bizarre:adj.奇异的(指态度,容貌,款式等);
and above those clouds you have this hundreds of kilometers of haze which prevent any sunlight from getting to the surface. 甲烷云层上有数百公里高的雾气层 光线无法穿透云层射向地面
sunlight:n.日光;
The temperature at the surface is some 350 degrees below zero fahrenheit . 土星地面气温仅为零下350华氏度
fahrenheit:adj.华氏的;华氏温度计的;n.华氏温度计;华氏温标;
But despite that cold, you could have rain falling down on the surface of Titan. 虽冷,但还有雨
despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱;
And doing on Titan what rain does on the earth, it carves gullies , it forms rivers and cataracts . It can create canyons , it can pool in large basins and craters . 就像地球一样,土星在雨的作用下形成溪谷河流 和大瀑布、峡谷、盆地和地坑。
carves:v.雕刻(carve的第三人称单数); gullies:冲沟(gully的复数); cataracts:n.[眼科]白内障;[水文]大瀑布,洪水(cataract的复数形式); canyons:n.(周围有悬崖峭壁的)峡谷;(canyon的复数) basins:n.盆;[地理]盆地(basin的复数);脸盆;v.凹下成盆状(basin的三单形式); craters:n.[地质]火山口; v.形成坑;
It can wash the sludge off high mountain peaks and hills down into the lowlands . So stop and think for a minute . 雨洗净山顶的污垢 然后冲向地底。大家停下来想一想
peaks:n.山顶;峰巅(peak的复数); lowlands:n.苏格兰东南部的低地; for a minute:一会儿;
Try to imagine what the surface of Titan might look like. 土星的地表会是什么样子呢？
It's dark -- high noon on Titan is as dark as deep earth twilight on the earth. 月光下的土星是黑暗的,就像黎明前的地球
high noon:n.正午;中午十二点整;最重要的阶段;决定性时刻; twilight:n.黎明,黄昏;薄暮;衰退期;朦胧状态;adj.昏暗的,微明的;暮年的;
It's cold, it's eerie , it's misty , it might be raining, and you might be standing on the shores of Lake Michigan brimming with paint thinner. 此时寒冷、阴森、雾气缭绕 还有可能在下雨,想象站在雨中 面前是密歇根湖,闪闪发光
eerie:adj.可怕的;怪异的; misty:adj.模糊的;有雾的; Michigan:n.密歇根;美国密歇根州; brimming:v.(使)满,盛满;(brim的现在分词)
That is the view that we had of the surface of Titan before we got there with Cassini, and I can tell you that what we have found on Titan, though it is not the same in detail, is every bit as fascinating as that story is. 在卡西尼问世前,我们是这样想象土星的 我们的发现,虽细节上有差异 但同样令人神往
fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词)
And for us it has been like -- for Cassini people it has been like a Jules Verne adventure come true. 对于我们来说,对热爱卡西尼的人来所 这就像凡尔纳的小说变成现实
adventure:n.冒险;奇遇;经历;冒险游戏;v.探险;以…冒险;大胆进行;闯;
As I said , it has a thick extensive atmosphere. 正如我所说的,土星有一个厚重的大气
As I said:正如我所说的 extensive:adj.广泛的;大量的;广阔的;
This is a picture of Titan back-lit by the sun, with the rings as a beautiful backdrop . 这张是土星在太阳的光辉下光环奕奕生彩的照片
backdrop:n.背景;背景幕;交流声;
And yet another moon there -- 这是另一个卫星
I don't even know which one it is. It's a very extensive atmosphere. 我也不清楚是哪一个。它的大气面积很大
We have instruments on Cassini which can see down to the surface through this atmosphere, and my camera system is one of them. 卡西尼上的设备可以穿过大气看清土星地表 我的设备也在上面
instruments:n.器械;仪器;器具;手段(instrument的复数)
And we have taken pictures like this. 我们的照片中有这样的
And what you see is bright and dark regions , and that's about as far as it got for us. 其中有光明和黑暗的区域,我们的设备也只能达到这个水平
regions:n.地区;地域;行政区;左近;(region的复数) as far as:至于…;
It was so mystifying -- we couldn't make out what we were seeing on Titan. 这很神秘--我们怎样也无法弄清土星地表
mystifying:vt.使神秘化;使迷惑,使困惑;
When you look closer at this region, you start to see things like sinuous channels, we didn't know. You see a few round things. 仔细观察你会有所发现 比如蜿蜒的渠道,这是我们以前所不知的,你还能看到环状物
sinuous:adj.蜿蜒的;弯曲的;迂回的;
This, we later found out, is in fact a crater, but there's very few craters on the surface of Titan, meaning it's a very young surface. 后来我们这是一个地坑 但土卫六上却没有几个 所以这个地表是新形成的
And there are features that look tectonic . 同时还有地质构造
tectonic:adj.[地质]构造的;建筑的;地壳构造上的;
They look like they've been pulled apart. 有些似乎是被撕裂的
Whenever you see anything linear on a planet, it means there's been a fracture , like a fault. 在任何行星上看到线形地质 就说明有断层
linear:adj.线的,线型的;直线的,线状的;长度的; fracture:n.(指事实)骨折;(指状态)断裂;破裂;v.(使)断裂;破裂;(使)分裂;
And so it's been tectonically altered . 这里的地质结构被改变过
altered:adj.改变了的:v.(使)改变,更改,改动:(alter的过去分词和过去式)
But we couldn't make sense of our images , until six months after we got into orbit, an event occurred that many have regarded as the highlight of Cassini's investigation of Titan. 但我们无法理解这些图片 直到6个月后卡西尼进入土星轨道 一个发现可以被称为 卡西尼土星征程的里程碑
make sense of:搞清…的意思; images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数) occurred:v.发生;出现;存在于;出现在;(occur的过去分词和过去式) highlight:vt.突出;强调;使显著;加亮;n.最精彩的部分;最重要的事情;加亮区;
And that was the deployment of the Huygens probe , the European-built Huygens probe that Cassini had carried for seven years across the solar system. We deployed it to the atmosphere of Titan, it took two and a half hours to descend , and it landed on the surface. 这是惠更斯号探测器的投入使用 卡西尼携带的欧洲制造的惠更斯号 傲游了7年。我们将它步入土卫六大气中 经过两个半小时的降落,最终着陆与土卫六
deployment:n.调度,部署; probe:n.探针;调查;vi.调查;探测;vt.探查;用探针探测; deployed:v.部署(deploy的过去式);展开; descend:vi.下降;下去;下来;遗传;屈尊;vt.下去;沿…向下;
And I just want to emphasize how significant an event this is. 我想强调一下其重要性
emphasize:v.强调;重视;着重;使突出; significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物;
This is a device of human making, and it landed in the outer solar system for the first time in human history. 这是人造的设备 在人类历史上首次着陆与太阳系外
device:n.装置;策略;图案; outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中;
It is so significant that in my mind, this was an event that should have been celebrated with ticker-tape parades in every city across the US and Europe, and sadly that wasn't the case. 这对我很重要 我们应该在欧美用彩车 大肆庆祝 虽没实现
parades:n.游行;陈列;检阅(parade的复数);v.在…游行;在…散步(parade的三单形式);
(Laughter). （笑）
It was significant for another reason. This is an international mission, and this event was celebrated in Europe, in Germany, and the celebratory presentations were given in English accents and American accents and German accents and French and Italian and Dutch accents. 重大的原因还有一个,那就是,这是一次国际任务 在欧洲,德国,人们举国欢庆 庆祝演讲在英国 美国、德国、法国、意大利和荷兰进行
celebratory:adj.庆祝的;庆贺的;快乐的; presentations:n.展示;自我介绍;业务陈述(presentation的复数形式); accents:n.口音;土音;强调;重音;v.着重;强调;突出;(accent的第三人称单数和复数) Dutch:adj.荷兰的; n.荷兰人; v.费用平摊地;
It was a moving demonstration of what the words " United Nations " is supposed to mean: a true union of nations joined together in a colossal effort for good. 这是你个激动人心的对 “联合国”的定义 一个真正的各个国家参与的,致力于人类共同未来的联合体
demonstration:n.示范;演示;论证;证明; United Nations:n.联合国; supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式) colossal:adj.巨大的;异常的,非常的;
And in this case, it was a massive undertaking to explore a planet and to come to understand a planetary system that for all of human history had been unreachable , and now humans had actually touched it. 这样,探索一颗行星是一个极大的任务 并且,实现探索了一个人类历史上不曾踏足的 行星系统 是多么一个壮举
massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的; undertaking:n.事业;企业;保证;殡仪业;v.同意;担任;许诺;(undertake的现在分词) unreachable:adj.不能得到的;不能达到的;
So it was -- I mean, I'm getting goose bumps just talking about it, it was a tremendously emotional event, and it's something that I will personally never forget, and you shouldn't either. 一说的这儿,我都起鸡皮疙瘩了 这是几个激动人心的时刻 我会永远铭记,大家也应铭记在心
goose bumps:鸡皮疙瘩; tremendously:adv.非常地;可怕地;惊人地; emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的; personally:adv.个人;亲自;本人;就本人而言;
(Applause). （鼓掌）
But anyway, the probe took measurements of the atmosphere on the way down, and it also took panoramic pictures. 但是,探测器在着陆过程中收集了数据 拍摄了全景照片
measurements:n.测量值,尺寸(measurement的复数); panoramic:adj.[摄]全景的;
And I can't tell you what it was like to see the first pictures of Titan's surface from the probe. And this is what we saw. 那第一张土卫六地表的照片真的是无法形容的 它是这样的
And it was a shocker , because it was everything we wanted those other pictures taken from orbit to be. 挺让人震惊的,这就是我们期待已久的 轨道上的照片
shocker:n.令人震惊的人或事物;耸人听闻的故事或小说;
It was an unambiguous pattern, a geological pattern. 这是一个清晰的、地理的图像
unambiguous:adj.不含糊的;清楚的;明白的; geological:adj.地质的,地质学的;
It's a dendritic drainage pattern that can be formed only by the flow of liquids. 这种树枝状的格局只会是水流形成的
dendritic:adj.树枝状的;树状的; drainage:n.排水;排水系统;污水;排水面积;
And you can follow these channels and you can see how they all converge . 你可以在水道中航行 看看他们是如何覆盖地表的
converge:vt.使汇聚;vi.聚集;靠拢;收敛;
And they converge into this channel here, which drains into this region. 水道进入这个流域后又注入那个地区
drains:n.排水沟(drain的复数);吸血;v.放出,排出(drain的第三人称单数);
You are looking at a shoreline . 你看到的是滨线
shoreline:n.海岸线;海岸线地带;
Was this a shoreline of fluids ? We didn't know. 是液态的吗？我们不得而知
fluids:n.液体;流体;液;(fluid的复数)
But this is somewhat of a shoreline. 但这是某种形态的滨线
somewhat:n.几分;某物;adv.有点;多少;几分;稍微;
This picture is taken at 16 kilometers. 这张照片是在16千米的高空拍摄的
This is the picture taken at eight kilometers, OK? Again, the shoreline. 这张是8千米。好,再看滨线
Okay, now 16 kilometers, eight kilometers -- this is roughly an airline altitude . 好,16千米,8千米--
roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地; airline:n.航空公司; altitude:n.海拔;海拔高度;高程;(海拔高的)高处;
If you were going to take an airplane trip across the US, you would be flying at these altitudes . 这大约就是在美国的 飞机飞行高度
airplane:n.飞机; altitudes:n.高地;高度;[数]顶垂线;(等级和地位等的)高级;
So this is the picture you would have at the window of Titanian Airlines as you fly across the surface of Titan. (Laughter) 这就是飞行在土卫六上的飞机 窗外的景色（笑）
Airlines:n.航空公司(airline的复数);航空业;
And then finally , the probe came to rest on the surface, and I'm going to show you, ladies and gentlemen, the first picture ever taken from the surface of a moon in the outer solar system. 最后,探测器着陆 女士们、先生们,我将向你们展示 首张太阳系外行星卫星地表照片
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
And here is the horizon , OK? 这是地平线
horizon:n.地平线;(欲望、知识或兴趣的)范围;
These are probably water ice pebbles , yes? 这些是小冰块
water ice:na.水冰;(英)=sherbet; pebbles:n.鹅卵石; v.用卵石等)铺(pebble的第三人称单数形式);
(Applause). （鼓掌）
And obviously it landed in one of these flat, dark regions and it didn't sink out of sight . So it wasn't fluid that we landed in. 很明显,探测器着陆与平坦、黑暗的区域 探测器没有下沉消失。所以它没有落在水路上
out of sight:看不见;在视野之外;在看不见的地方;
What the probe came down in was basically the Titan equivalent of a mud flat. 实际上这是 土卫六版的泥巴地
basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
This is an unconsolidated ground that is suffused with liquid methane. 这片疏松的土地上充满了液态的甲烷
unconsolidated:adj.疏松的;松散的;
And it's probably the case that this material has washed off the highlands of Titan through these channels that we saw, and has drained over billions of years to fill in low-lying basins. 大概这就是为何这些物质 冲下土卫六的高地 流下那些我们看过的水道 万年不变的注入低洼的盆地
highlands:n.高原地区;山岳地带;(highland的复数) drained:adj.精疲力竭; v.排空; (drain的过去分词和过去式) low-lying:adj.低洼的;
And that is what the Huygens probe landed in. 惠更斯号就着陆于此
But still, there was no sign in our images, or even in the Huygens images, of any large, open bodies of fluids. 但我们的照片中 惠更斯号传回的照片中还是没有一点水的迹象
Where were they? It got even more puzzling when we found dunes . 水在哪儿呢？当我们发现沙丘的时候,这一切变得更加扑朔迷离。
puzzling:adj.使为难的;费解的;v.迷惑;使困惑;(puzzle的现在分词) dunes:n.[地理]沙丘(dune的复数);
OK, so this is our movie of the equatorial region of Titan, showing these dunes. These are dunes that are 100 meters tall, separated by a few kilometers, and they go on for miles and miles and miles. 这是我们土卫六赤道区域的影象 这些视频中的沙丘都有100多米高 每个相间几千米 它们延绵不绝
equatorial:adj.赤道的,近赤道的;中纬线的;n.赤道仪; go on for:接近;
There's hundreds, up to a 1,000 or 1,200 miles of dunes. 这是1000到1200公里长的沙丘
This is the Saharan desert of Titan. 可以称得上是土卫六的撒哈拉
It's obviously a place which is very dry, or you wouldn't get dunes. 很明显,要是不干燥就不会有沙丘
So again, it got puzzling that there were no bodies of fluid, until finally we saw lakes in the polar regions. 所以,让人费解的是没有水 但后来我们在两极地区找到湖泊
polar:adj.极地的;南极(或北极)的;n.极线;极面;
And there is a lake scene in the south polar region of Titan. 这是一张土卫六南极湖区的景致
It's about the size of Lake Ontario . 大概有安大略湖那么大
Ontario:n.安大略湖(北美五大湖之一);
And then, only a week and a half ago, we flew over the north pole of Titan and found, again, we found a feature here the size of the Caspian Sea. 就在10天前 探测器在土卫六北极上空飞行时 找到有里海那么大的图像
north pole:n.北极; Caspian:adj.里海(附近)的;
So it seems that the liquids, for some reason we don't understand, or during at least this season, are apparently at the poles of Titan. 我们不解的是,那液体 在某些季节会出现在土卫六极地地区
apparently:adv.显然地;似乎,表面上; poles:n.极点(pole的复数形式);雪杖;杆位次数;
And I think you would agree that we have found Titan is a remarkable , mystical place. It's exotic , it's alien, but yet strangely Earth-like, and having Earth-like geological formations and a tremendous geographical diversity , 你也会觉得土卫六 很奇妙、神秘。充满异域风情。但有处处与地球相似 有地球一样的地貌 以及繁多的地形
remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的; mystical:adj.神秘的;神秘主义的; exotic:adj.异国的;外来的;异国情调的; strangely:adv.奇怪地;奇妙地;不可思议地; formations:n.形成(formation的复数形式);形态;队形; geographical:adj.地理的;地理学的; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
and is a fascinating world whose only rival in the solar system for complexity and richness is the Earth itself. 这个神奇的行星在太阳系里 唯一可以与之在复杂性和丰富性上相抗衡的只有地球
rival:v.与…相匹敌;比得上;adj.竞争的;n.竞争对手; complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势 richness:n.丰富;富裕;肥沃;华美;
And so now we go onto Enceladus. Enceladus is a small moon, it's about a tenth the size of Titan, and you can see it here next to England. 再来看看土卫二。土卫二是个很小的星球 大有只有土卫六十分之一大,这是它和英国做比较
Just to show you the size; this is not meant to be a threat. 只是比较大小,不是地球安全威胁
(Laughter). （笑）
And Enceladus is very white, it's very bright, and its surface is obviously wrecked with fractures , it is a very geologically active body. 土卫二很白,很亮 其地表充满断裂层 土卫二地质活动活跃
wrecked:adj.失事的; v.破坏; fractures:v.(使)断裂,折断,破裂;(使)分裂;(fracture的第三人称单数) geologically:adv.从地质学角度;
But the motherlode of discoveries on Enceladus was found at the south pole -- and we're looking at the south pole here -- where we found this system of fractures. 但其南极上的母矿 --这是南极 我们在此发现地质断裂
south pole:n.南极;
And they're a different color because they're a different composition . 这块儿颜色不一样是因为组成不同
composition:n.成分;作文;构成;创作;
They are coated. These fractures are coated with organic materials. 这些断层上附着这有机物质
Moreover , this whole entire region, the south polar region, has elevated temperatures. It's the hottest place on the planet, on the body. 同时,着整个区域,南极区域 温度升高。是土卫二上温度最高的地区
Moreover:adv.而且;此外; elevated:adj.提高的;高尚的;欢欣的;v.提高;振奋;提拔;(elevate的过去分词和过去式)
That's as bizarre as finding that the Antarctic on the earth is hotter than the tropics . 这很怪,就像哪天地球上的南极变得比赤道地区还热
Antarctic:adj.南极(地方)的;n.南极地区;网络释义:南极的;南极区;南极地带的; tropics:n.热带地区;
And then, when we took additional pictures, we discovered that from these fractures are issuing jets of fine icy particles extending hundreds of miles into space. 再看看其他照片 从这些断层中喷射出冰物质 喷向空中
additional:adj.附加的,额外的; issuing:n.发行物;争论点;期刊号;v.发行(issue的ing形式);分配;流出; extending:v.使伸长;扩大;扩展;延长;(extend的现在分词)
And when we color-code this image to bring out the faint light levels, we see that these jets feed a plume that in fact we see, in other images, goes thousands of miles into the space above Enceladus. 经过图像处理呈现出的光线渐变 我们可以看到喷射出的冰状物形成羽毛形状 在其它图像中,有上千里 直入土卫二的空中
color-code:v.给…标上色标,用不同色彩作标记或分类; bring out:出版,生产;使显示;说出; faint:n.昏厥;v.昏厥;adj.昏眩;(光,声,味)微弱的;微小的;可能性不大的; plume:vt.用羽毛装饰;n.羽毛;vi.骚首弄姿;
My team and I have examined images like this, and like this one, and have thought about the other results from Cassini. 我和我的小组对图像进行分析 就像这张,还有其他卡西尼传回的照片
And we have arrived at the conclusion that these jets may be erupting from pockets of liquid water under the surface of Enceladus. 我们得出结论 这些喷出物可能是从小区域喷出的 土卫二地下的液体
conclusion:n.结论;结局;推论; erupting:v.爆发;(岩浆、烟等)喷出;突然发生;爆发;(erupt的现在分词)
So we have, possibly, liquid water, organic materials and excess heat. 可能是液体,有机物或余热
excess:n.超过,超额;过度,过量;无节制;adj.额外的,过量的;附加的;
In order words, we have possibly stumbled upon the Holy Grail of modern day planetary exploration . 这是意外的发现 现代星系探索的圣杯
stumbled:v.绊脚;跌跌撞撞地走;蹒跚而行;(stumble的过去分词和过去式) Holy Grail:na.圣杯; exploration:n.探索;勘探;探险;[医]探查术;
Or in other words, an environment that is potentially suitable for living organisms . 也就是另一个生命体可以存活的环境
potentially:adv.可能地,潜在地; suitable:adj.合适的;适宜的;适当的;适用的; organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体;
And I don't think I need to tell you that the discovery of life "Black"> elsewhere in our solar system, whether it be on Enceladus or elsewhere, would have enormous cultural and scientific "Black"> implications . 不用我说,大家都知道在太阳系内其他行星 不管是土卫二还是其他什么地方 发现生命迹象 在文化和科技上是多么重大的啊
Because if we could demonstrate that Genesis had occurred not once, but twice, independently in our solar system, then that means, by inference , it has occurred a staggering number of times throughout the universe and its 13.7 billion year history. 要是我们可以证明创世纪的存在 不知是一次,还是两次,在太阳系中其他星球 意味着,通过推断, 在宇宙137亿年的历史上不断发生过
demonstrate:vt.证明;展示;论证;vi.示威; Genesis:n.发生;起源; independently:adv.独立地;自立地; inference:n.推理;推断;推论;推断的结果; staggering:adj.惊人的; v.蹒跚; (stagger的现在分词) throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及;
Right now, Earth is the only planet still that we know is teeming with life. 现在,地球是我们唯一知道的充满生机的行星
teeming:adj.多产的,丰富的;热闹的;v.充满(teem的现在分词);
It is precious , it is unique , it is still, so far, the only home we've ever known. 是珍贵、独特的 同时也是我们唯一的家园
precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的; unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物;
And if any of you were alert and coherent during the 1960s -- and we'd forgive you if you weren't, OK -- you would remember this very famous picture taken by the Apollo VIII astronauts in 1968. 对于警觉思辨的人来说上世纪60年代 要不是那样的人也没关系 要是你还记得那令人难忘的 1968年阿波罗8号宇航员拍下的照片
alert:n.警报; adj.警觉的; v.向…报警; coherent:adj.连贯的,一致的;明了的;清晰的;凝聚性的;互相耦合的;粘在一起的; forgive:v.原谅;免除(债务,义务等); Apollo:n.阿波罗(太阳神);美男子;
It was the first time that earth was imaged from space, and it had an enormous impact on our sense of place in the universe, and our sense of responsibility for the protection of our own planet. 那是首张从太空中拍下的地球照片 这张照片对我们行星的位置 以及保卫家园的责任感有了深刻冲击
imaged:想象;反映;象征(image的过去式和过去分词); impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响;
Well, we on Cassini have taken an equivalent first, a picture that no human eye has ever seen before. 可以说卡西尼第一条做到了 人类肉眼看不到的照片
It is a total eclipse of the sun, seen from the other side of Saturn. 这是土星另一面看到的日蚀
eclipse:v.使黯然失色;形成蚀;n.日蚀,月蚀;黯然失色;
And in this impossibly beautiful picture you see the main rings back-lit by the sun, you see the refracted image of the sun and you see this ring created, in fact, by the exhalations of Enceladus. 在这张没得令人窒息的照片中 那些光环被太阳的光辉点亮 这是太阳的折射成像 这些光环是土卫二的散发物 创造出来的
impossibly:adv.不可能地;难以置信地;无法可想地; refracted:adj.[物]折射的;屈折的;v.使折射(refract的过去分词); exhalations:n.呼气;蒸发;(怒气等的)发泄;(气体等)发散物;(exhalation的复数)
But as if that weren't brilliant enough, we can spot in this beautiful image, sight of our own planet, cradled in the arms of Saturn's rings. 要是这些还不够美,那看看这些 我们行星的图片 被土星的光环所环抱
cradled:v.轻轻抱着;(cradle的过去分词和过去式)
Now, there is something deeply moving about seeing ourselves from afar , and capturing the sight of our little-blue-ocean planet in the skies of other worlds. 从远处看我们的家园 是很感人的 在外太空 拍下我们海蓝的行星
afar:adv.遥远地;在远处; capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词)
And that, and the perspective of ourselves that we gain from that, may be, in the end, the finest reward that we earn from this journey of discovery that started half a century ago. 也许这场长达半个世纪的探索 追中给我们的奖励是 对我们自己更深的认识
perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的; reward:n.[劳经]报酬;报答;酬谢;v.[劳经]奖励;奖赏;
And thank you very much. 非常感谢
(Applause) （鼓掌）