|
|
CarrieNugent_2016U-_小行星寻者历险记_
|
I am holding something remarkably old. |
我手中拿的是一个非常古老的东西。 |
remarkably:adv.非常;极为;格外;出乎意料地
|
It is older than any human artifact , older than life on Earth, older than the continents and the oceans between them. |
它比任何人造制品, 比地球上任何生命, 比任何陆地和大洋都要古老。 |
artifact:n.人工制品;手工艺品; continents:n.[地理]大陆,大洲(continent复数);
|
This was formed over four billion years ago in the earliest days of the solar system while the planets were still forming. |
它是四十多亿年前形成的。 那时还是太阳系的最早期, 众星球还在形成。 |
solar system:[天]太阳系;
|
This rusty lump of nickel and iron may not appear special,but when it is cut open ... |
这一块生锈的镍铁, 看起来可能没有什么特别之处。 |
lump:n.肿块;(通常为无定形的)块;隆起;笨重的人;v.把…归并一起(或合起来考虑); nickel:n.镍;镍币;五分镍币;vt.镀镍于;
|
you can see that it is different from earthly metals. |
但如果把它切开, 你会发现它与地球的金属不同。 |
earthly:adj.地球的;尘世的;可能的;
|
This pattern reveals metallic crystals that can only form out in space where molten metal can cool extremely slowly, a few degrees every million years. |
它的纹路显示它是只能在 太空中形成的金属晶体。 在太空中,熔化了的金属,可以以极慢的速度冷却。 每几百万年,只冷却几度。 |
reveals:v.揭示;显示;透露;展示;(reveal的第三人称单数) metallic:adj.金属的,含金属的; crystals:n.[晶体]晶体(crystal的复数形式);石英晶体; molten:adj.熔化的;铸造的;炽热的;v.换毛;脱毛(molt的过去分词); extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
|
This was once part of a much larger object, one of millions left over after the planets formed. |
这是一个比它 大很多的物体的一部分。 星球形成后,它是 数百万被遗落的物体之一。 |
We call these objects asteroids . |
我们把这些物体叫做小行星。 |
asteroids:n.[天]小行星(asteroid的复数);
|
Asteroids are our oldest and most numerous cosmic neighbors. |
小行星是我们宇宙邻居里 最古老和为数最多的。 |
numerous:adj.许多的,很多的; cosmic:adj.宇宙的;
|
This graphic shows near-Earth asteroids orbiting around the Sun, shown in yellow, and swinging close to the Earth's orbit, shown in blue. |
这幅图像展示了靠近地球的小行星 绕太阳运转。 太阳是图中黄色的那个。 它们活跃于地球绕行轨道附近, 地球轨道是图中蓝色部分。 |
graphic:adj.形象的;图表的;绘画似的; orbiting:v.[航][天]轨道运行;轨道运动;转圈(orbit的ing形式);
|
The sizes of the Earth, Sun and asteroids have been greatly exaggerated so you can see them clearly. |
为了让大家看得清楚, 图中的地球、太阳和小行星 都被放大了很多倍。 |
greatly:adv.很,大大地;非常; exaggerated:adj.夸张的,言过其实的;v.夸张,夸大(exaggerate的过去分词和过去式)
|
Teams of scientists across the globe are searching for these objects, discovering new ones every day, steadily mapping near-Earth space. |
世界各地的科学家团队 都在寻找这些物体。 他们每天发现新的小行星, 逐渐绘制着近地空间的地图。 |
steadily:adv.稳定地;稳固地;有规则地;
|
Much of this work is funded by NASA. |
这项工作大部分是由美国国家航空暨太空总署资助的。 |
funded:adj.提供资金的;v.提供资金;积存;提供资金偿付的本息;(fund的过去式);
|
I think of the search for these asteroids as a giant public works project, but instead of building a highway, we're charting outer space, building an archive that will last for generations. |
我觉得,搜寻小行星的工作, 是极为浩大的公共工程项目, 我们为太空制图, 而不是在建高速公路, 并建立着能够世代延续的檔案。 |
giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的 public works:n.公共工程(或建设); outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中; archive:n.档案馆;档案文件;
|
These are the 1,556 near-Earth asteroids discovered just last year. |
光是去年,科学家就发现了 1556 颗近地小行星。 |
And these are all of the known near-Earth asteroids, which at last count was 13,733. |
图上的这些,是我们已知的 全部近地小行星。 根据最近的统计,总数是 13,733 颗。 |
Each one has been imaged , cataloged and had its path around the Sun determined . |
每一颗小行星,都已经被绘图和编入目录, 它绕太阳运行的轨迹,也都已经被确定。 |
imaged:想象;反映;象征(image的过去式和过去分词); cataloged:v.将…编入目录;登记(catalog的过去分词);adj.编入目录的; determined:adj.决定了的:v.决定;(determine的过去分词和过去式)
|
Although it varies from asteroid to asteroid, the paths of most asteroids can be predicted for dozens of years. |
虽然每一颗小行星都不同, 它们大多数在未来几十年的 运行轨迹都可以被预测。 |
varies:n.多重复合;v.使不同;改变;违背(vary的三单形式); predicted:v.预言;预告;预报;(predict的过去分词和过去式)
|
And the paths of some asteroids can be predicted with incredible precision . |
有一些小行星的轨迹, 可以被无比精确地预测。 |
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; precision:n.精度,[数]精密度;精确;adj.精密的,精确的;
|
For example, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory predicted where the asteroid Toutatis was going to be four years in advance to within 30 kilometers. |
举个例子来讲, 噴气推进实验室的科学家们, 提前四年预测了 图塔迪斯小行星的位置, 误差小于 30 公里。 |
Jet Propulsion:n.喷气推进; Laboratory:n.实验室,研究室; in advance:adv.预先,提前;
|
In those four years, |
在这四年里, |
Toutatis traveled 8.5 billion kilometers. |
图塔迪斯运行了 85 亿公里 。 |
That's a fractional precision of 0.000000004. |
小数精度为 0.000000004。 |
fractional:adj.部分的;[数]分数的,小数的;
|
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
Now, the reason I have this beautiful asteroid fragment is because, like all neighbors, asteroids sometimes drop by unexpectedly . |
我之所以有手中 这块美丽的小行星碎片, 是因为,像所有的人类邻居一样, 小行星有时候也会意外造访。 |
fragment:n.片段;破片;弹片;小块;v.分割;使成碎片; unexpectedly:adv.出乎意料地,意外地;
|
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
Three years ago today, a small asteroid exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. |
三年前的今天, 一颗小型的小行星在俄罗斯的车里雅宾斯克市上方爆炸。 |
exploded:adj.分解的; v.爆炸; (explode的过去分词和过去式)
|
That object was about 19 meters across, or about as big as a convenience store . |
当时,这块物体的截面长度大约为 19 米, 和一个便利店的大小差不多。 |
convenience store:n.便利商店;
|
Objects of this size hit the Earth every 50 years or so. |
大约每五十年,就会有这样体积的物体撞击地球。 |
66 million years ago, a much larger object hit the Earth, causing a massive extinction . |
六千六百万年前, 一个还要大很多的物体撞击了地球, 导致了大规模的生物灭绝。 |
massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的; extinction:n.绝种;
|
75 percent of plant and animal species were lost, including, sadly, the dinosaurs. |
百分之 75 的动植物 物种都彻底消失, 可悲的是,其中包括恐龙。 |
species:n.[生物]物种;种类;
|
That object was about 10 kilometers across, and 10 kilometers is roughly the cruising altitude of a 747 jet. |
当时的物体截面长度 长达 10 公里。 10 公里差不多是一架 波音 747 的飞行高度。 |
roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地; cruising:v.乘船游览;慢速行驶,巡行;(cruise的现在分词) altitude:n.海拔;海拔高度;高程;(海拔高的)高处;
|
So the next time you're in an airplane , snag a window seat, look out and imagine a rock so enormous that resting on the ground, it just grazes your wingtip . |
你下次坐飞机的时候, 选一个临窗的座位, 然后想像一下 一颗巨石拔地而立, 和你的机翼擦身而过。 |
airplane:n.飞机; snag:n.障碍; vt.抓住机会; vi.被绊住; enormous:adj.庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的; grazes:vt.啃食;放牲畜吃(graze的第三人称单数);vi.放牧(graze的第三人称单数); wingtip:n.(飞机的)翼尖;
|
It's so wide that it takes your plane one full minute to fly past it. |
你的飞机需要飞整整一分钟 才能越过它的宽度。 |
That's the size of the asteroid that hit the Earth. |
这就是撞击地球的 那颗小行星的尺寸。 |
It has only been within my lifetime that asteroids have been considered a credible threat to our planet. |
在我们这个世代, 小行星才被认为 是我们星球的一个威胁。 |
And since then, there's been a focused effort underway to discover and catalog these objects. |
那以后,我们才开始致力于 对这些物体进行搜寻和纪录。 |
underway:adj.进行中的;起步的;航行中的;n.[公路]水底通道;
|
I am lucky enough to be part of this effort. |
我非常幸运能够参与这一个工作。 |
I'm part of a team of scientists that use NASA's NEOWISE telescope . |
我是使用 NASA NEOWISE 望远镜的科学家团队一员。 |
telescope:n.望远镜;v.(使)叠套缩短;精简;
|
Now, NEOWISE was not designed to find asteroids. |
要知道,NEOWISE 并不是为搜寻小行星设计的。 |
It was designed to orbit the earth and look far beyond our solar system to seek out the coldest stars and the most luminous galaxies . |
它是为了能够绕行地球 以遥望太阳系之外, 为了寻找最寒冷的星球和 最明亮的星系而设计的。 |
seek:v.寻求;寻找;谋求; luminous:adj.发光的;明亮的;清楚的; galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
|
And it did that very well for its designed lifetime of seven months. |
在七个月的既定寿命中, 它很出色地完成了任务。 |
But today, six years later,it's still going. |
但六年后的今天,它还在运转。 |
We've repurposed it to discover and study asteroids. |
我们将它的用途变成了 搜寻和研究小行星。 |
repurposed:vt.改换意图;重新目的化;
|
And although it's a wonderful little space robot, these days it's kind of like a used car. |
虽然它是个非常出色的 太空小机器人, 但现在它有些像二手车。 |
The cryogen that used to refrigerate its sensors is long gone, so we joke that its air-conditioning is broken. |
用于传感器的制冷剂 很早以前就消耗殆尽了, 我们开玩笑说,空调坏了。 |
refrigerate:vt.冷藏,冷冻;使冷却;使清凉; sensors:n.[自]传感器,感应器;感测器(sensor的复数); air-conditioning:n.空调系统;空气调节;
|
It's got 920 million miles on the odometer , but it still runs great and reliably takes a photograph of the sky every 11 seconds. |
它的里程表上,已经有了 9.2 亿英里, 但它依然运行良好。 它每 11 秒就会拍一张天空的照片。 |
odometer:n.(汽车的)里程表,[车辆]里程计; reliably:adv.可靠地;确实地;
|
It's taken 23 photos since I began speaking to you. |
从我开始演讲到现在,它已经拍了 23 张照片了。 |
One of the reasons NEOWISE is so valuable is that it sees the sky in the thermal infrared . |
NEOWISE 如此宝贵的原因之一是, 它是通过热红外线观测天空的。 |
valuable:adj.有价值的;贵重的;可估价的;n.贵重物品; thermal:adj.热的;热量的;保热的;n.上升的热气流; infrared:n.红外线;adj.红外线的;
|
That means that instead of seeing the sunlight that asteroids reflect , |
这意味着,NEOWISE 看到的 不是小行星折射的阳光, |
sunlight:n.日光; reflect:v.反映;映出(影像);反射;表明,表达;
|
NEOWISE sees the heat that they emit . |
而是它们放散发的热量。 |
emit:v.发出,射出,散发(光、热、声音、气等);
|
This is a vital capability since some asteroids are as dark as coal and can be difficult or impossible to spot with other telescopes . |
这种能力至关重要, 因为有些小行星暗如黑炭, 几乎不可能被其他的望远镜观测到。 |
vital:adj.至关重要的;生死攸关的;有活力的; capability:n.才能,能力;性能,容量; telescopes:n.望远镜; v.套叠; (telescope的第三人称单数)
|
But all asteroids, light or dark, shine brightly for NEOWISE. |
但所有的小行星,无论明暗, 在 NEOWISE 的眼中,都一样熠熠闪耀。 |
brightly:明亮地
|
Astronomers are using every technique at their disposal to discover and study asteroids. |
天文学家们正在利用他们所有的技术 来发现和研究小行星。 |
Astronomers:天文学家; technique:n.技巧,技术;手法; disposal:n.处理;清除;去掉;(企业、财产等的)变卖;
|
In 2010, a historic milestone was reached. |
2010 年,一项历史性的里程碑得以树立。 |
historic:adj.有历史意义的;历史上著名的; milestone:n.里程碑,划时代的事件;
|
The community , together, discovered over 90 percent of asteroids bigger than one kilometer across — objects capable of massive destruction to Earth. |
通过研究者的共同努力, 我们已经发现了超过 90% 截面长度大于一公里的小行星—— 这些物体足以给地球带来巨大的破坏。 |
community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体; capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的; destruction:n.破坏,毁灭;摧毁;
|
But the job's not done yet. |
但我们的工作还没有结束, |
An object 140 meters or bigger could decimate a medium-sized country. |
一个横截长度大于 140 米的物体, 就足以摧毁一个中型国家。 |
decimate:vt.十中抽一,取十分之一;大批杀害; medium-sized:adj.中型的,中等大小的;普通型的;
|
So far, we've only found 25 percent of those. |
至今,我们只发现了 25% 这种大小的。 |
We must keep searching the sky for near-Earth asteroids. |
我们必须不停地 探索天空中的近地小行星。 |
We are the only species able to understand calculus or build telescopes. |
我们是唯一能够理解微积分 或者制造望远镜的物种。 |
calculus:n.[病理]结石;微积分学;
|
We know how to find these objects. |
我们知道如何找到这些物体。 |
This is our responsibility. |
这是我们的责任。 |
If we found a hazardous asteroid with significant early warning , we could nudge it out of the way. |
如果我们能够在危险的 小行星出现早期就发现它们, 我们就可以把它从原来的轨迹上推开。 |
hazardous:adj.有危险的;冒险的;碰运气的; 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; early warning:adj.预先警报的,预警的;远程警戒的; nudge:n.推动; vt.推进; vi.轻推;
|
Unlike earthquakes, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions , an asteroid impact can be precisely predicted and prevented. |
不同于地震、颶风和火山爆发, 我们可以准确地预测和预防 小行星的冲击。 |
hurricanes:n.[气象]飓风(hurricane的复数); volcanic:adj.火山的;猛烈的;易突然发作的;n.火山岩; eruptions:n.火山爆发;出疹(eruption的复数形式); impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响;
|
What we need to do now is map near-Earth space. |
我们现在需要做的是 绘制出近地的空间地图。 |
We must keep searching the sky. |
我们必须继续不停地探索天空。 |
Thank you. |
谢谢各位。 |
(Applause) |
(鼓掌) |