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LucianneWalkowicz_2011G-_在其它恒星周边寻找行星_
Planetary systems outside our own are like distant cities whose lights we can see twinkling , but whose streets we can't walk. 在我们太阳系之外的行星系 就好象遥远的城市,我们可以看见有灯火在闪烁, 但是却无法踏上城市的街道
Planetary:adj.行星的; distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的; twinkling:n.瞬间;转眼;一眨眼;一刹那;v.闪烁;闪光,发亮;(twinkle的现在分词)
By studying those twinkling lights though, we can learn about how stars and planets interact to form their own ecosystem and make habitats that are amenable to life. 然而通过研究这些闪烁, 我们可以了解到恒星是如何与行星相互作用 来形成他们自己的生态系统 并创造出适宜生命繁衍的栖息地
interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息; ecosystem:n.生态系统; habitats:n.[生态]栖息地;(动植物的)[经]产地(habitat的复数形式); amenable:adj.有责任的,应服从的;有义务的;经得起检验的;
In this image of the Tokyo skyline , 在这张东京的城市图片中,
skyline:n.地平线;空中轮廓线;架空索;vt.天空映衬出…的轮廓;
I've hidden data from the newest planet-hunting space telescope on the block , the Kepler Mission . 我将从最新型的 行星探测空间望远镜,开普勒任务,所获的的数据 隐藏在了这个街区里。
telescope:n.望远镜;v.(使)叠套缩短;精简; on the block:出售中;在拍卖中; Kepler:na.Kepler; Mission:n.使命,任务;代表团;布道;v.派遣;向…传教;
Can you see it? 可以看见吗？
There we go. 在这里。
This is just a tiny part of the sky the Kepler stares at, where it searches for planets by measuring the light from over 150,000 stars, all at once, every half hour, and very precisely. 这只是开普勒观测行星的 范围中的一小块儿。 通过每半个小时一次 精确地测量全部15万颗 行星的光谱。
stares:vi.凝视,盯着看;显眼;vt.凝视,盯着看;n.凝视;注视;
And what we're looking for is the tiny dimming of light that is caused by a planet passing in front of one of these stars and blocking some of that starlight from getting to us. 我们想要寻找 是行星在移动过程中 经过恒星时阻挡住射向我们的 一部分光线所造成的暗淡。
dimming:n.调光;变暗;v.变暗(dim的现在分词); starlight:n.星光;adj.有星光的;星光照耀的;
In just over two years of operations, we've found over 1,200 potential new planetary systems around other stars. 在仅两年的运行后 我们发现了超过1200个 可能是围绕其他恒星运转的行星系统。
potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
To give you some perspective , in the previous two decades of searching, we had only known about 400 prior to Kepler. 相比较下, 在开普勒任务之前的长达二十年的搜寻中, 我们只发现了早于开普勒的 400颗行星。
perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的; previous:adj.以前的;早先的;过早的;adv.在先;在…以前; prior:adj.先前的; n.(小隐修院)院长; v.居先;
When we see these little dips in the light, we can determine a number of things. 当发现这光亮的减弱 我们可以得到一些信息。
dips:v.浸;(使)下降;把(汽车前灯的)远光调为近光;(dip的第三人称单数) determine:v.决定;确定;测定;查明;形成;影响;裁决;安排;
For one thing , we can determine that there's a planet there, but also how big that planet is and how far it is away from its parent star. 一是可以确认那里有一颗行星, 还有它的大小, 和距离它所围绕的恒星的距离。
For one thing:首先;一则;
That distance is really important because it tells us how much light the planet receives overall . 这个距离是非常重要的, 因为它能告诉我们 大致上这行星接受到了多少光。
overall:v.全部; n.外套; adj.全面的;
And that distance and knowing that amount of light is important because it's a little like you or I sitting around a campfire : 对距离与光照强弱的了解是非常关键的, 这就好像我们坐在一个篝火边上。
campfire:n.营火;营火会;
You want to be close enough to the campfire so that you're warm, but not so close that you're too toasty and you get burned. 你会想要靠的够近好让自己取暖, 但是又不可以太近, 导致温度太高把自己烫伤。
toasty:adj.似烤面包片的;暖和舒适的;祝酒的;
However, there's more to know about your parent star than just how much light you receive overall. 然而,除了整体上行星会接受到多少光线, 对恒星的还有许多其他的信息需要了解。
And I'll tell you why. 让我来告诉你原因。
This is our star. This is our Sun. 这是我们的行星,太阳。
It's shown here in visible light. 这里所呈现的是可见光。
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;
That's the light that you can see with your own human eyes. 就是我们人类的眼睛可以看见的光。
You'll notice that it looks pretty much like the iconic yellow ball -- that Sun that we all draw when we're children. 大家发现这基本上 就是典型的我们小时候 所画的象征太阳的黄色圆球。
iconic:adj.图标的,形象的;
But you'll notice something else, and that's that the face of the Sun has freckles . 但大家有没有看到还有一些别的东西, 这就是太阳的表面 有一些斑点。
freckles:n.雀斑;小斑点;v.(使)生雀斑;(freckle的第三人称单数和复数)
These freckles are called sunspots , and they are just one of the manifestations of the Sun's magnetic field . 这些斑点被称作太阳黑子, 他们是太阳磁场 活动的表现之一。
sunspots:n.太阳黑子;雀斑; manifestations:n.临床表现(manifestion的复数);显示;证明; magnetic field:磁场;
They also cause the light from the star to vary . 它使得恒星发出的光产生变化。
vary:vi.变化;变异;违反;vt.改变;使多样化;变奏;
And we can measure this very, very precisely with Kepler and trace their effects. 这个现象是可以用 开普勒望远镜非常精确地测量与追踪的。
trace:追溯,追踪
However, these are just the tip of the iceberg . 而这也才只是冰山一角而已。
tip of the iceberg:冰山一角;事物的表面部分;
If we had UV eyes or X-ray eyes, we would really see the dynamic and dramatic effects of our Sun's magnetic activity -- the kind of thing that happens on other stars as well. 如果我们能看见UV射线与X射线, 我们会真正认识到 太阳磁场活动 所产生的活跃又激烈的景象。 其他的恒星上也发生着同样的事情。
dynamic:n.动力; adj.充满活力的; dramatic:adj.突然的;巨大的;令人吃惊的;激动人心的;
Just think, even when it's cloudy outside, these kind of events are happening in the sky above you all the time. 想想一下,即使窗外乌云密布, 这样壮观的景象在我们的 天空之上时刻都在发生。
So when we want to learn whether a planet is habitable , whether it might be amenable to life, we want to know not only how much total light it receives and how warm it is, but we want to know about its space weather -- this high-energy radiation , the UV and the X-rays that are created by its star and that bathe it in this bath of high-energy radiation. 当我们想要了解一颗行星是否适宜居住, 是否能承载生命, 我们不仅想要知道它接受到多少阳光, 温度有多高, 我们还想知道它的太空气候。 由恒星所产生的 强力的辐射线, 比如UV射线与X射线。 行星就沐浴在这些强力的射线中。
habitable:adj.可居住的;适于居住的; high-energy:高能的; radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法; bathe:v.用水清洗(尤指身体部位); n.(在海、河等中的)游泳;
And so, we can't really look at planets around other stars in the same kind of detail that we can look at planets in our own solar system . 还有,我们并不能从 其他恒星的行星上获得 同观察太阳系 同样详细的信息。
solar system:[天]太阳系;
I'm showing here Venus , Earth and Mars -- three planets in our own solar system that are roughly the same size, but only one of which is really a good place to live. 我这里展示的是金星,地球和火星－－ 这三颗我们太阳系中的行星基本上大小相同, 而其中只有一颗 适合生命生存。
Venus:n.[天]金星;维纳斯(爱与美的女神); Mars:n.火星 roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地;
But what we can do in the meantime is measure the light from our stars and learn about this relationship between the planets and their parent stars to suss out clues about which planets might be good places to look for life in the universe. 但是我们可以做的是 通过测量我们恒星发出的光, 研究恒星与各个 行星之间的关系。 来摸索出一些线索 好像我们知道在茫茫太空中哪些行星 可能是会找到生命的地方。
in the meantime:在此期间;于此际; suss:v.意识到;认识到;发现; clues:n.(调查,研究等的)线索;迹象;(故事的)关键情节;(clue的复数)
Kepler won't find a planet around every single star it looks at. 开普勒不会在每一颗 它所观察的恒星周围发现行星。
But really, every measurement it makes is precious , because it's teaching us about the relationship between stars and planets, and how it's really the starlight that sets the stage for the formation of life in the universe. 但它所做的每一个测量 都非常宝贵。 因为它告诉我们 恒星与行星间的关系, 还有星光才是真正 在宇宙中为生命的形成 提供条件的角色。
measurement:n.测量;度量;长度; precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的; formation:n.形成;编队;组成;队形;
While it's Kepler the telescope, the instrument that stares, it's we, life, who are searching. 虽然是开普勒望远镜在凝视着太空 但最终是我们,在不断地搜寻。
instrument:n.仪器;工具;乐器;手段;器械;
Thank you. 谢谢
(Applause) （掌声）