Seven Ages of Starlight(恒星七纪)[2012]电影台词本阅读、下载和单词统计

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电影名称：恒星七纪
英文名称：Seven Ages of Starlight
年代：2012

推荐：千部英美剧台词本阅读
时间 英文 中文
[00:05] Each night, after the sun sets, 每当太阳落山 夜幕降临
[00:09] sit back, look up 坐在大地 仰望天空
[00:12] and you can witness an epic drama playing above our heads. 就能目睹一部史诗剧作在眼前上演
[00:20] One involving a cast of billions. 这部剧作拥有数十亿的演员
[00:26] The stars. 恒星
[00:29] Every one with its own story to tell. 每一颗都有自己的故事
[00:35] There are old Red Giants, 垂垂老矣的红巨星
[00:37] so puffed up they’re coming apart at the seams. 膨胀得太大 以至于正在逐渐裂开
[00:42] Supernovae, 超新星
[00:43] the most spectacular firework displays in the universe. 宇宙中最壮观的烟火秀
[00:48] Mysterious black holes, 神秘的黑洞
[00:51] stellar tombstones that we are only beginning to understand. 它们是我们刚刚有所了解的恒星墓碑
[01:00] And when the Sun rises again, 而当太阳再次冉冉升起
[01:02] we can see a star in the prime of its life. 我们看到的是一颗正当壮年的恒星
[01:11] Unravelling the life and times of these stars 揭示这些恒星的生命历程
[01:14] has revealed extraordinary secrets about the universe 向我们展现了宇宙的奥秘
[01:18] and our own place within it. 以及我们在其中的地位
[01:25] At the tale’s end lie clues 故事结尾留下的线索
[01:28] to one of the biggest mysteries in science. 能解开科学中最大的奥秘
[01:36] This is the story of the stars. 这就是恒星的故事
[01:54] For thousands of years, 数千年来
[01:55] we’ve told stories about the Sun and stars, 我们讲述着太阳和恒星的故事
[01:59] populating the heavens with gods and giants. 九天之上 居住着神祇和巨人
[02:05] Ancient Egyptians worshipped the Sun, calling it Ra. 古埃及人信奉太阳神拉
[02:12] Orion the Hunter strode the heavens. 猎户座猎人踱步天际
[02:18] Stars and whole constellations 恒星和星座
[02:20] were characters that moved 是随着季节变化
[02:22] above our head with the changing seasons. 而在我们头顶上移动的诸神
[02:30] In the 20th century, 到了二十世纪
[02:32] modern astronomers discovered that, 现代天文学家发现
[02:34] in a way, our instincts were right. 我们的直觉似乎是正确的
[02:40] The stars in the twinkling night sky aren’t all the same. 每晚在夜空中闪烁的星星不尽相同
[02:46] Powerful telescopes have revealed 强大的望远镜
[02:48] the sheer variety of their brightnesses and colours. 揭示了它们千变万化亮度和颜色
[02:53] And in that diversity, 正是在这些不同之中
[02:55] scientists have discovered a new story. 科学家找到了一个新的故事
[02:59] When we see the stars in the sky, they look all different, 当我们仰望星空 恒星看起来各不相同
[03:04] but once we put them together 但是一旦把它们
[03:06] in order of colour, in order of brightness, 按照颜色和亮度排序
[03:09] this is where we get, some kind of sense of order, 我们就会发现 它们有规律可循
[03:13] and this is what makes the whole story so interesting. 故事也因此变得有趣了
[03:18] Dr Francisco Diego has 弗朗西斯科·迭戈博士
[03:20] devoted his career to understanding the stars, 一生致力于恒星的研究
[03:25] their individual natures 它们各自的性质
[03:27] and the connections that can be found between them. 以及它们之间的联系
[03:35] For example, this is Arcturus, 例如 这是大角星
[03:37] a very bright, red star that goes here. 一颗红色的 光耀夺目的恒星
[03:41] This is Beta Centauri, 这是半人马座贝塔星
[03:43] which is a very hot, blue star. 一颗炽热的蓝色恒星
[03:48] The Sun is at a medium temperature. 太阳温度处于它们中间
[03:50] It has to go more or less in-between. 所以要放在这两个之间
[03:56] By plotting stars according to their characteristics, 根据恒星的性质将其排列
[04:00] astronomers uncovered a pattern… 天文学家发现了一个规律
[04:05] One that reveals different types of star, 它揭示了不同类型的恒星
[04:08] each with its own personality and contribution to the universe. 都有自己的特点 以及对宇宙特别的贡献
[04:16] But the patterns are a clue to something more fundamental. 但是这个规律引出了一个更重要的问题
[04:22] This is telling us that, as time goes on, 它在告诉我们 随着时间的推移
[04:26] the stars themselves start to change 恒星自身会发生变化
[04:29] and to develop, to evolve. 会发展 会演化
[04:32] And then we have a pattern here, 然后就有了这个规律
[04:35] a kind of cycle, the lifecycle of stars. 一种循环 恒星的生命循环
[04:40] In discovering the seven ages of the stars, 在探索恒星七纪的过程中
[04:43] scientists have uncovered the story of the universe, 科学家们揭示了宇宙的故事
[04:48] and, just like for us, 就和我们一样
[04:50] it all begins with birth. 一切从诞生开始
[05:03] 赫斯特蒙天文台 苏塞克斯 英国
[05:08] One of the most gazed at patches of sky throughout history 有史以来最引人注目的一片星空
[05:11] is the one containing a cluster called the Pleiades. 是昴星团的所在之处
[05:12] 昴星团 金牛座
[05:23] But the ancient astronomers didn’t know that 但是古代的天文学家不知道
[05:26] the Pleiades hold a secret… 昴星团藏着一个秘密
[05:31] One that modern astronomers have revealed. 一个被现代天文学家发现的秘密
[05:52] This cluster, the Pleiades, 这个星团 昴星团
[05:54] mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey, they appear in the Bible 在荷马的《奥德赛》以及《圣经》
[05:55] 弗朗西斯科·迭戈博士 天文学家 伦敦大学学院
[05:57] and in some of the codices by the Aztecs and the Maya. 还有阿兹特克人和玛雅人的圣书中被提及
[06:02] But the interesting thing is that the Pleiades are so young 有趣的是 昴星团非常年轻
[06:05] that early dinosaurs never saw them, 早期的恐龙都没有见过它们
[06:09] because at that time, the Pleiades hadn’t been formed yet. 因为在那时 昴星团还没有形成
[06:17] At 100 million years old, they are like baby stars, 年仅一亿岁 它们是恒星中的小娃娃
[06:21] very, very young stars. 极其年轻的恒星
[06:24] Some of the youngest stars that we can see in the sky. 天空中所能见到的最年轻的恒星
[06:33] A star is being born somewhere every day. 每天都有恒星在某处诞生
[06:40] Each time, it’s one of the most magical events in the cosmos. 每一颗的诞生都是宇宙中最奇妙的事件
[06:48] One that requires mighty forces of nature. 一个需要创世之力的过程
[06:55] And to set the process going, just an element of chance. 而触发这一过程 不过是一个偶然
[07:04] The tale starts in the cold, dark clouds 故事从宇宙深处 昏暗且寒冷的
[07:07] of dust and gas that lurk in deep space… 尘埃与气体云讲起
[07:13] and that have filled the mind and imagination of Professor Serena Viti 这些云团是塞雷娜·维蒂博士
[07:18] throughout her career studying the birth of stars. 研究恒星形成的关键所在
[07:25] These clouds are really vast. 这些云非常巨大
[07:27] They can be up to 300 light years across. 可以延伸到300光年
[07:30] And many stars form there, 许多恒星在那里诞生
[07:31] 塞雷娜·维蒂博士 天文学家 伦敦大学学院
[07:32] which is why we call sometimes these clouds stellar nurseries. 因此我们称其为恒星的摇篮
[07:37] Many regions within these clouds can stay like that for ever, 云中许多地方 数百万年不曾改变
[07:40] for millions of years, until something happens, a trigger, 直到什么发生 比如一个触动
[07:43] and then a star forms. 然后恒星开始形成
[07:47] The trigger for such a monumental event doesn’t have to be much. 触发这个重大事件并不难
[07:52] Two clouds can bump as they pass, 两块云团的碰撞
[07:57] or a distant cosmic event can send a shockwave, 或是遥远的宇宙活动引发的激波
[08:01] just something to give the cloud a squeeze. 仅需挤压一下云团
[08:05] All you need is a little bit of pressure 只要一点压力
[08:07] to allow the gas to be dense enough 让气体密度足够大
[08:10] for gravity to take over and collapse to start. 然后引力发挥作用 云团开始坍塌
[08:15] The particles of dust and gas 静静漂浮在宇宙中的
[08:17] that had been quietly floating in space 尘埃和气体
[08:20] now start being pulled together. 开始聚在一起
[08:25] Gravitational attraction draws them towards each other, 引力让它们互相吸引
[08:29] faster and faster. 而且越来越快
[08:34] As the collapse continues to happen, 随着坍塌的继续
[08:36] the gas and the dust will fall into the centre 气体和尘埃会落向中心
[08:39] and they will become denser and denser, 密度越来越大
[08:41] and the centre of the cloud will become hotter and hotter. 云团的中心 温度越来越高
[08:48] The laws of nature mean 自然规律决定
[08:50] that when matter gets compressed, it heats up. 物体被压缩时 温度会升高
[08:56] Over millions of years, the protostar grows, 数百万年间 原恒星不断成长
[09:01] increasing the pressure and heat in its core, 内核的压力增大 温度升高
[09:04] until, finally, it reaches a critical temperature. 直到最终到达临界温度
[09:10] About 15 million degrees, 大约1500万度
[09:12] and a fundamental process 一个重要的反应
[09:14] will start in the core of the embryonic star. 会在刚形成的恒星内核开始
[09:19] Almost in a flash, the core of the star, 一瞬间 恒星的内核
[09:23] like our own Sun’s once did, dazzlingly lights up. 就像我们的太阳 开始发出耀眼的光芒
[09:31] A star is born. 一颗恒星就此诞生
[09:41] If you look at the night sky and you look up at a twinkling star, 如果仰望夜空 注视闪烁的星星
[09:45] you think of this little pinpoint of light, 你会觉得这个小小的亮点
[09:45] 史蒂夫·考利 英国原子能机构
[09:47] almost like a Christmas tree light. 就像是圣诞树上的彩灯
[09:49] And, actually, what it is 事实上
[09:51] is this incredible cauldron of energy being released. 那里正释放着巨大的能量
[09:57] To witness what’s going on inside these points of light, 要想了解亮点里在发生什么
[10:00] you have to go somewhere closer to home. 那就要到离家近一点的地方
[10:06] To the Joint European Torus, JET, in Oxfordshire. 到牛津郡的欧洲联合环形加速器
[10:13] Where they study what happens in the heart of stars, 那里专门研究恒星内部的反应
[10:19] the hydrogen fusion that brings them to life. 那就是点亮恒星的核聚变
[10:26] What we’re trying to do in JET 用欧洲联合环形加速器
[10:28] is essentially to make a little star on Earth. 我们想在地球上创造一颗小恒星
[10:31] We’re trying to create the conditions necessary 我们试图创造满足核聚变的条件
[10:35] to create the fusion of hydrogen, and with it, 然后依靠核聚变
[10:39] to create copious amounts of energy, lots and lots of energy. 产生大量的能量
[10:45] If you’re going to attempt to create a star on Earth, 如果想在地球上创造恒星
[10:48] you need something able to withstand 使用的仪器
[10:50] the incredible energies involved. 要能承受极高能量
[10:54] You need a torus, 你需要一个回旋加速器
[10:57] a giant, doughnut-shaped structure 一个能够承受一亿度高温的
[10:59] where temperatures can reach over 100 million degrees. 巨大的环形结构
[11:07] Inside, an incredibly powerful magnetic field 在它内部 极强的磁场
[11:10] holds the hydrogen fuel. 束缚着氢燃料
[11:15] OK. Right, trigger, please. 好了 启动吧
[11:20] The conditions are so extreme that each attempt at star creation 所需条件如此极端 每一次造星
[11:23] is a tense event. 都非常紧张
[11:25] Nine, eight, seven… 九 八 七…
[11:28] So what’s happening now on JET 现在欧洲联合环形加速器
[11:30] is that they are powering up the magnets, 正在启动磁铁
[11:33] and as they power up the magnets, 在启动过程中
[11:35] it will be pushing the electric current round the loop. 会让电流通过环路
[11:39] If you can see that red colour beginning to be there, 你能看到那里逐渐变红
[11:42] that’s the beginning of the plasma firing up. 那是等离子体在形成
[11:45] First, they have to pull apart 首先要把构成物质的
[11:47] the basic building blocks of matter, 最小微粒分解
[11:49] atoms. 原子
[11:52] Then hurl them together again so they fuse 然后再让它们高速撞击 发生聚变
[11:55] and create starlight. 产生星光
[11:58] You can see the plasma hitting the bottom, 你可以看到等离子体在容器底部撞击
[12:00] and so the lighting up on the bottom there… 所以底部会开始发光
[12:03] Oh, now it’s really in full bloom. 现在颜色很鲜艳了
[12:05] This is probably about 30 million degrees right now. 里面大概是三千万度
[12:11] This is a little bit of a star, here on Earth. 这就是地球上形成的一颗小恒星
[12:16] And, yes, it seems like that was about 2.5 million amps 看来流经等离子体的电流
[12:21] going through that plasma right there, 有250万安培
[12:24] and I think we had a successful shot because of all the excitement. 大家这么兴奋 看来这次是成功了
[12:31] It lasted just a brief moment, 虽然只持续了很短的时间
[12:33] but at JET, they’ve managed to replicate 但是在这里 他们成功的复制了
[12:36] what happens in the biggest objects in the universe, 宇宙中最大物体的内部反应
[12:39] the stars. 恒星的内部反应
[12:44] And they’ve done it because 他们的成功
[12:46] scientists like Professor Steve Cowley 是因为史蒂夫·考利博士这样的科学家
[12:48] understand the smallest. 了解最小的微粒
[12:55] At the centre of each hydrogen atom is a proton. 在每个氢原子中心有一个质子
[12:59] And around that proton 在质子周围
[13:01] is an electron going round in a sort of an orbit. 是一个电子 沿某种轨道环绕质子运动
[13:07] With enough heat and pressure, 在足够的热量与压力作用下
[13:09] the orbiting electron 绕转的电子
[13:10] will be stripped away from the proton at the centre. 会被从中心质子旁剥离
[13:16] Do it to enough atoms, 足够多原子被剥离电子
[13:18] and you create a plasma, 你就创造了一团等离子体
[13:20] a soup of unattached particles. 分离粒子熬成的一锅汤
[13:24] And if the conditions are intense enough, 如果能符合一些极端条件
[13:26] something extraordinary happens. 不可思议的事情将会发生
[13:29] A chain reaction begins. 一个链式反应开始了
[13:32] The protons are running around 质子们四处乱窜
[13:34] and because they’re positively charged 由于它们带正电荷
[13:36] and they repel each other at distance, 它们互相排斥 彼此保持距离
[13:39] most of the time, they just glance off each other. 多数时候它们只会擦身而过
[13:43] At high energy, they bump into each other hard enough 当能量足够高时 它们会狠狠撞向对方
[13:45] that, occasionally, they’ll stick. 有些时候 可以合为一体
[13:47] That’s the fusion process. 那便是聚变反应
[13:52] When four hydrogen protons ultimately fuse, 当四个氢质子最终发生聚变
[13:55] they create a new element. 它们创造出一种新元素
[13:57] Hydrogen becomes helium, 氢元素变成了氦元素
[13:59] and an enormous amount of energy is released. 释放出巨大的能量
[14:05] This is what happens when a star is born, 这始于恒星诞生之初
[14:09] and it’s all down to mass 一切都归结于质量
[14:10] and the most famous equation in physics. 以及物理学中最著名的公式
[14:15] That helium nucleus that you just made 新造的氦核
[14:17] weighs less than the four hydrogens 质量比用于创造它的
[14:20] you used to make it. 四个氢原子小
[14:24] Somehow, mass has disappeared in the process. 不知何故 反应中损失了部分质量
[14:29] Anybody who knows any equation from physics 任何知道一点物理公式的人
[14:31] knows that mass and energy 都明白能量与质量
[14:34] are linked by Einstein’s most famous equation, 能用爱因斯坦最著名的公式联系在一起
[14:38] his equation E equals mc squared. 质能方程 能量等于质量乘上光速的平方
[14:44] So that missing mass is energy. 因此丢失的质量便是能量
[14:50] But because c squared is such a large number, 但由于光速的平方是一个很大的数
[14:53] a tiny little bit of mass creates a phenomenal amount of energy. 一点点质量便能创造出巨额的能量
[15:00] The Sun only needs to use 太阳每天只需要
[15:01] an infinitesimal amount of its colossal mass each day 燃烧它九牛一毛的质量
[15:05] to generate vast megawatts of energy. 就能产生数以百万瓦特计的能量
[15:13] Nuclear fusion is the process 核聚变并不只是
[15:15] that not only brings stars into being, 赋予了恒星生命
[15:17] it’s what keeps them alive. 同样维持它们的生存
[15:22] But when a star is born and starts its life story, 当一颗恒星诞生 开始自己的生命旅程
[15:26] scientists have discovered 科学家们发现
[15:27] that something else very important can begin. 一些别的重要事情 也随之展开
[15:36] The first person to get an inkling 第一个看出
[15:37] of this second story of creation 下一个创世故事个中端倪的
[15:40] was Nicholas Copernicus, 是尼古拉·哥白尼
[15:43] the father of modern astronomy. 现代天文学之父
[15:49] And accidental social revolutionary. 他也带来了出人意料的社会革命
[15:55] In 1543, he published a book 1543年间 他出版了一本书
[15:58] that overturned more than 1,000 years of astronomical thought. 颠覆了一千多年的天文思想
[16:04] The belief that the Sun revolved around the Earth. 即相信太阳围绕地球旋转
[16:11] Well, this is exciting. 这真的令人振奋
[16:12] This is one of the most 这是科学史上
[16:13] 斯蒂芬·庞弗里教授 科学史学家 兰卡斯特大学
[16:13] important books in the history of science. 最重要的书籍之一
[16:16] You can see from the title page that it’s Copernicus’s 你能从扉页读到这是哥白尼的
[16:20] Six Books On The Revolution Of The Heavenly Spheres, 六卷科学巨著 《天体运行论》
[16:22] and as well as being astronomically explosive, 这不仅对天文学界具有爆炸性影响
[16:25] it was also explosive in terms of changing 也同样改变了人们的观念
[16:27] humankind’s understanding of its place in the universe. 重新认识了地球在宇宙中位置
[16:31] And we can see that, I think, quite clearly 我们可以看得很清楚
[16:33] if we look at the famous diagram here, 如果我们仔细瞧瞧这张著名的图片
[16:35] and you can see that here at the centre 我们能看到在中心
[16:37] is not the Earth, as people had thought for thousands of years, 不是地球 虽然几千年来人们一直这样想
[16:40] but Sol, Latin for Sun, 而是拉丁语的太阳
[16:42] and here is the Earth going around the central Sun 根据这革命性的新宇宙观
[16:46] in this revolutionary new conception of the universe. 地球围绕着中心的太阳旋转
[16:51] Earth had been relegated from the centre of the universe 地球的地位从宇宙的中心
[16:54] to just the third rock circling the Sun. 降为第三块绕着太阳转的大石头
[17:00] The traditional story of how the cosmos was constructed 关于宇宙如何形成的传统观点
[17:03] had been shaken to its foundations. 其基石已被动摇
[17:09] And, in the 16th century, 对于十六世纪而言
[17:11] this had deeply subversive implications. 这蕴含着一种颠覆性的含义
[17:15] At this time, people very much believed that 当时的人们非常相信
[17:17] God had created a template for the heavens 上帝创造了一套天堂的模板
[17:20] and he’d used pretty much the same template 所以人间社会应该也是
[17:22] to create the society as well, 他用这套模板创造的
[17:24] and so with this “as above so below” belief, 秉持这样一种”在下如在上”的信念
[17:27] any change in the heavens 天堂的一点点变化
[17:29] immediately had huge cultural implications. 便会直接导致文化巨变
[17:33] By 1611, Copernicanism was sufficiently known that 到1611年 哥白尼主义已广为流传
[17:36] the poet John Donne says, 诗人约翰·多恩说
[17:38] “The new philosophy calls all in doubt, “世间万物 新思想无不质疑
[17:42] ” ’tis all in pieces, all coherence gone.” “逻辑不复存在 一地狼藉“
[17:47] Our view of our relationship with the Sun had completely changed. 我们与太阳之间的关系 被彻底改变了
[17:54] What Copernicus didn’t know, 不过哥白尼并不知晓
[17:56] but what scientists have now worked out, 现在科学家发现
[17:58] is that the Sun isn’t just at the centre of our solar system, 太阳并不仅仅位于太阳系的中心
[18:02] it’s the creator of it. 它还是太阳系的创造者
[18:07] The birth of a star 一颗恒星的诞生
[18:09] leads to the birth of any planets that surround it. 会触发它周围行星的诞生
[18:18] Planets are the natural consequences of star formation. 行星随着恒星的形成而产生
[18:25] Planets are the left-over debris 行星是形成恒星的
[18:29] of the gas and the dust forming a star. 气体和尘埃的残骸
[18:32] They are like the afterbirth, if you like. 它们可以算得上是胞衣
[18:36] As the new star is born, 当新的恒星诞生后
[18:38] the orbiting remnants of the cloud from which it formed 孕育它的云团还剩下部分物质
[18:42] start creating a disc, 它们围绕恒星形成一个盘
[18:45] and over millions of years in this disc, 数百万年间 在这个盘中
[18:48] the dust grains start to stick together. 尘埃颗粒开始相互吸附
[18:54] Blank out the light of a young star 将北天飞马座中
[18:56] in the northern constellation of Pegasus, 一颗新星的光芒掩住
[18:59] and you can see white dots, 你能看到这些白色光点
[19:01] which are the planets forming in the disc of dust 它们是围绕着恒星的尘埃盘中
[19:04] that surrounds the star. 正在形成的行星
[19:10] Eventually, the star is encircled by its children. 最终 恒星被它的子孙环绕着
[19:18] This whole process explains 这整个过程解释了
[19:20] the distinctive shape of all solar systems, including our own. 太阳系独特的结构 包括我们地球
[19:27] The reason why you see all the planets 你能看见这些行星
[19:30] going around the Sun in the same direction on the same plane 在同一水平面上以相同方向绕着太阳旋转
[19:33] is because they are all formed 是因为他们都来自
[19:34] from the same belt, from the same disc. 同一个带 同一个盘
[19:43] Remarkably, just using observations with the naked eye 令人称奇的是仅仅以肉眼进行观测
[19:48] and the power of deduction, 加诸强大的推理能力
[19:50] Copernicus had created the 哥白尼画出了
[19:52] first accurate family portrait of a star, 第一张准确的太阳系全家福
[19:55] surrounded by its offspring, the planets. 一颗恒星 以及环绕它的后代
[20:02] But birth is just the beginning. 但诞生只不过是开始
[20:22] Every morning at dawn, 每天清晨
[20:24] the Sun becomes the only star that we can see in the sky. 太阳会成为天空中唯一可见的恒星
[20:32] A star in middle age, 它正值中年
[20:36] like 90% of all the other ones. 百分之九十的恒星也是如此
[20:41] It’s only special to us because it’s so close. 太阳的特别之处在于它离我们很近
[20:47] Once it was realised that the Sun was a star, 从我们发现太阳是一颗恒星起
[20:51] it opens up an enormous window 一扇巨大的窗被开启了
[20:54] to our understanding of the universe, 我们得以进一步了解宇宙
[20:56] because the Sun really is the only star that we can properly see, 因为太阳是我们唯一能细致研究的恒星
[21:01] and by looking at the Sun, 通过我们观测太阳
[21:02] we have this magnificent laboratory so close to us, 我们有了一座宏伟的实验室 它近在眼前
[21:05] we can actually see it, we can actually study it, 我们能够实实在在地看见它 研究它
[21:08] we can actually see the surface, 我们能真切地看到它的表面
[21:10] make models of the interior, 建造它的内部模型
[21:11] measure a lot of things in the atmosphere. 测量大气中的许多物质
[21:13] And by studying the Sun in that way, we are studying the stars. 如此一来 研究太阳就相当于研究恒星
[21:19] What most of us have learnt is that the Sun’s reliable, 大多人都知道到太阳非常可靠
[21:23] dependable, unchanging. 值得信赖 亘古不变
[21:30] But its serene outward appearance that we take for granted 但在我们习以为常的宁静外表下
[21:33] belies a truth about all middle-aged stars. 隐瞒着一个关乎所有中年恒星的真相
[21:40] Beneath the surface, there’s a battle raging… 太阳表面下 是一场激烈的战争
[21:46] Uncovered by the scientists who know it better. 真相被知悉内情的科学家们揭露出来
[21:53] The Sun is in the prime of its life. 太阳正值壮年
[21:56] It’s a middle-aged star, but it’s actually very dynamic, 它虽是一颗中年恒星 但它很有活力
[22:00] very full of life. 生机勃勃
[22:06] I regard the Sun as a sort of personal friend of mine 我个人将太阳当作一个密友
[22:07] 海伦·梅森博士 太阳物理学家 剑桥大学
[22:09] and like to know what’s happening on the Sun each day, 每天都想知道它经历着什么
[22:12] and I look at the satellite pictures to find out. 我每天观察卫星图片以寻找答案
[22:15] It’s almost as if the Sun sometimes 有时候数据传送有误
[22:16] doesn’t want you to know what’s happening on it, though, 或者其它原因让你看不清
[22:19] because sometimes the data links could be down 好像太阳并不想
[22:20] or something and you can’t actually see it. 让你知道它的近况
[22:22] That’s quite frustrating, 那挺令人沮丧
[22:23] because you want to know how your friend’s 因为你想知道你的朋友
[22:25] getting on each day. 每天过得怎么样
[22:27] Dr Helen Mason’s intimate relationship with the Sun 海伦·梅森博士与太阳之间的亲密关系
[22:30] has turned her into one of the world’s leading solar physicists. 使她成了世界领先的太阳物理学家之一
[22:36] People think of it as quiet and boring, 人们以为太阳很平静 缺乏变化
[22:38] but it’s not at all quiet and boring, 但事实并非一直如此
[22:41] and that makes it really interesting to study. 因此它研究起来十分有趣
[22:45] The work of scientists like Helen 像海伦一样的科学家的工作
[22:47] has revealed that inside the Sun, 揭示了在太阳内部
[22:50] there’s a fight between two of nature’s fundamental forces 有一场战争 对手是宇宙中两股重要力量
[22:55] that’s key to the star’s entire life history. 那是通往恒星平生的关键
[23:02] The gravity that created a star is pulling it inwards, 创造一颗恒星的重力 正在将它向内拉
[23:06] trying to crush it. 试图压碎它
[23:10] And the nuclear fusion that brought it to life 而给予它生命的核聚变
[23:12] is pushing outwards, 又在向外推
[23:14] ready to blow it apart. 时刻准备将它炸开
[23:20] It will be disaster for the star 如果任意一方占据上风
[23:22] if either of these two forces gets the upper hand. 那么这颗恒星将在灾难中毁灭
[23:31] One 17th-century scientist 一名十七世纪的科学家
[23:32] who studied the Sun didn’t know this. 在研究太阳时对此并不知情
[23:38] But he did quickly realise 但他的确很快意识到
[23:39] that our parent star was more turbulent than it seemed. 我们的母星比它看起来要狂躁得多
[23:47] That man was Galileo Galilei. 那个人便是伽利略·伽利雷
[23:54] He used one of the earliest telescopes 他运用的最早的望远镜
[23:56] to project detailed images of the Sun, 通过投影 得到了太阳的详细图像
[24:01] completely transforming our understanding of it. 彻底改变了我们对太阳的认知
[24:08] In the process, he shocked the world. 在这个过程中 他震惊了全世界
[24:14] Well, when Galileo looked at a projection of the Sun, 当伽利略观察太阳的投影时
[24:18] very much in the way that I’m doing, 差不多和我现在的方法相同
[24:20] what he saw were these, these spots, 他看到了太阳上有斑点
[24:22] these black spots on the Sun. 黑色的斑点
[24:25] People had seen them, previously – 人们此前也看到过
[24:27] I think the ancient Chinese had seen them through the fog – 古代中国人就曾透过云雾看到过
[24:30] but the important thing was that Galileo was actually saying 但最重要的是 伽利略提出
[24:32] that these sunspots were on the Sun 这些太阳黑子就在太阳上
[24:34] rather than satellites or something going in front of the Sun, 而不是卫星 也不是挡住太阳的东西
[24:37] in defiance of thousands of years of Catholic thought 这一理论违背了天主教几千年来的思想
[24:40] that everything was supposed to be perfect, 神创万物尽善尽美
[24:42] and yet here we are with blemishes and spots on it. 而我们现在却发现了瑕疵和黑斑
[24:50] Galileo’s controversial work 伽利略备受争议的研究成果
[24:52] led him to end his days under house arrest, 导致他在软禁中度过余生
[24:57] but his observations revolutionised our knowledge of the Sun. 但他的观测结果让我们重新认识了太阳
[25:03] Sunspots appeared and disappeared, 太阳黑子时隐时现
[25:08] and by tracking them for several days, 伽利略经过多天跟踪观测
[25:11] Galileo showed they moved, 发现太阳黑子在移动
[25:13] revealing that the Sun rotated. 这就表明太阳在旋转
[25:19] What Galileo discovered overturned centuries of belief. 伽利略的发现颠覆了人们几世纪来的信仰
[25:30] The Sun wasn’t a god-like immaculate disc, 太阳不是一个上帝般完美无暇的光盘
[25:34] but a body that was constantly changing. 而是一个持续变化的物体
[25:38] So this meant that the Sun was not sublime any more. 这就意味着 太阳不再至高无上
[25:41] It was made of the same sort of stuff as the Earth, 它和地球有着同样的组成物质
[25:43] and therefore scientific processes that were applied to the Earth 这样一来 我们用于研究地球的科学方法
[25:46] could also be applied to the Sun. 也可以用来研究太阳
[25:49] This underpins our subsequent discoveries 以此为基础 我们才有了随后的新发现
[25:51] about the Sun, the other stars and all of astronomy, really. 关于太阳 其他恒星和整个天文学
[25:58] Building on Galileo’s work, 基于伽利略的工作
[26:01] scientists have discovered 科学家们还发现
[26:02] that the Sun’s active, changeable nature, is in fact, 正是太阳活跃多变的特性
[26:05] the characteristic that has the biggest impact on us. 给我们带来了最直接的影响
[26:13] The sunspots he observed are linked to solar flares. 他观察到的黑子与太阳耀斑有关
[26:24] Sudden, colossal releases of energy 耀斑爆发瞬间会释放巨大的能量
[26:26] that can spew over a million tonnes of material into space. 将数百万吨的物质抛向太空
[26:35] This stream of charged particles 这股带电粒子流
[26:37] is able to scramble satellite communications – 能够扰乱卫星通讯
[26:41] in extreme cases, knock out power grids. 极端情况下 甚至能使电网瘫痪
[26:47] And all caused 而这一切都源于
[26:48] by the turbulent nature of the Sun’s magnetic field. 太阳磁场的湍动特性
[26:53] Sometimes these magnetic fields get twisted up. 有时 部分太阳磁场会缠在一起
[26:57] The foot points move around, and they get really twisted up, 磁力线的足点到处移动 磁力线错综交缠
[27:00] and they get so knotted up that eventually they crack and break. 局部磁场变得异常复杂 最终磁力线断裂
[27:06] And we have solar flares, huge explosion. 这样就会爆发一场巨大的太阳耀斑
[27:09] Particles are shot out into space. 粒子被喷向太空
[27:12] In fact, this little active region, 我们最近观察的
[27:13] I mean, it’s quite big, actually, 这块活动区域
[27:15] that we’ve been looking at recently, 范围其实还挺大的
[27:16] has been flaring continuously over the past few days. 过去的几天里一直在喷射耀斑
[27:25] But while the Sun’s violent outbursts can harm us, 尽管这种剧烈的喷发对我们有害
[27:29] its active nature is what allows us to live at all. 但正是太阳活动才让我们得以生存
[27:35] Because the Sun also ejects the solar wind, 因为太阳也会喷射太阳风
[27:39] an energised stream of particles that head out into space. 它们是被抛向太空中带电粒子流
[27:47] And that we can see passing Earth 当粒子流撞上大气层时
[27:49] as it bounces off our atmosphere… 我们就能欣赏到
[27:54] ..The aurorae. 美丽的极光
[28:03] Then the solar wind flies on. 太阳风继续飘往远方
[28:09] Putting on the same show at the poles of Jupiter… 在木星的两极绘出同样绮丽的辉光
[28:17] ..And Saturn too. 然后来到土星
[28:24] Until, finally, 100 Earth Sun distances away, 最终在日地距离一百倍以外
[28:30] it loses its momentum 太阳风势头减弱
[28:31] and forms a boundary with deep space… 在宇宙中 形成太阳系的边界
[28:37] ..Creating a protective bubble 吹出了一个保护泡
[28:39] that shields our solar system 使我们所处的太阳系
[28:42] from dangerous galactic radiation and cosmic ray – 免受银河辐射和宇宙射线的伤害
[28:48] the heliosphere. 这就是日球层
[28:56] Within it, life on a planet 在日球层的保护下
[28:58] just the right distance away can thrive. 一颗距离适中的行星就能孕育生命
[29:12] We are beneficiaries of the energy the Sun generates 太阳要不断地核聚变来抵抗重力
[29:17] as nuclear fusion fights back against gravity. 而我们就受益于其中产生的能量
[29:31] Energy isn’t created or destroyed, it’s transferred, 能量不会凭空出现或消失 只会转移
[29:34] so it’s transferred from the centre of the Sun 能量从太阳的核心 穿过大气
[29:37] through the atmospheres to us, in many forms, 以多种形式转移到我们身上
[29:41] warmth and light, 阳光和热量
[29:42] via the plants and via the food that we eat. 经由植物 粮食 养育了我们
[29:46] ‘As dawn throws into shadowy relief 当清晨的阳光洒向巨石阵
[29:48] ‘the giant pillars of Stonehenge, 在石柱间投下清晰的光影
[29:50] ‘the successors of the ancient Druids 古老德鲁伊祭司的传人
[29:52] ‘await the first rays of midsummer Sun.’ 准备迎接夏至日的第一缕阳光
[29:55] I can really understand 我非常理解
[29:56] why ancient civilisations would have worshipped it, 古人为什么会崇拜太阳
[29:59] because it is like a god in a sense of it 因为太阳就像神一样
[30:01] provides everything that’s so important, 为我们提供了所有的必需品
[30:04] that without it, the… life would cease to exist. 没有了太阳 生命将不复存在
[30:12] Ancient man was right to worry whether the Sun 古人担心太阳将不再升起
[30:15] would rise again. 并非杞人忧天
[30:24] It’s been burning for five billion years, 它已经燃烧了五十亿年
[30:28] but it’s now used up half its hydrogen fuel 但它一半的氢燃料 已经用于核聚变
[30:31] resisting gravity. 来抵抗重力了
[30:37] One morning, the Sun will rise on a last perfect day on Earth. 某天清晨 太阳将最后一次眷顾地球
[30:45] For many years, we had no idea when the end would come. 我们以前无从预测末日将何时来到
[30:54] But now we can predict the Sun’s fate… 但我们现在却能解读太阳的命运
[30:59] and our own. 和我们自己的命运
[31:03] We’ve learnt it, not by studying the Sun, 这并非来源于对太阳的研究
[31:06] but by observing all the other stars in the sky. 而是来自对其它众多恒星的观测
[31:13] The breakthrough came 这一突破性进展
[31:15] when American astronomer Henry Norris Russell 源于美国天文学家亨利·诺利斯·罗素
[31:18] and the Dane, Ejnar Hertzsprung, 和丹麦人埃希纳·赫茨普龙的研究
[31:21] tried to create a pattern 他们试图为夜幕中
[31:23] that made sense of all the stars in the night sky. 所有的恒星建立一个普适的模型
[31:31] No matter what their size, 不论恒星是大是小
[31:33] or whether they burned hotter or dimmer. 也不论它们明亮还是黯淡
[31:41] This finally revealed that stars had a lifecycle. 这一模型向我们揭示了恒星的生命循环
[31:49] At the turn of the 20th century, 在二十世纪之交
[31:51] astronomers have already a wealth of data about the stars. 天文学家已经积累了大量的恒星观测资料
[31:54] Mainly, they have measured the colours 主要测量了恒星的颜色
[31:56] and the real luminosities of them. 和它们的真实光度
[32:01] So what Hertzsprung and Russell did 赫茨普龙和罗素所做的
[32:04] was to organise the stars 就是把恒星
[32:06] 弗朗西斯科·迭戈博士 伦敦大学学院 天文学家
[32:07] in order of temperatures and in order of luminosities, 按照温度和光度 排列在一张图上
[32:12] and this is the birth of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. 这样就画出了赫罗图
[32:17] On one axis, they plotted how bright the stars would be 假设他们离地球距离都相同
[32:21] if they were all the same distance away from us, 其中一个轴代表恒星的亮度
[32:24] from the dimmest to the brightest. 由最暗的到最亮的
[32:30] On the other axis was their temperature, 另一个轴代表恒星的温度
[32:33] as indicated by their colour, 由恒星的颜色来表示
[32:35] from blue and white hot to cooler red. 从温度高的蓝白星 到较冷的红星
[32:42] What was revelatory was the pattern that emerged. 经排列后的恒星展示出了神奇的规律
[32:47] Almost all the stars fell into a central diagonal line, 几乎所有恒星都落在了图中央的对角线上
[32:51] known as the main sequence. 这条对角线称为主序带
[32:54] These are the middle-aged stars, 主序带上的恒星都尚处中年
[32:57] ones who still have enough hydrogen in their cores 内核中还储有足够的氢
[33:00] to fuse into helium and resist the force of gravity. 可以聚变为氦来抵御重力塌缩
[33:07] But on either side were two small outcrops. 但在主序带两侧还有两小群恒星
[33:15] By deciphering the diagram, scientists discovered 在解读赫罗图的过程中 科学家们发现
[33:18] that these outlying groups predicted the future of our Sun. 这两块边缘群体预示了太阳的未来
[33:24] Now, the Sun will be burning hydrogen, 现在太阳还在燃烧氢
[33:28] as the stars do in the main sequence, 所有主序星都如此
[33:30] until the hydrogen is exhausted in the core, 但当内核的氢被耗尽的时候
[33:33] and at that point, the star starts to die. 主序星就要开始走向死亡了
[33:35] The outer layers of the Sun will expand. 太阳的外层会开始膨胀
[33:37] The Sun will move away from the main sequence 它会渐渐脱离主序带
[33:40] to become a Red Giant star. 成为一颗红巨星
[33:47] From the apparent disorder of the night sky, 夜空中繁杂的恒星
[33:50] a map had been created… 构成了一副简单的图谱
[33:55] ..On which you could chart a star’s journey through life. 在这张图上你可以勾画出恒星的一生
[34:02] It revealed that the fate of our own star 它告诉我们 太阳的命运
[34:04] was written in the night sky. 就写在夜空中
[34:10] Once its hydrogen runs out, 当太阳内的氢消耗殆尽
[34:13] it will head off the main sequence 它将脱离主序带
[34:15] and move into the next phase of its life, 进入它生命中的下一篇章
[34:20] as a Red Giant. 成为一颗红巨星
[34:39] Middleweight stars, like our Sun, 像太阳这样中低质量的恒星
[34:42] don’t age gracefully 不会优雅地老去
[34:44] but catastrophically. 而会制造一场灾难
[34:49] They swell up and become some of the largest, 他们会膨胀成为宇宙中数一数二的
[34:52] most bloated stars in the universe. 无比巨大的恒星
[34:59] Stars 200 times the size of our Sun. 变成比太阳大两百倍
[35:05] Thousands of times brighter. 亮几千倍的恒星
[35:09] Stars that are some of the most destructive in the universe 变成宇宙中最具破坏性的恒星
[35:13] but also the most creative, 但它们也最具创造力
[35:18] shining a rancid red in the inky sky. 为漆黑的天空撒上点点猩红
[35:24] Arcturus is a Red Giant star, very easy to find. 大角星就是一颗红巨星 很容易找到
[35:30] The tail of the Plough, the tail of the Big Bear, 就在大熊座北斗七星的末端
[35:32] you follow that and you reach the star Arcturus, 沿着那里看去 就可以找到大角星
[35:35] so it is in a way following the Big Bear, as a bear-taker, 追随大熊 正符合”Arcturus”原来的意思
[35:39] which is what Arcturus means. 巨熊的守护者
[35:49] Surprisingly, 奇特的是
[35:50] Arcturus’s striking colour is not because it’s hotter 大角星引人注目的颜色并非因为它温度高
[35:55] but because it’s cooler. 反而是因为它温度较低
[36:01] As the balance between the opposing forces 当重力和核聚变的力量
[36:04] of gravity and nuclear fusion breaks down, 无法再维持平衡时
[36:08] the size of the star changes. 恒星的大小就会发生改变
[36:12] Red Giants expand, 红巨星会逐渐膨胀
[36:16] their fiery energy spreading over a larger area, 它们狂暴的能量扩散开来
[36:21] which makes their temperature drop. 导致它们温度下降
[36:26] They fall from blue or white hot 从蓝色或白色恒星
[36:30] to red hot, 变为红色恒星
[36:32] but because they are so large, 但因为它们体型巨大
[36:34] these stars are still some of the brightest in the sky. 它们此时还是天空中最耀眼的恒星之一
[36:41] That’s Arcturus. 那是大角星
[36:51] When we see bright stars like Arcturus in the sky, 对于像大角星这样明亮的恒星
[36:54] no doubt in many, many civilisations in the past, 在古代 无疑有不少人类文明
[36:57] they have some associations with these stars 把某些事件的发生
[36:59] and something that happens. 与之联系起来
[37:06] “Each star has its own distinct personality. “每颗恒星都有着独特的个性
[37:07] 《自然博物志》 老普林尼 公元前一世纪
[37:10] “And it creates effects according to its character. “它们造成的影响也正符合个性
[37:16] “When Arcturus rises, it is nearly always accompanied “大角星的升起一定会伴随着
[37:20] “by a terrible hailstorm.” “一场猛烈的冰雹”
[37:29] Actually, Arcturus is an omen 但其实大角星所预示的灾难
[37:31] of something far worse than bad weather. 可比恶劣天气要糟糕的多
[37:37] A portent of a drama more intense 它预示的恐怖场景
[37:40] than any Hollywood could imagine. 好莱坞根本不能望其项背
[37:50] When our own Sun eventually becomes a Red Giant, 当太阳在五十亿年后
[37:53] in five billion years’ time, 最终变成红巨星时
[37:57] it will turn into a destroyer, 它将由守护者
[37:59] rather than a protector, of worlds. 演变为这个世界的毁灭者
[38:06] Dr. Robin Catchpole has devoted his middle years 罗宾·卡其普尔博士多年以来
[38:09] to studying these devouring beasts of the night. 致力于研究这些夜空的饕餮巨兽
[38:15] Their story starts the day the hydrogen in their core runs out. 这要从它们内核中 氢耗尽的那天说起
[38:22] Most of the star’s life 恒星一生大部分时间
[38:23] it spends fusing hydrogen into helium, 都在把氢聚变成氦
[38:27] and this, of course, provides the pressure 而这一过程提供了
[38:30] that resists the force of gravity. 用以抵抗引力的压力
[38:34] When the hydrogen runs out in the core 当内核的氢耗尽
[38:36] and we’ve just got pure helium, 仅剩下纯氦时
[38:38] then there’s no source of energy, 就没有了能量来源
[38:40] so the core starts to collapse. 所以内核开始塌缩
[38:40] 罗宾·卡其普尔博士 剑桥大学 天文学家
[38:43] And as it collapses, 而在塌缩的过程中
[38:44] under the force of gravity, it heats up. 温度在引力的作用下上升
[38:49] And the temperature becomes high enough 然后温度升高到
[38:51] to start nuclear fusion reactions in the shell around the core. 足以使核心外围的壳层发生核聚变
[38:57] So we have what we call shell hydrogen burning. 我们称之为壳层氢燃烧
[39:02] Fusion has stopped in the core. 核心已经停止了聚变
[39:05] It’s still hot, but it’s dead. 它仍然很热 但已经死了
[39:10] The star is now fundamentally different 这颗恒星和我们的太阳
[39:12] from our twinkling Sun. 已经完全不同了
[39:15] The light we’re seeing 核聚变仍在继续
[39:17] is still being generated by nuclear fusion, 发出我们所看见的光
[39:20] but it’s happening in a ring of hydrogen 但它却发生在外围含氢的壳层
[39:23] that surrounds the core instead. 而不是在内核中
[39:27] This is our new source of energy 这是新的能量来源
[39:29] and this, of course, resists the force of gravity 这一过程当然也会抵抗其自身的引力
[39:33] and, in fact, causes the outer atmosphere of the star to expand. 并且实际上导致了恒星外层大气的膨胀
[39:44] The star has begun its dramatic transformation 这颗恒星就开始其华丽的变身
[39:47] into a Red Giant. 成为红巨星
[39:54] For our own Sun, 对于我们的太阳来说
[39:56] the change will be awe-inspiring, 这个变化将是令人畏惧的
[40:00] as in its final years, 因为在它的晚年
[40:01] it turns against the planets in its care. 它会毁掉它之前所照顾的行星
[40:07] The first thing that happens is it expands up 首先 它会不断膨胀
[40:10] as far as Mercury’s orbit here and swallows Mercury. 一直膨胀到水星轨道 然后吞没水星
[40:15] At this stage, 到那个时候
[40:16] it’s about 1,000 times more luminous than the Sun is today. 它将比现在的太阳亮一千倍
[40:20] It continues to expand and, within another million years or so, 然后它继续膨胀 大约再过几百万年
[40:24] it gets as far as Venus, 它将膨胀到金星轨道
[40:26] and that’s the end of Venus, Venus is swallowed up. 金星也就完了 被吞没了
[40:29] And then the Sun continues out towards the Earth. 然后太阳继续膨胀 朝着地球而来
[40:38] If we could see it, we would see something 要是我们能看到的话 我们会看见它
[40:41] nearly 3,000 times brighter than the Sun is today. 比现在的太阳亮三千倍
[40:45] It would be 260 times bigger than it is today, 它比现在要大260倍
[40:49] but it would not have that 但是却没有
[40:50] beautiful tight compactness of the Sun today. 现在太阳的完美外形
[40:53] Gas would be streaming off the surface, 气体从表面涌出
[40:55] it would be red and turbulent, slightly transparent. 它将是红色的 无比狂暴 略微有点透明
[41:00] It would almost seem to be coming apart at the seams. 看起来就像要从裂缝处炸开了一样
[41:05] Our only chance of survival 我们唯一的存活希望
[41:07] would be to flee long before this crisis, 就是在灾难降临前远远逃离
[41:11] and go in search of another solar system to call home. 并寻找一个新的太阳系来安家
[41:20] In its angry old age, 到了它狂暴的晚年
[41:22] the Sun will show no mercy, 即使是面对它最心爱的孩子
[41:25] even to its favoured child. 太阳也会毫不留情
[41:29] And the Earth disappears into the Sun, 地球将消失在太阳中
[41:33] and I’m afraid that’s curtains for the Earth. 恐怕那时就是地球的末日了
[41:40] Our planet will be engulfed by a ball of fiery gases, 我们的星球将被炽热的气体球吞没
[41:44] never to be seen again. 彻底被抹掉
[41:57] The star that created and nurtured us 创造并哺育了我们的恒星
[41:59] will ultimately, in its bloated old age, 最终将会在它膨胀的晚年
[42:02] destroy us. 毁灭我们
[42:07] But while Red Giants bring annihilation, 当红巨星带来了毁灭时
[42:11] scientists have uncovered in them 科学家们却在其中发现了
[42:13] the beginning of another story. 另一段故事的开始
[42:17] A story of creation that is about us, 一个创造的故事 和我们有关
[42:20] as well as about the stars. 也与恒星有关
[42:26] They discovered that in the last stages of the battle 科学家发现 在引力与核聚变
[42:29] between gravity and nuclear fusion, 对抗的最后阶段
[42:32] Red Giants generate 红巨星产生了
[42:33] two of the most abundant building blocks of the universe. 宇宙中最丰富的两种基本元素
[42:40] And these vital elements 这些重要的元素
[42:42] are being built in the heart of the Red Giant. 是在红巨星的核心处产生的
[42:48] About half a million years after the poor old Earth 在太阳吞没了可怜的地球
[42:51] has disappeared into the Sun, 大约五十万年后
[42:53] we get the temperature rising to the point 其温度升高到了
[42:55] where we can suddenly start helium fusion. 足以开始进行氦聚变
[42:59] And this is the next phase of the life of the star, 这是恒星一生中的一个新阶段
[43:02] is a stage where helium is being fused in the core 此时 氦元素在恒星的内核中聚变
[43:07] to produce carbon and oxygen. 并产生碳和氧
[43:11] Stars, scientists discovered, 科学家们发现恒星
[43:13] aren’t just twinkling points of light. 不仅能发出摇曳的星光
[43:16] They’re alchemists, 它们还是炼金术士
[43:18] creating the materials the cosmos is made of. 创造出组成宇宙的物质
[43:27] Most of the carbon in your body 你身体中大多数的碳
[43:29] comes from the discarded envelope of a Red Giant. 都来自于红巨星废弃的包层
[43:35] As the war between gravity and nuclear fusion 当引力与核聚变的战争
[43:38] reaches its conclusion, 终于要分出胜负时
[43:42] the vast outer layers of the star 恒星巨大的外层包层
[43:44] detach from the hot core, 就与高温的核心分离开来
[43:46] recycling carbon and oxygen into the universe. 将碳和氧返还至宇宙中
[43:55] What’s left after this remarkable process 这一绚丽的过程之后剩下的
[43:59] is a remnant. 就是残骸
[44:04] The star is ready to enter the next 恒星即将进入它一生的
[44:07] enigmatic phase of its life. 下一个神秘的阶段
[44:27] White Dwarfs baffled astronomers for decades. 白矮星曾让科学家困惑了好几十年
[44:32] The first problem was finding them. 首要的问题就是找到它们
[44:39] It turned out they’d been hidden in plain sight. 其实它们就藏在我们眼前
[44:44] We just needed a bigger telescope to see them. 只是我们需要一个更大的望远镜去找到它们
[44:49] The winter sky in the northern hemisphere 北半球冬季的夜空中
[44:51] brings a set of fantastic constellations. 有着许多神奇的星座
[44:53] Like this one, Canis Major. 比如这个 大犬星座
[44:57] Canis Major contains the brightest star in the night sky. 大犬星座有着夜空中最亮的恒星
[45:01] It’s called Sirius. 叫做天狼星
[45:08] A lovely star, also known as the Dog Star. 它是颗漂亮的恒星 也叫做大犬星
[45:16] And it was discovered in the 19th century, 在十九世纪
[45:19] when the telescopes were really, really high quality 随着望远镜质量的不断提高
[45:22] that Sirius has a companion, 科学家发现天狼星有一颗伴星
[45:25] a very faint companion that is lost 被主星明亮的光辉
[45:28] in the glare of the very bright star. 掩盖了的黯淡的伴星
[45:33] This tiny companion to the bright Dog Star was dubbed the Pup. 这颗大犬星的伴星被戏称为”小狗”
[45:39] And by 1922, 在1922年
[45:41] this new type of star had an official classification. 这种新型的恒星有了正式命名
[45:44] It was called a White Dwarf. 叫做白矮星
[45:52] But naming it was the least of scientists’ problems. 但是科学家们并不在意如何命名
[45:57] When they compared its size to its mass, 当比较了它的大小和质量时
[46:00] something extraordinary emerged. 却得到了意想不到的结果
[46:02] It was denser than anything on Earth, 它的密度比地球上的任何东西都要大
[46:05] denser than anything previously imagined. 比之前想象的任何东西都要大
[46:11] They were a type of star that shouldn’t exist. 它们根本就是种不该存在的恒星
[46:16] The burnt-out remains of one whose fusion has stopped. 它的核聚变已经停止 剩下的不过是残骸
[46:22] Their fuel is exhausted, so how can they still shine? 燃料都已耗尽了 它们是如何发光的呢
[46:30] Mysteries that have long intrigued Professor John Ellis. 这个疑团困扰了约翰·埃利斯教授很久
[46:36] Throughout their lives, stars make their energy 纵观其一生 恒星都在通过
[46:39] by fusing together light nuclei to make heavier ones. 让轻原子核聚变成更重的原子核来产生能量
[46:39] 约翰·埃利斯教授 伦敦国王学院 理论物理学家
[46:44] They start off with hydrogen and they make helium, 它们先是把氢聚变成氦
[46:47] then they go on to fuse together helium 然后它们继续聚变氦核
[46:49] to make carbon and oxygen. 产生碳和氧
[46:53] And as time goes on, 随着时间推移
[46:54] they burn up more and more of this fuel 它们消耗了越来越多的燃料
[46:56] until, eventually, it’s like a car, you run out of gas. 最终就像汽车一样 没油了
[47:03] With its helium-burning days at an end, 随着氦燃烧的结束
[47:05] the White Dwarf’s active life is over. 白矮星的活动也停止了
[47:10] All it’s left with is a dead core of carbon and oxygen. 剩下的只有由碳和氧组成的死去的内核
[47:16] It’s not really a star at all but a cinder. 这已经不算是恒星了 不过是灰烬罢了
[47:22] And the internal battle raging in the heart of the star, 而在恒星内部发生的
[47:25] between gravity and fusion, now has a clear victor. 引力与聚变的战斗 现在已见分晓
[47:30] Once the fusion stops, 一旦聚变停止
[47:32] the whole thing collapses under its own weight 恒星在自身引力作用下塌缩
[47:35] to form a White Dwarf. 形成白矮星
[47:39] So you’ve got this very small blob, which is incredibly dense. 成为一颗密度大得难以想象的小型天体
[47:44] It’s going to be something like a million times denser 将会比它最初时的密度
[47:47] than it started off, 高数百万倍
[47:49] so dense, in fact, 非常非常密
[47:50] that if you had a piece the size of my mobile phone, 要是有跟我手机那么大的一块
[47:55] it would weigh something like ten tonnes. 可能会有差不多十吨重
[48:02] The core of the massive Red Giant collapses, 巨大的红巨星 其内核塌缩
[48:07] leaving the White Dwarf denser than anything 使得白矮星的密度
[48:10] that had previously been discovered. 比之前发现的任何东西都要高
[48:16] This raises another perplexing question. 这又产生了另一个让人困惑问题
[48:22] Why doesn’t gravity completely destroy them? 为什么引力没能完全毁掉它们呢
[48:27] They were such baffling objects 它们真是谜一样的东西
[48:29] that one British astronomer commented, 曾有一名英国天文学家评论道
[48:32] “An appropriate response to the message from a White Dwarf was “要是能给白矮星回条信息的话
[48:36] ‘Shut up, don’t talk nonsense.’ “ “最合适的一定是 ‘闭嘴 别瞎说'”
[48:45] It took a whole new revolutionary form of physics to emerge 直到物理学有了革命性的重大进步
[48:49] before their secrets could be unravelled. 这些谜团才被解开
[48:54] Quantum mechanics revealed much more 量子力学更好地揭示了
[48:57] about the innards of atoms, 原子的内部结构
[49:00] enabling astronomers to 使得天文学家们
[49:02] begin to solve the mystery of the White Dwarf. 开始破解白矮星的秘密
[49:06] In physics, we’ve got two different types of particles. 在物理学中 我们有两种不同的粒子
[49:09] There are some particles that are very gregarious, 有一种是喜欢抱团的粒子
[49:12] that like to get together, 喜欢聚在一起
[49:13] and then we’ve got other particles, 而另一种粒子
[49:15] like the electron, 例如电子
[49:16] which like to be different from each other. 就喜欢彼此分开来
[49:20] They’re a little bit like people at a party 它们就像在宴会上
[49:22] who are wearing the same colour dress. 撞衫了的人
[49:24] They don’t want to be standing next to each other, 它们不喜欢呆在彼此的周围
[49:27] so they’re going to tend to naturally push away from each other. 所以它们会自然地拉开彼此间的距离
[49:33] That’s…that’s like what we physicists call pressure. 这就有点像物理学家说的压力
[49:37] This pressure is created as the particles jostle for position. 这个压力来自于粒子间互相争抢位置
[49:44] It’s a principle of quantum mechanics, 这是量子力学的原理
[49:47] and when it was applied to stars, 当将其应用到恒星上时
[49:49] the lives of dead White Dwarfs suddenly made sense. 死亡白矮星的存在也就说得通了
[49:54] What stopped them collapsing completely 阻止它们完全坍缩的原因
[49:56] was that gravity was resisted by the pressure generated 就是粒子间产生了压力
[50:00] between the particles themselves. 抵抗了引力的作用
[50:04] In a White Dwarf, 在白矮星中
[50:05] you’ve got a delicate balance between the gravity 引力与压力有着微妙的平衡
[50:08] which is trying to squeeze it together, 引力想要把它压成一团
[50:10] and the pressure of these electrons trying not to 而电子不想呆在一块儿
[50:14] all have their dresses in the same place, 产生了压力
[50:16] that are trying to push out. 试图往外推
[50:18] And it’s the balance between this gravity pulling in 正是二者间的平衡 引力向内拉
[50:21] and the electrons pushing out 电子向外推
[50:23] that keeps the White Dwarf the size it is. 才使得白矮星成了现在的大小
[50:28] It’s also what lets a star with no fuel supply 这也让一颗耗尽了燃料的恒星
[50:31] shine for billions of years. 继续发光几十亿年
[50:38] These White Dwarfs are very small, 这些白矮星非常小
[50:40] so they’ve got a very small surface area, 所以它们的表面积也非常小
[50:42] which means that although they are white hot, 就是说 虽然它们是白色的 温度高
[50:44] the light that they emit, the heat energy which they send out, 但是它们发出的光和热
[50:49] is still very limited just 依然十分有限
[50:50] because of the very small size of the surface. 因为表面积太小了
[50:53] Now, it carries on radiating light 如今 它继续发光
[50:57] and it gradually cools down, 并逐渐冷却下来
[50:59] it gradually gets dimmer and dimmer. 变得越来越黯淡
[51:03] It’s a little bit like a 有点像
[51:05] retired person sitting in an old stars’ home. 退休的老恒星待在恒星养老院里
[51:09] It’s still, you know, ticking along, 它仍然活着
[51:10] but it gradually gets 但渐渐变得
[51:12] sort of slower and slower, dimmer and dimmer. 越发迟缓 越发黯淡
[51:17] There are White Dwarfs 这些白矮星
[51:18] cluttering up our galaxy, all the other galaxies. 遍布我们的银河系 以及其它所有星系
[51:26] The enigma of the White Dwarf had been resolved. 白矮星的谜团已被解开
[51:32] Scientists had discovered how the vast majority of stars, 科学家已经知道绝大多数的恒星
[51:36] including our own Sun, will end their days. 包括我们的太阳 是如何走向死亡的
[51:42] As White Dwarfs gently fading into the darkness of the universe. 成为白矮星 渐渐消逝在宇宙的黑暗中
[51:51] But not all stars go so quietly. 但并不是所有的恒星都走得无声无息
[51:57] For the most massive stars, something extraordinary happens. 大多数的大质量恒星 则是轰轰烈烈
[52:02] They make their exit with one last spectacular hurrah. 它们用最后一次呐喊宣告自己的退场
[52:21] Supernovae are the explosive, dramatic death throes 超新星 是宇宙中大多数大质量恒星
[52:25] of the most massive stars in the universe. 爆发性的 激动人心的死亡挣扎
[52:31] Explosions so bright and intense 如此明亮和强烈的爆炸
[52:33] that they can briefly rival the output of ten billion Suns. 可以与一百亿个太阳发出的光相媲美
[52:41] They leave behind traces 它们留下的痕迹
[52:43] that paint the sky with a rainbow of colours. 将天空描绘得五彩斑斓
[52:50] Today, we know that these spectacular events 如今我们明白 这些壮丽的场景
[52:53] play a crucial role in creating the world around us. 在创造世界的过程中扮演了重要角色
[52:58] Yet it took us centuries to discover it. 然而我们花了几个世纪才得以了解
[53:09] They’re so rare that for hundreds of years, 它们太稀少了 几百年来
[53:13] no-one saw any at all. 谁都没看到过
[53:16] So the first challenge was to find them. 所以首个挑战是要找到它们
[53:22] And that takes dedication, 那就需要奉献精神
[53:24] perseverance and a love of the thrill of the chase. 坚持不懈 和热爱追逐带来的激动
[53:29] Not just any kind of astronomer but a supernova hunter 不是普通的天文学家 而且是超新星猎人
[53:34] and one with perfect timing. 还要有完美的时机
[53:38] You know, usually nothing much happens in astronomy. 你要知道 天文学上经常没什么事情发生
[53:42] Stars live for millions or billions of years, 恒星能活上几百万甚至几十亿年
[53:42] 亚历克斯·菲利潘科教授 天体物理学家 加州伯克利大学
[53:45] so everything’s the same from one night to another, 所以每个晚上都是一成不变
[53:47] but not with a supernova. 但超新星不同
[53:49] It brightens dramatically over the course of just one night. 它会在一夜之间突然变亮
[53:52] It happens on a human timescale. 我们可以看到它的变化
[53:58] Supernovae are so rarely seen in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, 超新星在我们的星系 银河系中十分罕见
[54:03] that you need to peer much, much further to find many more. 你要看得更远才能多找到一些
[54:10] You need to hunt for them in other galaxies. 你要在其它星系寻找它们
[54:18] Professor Alex Filippenko runs one of 亚历克斯·菲利潘科教授管理着
[54:21] the most successful search teams on Earth for doing just that. 地球上最成功的搜索小组 致力于此
[54:27] In their best year, they discovered almost 100. 最成功的一年 他们发现了近一百颗
[54:34] There’s no calendar telling you 没有日程表告诉你
[54:36] where and when to look for supernovae. 何时何地去寻找超新星
[54:38] You just look kind of randomly at as many galaxies as you can, repeatedly, 只是随机地 尽量多的反复观测星系
[54:43] and occasionally a supernova will go off in one of them. 忽然之间 有一颗超新星爆发了
[54:52] I mean, they’re rare, 它们真的很稀少
[54:53] only two or three supernovae per galaxy per century, 每个星系每个世纪只有两三颗超新星
[54:57] so you really have to scan thousands of galaxies 必须扫描成千上万的星系
[55:00] in order to increase your odds of finding a few each year. 才能增加每年找到几颗的几率
[55:08] This robotic telescope automatically 这台自动望远镜
[55:10] takes pictures of over 1,000 galaxies a night, 夜间能自动对一千多个星系进行成像
[55:13] and it compares those new pictures 然后它将这些新的照片
[55:15] with pictures of the same galaxies it had taken previously. 与同一星系的旧照片进行对比
[55:19] If there’s something new in one of the new pictures, 如果哪张新照片有新发现
[55:22] like a new star, that’s an excellent candidate supernova. 比如说新的恒星 那就极可能是颗超新星
[55:26] That’s the kind of thing that we want to keep studying. 这便是我们不断研究的东西
[55:36] The supernovae that Alex photographs 亚历克斯拍摄的超新星
[55:39] are hundreds of millions of light years away. 在亿万光年之外
[55:47] The only reason he can photograph them so distinctly 能这么清晰地到 唯一的原因就是
[55:51] is because they are such colossal explosions. 爆发非常剧烈
[56:00] And appreciating the power of a supernova’s explosion 估量超新星爆发的能量
[56:03] has been key to understanding the very composition 对了解宇宙的组成
[56:06] of the universe. 至关重要
[56:17] For centuries, scientists have known 几百年来 科学家探索出
[56:19] that everything we see on Earth is made up of 92 elements. 地球上的万物是由92种元素组成的
[56:27] And the stars are made of the very same ones. 恒星也由同样的元素构成
[56:32] We can see it in their starlight. 通过星光 我们能分辨出它们
[56:37] Different elements give off different colours of light 不同的元素会发出不同颜色的光
[56:40] when they’re heated, when they’re energised. 在它们被加热 获得能量的时候
[56:42] So if we look at a glowing cloud of gas in the sky, 所以我们看着星空中发光的云
[56:46] we can determine what chemical elements it’s made from 只要看它是什么颜色 就能确定
[56:48] by seeing what colours it has. 它是由何种化学元素组成的
[56:51] Potassium should produce a violet colour. Oh, look at that! 钾元素会发出紫色 看
[56:57] Strontium. 锶元素
[57:00] Whoa, look at the strontium go! 快看锶元素的颜色
[57:02] Sodium, a bit like the light of the flames. 钠元素 有点像火焰发出的光
[57:07] And, finally, I’ve got some copper here. 最后 我还有一些铜元素
[57:13] Look at the remnant of a supernova, 看看那些超新星的残骸
[57:16] and you can spot the signature colours of some elements. 就能认出一些元素的特征颜色
[57:22] Modern scientists can reveal the full story 现代科学家用棱镜分解光 得到光谱
[57:25] by splitting the light with a prism to create a spectrum. 就能了解一切
[57:30] And so I can see that there’s 可以看到
[57:32] hydrogen being produced by this supernova, 超新星抛出了氢
[57:35] and over here, the yellow/orange light 在这儿 黄橙光
[57:37] is due to glowing atoms of sodium. 来自于发光的钠原子
[57:40] It’s the same sodium glow that we saw 与我撒到火焰上的化学物质
[57:43] when I sprinkled the chemical into the fire. 发出的光是相同的
[57:45] These ones here, in the green part, are iron, 绿光中的谱线 是铁元素
[57:48] and down here, in the violet part of the spectrum, is calcium. 光谱紫光部分的谱线 是钙元素
[57:58] The question that baffled scientists for decades, though, 然而 困扰科学家数十年的疑问是
[58:02] was where did all the elements come from? 这些元素是从何而来
[58:11] The breakthrough came from the mind of a doughty Yorkshireman, 一位勇敢的约克郡人 获得了重大突破
[58:17] Fred Hoyle. 弗雷德·霍伊尔
[58:21] The origin of the elements was a big question 元素的起源是个大问题
[58:24] that scientists were trying to tackle 50 years ago, 半个世纪前 科学家就试图解决
[58:26] and Fred Hoyle and his colleagues thought 弗雷德·霍伊尔及其同事相信
[58:29] that supernovae may be a key to unravelling the mystery. 超新星可能是解决谜题的关键
[58:35] At the time, this was a radical idea. 这个想法超越了那个时代
[58:42] But Fred Hoyle was never a stranger to controversy. 但弗雷德·霍伊尔身上从来不缺乏争议
[58:47] ‘Fred Hoyle blows up stars by computer. 弗雷德·霍伊尔用电脑模拟恒星爆发
[58:51] ‘This cosmic anarchist is the most controversial of theorists.’ 这位宇宙无政府主义者是理论界最具争议的人
[58:54] If you think there’s a mystery about why stars explode, 如果你认为恒星爆发的原因是个谜
[58:59] then you’ve got it all wrong. 那就大错特错了
[59:03] Hoyle devoted ten years of his career 霍伊尔花了十年的时间
[59:06] to proving his revolutionary theory 来证明元素起源的
[59:08] on the origin of the elements. 革命性理论
[59:15] He deduced that Red Giants are alchemists, 他推断 红巨星是炼金术士
[59:19] but he knew that they weren’t hot enough 但他深知它们温度不够高
[59:21] to create all the elements. 不足以创造出所有的元素
[59:30] He thought the ferocity of the supernova’s explosion, though, 但他认为猛烈的超新星爆发
[59:33] would make them the perfect furnace 形成了绝佳的熔炉
[59:37] and, with his colleagues, he did the calculations to prove it. 他和同事们用运算来证明这个理论
[59:44] The key was the conditions created in the final stages 关键在于大质量恒星对抗引力的最后阶段
[59:48] of a massive star’s fight against gravity. 创造了几个条件
[59:53] These stars are so massive and hot 这些恒星巨大 温度高
[59:56] that they can go through a whole series of nuclear reactions. 能够进行一系列的核聚变
[1:00:00] The ashes of one set of nuclear reactions 一轮核聚变后剩下的灰烬
[1:00:03] becomes the fuel for the next set of nuclear reactions. 成为下一轮核聚变的燃料
[1:00:10] The most massive stars 质量最大的恒星
[1:00:11] are able to fuse heavier and heavier elements in a series of layers, 可以一层层聚变越来越重的元素
[1:00:18] creating the energy to 并产生能量
[1:00:19] resist the relentless inward pull of gravity. 抵抗不断内向拉的引力
[1:00:25] There is neon and magnesium and more oxygen. 先是氖 镁和大量的氧
[1:00:28] Then there’s silicon and sulphur 接着是硅和硫
[1:00:31] and, finally, in the middle, a core of iron. 最后在中央 是铁组成的核
[1:00:36] And that’s where the fusion stops. 那里是聚变停止的地方
[1:00:40] With fusion at an end, there’s no more energy to fight back, 聚变结束 没有能量再抵抗了
[1:00:46] and gravity wins the battle. 于是引力获胜
[1:00:50] The star is doomed. 恒星在劫难逃
[1:00:53] When that ball of iron reaches a certain critical mass, 当铁核达到临界质量时
[1:00:57] about the size of the Earth, but much, much more massive, 大约是地球这么大 但要重得多
[1:01:00] the electron pressure is no longer able to support it 电子间的压力无法再支撑它
[1:01:04] against the inward force of gravity, so it starts to collapse. 抵抗向内的引力 于是恒星开始塌缩
[1:01:08] It collapses to a ball about the size of a city 塌缩至一座城市这么大的球
[1:01:12] and then rebounds 然后反弹
[1:01:13] and that rebounds hits the surrounding layers, 反弹撞击到周围圈层
[1:01:17] launching a supernova explosion. 点燃了一次超新星爆发
[1:01:24] It’s the speed and violence 恒星铁核
[1:01:25] of the collapse of the star’s iron core 快速而猛烈的塌缩
[1:01:28] that triggers the supernova, 触发了超新星
[1:01:30] an implosion that launches an explosion… 内爆引发了向外爆发
[1:01:35] creating enough heat and energy 提供了足够的温度和能量
[1:01:37] to forge almost all the other elements. 锻造出几乎所有其他的元素
[1:01:43] The supernova explosion is able to produce 超新星爆发能够产生
[1:01:46] some of the very rare elements heavier than iron – 某些比铁元素更重的稀有元素
[1:01:49] the zinc, the gold, the platinum, the silver. 锌 金 铂 银
[1:01:52] These things are ejected into the cosmos, 它们被抛射到宇宙中
[1:01:55] having produced them in these very special conditions 在恒星爆发后的极端条件下
[1:01:59] of an exploded star. 创造出了它们
[1:02:04] The very atoms of which we are made, the oxygen that we breathe, 构成人类的原子 呼吸的氧气
[1:02:08] the calcium in our bones, 骨骼里的钙元素
[1:02:10] the iron in our red blood cells, 红细胞里的铁元素
[1:02:12] were produced billions of years ago 都是数十亿年前
[1:02:14] in stars, specifically in dying stars, 从恒星 特别是垂死的恒星中产生的
[1:02:17] and these dying stars ejected these elements into the cosmos, 这些垂死的恒星把元素抛射到宇宙中
[1:02:21] making them available for raw material 使它们成为
[1:02:24] for the production of new stars, planets, 新恒星 新行星的原料
[1:02:27] and ultimately, life. 最终 成为生命的原料
[1:02:35] We are stardust 你我皆是星尘
[1:02:38] or rather, less romantically, 或者不那么浪漫地说
[1:02:40] nuclear waste. 是核废料
[1:02:44] In a way, the ancients were right. 在某种程度上 古人诚不我欺
[1:02:49] The stars ARE like gods. 恒星就像上帝
[1:02:54] They are the creators of us. 它们是造物主
[1:03:01] To make our Earth, 形成我们的地球
[1:03:03] several hundred generations of stars needed to come and go. 需要几百代的恒星 诞生 死亡
[1:03:17] Stars born from collapsing clouds of dust and gas. 尘埃和气体云塌缩 产生了恒星
[1:03:23] Bursting into life, to shine for millions or billions of years. 点燃生命之火 闪耀几百万甚至几十亿年
[1:03:32] Bloating in old age to become Red Giants. 晚年膨胀 成为红巨星
[1:03:39] Their cores contracting into White Dwarfs. 它们的内核收缩 变成了白矮星
[1:03:46] The most massive ones exploding as supernovae, 质量最大的恒星爆发 成为超新星
[1:03:50] flinging the elements they’ve created out into space 将它们制造出的元素抛射到宇宙深处
[1:03:54] to form the materials for the next generation of stars. 这些元素将成为孕育下一代恒星的原材料
[1:04:01] But that’s not the end of the story. 但那远远不是故事的终结
[1:04:08] Supernovae may look like the death of a star, 超新星看上去像是恒星的魂归之地
[1:04:12] but for some, there is life beyond the grave. 但是对一些恒星来说 生命仍将继续
[1:04:17] Understanding that took a particular breed of scientist. 了解它们 需要依靠一群特别的科学家
[1:04:25] They probed deep into their own imagination 他们不断挑战着自己的想象力
[1:04:28] and a world of calculations. 并身陷在浩瀚的计算之中
[1:04:33] And what they found there were predictions 他们的成果预言出了
[1:04:35] of objects so bizarre, so weird, 一种如此奇异 超乎想象的天体
[1:04:38] that we’re only beginning to understand them. 我们对它们的了解才刚刚开始
[1:04:42] In the process, 在这个过程中
[1:04:44] unravelling even deeper secrets about the universe. 我们还解开了宇宙中更深层的秘密
[1:05:02] The faintest of signals picked up from deepest space 从宇宙中接收到的最微弱的信号
[1:05:06] have revealed to modern scientists exotic stellar tombstones. 让现代科学家发现了这奇异的恒星墓碑
[1:05:14] Tombstones first predicted 对墓碑的最早预测
[1:05:16] in the theoretical calculations of the maverick Swiss astronomer 来自一位前卫的挪威天文学家的理论计算
[1:05:20] Fritz Zwicky, 弗里茨·兹威基
[1:05:21] more than 80 years ago. 早在80多年之前
[1:05:27] He was sure that when a supernova exploded, 他坚信超新星爆发后
[1:05:31] it left behind a kernel so dense 它留下的内核十分致密
[1:05:34] that a cupful would be as heavy as a mountain. 一杯物质就会像山一样重
[1:05:39] He called it a neutron star. 他称之为中子星
[1:05:45] It seemed so preposterous that Zwicky’s ideas were dismissed. 他的想法看上去很荒谬 被人抛诸脑后
[1:05:51] Until, that is, a new way of scouring the heavens emerged – 直到一种探索宇宙的新方式出现
[1:05:56] radio astronomy. 那就是射电天文学
[1:06:09] In 1967, the fledgling discipline 1967年 这个刚起步的学科
[1:06:12] picked up a strange repetitive message from outer space. 从太空接收到了一组重复出现的奇怪信息
[1:06:18] Now, the people here say 现在人们认为
[1:06:20] that if they got three signals as exactly spaced as that, 接收到三个时间间隔相等的信号
[1:06:24] it would be very unusual. 是很不常见的
[1:06:26] If they got four, it would be phenomenal. 而如果接收到了四个 那就是异常的
[1:06:29] Well, they’ve had pulses 自十一月以来
[1:06:30] as exactly spaced as that 24 hours of the day 我们接收到了时间间隔
[1:06:33] since November. 完全相等的信号
[1:06:37] These pulses were so exact and predictable in their pattern 这些脉冲十分精确 其规律也可被预测
[1:06:41] that scientists even considered aliens as their source. 科学家甚至认为它们是外星人发出的信号
[1:06:47] It turned out 事实证明
[1:06:48] they were being transmitted by something equally unlikely 它们的发射源与外星人一样令人难以置信
[1:06:52] and just as unfamiliar. 且不为人们所知
[1:06:55] The most important question of all – what are they? 最重要的一个问题就是 那是什么
[1:06:58] Well, we know that they’re very small. 我们知道的是它们很小
[1:07:01] They’re objects about the size of a planet. 这些物体的大小与行星相仿
[1:07:03] We know also that they are very energetic 我们还知道它们能量很高
[1:07:05] and that the source of energy must be far greater 远远超过一颗行星
[1:07:07] than a planet could really provide. 所能提供的能源
[1:07:09] It must be something like a star 它肯定是类似恒星的天体
[1:07:11] compressed into a volume the size of a planet. 被压缩到行星的大小
[1:07:18] Scientists worked out that the new star had to be denser 科学家研究发现这种新恒星的密度
[1:07:22] than any type previously discovered. 比以往发现的任何天体都要高
[1:07:26] Could these be the neutron stars predicted by Zwicky? 这是否就是兹威基所预测的中子星
[1:07:32] Astronomers nicknamed them pulsars 天文学家戏称其为脉冲星
[1:07:35] and immediately set their telescopes, 并立刻准备好他们的望远镜
[1:07:38] searching for further clues about them. 搜寻关于它们的其他线索
[1:07:47] Just a year later, they found one, 仅仅一年以后 他们发现了一颗
[1:07:50] in the perfect place to put Zwicky’s theory to the test. 可以完美地对兹威基的理论进行检验
[1:07:57] In the winter, 冬天
[1:07:58] we have access to the beautiful part of the sky 我们可以看到星空中最绚丽的部分
[1:07:59] 弗朗西斯科·迭戈博士 天文学家 伦敦大学学院
[1:08:01] that contains the constellation of Taurus, the Bull. 其中包括金牛座
[1:08:05] Here we have the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, 这里看到的是昴星团 即七姊妹星团
[1:08:08] down here we have another cluster of the stars, 下面是另一个星团
[1:08:10] which are the Hyades, 毕星团
[1:08:11] that contain the bright star Aldebaran, 其中包括这颗明亮的恒星 毕宿五
[1:08:14] the angry eye of the bull. 金牛愤怒的眼睛
[1:08:16] And if we follow from Aldebaran in this direction 如果我们沿着毕宿五的这个方向
[1:08:19] towards that star there, just about there, 指向那边的那颗恒星 就在那里
[1:08:22] we will find the closest pulsar to the solar system, 我们会发现距离太阳系最近的一颗脉冲星
[1:08:27] the Crab Pulsar. 蟹状星云脉冲星
[1:08:31] What particularly excited 当科学家们发现
[1:08:32] scientists when they discovered the Crab Pulsar 蟹状星云脉冲星时 最让他们激动的
[1:08:37] was that it was buried deep within the remains of a supernova. 是它正好位于一颗超新星爆发后的遗骸中
[1:08:43] In this amazing picture, 在这张令人惊叹的图像中
[1:08:44] we see the remnant of a supernova explosion, 我们看到的是超新星爆发后的残骸
[1:08:48] but when we scan the central part of this nebula, 但是当我们扫描这个星云的中心位置时
[1:08:52] we find the pulsar, 我们发现了这颗脉冲星
[1:08:54] which is the remnant of the core of the star that exploded. 它就是恒星爆发后 残留下来的内核
[1:09:02] Now that a pulsar was definitively connected to a supernova, 这证明脉冲星显然与超新星有关
[1:09:08] scientists realised that they had discovered 科学家们意识到他们发现了
[1:09:11] another of the seven ages of starlight. 恒星生命历程中的另一个新阶段
[1:09:22] It showed Swiss astronomer Zwicky was correct all along. 它说明挪威天文学家兹威基一直都是对的
[1:09:26] His theoretical equations predicted how a supernova 他的理论公式预测了一颗超新星
[1:09:31] could leave behind such a dense remnant. 如何在爆炸后还留下这样致密的残骸
[1:09:36] The calculations focused on a strange quality of all matter. 计算致力于所有物质的一项特殊性质
[1:09:42] It’s one that defies common sense 这个性质与常识相违背
[1:09:45] but is fundamental to the work of astrophysicists 但它却成为了天体物理学家工作的基础
[1:09:49] like Professor Doug Leonard. 例如道格·伦纳德教授
[1:09:52] Solidity is an illusion. 所谓固体不过是幻觉
[1:09:55] If I run up with my fist and 如果我挥舞拳头
[1:09:57] 道格·伦纳德教授 天体物理学家 圣地亚哥州立大学
[1:09:57] punch a brick wall, it will hurt like heck, 击打砖墙 我会感到十分疼
[1:10:00] but, essentially, my fist and the wall 但是 事实上 我的拳头和墙
[1:10:03] are almost entirely empty space. 几乎全部都是真空
[1:10:08] The illusion comes because we’re made out of atoms, 幻觉的产生 是因为我们都由原子组成
[1:10:11] the fundamental building blocks of matter, 它们是物质最基本的砖石
[1:10:14] and most of what an atom is is empty space. 而原子基本上就是真空
[1:10:19] So, if this is an atomic nucleus containing the protons and neutrons, 如果这是一个包括中子和质子的原子核
[1:10:24] the electrons would be roughly 那么电子大概就会在
[1:10:26] where those buildings are in the background. 背后那群建筑所在的地方
[1:10:32] Zwicky predicted 兹威基预测
[1:10:33] the one thing violent enough to ram together atomic particles 伴随着超新星爆发 大质量恒星塌缩
[1:10:37] and fill all this empty space 释放的能量
[1:10:40] is the collapse of a massive star during a supernova. 足以将原子挤到一起 填满所有的空间
[1:10:45] A collapse that happens in a matter of seconds. 这个塌缩就发生在仅仅数秒之内
[1:10:51] In a supernova, 在超新星中
[1:10:52] the very first thing that happens is the iron core implodes, 最先发生的是铁核的内爆
[1:10:56] from something about the size of the Earth 将从地球大小
[1:10:58] down to something the size of a small city, 压缩到仅仅一个小城市的规模
[1:11:00] and in that implosion, the densities become so high 在内爆过程中 密度将变得十分高
[1:11:04] that the protons and the electrons get squeezed together 以至于质子和电子被挤到了一起
[1:11:07] to form neutrons. 并形成了中子
[1:11:11] And, essentially, 同时 重要的是
[1:11:13] all the air of the atoms gets squeezed out of it, 原子中的空隙被挤出
[1:11:16] and what you’re left with at the end is a ball of neutrons, 而最终剩下的就是一个由中子组成的球
[1:11:20] an incredibly dense object that we call a neutron star. 它极其致密 被我们称为中子星
[1:11:28] And as the neutron star formed, its magnetic field intensified. 中子星形成的过程中 它的磁场增强
[1:11:37] And became billions of times stronger than our Sun’s. 其强度是太阳磁场的数十亿倍
[1:11:43] Now, as the star span, 随着中子星的旋转
[1:11:46] it channelled out radio signals from its north and south poles. 它的南北极将发射出无线信号
[1:11:55] Signals that swept past Earth with every rotation of the star. 它每旋转一圈 信号都会扫过地球
[1:12:03] This was the source of the mysterious pulses. 这就是神秘脉冲的来源
[1:12:08] Some are so regular that pulsars 这脉冲极其规律 因此脉冲星
[1:12:11] are among the most accurate clocks in the universe. 成为了宇宙中最精确的钟表之一
[1:12:18] The discovery of neutron stars 中子星的发现
[1:12:20] was a vindication of the power of theoretical physics. 有力地证明了理论物理的力量
[1:12:26] It set astronomers wondering 它使得天文学家们开始思考
[1:12:28] if other strange bodies that had been predicted 其他被理论预测的奇怪天体
[1:12:31] could be lurking in space. 是否也正在宇宙中游荡
[1:12:36] And there was one hypothetical object 其中有一种理论上的天体
[1:12:38] that was even weirder than a neutron star. 甚至比中子星更加怪异
[1:12:59] The last stage of a star’s life 恒星生命的最后阶段
[1:13:02] is as much an idea of science fiction as a physical reality. 比起现实世界 更像是科幻小说中的想象
[1:13:09] Put forward by science writer Adrian Berry in his book The Iron Sun, 科普作家亚德连·贝利在《铁太阳》一书中
[1:13:12] the suggestion is that, in the future, man could use black holes 提出 未来人类可以利用黑洞
[1:13:15] to transport himself instantly around the universe, 快速地往来于宇宙之中
[1:13:19] and when I say instantly, I really mean like that. 而我说的快速 就有这么快
[1:13:24] For years, most scientists 一直以来 大多数科学家
[1:13:26] dismissed black holes as fanciful conjecture. 不屑地将黑洞视为异想天开
[1:13:31] They were apparently nonsensical structures of space and time, 它们的时空结构显然是不合理的
[1:13:35] spat out when Albert Einstein’s equations 阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的公式在极端情况下
[1:13:38] were taken to their extreme conclusion. 黑洞才可能出现
[1:13:41] Einstein’s theory of relativity does lead us 爱因斯坦的相对论确实将我们引上了
[1:13:43] into very strange and unfamiliar paths. 奇异而陌生的方向
[1:13:48] Einstein himself didn’t believe in black holes. 爱因斯坦本人并不相信黑洞的存在
[1:13:53] But in our search to understand them, 但当我们试图去理解它们时
[1:13:55] we might have found a clue to the biggest question of all. 我们找到的线索 也许能解开最大的谜题
[1:14:02] The very origin of the universe. 宇宙的起源
[1:14:10] It’s like there’s just a huge question mark in the sky, 这些黑洞到底藏在哪里
[1:14:13] where one of these things exists. 就像是天上悬着的一个巨大问号
[1:14:16] They are the most mysterious objects in space. 它们是宇宙中最神秘的天体
[1:14:22] It’s where the equations themselves break down. 在那里公式不再有意义
[1:14:27] Black holes are so complex, so fantastical, 黑洞是这样的复杂 这样的不切实际
[1:14:32] that even now we know they ARE real, 即使我们已经确定它们真的存在
[1:14:34] they throw up more questions than answers. 它们却带来了更多的问题
[1:14:39] How can they exist? They simply don’t make sense. 它们怎么可能存在 这怎么都说不通
[1:14:46] A black hole represents a spot in space 黑洞是宇宙中的一点
[1:14:49] around which the gravity is so intense 在它周围的引力十分强
[1:14:52] that nothing, not even light, can get away. 任何东西 即使是光线也无法逃离
[1:14:57] It’s a region bounded by something called the event horizon 这个空间的边界叫做事件视界
[1:15:00] within which all events 在里面 所有的事件
[1:15:03] are beyond the horizon of someone outside, 都无法被外面的观察者看见
[1:15:05] meaning they cannot see anything that’s happening inside there, 意味着没人能看到 黑洞内发生的任何事件
[1:15:08] so it’s a region of space 因此这是一个
[1:15:10] from which no information can ever escape. 没有办法探查其中任何信息的空间
[1:15:15] Scientists think that these extraordinary monsters in space 科学家认为宇宙中的这些怪物
[1:15:19] are created by the death of the most massive stars. 诞生于超大质量恒星的死亡
[1:15:28] Rare stars whose cores are so huge 极少数恒星的内核十分大
[1:15:31] that when they collapse, 它们塌缩时
[1:15:32] they don’t turn into a pulsar. 并不会变为脉冲星
[1:15:35] The collapse just keeps on going. 塌缩将一直继续下去
[1:15:42] It remains, to some extent, a theory. 直到现在 它在某种程度上还只是理论
[1:15:48] But Doug Leonard has got as close as anyone 但道格·伦纳德 是当代人中
[1:15:51] to actually seeing it happen. 最接近亲眼目睹这一过程的人
[1:15:57] It started by getting an alert on the computer 首先电脑上设定的一个警报提醒我们
[1:16:00] that a supernova had gone off in a very nearby galaxy, 在邻近星系中发生了超新星爆发
[1:16:03] only 210 million light years away. 仅仅在21亿光年以外
[1:16:08] Here’s a picture of the supernova indicated by the arrow, 图片中箭头所指 就是这颗超新星
[1:16:13] and so what we immediately did 所以我们立即开始
[1:16:15] was trawl through the Hubble Space Telescope archives 搜索哈勃太空望远镜的数据资料
[1:16:18] to see if we could find a picture of that exact spot in the sky 看能否找到这颗恒星爆发前
[1:16:22] taken before the star had actually exploded, 拍摄的图像
[1:16:24] and, as luck would have it, someone did. 幸运的是 有人拍过
[1:16:30] The image revealed that the supernova 照片显示这颗超新星
[1:16:32] was the explosion of a star dubbed LBV-1, 是处于某个遥远星系 名为LBV-1的恒星
[1:16:36] in a distant galaxy. 产生的爆发
[1:16:43] Doug and his team realised 道格和他的小组意识到
[1:16:45] that they had an unprecedented opportunity. 他们得到了一个前所未有的机会
[1:16:49] Because the star had been a super-massive one, 因为这颗恒星曾是一颗超大质量恒星
[1:16:52] at least 50 times the mass of the Sun. 质量至少是太阳的五十倍
[1:16:58] It was exactly the size to test out the theoretical equations. 这种大小正好适于测试理论公式
[1:17:04] Could this possibly be the birth of a black hole? 这是否标志着一个黑洞的诞生
[1:17:11] Two years we waited for all of the fireworks and embers 等待这颗超新星的焰火和余烬消散
[1:17:14] of the supernova to disappear and go away, 我们花了两年时间
[1:17:17] so that we could get a third picture 我们在超新星爆发很长时间后
[1:17:20] long after the supernova was gone 得以拍摄第三张照片
[1:17:22] to see if that star in fact had disappeared, 看看这颗恒星是否真的已经消失
[1:17:25] and in fact it had. 实际上它确实消失了
[1:17:27] It was now gone. 现在已经毫无踪影
[1:17:28] It was an extremely luminous star, 这曾是一颗非常明亮的恒星
[1:17:30] it blew up and now it was gone. 发生了爆发 而今消失了
[1:17:37] The evidence suggested 证据表明
[1:17:38] that billions of tonnes of matter from a massive star 这颗大质量恒星所含的上亿吨物质
[1:17:42] had shrunk to nothing. 已经收缩得不见踪影
[1:17:56] So what we’re left with here is this mind-boggling idea 现在我们只能惊讶于 如此巨大的质量
[1:17:59] of mass contained in zero volume, 竟包含于无形之中
[1:18:03] and that just makes your head spin, 这绝对让你目瞪口呆
[1:18:05] but that’s what we call a black hole. 然而这正是我们所说的黑洞
[1:18:10] It’s these very qualities 正是这些特性
[1:18:12] that make some scientists think understanding black holes 使得一些科学家认为 了解黑洞
[1:18:15] could hold the key not to death 就能够掌握最早一批恒星的秘密
[1:18:18] but to the birth of the very first stars. 不是它们的死亡 而是它们的诞生
[1:18:27] It’s really an awe-inspiring story, 这真是一个令人惊叹的故事
[1:18:30] much more so than the classical creation myths 经典的创世神话和它比起来
[1:18:33] that make it seem so easy. 不免相形见绌
[1:18:40] Scientists have discovered that there’s one other place 科学家发现 在另一个地方
[1:18:42] you can find a point of infinite density and zero volume. 能找到一个无穷密度 而体积为零的点
[1:18:55] That’s at the instant the universe began, 那是在宇宙开始的瞬间
[1:19:00] a moment studied by astronomer Dr Alan Dressler. 这正是艾伦·德雷斯勒博士的研究方向
[1:19:04] Today, it’s scientific orthodoxy, 在今天 这已被科学界认同
[1:19:07] but it wasn’t always that way. 但事实并非一向如此
[1:19:10] The idea that the universe had a creation event 从科学的角度来看
[1:19:11] 艾伦·德雷斯勒博士 卡内基科学协会 天文学家
[1:19:14] from a scientific perspective 宇宙起源于创世事件
[1:19:15] was a revolutionary idea. 这是一个革命性的观念
[1:19:19] Every bit as remarkable a revolution 其革命性
[1:19:21] as the idea that the Sun and not the Earth 与发现太阳系的中心是太阳而非地球
[1:19:25] was the centre of the solar system. 不分伯仲
[1:19:29] Scientists call it the Big Bang, 科学家称之为大爆炸
[1:19:34] and it was predicted by the very same equations 这是用发现黑洞的同样公式
[1:19:37] that discovered black holes. 预测到的
[1:19:39] There’s the Big Bang theory according to which… 这就是大爆炸理论 根据这条理论
[1:19:43] the universe began with a gigantic fireball 一百亿年前的创世日
[1:19:46] on creation day, some 10,000 million years ago. 宇宙起源于一个巨大的火球
[1:19:57] It was here, at the beginning of the universe, 正是这里 宇宙诞生之时
[1:20:00] that scientists found the answer to the ultimate question 科学家发现了关于恒星生命周期的
[1:20:04] about the lives of stars. 根本问题的答案
[1:20:11] Where did the hydrogen to make the very first ones come from? 形成第一批恒星的氢从何而来
[1:20:18] From this very early instant 大爆炸之初
[1:20:20] came a primordial soup of energy and matter that had to cool 产生了原始能量和物质的浓汤 它们冷却后
[1:20:25] before it could become the elements of hydrogen and helium 形成了氢和氦 而这两种元素
[1:20:28] that made everything else in the universe we know today. 铸就了如今宇宙中 我们所熟知的一切
[1:20:35] Every hydrogen atom that fuelled every star 每一个作为恒星燃料的氢原子
[1:20:38] was made in those first few minutes of the Big Bang. 都产生于大爆炸后的几分钟内
[1:20:45] The extraordinary thing about the lifecycle of the stars 恒星生命循环的不凡之处在于
[1:20:49] is that it’s revealed the origin of the universe, the elements, 它揭示了宇宙的起源 元素的由来
[1:20:54] even of us. 甚至还有我们
[1:20:59] But that isn’t quite the end of the star story. 但这还不是恒星旅程的终点
[1:21:05] Astronomers have discovered one other tantalising fact 天文学家仰望着漆黑的夜空时
[1:21:08] as they’ve looked out into the dark sky. 又发现了一个令人好奇的现象
[1:21:15] In nebulae, formed from the remnants of stars 在恒星残骸形成的星云中
[1:21:19] and where the next generation are born, 下一代恒星正在形成
[1:21:21] they’ve discovered the earliest stirrings of life. 科学家还发现了 最原始的生命之火
[1:21:36] 艾姆斯研究中心 美国航空航天局研究园
[1:21:43] Even for NASA, nebulae are too far away to visit… 即便对于美国航空航天局 星云也是遥不可及
[1:21:52] ..So they’ve built one of their own here on Earth. 因此他们在地球上 创造了自己的星云
[1:21:59] 40 years ago, scientists peered into the clouds 四十年前 科学家们得以窥见星云
[1:22:02] of dust and gas created from the remains of stars 诞生于恒星残骸的尘埃和气体中
[1:22:06] and, to their surprise, 令他们惊喜的是
[1:22:08] found not just elements but organic molecules. 他们不仅找到了元素 还找到了有机分子
[1:22:15] I think it really is a shift in people’s thinking about this. 我认为这改变了人们的观念
[1:22:18] 50, 60 years ago, people didn’t think 五六十年前 人们不会想到
[1:22:18] 斯科特·斯坦福博士 美国航空航天局 天文学家
[1:22:20] space had any of this kind of molecular complexity. 太空中还有这么多种分子
[1:22:22] Now we know it does. 现在我们知道 它确实存在
[1:22:26] Many of these molecules are organic molecules. 许多分子都是有机分子
[1:22:28] Many of them may be complex, and, in fact, 很多都非常复杂 实际上
[1:22:30] some of them are likely to be the kinds of molecules 这其中有许多种分子
[1:22:32] you like to have around if you want to have life get started. 是产生生命所必具的分子
[1:22:38] Dr Scott Sandford is 斯科特·斯坦福博士
[1:22:39] at the cutting edge of research at NASA where they’re trying to answer 试图寻找恒星特别问题的答案
[1:22:44] an extraordinary question about stars. 其研究处于美国航空航天局的最前沿
[1:22:49] Just how many steps towards life can be made in the nebulae 星云作为宇宙中恒星的摇篮和墓地
[1:22:53] that are the stellar nurseries and graveyards of outer space? 在这里生命又能走到多远
[1:23:00] What we have right now is a nice little simulation 这个是稠密星际分子云的
[1:23:03] of an interstellar dense molecular cloud, 小型模拟装置
[1:23:05] so this is a star formation region in a jar, basically. 这个罐子中的环境 与恒星形成区类似
[1:23:09] And now we just need to let it cook for 24 hours 现在只需让其反应24小时
[1:23:11] and then we’ll be ready to pull the sample out 我们就能将样本取出
[1:23:13] and see what we made. 看看产生了什么
[1:23:22] When Scott and other scientists have analysed their results, 斯科特和其他科学家分析结果时发现
[1:23:26] what they’ve found is that as the nebulae create stars, 星云在形成恒星的过程中
[1:23:30] they make the building blocks of living things on Earth. 也产生了地球生命的基础成分
[1:23:37] There’s just a whole host of compounds we make. 这里形成了许多化合物
[1:23:39] We find that many of these compounds are very interesting, 我们发现许多化合物都非常有趣
[1:23:42] because they play roles in life on Earth, 因为它们都在地球生命中发挥了作用
[1:23:45] and so it’s clear we’re making many of the building blocks of life 这清楚地表明发生在太空中的这一过程
[1:23:48] by these very processes that happen in space. 产生了生命的基石
[1:23:55] These molecules might hold the secret 这些分子也许就隐藏着
[1:23:58] to how life began on our planet. 我们星球上的生命如何出现的秘密
[1:24:04] If they were part of the process, 如果它们是生命形成的一部分
[1:24:06] they’d have to firstly get to Earth, 首先它们必须到达地球
[1:24:10] and scientists have found a delivery system. 科学家们发现了一个传送系统
[1:24:16] This is part of a meteorite 这是一颗从太空
[1:24:18] that crashed from outer space to Earth in Australia. 坠入澳大利亚的陨石的一部分
[1:24:23] In it were found many of the organic compounds 在其中找到的许多有机分子
[1:24:26] vital to life on our planet. 对我们星球上的生命至关重要
[1:24:29] The amino acids in this meteorite 这颗陨石中的氨基酸
[1:24:31] predate the arrival of this meteorite to the Earth, 在陨石坠落地球之前 就已经存在
[1:24:34] so in fact these amino acids 因此实际上 这些氨基酸
[1:24:35] had to have been made in space in some environment, 一定是在太空中的某种环境下产生的
[1:24:38] and so amino acids do exist out there in space 所以 氨基酸一定存在于太空中
[1:24:41] and they do get delivered to planets. 然后被送到了行星上
[1:24:45] Perhaps life didn’t have to start from scratch here on Earth. 也许生命并非要从地球上从零开始
[1:24:49] Could the building blocks have been scattered from space? 这些生命的砖石能否由太空散播而来
[1:24:54] We don’t know if the origin of life on the Earth 我们不知道地球上最初的生命
[1:24:56] owes its existence to these kinds of materials 是否有这些
[1:24:58] being delivered from space, 来自太空的物质
[1:24:59] because we don’t understand how life got started. 因为我们不了解生命的起源
[1:25:01] However, the analogy I would use is that 我打个比方
[1:25:03] if you’re trying to build a Lego castle, 如果你想建一座乐高城堡
[1:25:05] it’s probably a lot easier if Legos fall out of the sky on you 乐高积木能从天而降
[1:25:08] than if you have to build Lego blocks from scratch 要比你自己制造乐高积木
[1:25:10] and then make your Lego castle. 要容易得多
[1:25:13] And if those Lego pieces were available to Earth, 如果这些乐高积木在地球上可以找到
[1:25:17] they could be available to planets orbiting other stars. 也可以出现在环绕其他恒星的行星上
[1:25:22] Well, given that we know that just about anywhere you make stars, 我们已经知道 无论在哪里形成恒星
[1:25:24] you’re going to make these Lego blocks, 都可以产生这些乐高积木
[1:25:26] and the fact that there are a huge number of environments 实际上乐高积木
[1:25:29] where these Lego blocks will be delivered, 可能被送至很多地方
[1:25:31] I personally would be quite surprised 如果地球之外不存在生命
[1:25:33] if there isn’t other life out there. 我将会非常惊讶
[1:25:39] We may never know for sure whether there is life elsewhere. 也许我们永远不能确定其他地方是否存在生命
[1:25:46] But we do know a lot about where we came from. 但我们已经深知我们来自何方
[1:25:54] And that’s because we’ve learnt so much 而那是因为通过仰望太空
[1:25:56] about things here on Earth 我们已经了解了许多
[1:26:00] from looking far out into space. 地球上的事物
[1:26:07] The discovery that stars are not eternal, 发现恒星并非是永恒的
[1:26:10] that they actually have their birth, 发现了它们会诞生
[1:26:13] their lives and they eventually die, 度过一生 最终走向死亡
[1:26:17] is one of the greatest achievements of modern science. 是现代科学中最伟大的成就之一
[1:26:20] And even more amazing, 更令人惊叹的是
[1:26:22] that we have achieved that from this little vantage point 我们生活在银河系角落中
[1:26:25] in the corner of a galaxy, the Milky Way. 某个稍有优势的位置 才取得了这样的成就
[1:26:31] Imagine that we live in a completely clouded planet, 想象我们生活在一个阴云密布的行星上
[1:26:34] say like Venus, that nobody ever has seen the stars, 例如金星 那里人们从没见过恒星
[1:26:39] the movements of the sky, 看不到天体的运动
[1:26:42] I wonder, our culture, 我猜 我们的文化
[1:26:44] our science would have been completely different. 我们的科学将会迥然不同
[1:26:47] Our lives would be completely different. 我们的生活也将完全不同
[1:26:48] So how lucky we are to be here 因此我们是如此的幸运
[1:26:51] on this planet with this beautiful transparent atmosphere 生活在这个大气层美丽而透明的星球上
[1:26:53] that allows us to admire 使我们能够仰望
[1:26:55] the majestic display of the starry night. 这星光闪耀的恢宏夜空
[1:27:03] By looking at the stars, generations of imaginative scientists 一代代富有想象力的科学家通过观察恒星
[1:27:08] have stretched the boundaries of knowledge, 已经拓展了知识的边界
[1:27:12] discovering truths stranger than fiction… 发现了比想象还要神奇的现实
[1:27:18] and, through the stars, uncovered the story of the universe. 通过恒星 揭开宇宙故事的神秘面纱
[1:27:24] But like all good tales, 但同所有美好的故事一样
[1:27:26] it will eventually come to an end. 它终将告一段落
[1:27:35] About 100 trillion years from now, 从现在起的一百万亿年后
[1:27:38] the raw materials for new stars will run out. 形成新恒星的原始材料将会耗尽
[1:27:43] The last will play out their lives 剩下的恒星将度过它们的余生
[1:27:46] and their remnants gradually fade, 它们的残骸将逐渐黯淡
[1:27:50] until, finally, the one remaining cinder goes cold 直到最后一颗恒星的灰烬冷去
[1:27:56] and light will be extinguished from the universe. 宇宙中 再也寻觅不到星光的所在
2012年

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