(单词翻译:单击)
The Sun is the most important star in our galaxy, and at some point, it's going to die.
太阳是我们银河系中最重要的恒星,但在某个时刻,它将死亡 。
When that happens, it'll turn into a red giant, getting so big it'll swallow Mars, Mercury, and quite possibly vaporize our own planet.
当这种情况发生时,它将变成一颗红巨星,如此巨大的它将吞噬火星、水星,而且很可能将地球蒸发 。
Don't panic yet, we've got a billion years to prepare before the big red comes.
不要惊慌,在这个大红星球到来之前,我们还有十亿年的时间可以准备 。
Stars have a life cycle just like us: they are born, they live, and then they die.
恒星和我们一样,有生命周期:它们出生,生长,然后死亡 。
During their lives, stars need to have a strong core,
在它们的一生中,恒星需要有一个坚强的内核,
one that can fuse hydrogen into helium to make nuclear fusion.
一种能把氢熔化为氦,从而进行核聚变的内核 。
Stars will work their cores for billions of years.
依靠这个内核,恒星将可运行亿万年之久 。
But eventually, they'll run out of hydrogen for their fusion process.
但最终,它们的聚变过程将耗尽氢气 。
When that happens, the star can't hold up against gravity and its core will start to collapse.
当这种情况发生时,恒星不能承受重力,它的内核将开始崩塌 。
The core will get smaller and denser, while its outer shell expands and cools, giving a distinctive red hue.
其内核将变得越来越小,密度越来越大,而它的外壳会膨胀冷却,使其呈现一种独特的红色 。
Red giants are HUGE, reaching sizes of or 62 million to 621 million miles.
红巨星非常巨大,其直径可达0.62亿至6.21亿英里 。
That's nearly 1,000 times the size of the sun.
大小几乎是太阳的100倍 。
So when our sun turns into a red giant, life as we know it will cease to exist.
所以当我们的太阳变成红巨星时,正如我们所知,它的生命也将停止 。
But there is an upside to this.
但也有一个好处 。
When stars morph into red giants, they change their habitable zone.
当恒星变成红巨星时,它们改变了它们的居住环境 。
The habitable zone is a region with the right conditions for life.
这样的居住区有着宜居的条件 。
So as the Sun gets larger and redder, it's warmth will extend to the outer reaches of our solar system.
所以当太阳越来越红,它的温暖会延伸到太阳系的外围 。
Making it possible for life to begin on a whole new planet.
这样,生命可能在一个全新的星球诞生 。