(单词翻译:单击)
At two high-altitude sites, in two countries, two very different telescope projects have come online to scan the skies.
为了观测天空,分别在两个国家的高海拔地区建立了截然不同的望远镜项目 。
At Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, a new instrument on the Hale Telescope is looking for exoplanets. Called Project 1640, it’s designed to blot out the infrared light of a star, without blocking the light from anything else. That allows astronomers to directly observe exoplanets, even though the star is thousands or even millions of times brighter.
海耳望远镜坐落在圣迭戈乡村的帕洛玛天文台上,它上面最新安装的仪器正在寻找系外行星 。这个项目就是“1640”计划,旨在遮挡来自恒星的红外线,同时并不阻断从其他物体发出的光线 。这就使天文学家能够直接观测系外行星,尽管恒星比行星要亮一千倍甚至上百万倍 。
Most known exoplanets have been discovered by indirect means, but planetary scientists believe they can learn a lot more from direct observation.
众所周知,系外行星是通过间接方式发现的,但是行星科学家们相信,通过直接观测会了解到更多 。
Over in Namibia, meanwhile, a new telescope called HESS II is seeking out higher-energy photons. The 28-meter telescope is designed to identify very high energy gamma rays. And gamma rays, the most energetic kind of electromagnetic radiation, already pack a pretty good wallop.
与此同时在纳米比亚上空,一个叫做“HESS II”的新式望远镜正在寻找高能光子 。这架高28米的望远镜被设计用来辨别高能的伽马射线 。伽马射线是一种极其活跃的电磁辐射,它聚合的冲击力相当强 。
The gamma rays HESS sees are mostly by-products of extremely violent astrophysical events such as supernovae and flaring black holes.
HESS观测到的伽马射线大多数是极端猛烈的天体物理现象的副产品,比如说超新星的爆炸,以及燃烧的黑洞 。
HESS and Project 1640 differ in method and motive. But for astronomers studying exoplanets or extreme astrophysics, the new projects represent two more eyes on the sky.
HESS和“1640”计划的不同之处在于观测方法和动机 。但对于正在研究系外行星和极端天文物理现象的天文学家来说,这两个项目代表着两只监视天空的眼睛 。
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