A new satellite is travelling 1.5 million kilometers over a 110-day period to enter an orbit of the sun. It is called DSCOVR -- the Deep Space Climate Observatory. It will replace a satellite that has been observing space weather.
一颗新卫星将用110天时间行程150万公里进入某个太阳轨道。这颗被称之为“深空气候观测台”(Deep Space Climate Observatory, DSCOVR)的卫星将取代一颗一直在监测太空天气的卫星。
DSCOVR will begin its work during the worst of the 11-year-long solar cycle. This is a time when extreme weather on the sun can have the greatest effect on planet Earth.
“深空气候观测台”将在太阳11年活动周期的最高峰期间开始其工作。这时候太阳上的极端天气对地球的影响最大。
DSCOVR will gather information about a continuing flow of particles from the sun. We are protected from these particles by the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. But we are not fully protected from what scientists call Coronal Mass Ejections. These are strong storms that can happen on the sun's surface.
“深空气候观测台”将收集有关源源不断的太阳粒子流的信息。我们被地球磁场和大气层保护免受这些粒子流的伤害。但我们不能完全避免科学家所说的“日冕物质抛射”的伤害，这是发生在太阳表面的强烈风暴。
Thomas Berger is the director of the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. He says these ejections are much more dangerous than solar particles. He says the Coronal Mass Ejections are extremely large magnetic clouds that are expelled from the sun at extremely high speeds. He says when they impact Earth, it is like a hurricane impacting Earth in terms of space weather.
托马斯·伯格（Thomas Berger）是美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）太空气象预报中心的负责人。他说，“日冕物质抛射”比太阳粒子更危险。他说，日冕物质抛射是指太阳以极高速度释放出来的非常大的磁云。当它们对地球产生作用时，就像是太空气象方面的飓风影响地球。
Violent space weather can make electric systems stop working. It can block satellite signals to Earth. It can interfere with radio signals and air travel.
恶劣的太空天气会让电网瘫痪，让卫星信号无法传回地球。它还会干扰无线电信号和航空运输。
Mr. Berger says we cannot stop the ejections from affecting us, but we can prepare for them if we know when they will happen. When the DSCOVR satellite records an ejection, it will release a warning. Mr. Berger says the warning will provide NOAA about 15 to 60 minutes to let people know that a very strong storm is coming in to the Earth. He says that is enough time for power grid operators to take protective action. He says it is also enough time for workers to place satellites on a safe operating method if necessary.
伯格先生表示，我们无法阻止喷发对我们的影响，但如果我们知道它们何时会发生，我们就能就此做好准备。当“深空气候观测台”记录下喷发，它就会发出警报。伯格先生表示，这一警报为美国国家海洋和大气管理局提供了15到60分钟时间，让人们知道一场非常强烈的风暴即将袭来地球。他说，这个时间足以让电网运营商采取保护措施，也足以让有关人员在必要情况下将卫星切换到安全工作模式。
Mr. Berger says scientists would like even more time, of course. He says researchers are developing instruments that will give an earlier warning.
伯格先生表示，科学家们当然希望时间更长。研究人员正在研制能够更早提供警报的仪器设备。
The warnings from DSCOVR will be for the whole planet. But Mr. Berger says a new system may be able to give more-targeted warnings. He says future models will be able to tell exactly what part of the world will be more at risk from a solar storm.
来自“深空气候观测台”的警报将会针对整个地球。但伯格先生表示，一种新的系统也许能够提供更具针对性的警报。他说，未来的预测模型将能够告知地球上哪些区域受太阳风暴影响的危险更大。
That means that, for the first time, humans will get both a warning that a magnetic storm is heading towards Earth and information about where it is likely to hit.
这意味着人类将首次不仅获得电磁风暴袭来地球的警报，还能获知它可能袭击的区域。
I'm Marsha James.
我是玛莎·詹姆斯（Marsha James）。

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