BBC 地平线系列：看星（2011）

九天之外 人类肉眼难以望见的
Out there, hidden from the naked eye,
是我们几乎一无所知的宇宙
is a universe we barely understand.
那里有恒星诞生
There are stars being born,
有黑洞 甚至还可能有全新的生命形式
black holes, perhaps even new forms of life...
但如今 天文学者得以用前所未有的方式
But now, astronomers are able to see the cosmos
观测宇宙
as never before.
他们在建造一批全新的超级望远镜
They are creating a new breed of super-telescope
空前的强大 空前的清晰
of unprecedented power and clarity.
我们所拥有的工具
We have, at our disposal, tools
是人类历史上从来没有过的
that have never existed before in the history of mankind.
我们是能够看到这场面的第一批人
We're the first ones to get to look at this,
你很难意识到这个时刻是多么的特别
you know, you don't actually realise how special a time this is.
望远镜建造事业的革新
This revolution in telescope construction
开创了探索发现的新时代
promises a new age of discovery.
现在对一名天文学者和建造望远镜的工程师
Right now is an extremely exciting time to be an astronomer,
来说是非常激动人心的时刻
to be an engineer building telescopes,
因为各种问题层出不穷
because the questions keep multiplying.
答案也接踵而至
The answers keep coming too,
但马上又会生出更多的问题
but the questions come even faster than the answers.
七点一刻启动引擎 七点二十五分滑出
Engines start at 7.15, we'll taxi out at 7.25.
在世界各个角落 天文学者在试图捕捉
At the ends of the Earth, astronomers are trying to capture light
来自宇宙最遥远深处的光
that has travelled from the farthest reaches of space.
我们要把它运到查南托高原
So we're taking it to the Chajnantor Plateau.
那里的空气密度大约是海平面的一半
The air density's about 50% of that at sea level.
带上手套 戴上帽子 打开氧气
So gloves on, hat on, oxygen happening...
就差不多做好进入智利沙漠的准备了
more or less ready for the Chilean desert.
他们一起为望远镜定义及其功能
Together, they are reinventing what a telescope is
赋予了新的含义
and what it can do.
他们也在改写着宇宙的故事
And they are rewriting the story of the universe.
地平线 极目星辰
智利的阿塔卡马沙漠
The Atacama Desert, Chile.
这里寸草难生 滴水不见 死气沉沉
Hardly any vegetation, moisture or life.
这里的山脉自诞生起就从未见过降雨
Mountains here have received no rain in living memory.
这些山脉高达两千五百米
They reach up over one and a half miles
头顶的天空没有一丝云彩
into dry, cloudless skies.
纵观历史 只有死神在此静候闯入的旅人
Throughout history only death awaited those who ventured here.
直到现在
Until now...
这里是住宿点
This is La Residencia.
但这里可不是什么奢华的酒店
But this is no luxury hotel...
住在这里的人也不是普通的游客
and the people here no ordinary tourists.
这里是那些捕捉宇宙中
This is the desert home from home
最神秘莫测 神出鬼没的天体的天文学者
for astronomers hunting for the most mysterious and elusive objects
在沙漠中的第二故乡
in the Universe.
身处沙漠 我万分激动
It's very exciting to be out here in the desert,
我们在这里
and what we are actually doing here is,
要寻找一个银河系中非常独特的天体
we are looking for a very particular object in our own galaxy,
我们是在寻找黑洞
we're looking for a black hole.
为了找到这个黑洞 天文学者会用到
To locate this black hole, astronomers will be using
有史以来建造的最强大的望远镜
one of the most powerful telescopes ever built...
即VLT 甚大望远镜
..The VLT - the Very Large Telescope.
这个可以说是
This, quite simply,
人类建造过的最先进的光学仪器了
is the most advanced optical instrument ever constructed.
甚大望远镜由四望远镜组成
The VLT is made up of four main telescopes.
每个都有着同样的玻璃陶瓷镜片
Each contains identical glass ceramic mirrors -
也是制♥造♥过的最大的镜片
the largest ever manufactured.
要想找到黑洞 就得这么大动干戈
This is what it takes to spot a black hole.
但是就算有VLT 这也不是什么简单的事
But it's not going to be easy, even with the VLT.
一个黑洞
A black hole...
是死亡恒星的致密遗迹
the dense remains of a dead star...
它有着极强的引力
has such a strong gravitational pull
什么都逃不出黑洞
that nothing can escape...
甚至是光
even light.
黑洞会吸收所有的光
A black hole collects all the light
甘瑟·魏策尔
科隆大学
所以在黑洞一定距离之内
so from a certain distance from the black hole
光就再也逃不出来了
no light can escape any more,
这也就意味着你无法观测到黑洞
so in that sense you cannot observe a black hole,
因为黑洞是黑的
because it's black.
为了找到黑洞
To locate it,
天文学者将在红外线中寻找线索
astronomers will be searching for clues in infrared light...
红外线就在可见光谱范围之外
light which lies just outside the visible part of the spectrum.
这也是甚大望远镜坐落在阿塔卡玛的原因
It is why the VLT is in the Atacama.
观测黑洞需要最最先进的仪器
You need the most advanced facilities to observe this,
而最先进的仪器需要建在特定的地点
and to do so, um, you need also very certain sites
比如那里要非常的干燥
that are dry for example,
所以这里这片沙漠
and so this desert here
正是进行这种研究的完美地点
is just the perfect place for such research.
干燥的空气至关重要
Dry air is vital...
大气中的水分会过滤掉来自太空的红外线
atmospheric moisture filters out infrared light coming from space.
天文学者将望远镜
By building their telescope
建在沙漠山顶的云层之上
above the clouds on a desert mountain top,
是希望尽可能得到最清晰的视野
astronomers hope for the clearest possible view.
现在将近傍晚
It's now late afternoon.
在这四台望远镜内部
Inside the four telescopes,
工程师们正在为今晚的观测做准备
engineers are preparing for the coming night's observations.
这些二十三吨♥重的镜片完全是自动化的
These 23-ton mirrors are fully automated...
而且会提前编好程序
and will be programmed in advance.
这个五十平♥米♥的表面可以观测到
This 530 square-foot surface can observe objects
比肉眼极限还要暗四十亿倍的天体
four billion times fainter than can be seen with the naked eye...
正适合用来寻找遥远的黑洞
ideal for finding a distant black hole...
工程师的轮班接近尾声了
As the engineering shift ends,
黑洞猎人的轮班即将开始
the black hole hunters' shift begins.
甘瑟和他的同事安德烈
Gunther and his colleague Andreas
会一直工作到日出
will be working through to dawn.
要想找到黑洞
To find the black hole,
他们需要静止 清晰且干燥的天气
they need still, clear dry skies...
而这里正好是完美的地方
and this appears to be the perfect spot.
这里有着地球上最澄澈的天空
These are the clearest skies on Earth.
在这里 能看到无数的恒星在头顶闪烁
Here, tens of thousands of stars can be seen twinkling overhead.
但如果你找的是黑洞
But if you're looking for a black hole
这就有问题了
this represents a problem...
因为在宇宙中 恒星是不会闪烁的
Because in space, stars don't twinkle...
要想找到黑洞 控制室里的天文学者
To find the black hole, the astronomers in the control room
必须去除掉这种畸变
have to get rid of this distortion.
这是一颗恒星的图像
So what we see here is a stellar image
我们能看到它在跳来跳去
and we see it hopping back and forth,
安德烈·艾克特教授
科隆大学
这是因为来自恒星的光到达我们这里时
and that is because the light from the star, comes to us,
穿过了地球的大气层
through the atmosphere of the Earth.
而我们希望能完全去除这种运动
And we would like to ideally get rid entirely of this motion.
在甚大望远镜这里 工程师们想出了办法
Here at the VLT, engineers have devised a way of doing this.
他们准备在望远镜的中心
In the heart of the telescope,
自己造出一颗恒星来
they prepare to create a star of their own.
这颗恒星将被用来计算
It will be used to calculate
大气引起的畸变是如何影响宇宙图像的
how atmospheric distortion affects the view of space.
一束激光打向了上层大气
A laser is fired into the upper atmosphere.
这束激光与钠原子相互作用
It interacts with sodium atoms,
在沙漠上空一百千米处造出了一颗人造恒星
creating an artificial star 60 miles above the desert.
人造恒星变幻不息的图像
The ever-shifting image of the artificial star
被用来持续地校正望远镜的光学器件
is used to constantly correct the telescope optics
从而在不断运动的大气下得到稳定的图像
to create a stable view through the moving atmosphere.
《天文学年鉴》
观测日志
再回到控制室
Back in the control room,
黑洞猎人们还在努力工作
the black-hole hunters are still hard at work.
他们的工作全靠浓咖啡支撑着
Theirs is a world fuelled by strong coffee.
能在当地时间凌晨四点半
Yes, to be here at, 4.30 local time,
坐在这里 是非常兴奋的
in the morning, is very exciting.
因为这就是成为天文学者的意义所在
Er, because, um, this is what it is about to be an astronomer.
我们坐在这里
We are sitting here
看着这些我们感兴趣的现象
and looking at the phenomenon we are interested in,
当然还得回家