BBC轨道：地球的非凡之旅（2012）（1）

非凡旅程
地球公转与自转

第一集
芸芸众生 每时每刻都处在活动之中
All of us, every day of our lives, are on the move.
这可不是指早上上班
And we don't mean the morning commute
或送小孩去学校等日常活动
or taking the kids to school.
而是史诗般壮丽的旅程
But a journey of epic proportions.
即使是现在 观看这部片子的同时
Even now, as you are watching this,
您也正以十万公里的时速奔驰于宇宙之间
you're hurtling through space at 100,000 kilometres an hour.
年复一年 地球绕日公转
Every year, our planet, the Earth, travels around the sun,
我们亦随之运动
and we go with it.
我是凯特·亨布尔
I'm Kate Humble.
此时此刻 太阳在我头顶正上方
This is it. The sun is directly overhead.
而我的影子在我身体的正下方
My shadow is directly below me.
这一系列纪录片中 我们将在一整年中
In this series, we are going to follow
追寻地球穿行于宇宙间的轨迹
the Earth's voyage through space for one whole year
亲眼见证地球的奇幻之旅
to witness the astonishing consequences
给全人类带来的惊人影响
this journey has for us all.
我是海伦·切尔斯基博士
I'm Dr. Helen Czerski
我研究的领域是自然界中的物理现象
and I study the physics of the natural world.
看那里
Wow, look at that!
我将探明地球的公转运动
I'll be investigating how our orbit
是怎样为蔚为壮观的天气现象提供动力
powers the most spectacular weather
是如何塑造以及重塑我们的家园
and how it's also shaped and reshaped our planet.
我们将亲身感受这颗行星上最强劲的力量
We'll experience first hand the planet's most powerful forces.
我们等了一整天 就是为了这一刻
This is the moment we've been waiting for all day.
真的下起暴雨来了
And it's really raining hard now!
我们将潜入深不见底的海洋
We're going to dive to the deepest depths.
飞向高不可攀的天际
And we'll reach for the greatest heights.
而这一切都是为了
All to bring you
将地球的绕日旅程呈现给大家
the story of our planet's voyage around the sun.
地球绕日公转一整圈
The Earth takes just over 365 days
要花上365天多一点的时间
to make one complete orbit around the sun.
在此期间 地球会运行九亿四千万公里
In that time, it travels 940 million kilometres.
在这一年中 我们步步紧随地球
For one year, we've been following that epic journey,
史诗般的旅程
every step of the way.
我们的旅程将从安道尔岛开始
We're going to begin on the island of Andoya,
它位于挪威西北海岸
just off the northwest coast of Norway.
今天是7月24日
It's July the 24th,
我来到这里是为了见证
and I'm here to enjoy a landmark
公转为我们带来的标志性事件
in our journey around the sun.
自五月下旬起 这里的太阳
Back in late May, the sun rose here
便不再落下
and since then it's never set.
这就是极昼现象
This is known as the midnight sun.
在过去的九个月中 太阳在地平线之上
It's risen and fallen in an arc above the horizon
呈弧形升起落下 但绝不会降至地平线之下
for the last nine weeks, but it's never dipped below it.
而今天 一切都将改变
Today, all that is about to change.
时隔6♥4♥天 太阳又将再一次
The sun is going to set below the horizon completely,
完全落入地平线之下
for the first time in 6♥4♥ days.
极昼现象的产生
The midnight sun exists
源自于地球绕日公转的特点
because of a special feature of Earth's orbit.
在绕日公转的同时
As Earth travels around the sun,
地球并非垂直自转
it doesn't spin upright.
而是围绕着倾斜角度
It spins round an axis
略微大于23度的地轴自转
that's tilted by just over 23 degrees.
这就意味着 在6月份
That means that in June,
北半球达到了最大照射面♥积♥
the northern hemisphere is facing the sun to its fullest extent.
因此 尽管地球在不停自转
So, despite the Earth's rotation,
北极圈及其以北的所有土地
all the land north of the Arctic Circle
无论白天黑夜 都沐浴着阳光
is bathed in sunlight all day and all night.
然而 随着日子一天天过去
But, as the year progresses,
北半球逐渐背离太阳
the northern hemisphere begins to point away from the sun
极夜时期便逐渐降临北极
and periods of darkness gradually return to the Arctic.
日落时分终于到了
The hour of sunset has come.
此时就已经是夜晚了
It is now night-time, I think,
虽然有点奇怪
although it's slightly odd, actually.
天没有黑
It hasn't gone dark,
还有些光线从天际隐隐渗透出来
but all the light has sort of leached out of the sky
而这是挪威这片区域
and this is the very first time
两个多月以来 太阳第一次
that the sun has actually dipped below the horizon,
完全隐没在地平线之下
in this part of Norway, in over two months.
第一个夜晚十分短暂
This first night is very short,
但往后夜晚持续的时间将越来越长
but from now on, they will get longer and longer.
等到12月底
By the time of the end of December,
在安道尔岛 全天都将被夜晚笼罩
Andoya will be dark around the clock.
十分钟前 太阳落山了
Ten minutes ago, the sun set,
但尽管我们无法看到
and although we can't see it
遮蔽在海平面上空云层中的太阳
because of the bank of cloud right on the horizon,
但很显然 太阳再次升起了
it's obviously beginning to rise again,
因为光线又出现在天空之中
because the light is coming back into the sky.
这是因为北半球
This is because the northern hemisphere
已经不再正面迎向太阳了
is no longer pointing so directly at the sun,
极昼地区的面♥积♥开始缩减
the area experiencing 24 hours of sunlight has shrunk.
而安道尔岛目前正处于
Andoya is now just
那条界线分隔的黑暗一方
on the wrong side of the line.
北极地区黑夜的来临
The coming of night to the Arctic
是季节变化的象征
is an evocative symbol of the seasonal change
从7月到12月这未来的五个月中
that we'll follow for the next five months,
我们将对其不懈追寻
from July to December.
日出与日落的周期同样提醒着我们
The cycle of sunset and sunrise is also a reminder
地球不仅仅是在绕日公转
that the Earth isn't just moving around the sun.
它也在围绕地轴自转
It's also spinning on its axis.
每24小时 地球便自转一周
Every 24 hours, the Earth makes one complete rotation.
这就形成了每年365次的
As it does, day gives way to night...
昼夜交替现象
and back again, 365 times a year.
然而 地球自转所掌控的
But the Earth's spin controls far more
远不只是昼夜交替的周期
than the cycle of day and night.
正如我们在未来五个月中将会看到的
As we'll see over the next five months,
自转对地球上某些来势汹汹的
it plays a central role in creating
自然现象起着决定性的影响
some of the most dramatic natural phenomena on Earth.
要知道地球自转为何具有如此大的影响
To understand how the Earth's spin can have so much influence,
需要勘测受其影响最大的地方
we need to explore the place where it has its greatest impact...
那就是大气层
the atmosphere.
地球自转对大气层有着至关重要的影响
The spin of the Earth has a crucial influence on our atmosphere.
为了找出自转如此重要的原因
To find out why spin is so important,
我们即将到2万5千米的高空
we're going on a 25,000-metre journey
展开一段旅程
up into the sky.
科学实验仪器
一经拾获 速拨电♥话♥
要想到达那里 我需要专业团队的帮助
To get there, I'm going to need the help of a team of people
他们知道如何到达大气层边缘
who know how to get to the edge of our atmosphere.
好 开关打开了 现在是5号♥模式
OK, it's on. It's in mode five.
这无法与美国宇航局的装备相比
This isn't exactly NASA,
即便如此 我们要去探访的地方
but, even so, we are about to visit a place
一般只有宇航员才有缘得见
that normally only astronauts can go to.
我们将使用一只气球
Our vehicle is a balloon.
现在正在向气球中充入氦气
What we're doing now is putting helium gas into it
氦气比我们周围的空气要轻
and helium gas is lighter than the air around us here.
因此 一旦注满氦气
So, once it's full, this balloon
这只气球将径直向上 穿过大气层
will just float upwards all the way through the atmosphere.
氦气球之旅将向我们展示地球自转
The balloon's journey will show us why the Earth's spin
对大气有着强烈影响的原因
has such a strong influence on the atmosphere.
我们绑定了一台全球定位系统发射机
We've attached a GPS transmitter
来记录气球的路径
to track its journey
而四台摄像机将记录下沿途中的所有图像
and four cameras will record everything the balloon sees.
已经安装完毕了
We've finished setting up now
如果不出意外 这台摄像机
and hopefully this is the last this camera
将在空中待上大概三个小时
will see of ground for about three hours.
回见
See you when we get back.
它飞走了
So it's gone.
还能看到一点 就是天空中的那个小点
I can still see it, just that tiny speck in the sky now.
一开始 氦气球几乎是垂直向上飞的
To begin with, the balloon goes pretty much straight up.