了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S05E02

Part 2 April 18, 2021, 7:46 p.m.

所以我们用什么模拟太阳呢，我们的足球
So what we've got here, our kickball,
这将决定我们迷你太阳系的规模
is going to set the scale of our mini-solar system today.
所以所有东西的相对大小
So everything is scaled off of its relative size
都与这个太阳的大小成比例
compared to the size of the sun.
凯文很快测出了
Kevin quickly paces out the position
内部岩质行星的位置
of the inner rocky planets.
在这个尺度下，这四颗行星都距离太阳不到60码
All four sit within 60 yards of the sun on this scale.
每颗行星看起来都不会比一个胡椒子大
And each planet would appear no bigger than a peppercorn.
为了让这个太阳系运转起来
To make this a working solar system,
我们需要用上无人机
we need to bring on the drones.
每架无人机代表一个不同的星球
Each drone represents a different planet.
轨道速度也被调整了
And the orbital speeds
所以一个地球年
have been scaled so one earth year
只需要30秒
takes just 30 seconds.
我们已经可以清楚地看到
Already, it's clear to see
这些内部行星是多么紧密地聚集在一起
how tightly bunched these inner planets are,
以及距离最近的行星
and how the closest planets
是如何比距离更远的行星运行得更快
orbit faster than those farther out.
在密集的岩石行星的远处
Far beyond the tightly packed rocky planets
是第一个气体巨行星
lies the first of the gas giant planets,
规模如此之大，距离太阳只有一个足球场的距离
on this scale, just over a football field from the sun.
所以，在这400英尺的步行之后，我们到达了木星
So, after this 400-foot walk, we made to to Jupiter,
太阳系中最大的行星
the largest planet in the solar system.
但是，即使是这样
But, even by this size scale,
木星也只有棒棒糖那么大
Jupiter is only about the size of a lollipop.
在通往土星的道路上
Another football-field length lies ahead
还有一个足球场的距离
on the walk to saturn.
当我们回头看湖床时
As we look back across the lake bed,
我几乎看不到无人机
I can barely see the drones.
我们走了很长的一段路
We covered a huge distance.
到天王星还要长途跋涉更远
The trek out to uranus is bigger still,
三个足球场
three football fields
或一艘航♥空♥母舰的长度
or the length of an aircraft carrier.
事实证明，太阳系外有很多风
Turns out there's a lot of wind in the outer solar system!
所以我必须得大喊大叫
So I have to yell.
太阳系外有惊人数量的风
Surprising amount of wind in the outer solar system.
风滚草,响尾蛇
Tumbleweed, rattlesnakes.
天王星之后，距离海王星约200码
After uranus, it's around 200 yards out to Neptune.
在发现第九大行星之前
Before the discovery of planet 9,
我们认为海王星是离太阳最远的行星
we thought Neptune was the farthest planet from the sun,
在我们的模型中大约有半英里
around half a mile on the scale of our model.
但海王星遥远的轨道
But Neptune's distant orbit is nothing
与第九大行星的轨道相比简直不值一提
compared to the orbit of planet 9.
沃尔什:我们到了
Walsh: So here we are.
我们到达了海王星的轨道
We made it to the orbit of Neptune.
我们还只是冰山一角
We're only at the tip of the iceberg.
我们不能再用英尺来衡量了
We need to stop measuring in feet.
我们开始考虑用英里了
And we need to start thinking in miles.
我们需要一辆车去9号♥星球
We need a car to get out to planet 9.
行星9在一个高度椭圆的轨道上摆动
Planet 9 swings out on a highly elliptical orbit.
它离太阳最近的距离
Its closest pass to the sun
高达190亿英里
is a whopping 19 billion miles.
这比海王星的轨道宽六倍
That's six times wider than the orbit of Neptune.
但是，9号♥行星的最远位置
But, at its farthest point,
在1120亿英里之外
planet 9 is 112 billion miles away.
在这个18英里的距离范围内踢大小的太阳的球
And, on this scale, that's an incredible 18 miles
太不可思议了
from our kickball-sized sun.
所以我们到了，没得商量了
So we're here, end of the road.
我们已经从最初
We've driven about 18 miles
建立太阳系的地方开了大约18英里的路
from where we first started setting up the solar system.
但是，在太阳系的范围内
But, in the scale of the solar system,
它超过1000亿英里
it's over 100 billion miles.
1000亿英里
100 billion miles
才能到达9号♥行星轨道的最远部分
to get out to the furthest part of planet 9's orbit.
所以，按比例
So, to scale,
我们不知道第九大行星会是什么样子
and we don't know what planet 9 would look like,
但它可能有这么大
but it's probably about the size of a b.B.
这就是天文学家面临的挑战
So this is the challenge for our astronomers.
你怎么从18英里外看到一个BB球？
How do you see a b.B. From 18 miles away?
但要证实存在就必须要发现它
This is what we have to do.
我们的望远镜可能要花费数年的时间
It could take years for our telescopes
才能找到像9号♥行星这样非常微弱
to pick out an object so impossibly faint,
非常遥远的天体
far away as planet 9.
在那之前，科学家们只能猜测
Until then, scientists can only speculate
这个神秘的世界可能是什么样子
on what this mysterious world might be like.
我们现在正处在一个美好的时刻
We're in this wonderful moment right now
我们十分怀疑9号♥行星的存在
where we suspect that planet 9 exists.
但我们真的不知道那是什么样子的
But we really have no idea what it's like.
这意味着我们的想象力可以恣意妄为
And that means our imaginations can run wild.
他们受到了科学的启发
They're informed by science.
但我喜欢创造力占据主导地位的时候
But I love it when creativity takes hold,
你可以跟着它跑
and you just run with it.
那么有哪些猜想呢？
So what are the options?
科学提出了三种可能性
Science suggests three possibilities.
第一种可能很惊人
And the first is astonishing.
9号♥行星可能
Planet 9 could be made
由与地球相同的材料构成
from the same materials as the earth,
但质量是地球的10倍
but 10 times more massive,
是一个岩石构成的超级地球
a rocky super-earth.
但是这个巨大的岩石行星
But what would this giant, rocky planet
离太阳这么远会是什么样子呢？
look like so far from the sun?
一个布满火山痕迹的奇异火山世界
A bizarre volcanic world scarred with fire
不知何故出现在寒冷黑暗的深空中
somehow emerges from the cold darkness of deep space.
2016年，天文学家发布了惊人的证据
In 2016, astronomers release astonishing evidence
证明在太阳系冰冻的边缘
of a missing ninth planet
距离太阳1000亿英里处
on the frozen edges of our solar system,
有着失踪的第九颗行星
100 billion miles from the sun.
在我们的望远镜发现它之前
Until our telescopes find it,
我们只能猜测这颗神秘的9号♥行星是什么样子
we can only guess what this mysterious planet 9 is like.
但第一种可能是最令人惊讶的
But the first option is perhaps the most surprising.
9号♥行星可能和地球一样
Planet 9 could be made from rock,
由岩石构成
just like the earth,
但质量是地球的10倍
but 10 times more massive,
也就是所谓的岩石超级地球
a so-called rocky super-earth.
当我们观察宇宙时，我们意识到
When we looked out into the universe, we realized
在整个银河系中
that the most common type of planet
最常见的行星类型
in the entire galaxy
是我们没有的
is something we don't have,
就是超级地球
something called a super-earth.
开普勒太空望远镜
The kepler space telescope finds alien worlds
通过测量行星从其主星前面经过时
by measuring the tiny dip in light
光线的微小倾斜来发现外星世界
as a planet passes in front of its host star.
开普勒发现的大多数外星太阳系都有超级地球
Most of the alien solar systems kepler finds have super-earths.
那为什么我们的恒星一个都没有呢?
So how come our star doesn't have one?
9号♥行星有可能是我们失踪的超级地球吗？
Could it be possible that planet 9 is our missing super-earth?
如果9号♥行星是一颗岩石构成的超级地球
If planet 9 is a rocky super-earth,
那么近距离看它会是什么样子呢？
what will it look like up close?
行星地质学家贾尼·拉德博(jani radebaugh)
Planetary geologist jani radebaugh imagines planet 9
将9号♥行星想象成一个充满火与冰的戏剧性的世界
as a dramatic world of fire and ice.
现在，我们在冰岛
Right now, we're in Iceland.
我们正飞过冰岛
We're flying over amazing,
惊人而美丽的火山地貌
beautiful volcanic landscapes of Iceland.
我们认为这可能有助于思考
We think this might be the perfect landscape
九号♥行星上会发生什么的绝佳景观
for thinking about what might be happening on planet 9
如果它是一颗岩石超级地球的话
if it's a rocky super-earth.
这些黑色的山脉和熔岩流
These black mountains and lava flows
是在地球形成时遗留下来的
were created by leftover heat
由热量溢出到地表而形成的
from the earth's formation spilling out onto the surface.
9号♥行星生来就有如此多的绝缘岩石
Planet 9, born with so much more insulating rock,
应该会有更多的剩余热量被困在里面
should have even more of this leftover heat trapped inside it.