宇宙（2007）

The Universe S01E10

Part 5 April 22, 2021, 8:13 p.m.

甚至将更大的行星牵涉在内
甚至更强大的爆♥炸♥
行星的爆♥炸♥是无法估测到的
Stars that collapse so catastrophically
that they leave behindno remnant, not even a black hole.
它们不会留下任何痕迹
甚至黑洞都不会留下
But no one had ever seen one
但是没有人真正♥见♥到过
一直到近来才有
until now.
Even after billions of years,
宇宙l浴火重生的行星
the Universe is still surprising uswith its raw power.
经过数百万年，宇宙还是让我们吃惊
它强大的力量
In the fall of 2006,
在2006年的秋天
astronomers observedthe largest stellar explosion
天文望远镜观测到一场强烈的电子震荡
ever witnessed by Man.
这是迄今人类发现的最强烈的一次
2亿束强烈的光芒照射到地球上
240 million light years awayfrom Earth,
a massive star blew itself apart.
一颗巨大的行星粉身碎骨
埃里斯和加州大学所组成的研究小组一起
Alex Filippenko and his team at theUniversity of California, Berkeley,
were amazed at the powerof the explosion.
他们对此次爆♥炸♥的力量感到吃惊
And the total energy emittedwas 100 times as much
所有爆发出来的能量
超过了平阿历克斯00倍｝普科加州大学伯克利分校
as the energy of a normalmassive explosion.
比普通的爆发强很多
It's an amazing,really powerful explosion.
这真的是惊人的爆♥炸♥
A normal supernova comes fromthe explosion of a star
一颗巨大的行星超过太阳的10倍体积
10 times more massivethan our Sun.
Incredibly, supernova 2006GY,as astronomers have dubbed it,
爆♥炸♥时所释放的力量超过2000当量
这是电子磁场力所不及的
seems to have signalled thedeath of a star
这视乎透漏出一个信♥号♥♥
150, or even 200 timesmore massive.
一颗巨大行星爆♥炸♥的力量超过了150倍
That's about as massiveas a star can get.
这超过行星本身的能量
Scientists are still studyingthe aftermath of the explosion,
科学家还在研究这场爆♥炸♥
but they think supernova 2006GY
但是他们还没听说会有超过2000当量的
has a lot to teach us
让我们对第一颗在宇宙中行星发生兴趣
about the first stars that populatedour Universe.
We actually think that the firstgeneration of stars
我们实际上认为、行星的第一代是非常巨大的
tended to be really massive.
And they probably explodedby this mechanism.
它们的爆♥炸♥实际上应该非常壮观
It's these mega-explosions
就是这些爆♥炸♥景象
that likely seeded the early Universewith heavy elements.
在早期的宇宙中经常见到
These extremely massive stars
这是非常重的行星
are the largest iron factoriesin the Universe.
是宇宙中最大的钢铁加工厂
A single star, 150 times themass of the Sun,
单一一颗行星是太阳的50倍
can produce 20 or 25 solarmasses of iron.
可以创造出的钢铁是太阳的25倍
It's incredible.
这简直太不可思议了
In the cycle of life, not only hereon Earth but in the Cosmos,
在这样一个生命的环境里尼尔?德格拉斯?泰森美国自然历史博物馆
不只是有我们周围的生命
as stars die, particularly those thatdie spectacular deaths,
行星不只诞生、还会消亡
特别是那些神奇的消亡
the high mass stars thatmanufactured
宇宙中一些巨大的钢铁加工厂
heavy elements in their cores,
those give the seeds of the nextgenerations of stars that then...
它们为下一颗行星的诞生提供了种子
增加一种相似一代会有相同的
increased the likelihood
that that next generationwill have planets,
and planets that containingredients of life itself.
行星还在继续繁育
生命也在繁盛
不只是行星的爆♥炸♥是很神奇的
Supernovas aren't the only energeticevents in the life and death of a star.
还有行星的诞生和延续
Right now, across the Universe,there're a thousand pairs of stars
现在整个宇宙
有成千上万的行星给我们提供光芒
engaged in brilliant dances of fire.
For some this dancewill end in catastrophe.
对于一些行星来说，这些舞蹈很相像
Astrophysicist Joshua Barnesof the University of Hawaii,
夏威夷大学的天文研究教授
studies what happens whenstars collide.
他对所发生的现象进行研究
当行星发生爆♥炸♥的时候
We don't have the luxuryof watching stars collide.
我们并没有观测清楚行星的光芒
A pair of stars as theydraw close enough to collide
行星的爆♥炸♥不只是因为光
would just be a single dot of light,
even in the largesttelescopes that we have.
很多物体都会产生光芒乔斯纳?巴恩斯夏威夷大学
So, we need to investigatethese things with a computer.
我们需要用电脑研究这些
Using computer models,
利用电脑模型
astrophysicists can takeany two types of stars
我们可以利用两种行星类型
and find out what happens if theybecome involved in a stellar smash-up.
可以观察它们在接触后，产生何种现象
The models pose hypotheticalsituations and then see what happens.
模型模拟了所发生的场面
And you can sort of imaginethis is like studying collisions of cars,
你可以现象，这就是爆♥炸♥的过程
and you were taking them out and smashingthem together in the parking lot,
当它们聚集在一起，然后又分开
one after the other to seewhat came out of that.
然后观察它们会发生什么变化
Among the most explosivecollisions modelled by astrophysicists
在这些爆♥炸♥最为激烈的行星当中
is the clash of two orbitingneutron stars.
是两颗联♥系♥紧密的中子星
Typically, they're bound togetheras a pair orbiting one another
它们在一起绕着对方旋转
and as they orbit they disturbthe space-time* around them
当它们旋转的时候
它们搅动周围的物质
and create waves of energy.
创造一种能量波
And the energy to dothat slows the stars down,
将它们逐渐吸引靠近
so they get closer and closer together.
As they get really closetogether, they're orbiting around
当它们接近到一定程度
周围的电磁波达到每秒几十束的时候
hundreds or even thousandstimes per second.
The final eventis very dramatic.
最后的爆♥炸♥是非常剧烈的
When two neutron stars collide, they'removing at nearly the speed of light.
当两颗行星碰撞的时候
它们的速度和光速是相当的
尽管最后的爆♥炸♥也不过需要几秒时间
Although the final collision takes onlya fraction of a second,
it unleashes more energy than theSun will generate in its entire lifetime.
它们创造的能量超过了太阳产生的能量
太阳一生也无法创造加此多能量
Thanks to computer modellingwe can also predict what would happen
要多亏了电脑模型
我们还可以预测到
if a highly dense white dwarf collidedwith our Sun.
当告诉运动的白接星和太阳碰撞的情况
It would be a frightening collision.
那是一场惊心动魄的爆♥炸♥
When it got close enough, thegravitational field of the white dwarf
这是很接近的
would start to distort the Sun,so it would no longer remain a sphere,
太阳开始躲开它的轨道
it would turn into an egg-shapeas this thing came close.
当它们互相靠近的时候就会避开
当白接星碰到太阳的时候
As the white dwarf ploughs intothe Sun at supersonic speed,
速度达到和太阳的相当
its gravity would send an enormousshockwave throughout the star.
在接近的过程中，会释放出强烈的冲击波
在这个过程中释放了很多能量
And that would produce somuch thermonuclear energy
to, essentially, explode the Sun.
直接释放到太阳上
Amazingly, it would takeonly about an hour
最神奇的事情是，这只需要花费1个小时
for the white dwarf to ploughthrough the Sun and annihilate it.
白接星就会穿过太阳
然后脱离开
If this scenario came to pass,life on Earth would be doomed.
加果真的发生这样的碰撞
地球上的生命就会被厄运所笼罩
Fortunately, the chances of thishappening are slim,
的是，发机会是幸运的发生这样撞击的非常小的
because the Sun is in a veryuncrowded part of the Milky Way.
因为太阳是银河星系的一部分
Individual stars arekind of jostling and weaving
可以看见的行星，是一股一股的
as they make their great circuitaround the galactic centre.
它们围绕这个中心旋转
So, it's a complicatedtraffic situation,
所以这是很复杂的一种情形
but because the space betweenthe stars is so great
但是，行星的数量是非常巨大的
there's not much chanceof a collision.
不是没有碰撞的机会
If you were to wait out here onthis beach until you saw the collision
加果你等候在这里
守候太阳和其它行星碰撞
between the Sun and another Star,you would wait a long time.
你需要等待很漫长的时间
Even over its entire life,the Sun has probably
即使是消耗一生时间
a billion in one chanceof colliding with another star.
太阳和其它行星碰撞的机会也很小
But there are places within galaxies
但是在星系当中确实有经常碰撞的事情
where the odds of a collisionare much greater.
机会是非常大的
Regions where hundreds of thousandsor even millions of stars
这里有成千上万的行星
甚至有的可以达到上百万
are crowded together by gravityinto a globular cluster.
它们犹豫引力相互交织在一起
形成美丽的行星群
和银河系的行星♥相♥比
Compared to the spiral armsof the Milky Way,
a globular clusteris like a demolition derby.
这里的碰撞机会大大增加
The odds of two stars colliding in thespiral arms of our galaxy
宇宙l浴火重生的行星
在星系中，碰撞机会最大的行星系
are only about one in a billion.
在一百万中也不过有一个
But within a globular cluster,stars are packed
但是在这样的星系里
a million times more densely thanelsewhere in the Milky way.
行星集中的密度大大超过银河系的密度
In the Milky Way everybody ispretty much going in the same direction,
在银河系里，所有的行星几乎是在同一个方向旋转
but in a globular clusterthere's no organized motion.
但是，在这样的星系里，是没有任何组织的
They're basically all orbitingaround the centre
基本上都是以自身为中心
on orbits that are alignedin all sorts of different directions,
旋转的方向也各自不同
so some are going one way,some are going the opposite way...
所以一颗可能这个方向，另外一颗相反
In these crowded, chaoticconditions stars collide on average
在这样一个混乱的场面里
行星的碰撞机会很大
once every 10,000 years.
每一万年就会发生碰撞
Every star in a clusterwas born at roughly the same time,
星系中每颗行星，大致相诞生的时间同
so when astronomers look atan old cluster
当碰到一个古老的星系
they don't expect to seeany young stars,
很少会碰到年轻的行星
but strangely a globular cluster usuallyconceals some mysterious strangers.
但是一些星系常常会碰到一些神秘的访客
Large blue stars, far younger thanthe small dim stars surrounding them.
巨大的蓝色行星
比周围的行星要小很多
These seemingly impossible stars