宇宙（2007）

The Universe S02E01

Part 1 April 23, 2021, 10:04 a.m.

起点漆黑一团...突然 "轰!"
In the beginning there was darkness...And then... BANG!
诞生了无休无止扩展的时间空间物质
Giving birth to an endless expandingexistence of time, space and matter.
在所看到的超乎想象的我们所生存空间的范围之外
Now see further than we've ever imagined,beyond the limits of our existence,
在我们称为"宇宙"的空间里...
in a place we call...THE UNIVERSE
在我们的太阳系以外有行星吗?
Are there planets beyondour solar system?
这个问题很少有人敢探索
It's a question few have dared to probe.
实际上最初开始寻找行星的
The origin of hunting forplanets started, really,
是些科学狂热份子
from the lunatic fringe of science.
现在数百个神奇的星球已经被发现
Now, hundreds of these exoticworlds have been found.
它们中会有存在生命吗?
Could any of them be home to alien life?
目前我们发现这类行星是些...
Right now, the sort of planetswe're discovering are kind of...
怪物
monsters.
你会立刻变为灰烬
You would be incinerated immediately
之前你真的有点对周围的环境感到兴奋
before you had a chance to reallysort of groove on your surroundings.
然而有些行星还是很有希望
But some planets hold more promise.
我对格雷司43b星感到兴奋几乎要跳起来了
I'm so excited about Gliese 436,I'm almost jumping out of my clothes.
我们即将找到另外一颗地球了吗?
Could we be on the vergeof finding another Earth?
我们还是不知道我们的地球究竟是颗很普通的行星呢
We still don't know whether our Earthis a commonly occurring planet
还是十亿分之一的怪物
or a one-in-a-billion freak.
尖端的科学陌生的星球狂野的气候
Cutting-edge science, strangeworlds, and wild weather,
伴随着我们在宇宙中探寻"日外行星"
as we travel the Universe insearch of "alien planets".
宇宙 2x01日外行星.
潜伏在飞马座里距离地球50光年
Lurking in the constellation Pegasus,50 light-years from Earth,
有一颗巨大的行星
is a monstrous planet.
高温气体巨星几乎跟木星一样庞大
A superheated gas giantalmost as massive as Jupiter,
围绕着它的太阳快速运转运行一圈还不到四天的时间
whipping around its starin a little over four days.
它被命名为"51飞马B"在1995年
It's called "51 Pegasi b" and in 1995,
发现它是第一颗围绕陌生的太阳运转的行星
it became the first planetdetected orbiting an alien sun.
这是个里程碑式的发现
It was a landmark discovery,
然而这只是更大探索的起步
but just a stepping stoneon an even greater quest
我们要找到和地球相似的行星
to find a planet that looksmore like our own.
最终天文学家回避不了的目标
The ultimate but elusivegoal for astronomers
就是要找到另一颗地球
is to find another Earth.
我们寻找的是判断出地球在
What we're after is the appreciation
宇宙广袤的环境中适合呆的地方
of where our Earth fits in, in thegrand context of our Universe.
我们乐意能够找到另外一个地球
And we'd love to be ableto find other Earths.
然而那些地球真的难找
But Earths are so undetectable,
小小的星球不可能发出那么明亮的光
little chunks of rock thatdon't emit much light.
类地行星在宇宙中有多少可能?
How common might Earth-likeplanets be in the Universe?
即使所有的恒星中只有1%存在地球那样的行星
Even if only one percent of all starswere circled by a planet like our own,
那也意味着有十亿颗地球等着被发现
that would still mean there are billionsof other Earths waiting to be discovered.
我们相当有把握
We are almost sure
岩石构成的类地行星大量存在
that rocky Earth-like planetsexist in abundance out there,
但是和地球有多象呢?
but how Earth-like?
对地球的独特性还存在争论
There are still open questionsabout the uniqueness of our Earth,
我们还不知道我们的地球是否与众不同的
and we don't know whetherour Earth is unusual or not.
我认为这是个极其深远令人烦恼的问题
It's an extremely profound and,I think, disturbing question.
在日外行星的领域里
In the realm of alien planets,
存在广泛的可以想象的星球
there is a wide rangeof imaginable worlds.
可以找到海洋星球完全被水所覆盖
We might find ocean worlds,completely covered in water,
找到冰封的行星
frigid ice planets,
火星一样的星球但或许会有厚厚的大气层
mars-like worlds, but perhapswith thick atmospheres
布满了大量的活火山
fed by massive active volcanoes,
甚至还有行星天上有两颗太阳
and even planets withtwo suns in their skies.
可能有的行星对人类十分友好
There may be planets that humanswould find hospitable,
而其它行星人类会难以踏足
and others on which humanswouldn't dare tread
那里将只能是其他生物的栖息地
that could still be hometo other types of creatures.
或许我们到目前为止的主要经验
Perhaps the major lessonwe've learned so far
是寻找围绕太阳运转的行星
from looking the planets around the stars
那是我们能够考虑到的大多数行星所具有的性质
is that nature can make a lot moreplanets that we can dream of.
哪怕只找到一颗类地行星
Finding just one othertruly Earth-like planet
都将暗示地球在宇宙中是很普通的星球
would hint that Earths arecommon in the Universe.
如果地球很普通那么或许生命也是普遍存在的
And if Earths are common, thenperhaps life, too, is widespread.
然而在目前为止所发现的200多颗日外行星中
But of the over 200 alienplanet detected so far,
就我们所知大多数似乎都完全不适合生命生存
most of them seem uttlerlyhostile to life as we know it.
迄今为止我们发现了三类星球
So far, we found sortof three kinds of worlds.
一类行星他们的轨道实在离恒星太近
One kind are the planets that are reallyclose to the star that they orbit,
完全会被烤死
and they're totally baked to death.
接着是那些距离恒星♥相♥当远非常寒冷
Then there are the ones that are quitefar away, and they're pretty cold.
还有一些具有很大偏心轨道的行星
And then there are the onesin the highly eccentric orbits
它们有时离太阳很近有时离太阳很远
which sometimes get close to thestar and sometimes far away.
所以它们是冷热交替
So they're alternately very hot
and cold.
到目前为止我们确实还没有发现有行星上存在森林
So far, we definitely haven't foundany worlds with jungles and forests.
确实我们还没有发现有行星
Indeed, we haven't found any worlds
有直接的迹象表明有适合居住的
that are square smack in thehabitable zone where there's
表面存在水和其它适宜条件的区域
liquid water on the surfaceand other nice conditions.
我们的观点是就是把这个地球作为参考
Our frame of reference for what weconsider to be a nice planet is this one.
我们已经相当适应地球了
We like it quite a bit.
我们有可供呼吸的空气舒适的温度还有水
We've got breathable air, it's a pleasanttemperature, and there is water.
即使是在我们的太阳系里还找不到象地球这样的行星
And even in our own solar systemwe don't see a lot of planets like that.
目前我们发现那种行星是些怪物
Right now the sort of planets we'rediscovering are kind of monsters.
换句话说是些很极端的行星
In other words, they're extremes.
那么有着岩石地壳海洋和大量生物的地球
So is the Earth, with its rocky surface,oceans, and abundant life,
只是一个在宇宙中没有其它近亲的行星奇迹吗?
just a planetary wonder withno close kin in the cosmos?
早期的日外行星的探索对此还没有答案
The early discoveries of alien planethave yet to answer that question,
但这些探索带来的合理的结论是过去所做的似乎是徒劳的
but they have brought legitimacy towhat once seemed like a futile quest.
虽然许多人认为一定会有其它的地球
While many believe there hadto be other worlds out there
存在于浩瀚的宇宙中
in the vastness of the Universe,
寻找它们被普遍认为是现在的科学做不到的
locating them was widely consideredbeyond the reach of modern science.
仅仅在几十年前
Only a few decades ago,
一位天文学家搜寻到了所谓的"日外行星"
an astronomer hunting for theseso-called "extrasolar planets",
就被当作搜寻到UFO那样议论
was taken about as seriouslyas someone searching for UFOs.
搜寻行星开始于上世纪八九十年代
The search for planets, as itstarted in the 1980s and 1990s,
一直被认为是跳出了权威的科学常规
was considered off of the beatentrack of standard science.
80年代早期天文学家格夫.马尔西的事业一无成就
In the early '80s, astronomer GeoffMarcy's career was going nowhere.
他研究恒星的磁场进入了死胡同
His research into the magnetic fieldsof stars had reached a dead end,
他开始质疑自己的科学能力
and he was beginning to questionhis own abilities as a scientist.
当我第一次开始考虑搜寻行星时
When I first began thinkingabout looking for planets,
还处在自己认为事业已经结束了的时候
it was in a time in my careerwhen I thought it was over.
我想..自己作为科学家已经没有希望了
I thought there were... There's no hopefor me as a scientist, and I thought
我想熄灭怒火最好的一击
the best shot I had going out in flames
就是尝试大家都不会从事的实验...
was to try an experiment that everybodythought would never work...
也就是去寻找其它恒星周围的行星
Namely, looking for planetsaround other stars.
大多数人认为我们我们永远都找不到哪怕是一颗行星
And most people thought wewould never find any planets.
在格夫.马尔西之前他的合作者保罗.巴特勒
Before Geoff Marcy, hiscollaborator, Paul Butler,
还有世界各地的少数天文学拓荒者
and a handful of pioneeringastronomers around the globe
已经开始搜寻日外行星了
could begin the searchfor alien planets,
他们必须先完善搜寻的方法
they had to first perfectmethods for finding them.
恒星很容易通过传统的望远镜找到
Stars are easy to locateusing conventional telescopes,
但是找到行星需要一些技巧和恒心
but to find a planet takessome ingenuity and patience.
不同于恒星他们在轨道上运转行星很小发出的光很弱
Unlike the stars they orbit, planetsare small and emit very little light.
即使是我们太阳系里的巨人木星
Even the giant ofour solar system, Jupiter,
也比太阳小1000倍
is a thousand timesless massive than the Sun
发出的光要弱100亿倍
and 10 billion times fainter.
拍摄恒星周围的行星的一个巨大的困难是
A huge difficulty in taking a pictureof a planet around a star is that
行星♥相♥对恒星是非常非常地暗淡
the planet is extremely, extremelyfaint compared to the star.
恒星明亮到几乎将非常非常暗淡的行星完全遮蔽
The star is so brightit almost completely obscures
the much, much dimmer planet.
被恒星的光芒遮蔽了行星搜寻者意识到
Blinded by starlight,planet hunters realized
即使不能直接看到行星
that even if they couldn't seea planet directly,
但还是能够发现行星在运行时
they should still be ableto detect its gravitational effect
对恒星的引力作用
on the star it orbits.
一颗没有行星的恒星应该平滑地在太空中通过
A star with no planets should driftsmoothly through the sky,
而带有行星的恒星应该暴露出引力的摆动
while one with planets should exhibita telltale gravitational wobble.
我们经常说行星围绕着太阳或恒星运转
We often say that planetsorbit the sun or other stars,
但这并不完全属实:行星和恒星是围绕着
but that's not exactly true:the planets and the stars
它们共同的质量中心即重心运转的
orbit their common center of massor center of gravity.
而这个重心不是在它们之间的中间
And this center of massisn't halfway between them.
就象是跷跷板质量较大的物体
Just like on a seesaw,the more massive object
必定靠近重心这样才能平衡整个系统
must be closer to the center of massto bring balance to the system.
那么来看一下太阳和木星