宇宙（2007）

These ionized particles fly away from the Sun at extreme velocities.
这些电离粒子以极高的速率飞离太阳
These are unprecedented images from NASA's new satellite
这些前所未有的照片来自NASA新发射的卫星
called SDO, the solar dynamics observatory.
名为SDO 意即太阳动力学观测站
Never before has humanity had such a close look at our home star.
人类从未如此近距离地观察过我们的主星
The big difference between this observatory and previous observatories
这个观测站和以往观测站最大的区别在于
is that we're looking at all of the Sun all of the time.
它能每时每刻都观测到太阳的整体
Previously, we've looked at small areas, not the whole disk.
此前我们只能观测到一小部分而非全局
Launched in February of 2010, the SDO measures
SDO发射于2010年2月 用于检测
magnetism, ultraviolet rays and even the interior of the Sun.
磁力 紫外线甚至太阳内部的情况
Already, SDO has returned never-before-seen close-ups
SDO已传回前所未有的特写照片
of solar flares, magnetic rain,
包括耀斑 磁雨
and tsunamis that ripple across the surface of the Sun.
以及掠过太阳表面的海啸
It's like having a DVR.
它就像一个数字录像机
You can go back, and you can catch the interesting part
你可以倒回到有趣的画面
and having an instant replay.
还能随时重复播放
So we're gonna see connections that we've never seen before.
我们发现之前未被揭示的关联性
One of the most important connections is that
其中最重要的一点是
all solar activity is basically magnetic activity.
所有的太阳活动本质上都是磁活动
The key to understanding the variability of the Sun is magnetism.
要理解太阳的易变性 关键在于磁力
We see Sunspots, we see filaments, we see explosions.
我们观测到的有太阳黑子 暗条和爆♥炸♥
We see coronal mass ejections,
还观测到日冕物质抛射
big explosions of material into space.
即太阳物质通过大爆♥炸♥进入宇宙空间
The only way to understand how that all ties together is
弄清楚这些现象之间联♥系♥的关键
through the magnetic field.
在于磁场
The Sun's magnetism is created
太阳的磁力源于
by the movement of superheated plasma as it ripples across the surface of our home star.
超高温等离子体在其表面的快速运动
One of the ways in which magnetism is generated is by a moving current.
磁力产生的原因之一是运动流
So any flowing, moving charges will generate a magnetic field.
任何流动或运动的电荷都能产生磁场
The Sun is one huge bag of flowing, moving charges.
太阳就相当于大量运动电荷的巨大的集♥合♥体
One of the magnetic phenomena that can actually be seen from Earth
在地球上能观测到的磁力现象之一
is a Sunspot.
就是太阳黑子
Now if you look at the Sun and you see a Sunspot.
你可以看到太阳黑子
It looks like a dark spot.
就像一个黑点
What's really happening is the magnetic field is twisted up on itself in a certain way.
事实上是磁场本身产生了某种螺旋式扭曲
It looks kinda like when you pull the drain out of a bathtub
看起来有点像拔开浴缸的排水口后
and it spirals down into the drain.
水旋流入下水道的情景
You create sort of a Tornado, a vortex, on the surface of the Sun.
在太阳表面产生了旋风
And you have extremely strong electromagnetic fields there.
一个强大的电磁场便产生了
A Sunspot can lead to something far more dramatic: a solar flare.
太阳黑子引发的更严重的后果是太阳耀斑
There are explosions on the Sun.
发生在太阳上的爆♥炸♥
We call them solar flares.
我们称之为太阳耀斑
Solar flares Can be either fairly small, by which I mean the size of an atomic bomb,
太阳耀斑可能小至相当一个原♥子♥弹♥的威力
or they can be as big as a billion atomic bombs
也可能大至相当于十亿原♥子♥弹♥
all happening at the same time.
同时爆♥炸♥的威力
Solar flares arc millions of miles above the surface of the Sun.
太阳表面上的耀斑弧跨度长达数百万英里
These magnetic storms are more than simply intriguing astronomical data.
这些磁暴远非引人入胜的天文数据能表现
The Sun's magnetic field creates
太阳磁场造就了
a dynamic, ever-changing atmosphere throughout the solar system.
整个太阳系活跃多变的宇宙环境
It has come to be called space weather.
形成了所谓的空间气象
Space weather is the idea that things that change in space
空间气象是指当太空环境发生的变化
can have effects on us here on the Earth.
并对地球上的生物造成影响
And how do we measure that?
我们对此应如何监测
How do we learn to predict it?
又应如何进行预测
Space weather can affect satellites surrounding Earth.
空间气象会对绕地球运行的卫星产生影响
High-powered x-rays from a solar flare
耀斑产生的高能X射线
can cause millions of dollars of damage
对通讯卫星和导航卫星的影响之大
in communications and navigation satellites.
相当于造成数百万美元的损失
Astronauts on the shuttle and space station
航♥天♥飞机及空间站内的宇航员
have to know the space weather forecasts
需掌握空间气象预报
to avoid deadly radiation during a space walk.
以避免太空行走时遭受致命的辐射
These are the kinds of problems the solar dynamics observatory is designed to predict.
为了对此进行预测 SDO应运而生
Forecasting space weather is one of our big challenges.
预测空间气象对我们而言是一大挑战
We want to learn how to do it better.
我们希望能做得更好
Now, most of us don't really trust weather reports too much,
如今很多人不太信任天气预报
A little bit, but not too much.
可能会信一点 但不太相信
We're way behind that.
而我们连这也做不到
We're not anywhere close to being able to do that yet with space weather.
在预测空间气象方面我们仍然举步不前
Are there regular patterns to space weather?
空间气象是否有规律可循
That's exactly what Benjamin E. From Cleveland, Ohio
这正是俄亥俄州克里夫兰的本杰明·E
wanted to "Ask the universe."
向《宇宙》提出的问题
Benjamin emailed us...
本杰明给我们发来提问邮件
Can science predict solar flares and CME's before they begin?
科学能否提♥前♥预♥测♥太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射
Interesting question, Benjamin.
本杰明 这个问题很有趣
We'd love to be able to predict exactly when giant coronal mass ejections occur.
我们希望能预测大型日冕物质抛射的精准时间
It turns out that roughly every 11 years,
结论是大约每隔十一年
there's a maximum in the number of Sunspots,
太阳黑子的数量就会达到最大值
coronal mass ejections, solar flares and associated activity.
日冕物质抛射和太阳耀斑等相关运动也最为频繁
We can predict roughly when that'll occur.
我们能粗略地预测发生的时间
However, we can't predict when any particular Sunspot group
只是无法确定具体是哪一组太阳黑子
or coronal mass ejection will occur.
或日冕物质抛射发生的时间
By far, the most powerful examples of space weather
迄今影响最广的空间气象现象
are coronal mass ejections.
是日冕物质抛射
They are connected to the solar cycle,
它们与太阳活动周期息息相关
peaking during solar maximum,
在太阳最大年达到峰值
with as many as two or three per day.
每天有多达两到三次爆发
They begin with beautiful solar storms,
爆发开始时 是美丽的太阳风暴
witnessed by the solar dynamics observatory in full color.
SDO以全彩色照片将其记录下来
A hurricane of magnetic fields will grow and swirl,
一股磁场飓风将不断增强并形成旋涡
sending arcs and plumes of flaming plasma
散发着弧形和羽状的燃烧的等离子体
thousands of miles over the surface of the Sun.
覆盖了太阳表面几千英里
Sometimes these structures are stable for days
有时候会平静几天
or even weeks at a time,
或者甚至几周
And then something will happen to trigger
然后就会有点什么来触发
a release of the coronal mass ejection.
一场巨大的日冕物质抛射
And all of a sudden, one part will lift off,
其中一部分会突然升空
and then there'll be a huge lift off,
然后就是一场巨大的抛射
and then it will go off into space.
进入太空
The gigantic burst of charged plasma
带电等离子体的巨大爆♥炸♥
heads toward our planet
冲向我们的星球
where it usually flows harmlessly around our magnetosphere.
不过通常只是围绕我们的磁层流动
But there's a problem with Earth's magnetic field.
但是地球的磁场有个问题
It's beginning to change.
它开始变化了
And the worst-case scenario for Earth's magnetic future
地磁未来最坏的情况
is the cold, dead surface of Mars.
就是像火星表面一样寒冷且没有生命
Magnetic storms may well be able to bring civilization to a standstill,
要不是我们有磁层作为保护的话
if it weren't for the protective power of our planet's magnetosphere.
磁暴也许会令文明中断
If Earth has a magnetic field, do other planets?
如果地球有磁场的话 其他星球呢
It's a vital question, according to NASA,
按照NASA的说法 这是关键
because other planets' magnetic properties
因为其他星球的磁性
may reveal the future of Earth.
也许会预示地球的未来
1, 0, lift off.
一 零 发射
We have a lift off.
发射
Only with the beginning of the space programs,
仅在太空计划开始之时
in the 1960s have we been able
在二十世纪六十年代 我们已经可以
to detect the magnetic fields of other planets.
探测其他星球的磁场
And the discoveries are surprising.
结果令人吃惊
All four of the giant planets:
四个大行星
Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune,
木星 土星 天王星和海王星
all have actively generated magnetic fields today.
现在全都有着活跃的磁场
Jupiter's magnetic field is the strongest in the solar system.
木星的磁场是太阳系最强的
Its surface field is about 10 times the strength of the Earth's.
它表面的磁场强度是地球的十倍
Jupiter's magnetic field
木星的磁场
stretches over four-million miles from its surface,
从表面延伸超过四百万英里
and it performs the same function as Earth's field.
它的功能跟地球磁场一样
We see northern lights on Jupiter and Saturn,
我们在木星和土星上见到了北极光
which is exactly the same interaction
那跟我们地球上的北极光
that we have northern lights on Earth.
是一样的原理
It's particles from the Sun being focused
是来自太阳的粒子集中在
to the poles of those planets by those planets' magnetospheres
这些行星的磁层形成的两极
And they light up the atmosphere just like they do on Earth.
它们就像在地球上一样照亮了大气层