宇宙（2007）

In the beginning, there was darkness,
最初 宇宙是一片黑暗
And then, bang...
紧接着一声巨响 混沌初开
giving birth to an endless
时间 空间和物质
expanding existence of time, space and matter.
开始不断膨胀
Every day, new discoveries are unlocking the mysterious,
每天 我们都在解密这神秘莫测
the mind-blowing, the deadly secrets of a place
令人疯狂的极端之地
we call the universe.
宇宙
A total eclipse.
日全食
The brilliant sun suddenly obliterated
一瞬间 光辉万丈的太阳
by the black disk of the Moon.
消失在月亮的暗面中
You can see this eyeball looking down at you.
就像一颗眼珠正俯视着你
Both breathtaking and frightening,
日食既令人叹为观止 又让人惊心动魄
eclipses warn us of powerful solar storms
它预示着2012年的太阳大风暴
that may fulfill an ancient prophecy of chaos on Earth in 2012.
可能使地球大混乱的古老预言成为现实
People would freak out.
人类会陷入极度恐慌
We wouldn't have refrigeration.
无法制冷
We wouldn't have lights.
也不再有照明
Eclipses of distant stars are now revealing new planets,
遥远恒星的日食现象揭示了新行星的存在
even other Earths.
其中甚至有类地行星
Some of them just popped right out at us.
有些行星出其不意地出现在我们视野中
The search covers the entire universe,
探寻的范围包括整个宇宙空间
but it begins here on Earth,
却发端于地球表面
as the Sun hides its face in total eclipse.
此时太阳正隐没在日全食中
It's a spectacle in the sky
这个天空中的奇观
that has enthralled human beings for thousands of years.
数千年来 人类为之着迷
Here it comes. Here it comes.
开始了 开始了
Here it comes.
开始了
Here it comes. The shadow.
开始了 看那黑影
A total eclipse of the Sun.
日全食
Few people who see one will ever forget it.
有幸看见的人将对此永生难忘
Personally witnessing
亲眼目睹
a total solar eclipse in the flesh
日全食的亲身体验
is an amazing, awe-inspiring,
是一次神奇而令人敬畏的
tremendously moving experience.
又极为感动的经历
I've never experienced anything quite like it.
从没有其他经历给我这样的感受
Some, Like astronomer Glenn Schneider,
有些人 如天文学家格伦·施奈德
are part of a sub-culture of globe-hopping
是一小群不分时间地点在全球奔波
eclipse chasers who will go anywhere, anytime to see an eclipse.
追逐日食现象的人
It grips you, because the sky has gone dark,
日食很吸引人 因为当天色变暗时
not as dark as midnight, but like a very deep twilight.
并不像午夜那么黑 而像是浓重的日暮
And you can see this eyeball looking down at you.
就像一颗眼珠正俯视着你
The black disk where the Sun was is the silhouette of the Moon.
太阳表面的黑影正是月球的轮廓
It's an experience that you can't believe
令人难以置信的是
it was only a minute or two minutes.
整个过程仅持续一两分钟
It seems to have lasted a lifetime and also just an instant.
恍如漫长一生 实则短短一瞬
This compelling event is a launching pad for cosmic exploration,
这个令人振奋的现象是太空探索的起点
solving a string of mysteries that have puzzled mankind for ages.
藉此将解开一系列长久困惑着人类的奥秘
What makes the Sun disappear without warning?
是什么让太阳在毫无征兆的情况下消失呢
When does it happen?
这种现象何时发生
How can we predict it?
我们如何预测它
Can we make it happen ourselves?
人类能否自己制♥造♥日食
Once understood, we find that each eclipse
这些问题一旦得到解答 我们会发现
reveals something new about the universe.
每次日食都提供了关于宇宙的全新信息
Even now, we're finding our newest eclipses around distant stars,
如今我们在寻找远恒星的最新日食现象
revealing extra-solar planets,
并发现太阳系外行星
some, perhaps twins to the Earth,
其中可能有类地行星
with the potential for life.
拥有孕育生命的可能
The story begins with the mystery of our own eclipses,
故事记载始于地球上的日食之谜
a sun suddenly vanishing in broad daylight.
即光天化日之下 太阳突然间消失
Visible since before recorded history,
早在有历史记载之前
the ancients regarded eclipses with wonder and fear.
我们的祖先对日食充满了好奇与恐惧
The ancient people didn't understand physically
古人没有客观地意识到
what was going on during a solar eclipse.
日食是怎样一种现象
They would see a progressively bigger bite being taken out of the Sun,
他们看见的是太阳上逐渐变大的缺口
as though some gods or dragons were eating the Sun,
似乎天神或毒龙吞咬着太阳
mad at those people.
向人类表达他们的愤怒
So the people would beat pots and pans
因此人们击打锅碗瓢盆
and yell and scream and sacrifice virgins
大声喊叫甚至以处♥女♥祭祀
and all sorts of things to appease the gods
以诸如此类的行为来平息神怒
and scare the dragons away.
或吓跑毒龙
And you know what?
结果呢
It worked every time.
每次都奏效了
Through thousands of years,
数千年来
patiently watching the movements of the Sun and the Moon in the sky,
通过对天空中日月轨迹的耐心观测
ancient astronomers realized eclipses happen
古代的天文学家们终于明白
when the Moon passed directly in front of the Sun.
当月球运转到太阳正前方时日食便发生了
In time, scholars studied the patterns of eclipses
最后学者们通过对日食规律的长♥期♥研究
long enough to predict them.
已能预测其发生的时间
The Babylonians discovered what's called the Saros cycle
早在22个世纪前 古巴比伦人
more than 22 centuries ago.
就发现了沙罗周期
The Saros cycle is a cycle of eclipses
沙罗周期就是日食周期
that repeat every 223 months,
这个周期每223个月循环一次
roughly every 18 years,
也就是18年一轮
and they're very similar to one another.
每个周期之间都非常相似
The Greeks were aware of the Babylonian discovery,
古希腊人了解到了古巴比伦人的这一发现
as we've learned from the remarkable antikythera mechanism,
这一点从安提凯希拉装置上就能看出
an ancient device found on a shipwreck under the Mediterranean sea in 1901.
它出自1901年地中海海底的沉船
The antikythera mechanism was first thought to be
安提凯希拉装置一开始被认为是
some sort of a clock and then some sort of celestial timer.
某种时间计或天体计时器
It was a very complex mechanism
这个极为复杂的装置
with many gears and layers and planes.
由许多齿轮 叠层和平面构成
Archaeologists have been intrigued
自其发现以来 考古学家们对
by the antikythera mechanism ever since it was found.
安提凯希拉装置充满兴趣
Decades ago, they understood
几十年前 他们终于发现
it was a mechanical computer
这个机械模拟计算器
for calculating movements of the planets,
用于测算行星的运动轨迹
phases of the Moon and other astronomical phenomena.
月相以及其他天象
But the latest discovery astounded them.
但最近的发现令他们瞠目结舌
In 2008, using 3-D X-rays and CT scans,
2008年 他们通过三维X光术及电脑断层扫描
they found that the Babylonian Saros cycle
发现这个装置里
was built into the device.
包含了古巴比伦的沙罗周期
In two of the back plates of the mechanism was inscribed
该装置的两块底板上刻有
a spiral-like figure that had divisions,
一个有着分区的螺旋形标志
that when you added them up,
把它们放在一起
corresponded to the months in a Saros cycle.
对应的就是沙罗周期的月份
The only reason to have the Saros built into the mechanism
把沙罗周期包含到该装置里的唯一原因
was if it was an eclipse predictor as well.
就是该装置也应用于预测日食
A total eclipse of the Sun can be seen somewhere on Earth
平均每16个月就可以在地球上
an average of once every 16 months.
某个位置看到一次全日食
Today, predicting them is a very exact science.
如今 预测日食已是精确的科学
The next total solar eclipse to be visible
美国本土下一次可见的日全食
from the United States will be on August 21, 2017.
将发生在2017年8月21日
But modern astronomers can do much better
但是如今的天文学家能够提供的
than supplying the date for an eclipse.
已不仅仅是日食的日期
An eclipse map shows the exact path
一张日食地图显示出了人们在2017年
along which people can see the 2017 total eclipse.
能够看到的日全食的精确轨迹
And the timing is down to the second.
时间精确到秒
It will reach totality
日全食阴影将于上午
at 10:17 plus 18 seconds A.M. In Salem, Oregon;
10点17分18秒抵达俄勒冈州塞勒姆市
and 1:15:55 P.M. in St. Louis, Missouri;
下午1点15分55秒抵达密苏里州圣路易
and 2:41:55 in Columbia, South Carolina.
然后于2点41分55秒到达南卡罗莱纳的哥伦比亚
It will cross the country in 1 hour, 31 minutes and 1.6 seconds
这条轨迹将用时一小时31分1.6秒横跨美国
along a path averaging 66 miles wide.
平均宽度66公里
With information so exact,
有这么精准的时间测定
anyone who wants to see it will be able to.
任何想看日食的人都可以如愿以偿
People will have an opportunity to get to the path of totality
届时全美国的人们都有机会
from all over the United States.
来到这条日全食的路线
That's an opportunity that everybody should really try to take
每个人都值得一试
because they're few and far between.
因为这样的机会稀少而且是百年难求
Here it comes. Here it comes. Here it comes.
来了 开始了 瞧