宇宙（2007）

The Universe S01E01

Part 3 April 22, 2021, 8:09 p.m.

When a Sun spot unleashes its magnetic energy
当太阳黑子释放其磁能时
what results are the most colossal explosions on the solar system:
就会在太阳系引发最激烈的爆发:
solar flares.
太阳耀斑.
A single flare releases as much as a billion megaton of energy.
单个耀斑会释放10亿兆顿当量的能量.
The combined power of a million vulcanic eruptions on Earth.
等于地球上一百万座火山喷发.
They appear as these very...
它们看来是非常...
white regions and they're so bright because the temperature is so high.
白色的区域,是如此的明亮,这是因为其温度是如此的高,
on the order of ten million degrees and they can last for hours.
大约有1000万度,能持续几个小时.
But the energy is massive.
能量是巨大的.
The whole explosion...
整个爆发...
is equivalent to millions of nuclear bombs
等于数百万个核弹
leaving the surface of the Sun all at once.
同时离开太阳表面.
Solar flares don't just explode out in the space.
太阳耀斑不只是在太空爆发.
They also funnel high energy particles
还能集中高能粒子
down to a layer of the sun called the cromosphere,
掉进太阳色球层,
where they quickly transfer their energy
在那很快地传递能量
like a cue ball striking the rack in the game of billiards.
就象白球撞击台球桌上的色球.
So you have a cue ball, actually like one of these
你有一个白球,事实上就象这些
very high energy particles coming from the flare agent.
能量非常高的粒子,是来自耀斑媒介.
A cue ball smacks very quickly into the 8-ball rack,
白球非常快地撞击8号♥球进洞,
and once it impacts the head ball,
一旦击中头球,
it's going to transfer that energy
就会传递那个能量
to the balls behind it and then
给后面的球,
they will all flyout because the energy is transferred to all of them.
它们就会散开,这是因为能量传递给了所有的球.
If a large flare shoots enough high energy particles at once,
如果一个大的耀斑一次充分发出足够的能量,
strange things start to happen.
奇异的事情开始产生.
This is actual footage
这是真实的连续记录
of a sunquake.
关于日震的.
In 1998
在1998年,
there was a solar flare up in the
一个太阳耀斑产生在日冕,
corona that was so powerful that the material flying down
非常强大,等离子飞速下降
toward the surface of the sun
回太阳的表面,
actually slack the surface and
竟然停止在太阳表面,
cause ripples to spread out from there.
造成涟漪在那扩展开来.
While thay may look like ripples on a part,
尽管看起来那里有个涟漪,
these are actually waves two miles high
实际上是两英里高的
travelling at a maximum velocity of
极速运动,
250 thousand miles per hour.
达到每小时25万英里的速度.
1998年的日震,
The 1998 sunquake
would have measured in 11.3 on the Richter scale.
震级达到里氏11.3级.
More than one million times stronger
强度等于100万倍于
1989年
than the 1989 earthquake that
shocked San Francisco.
旧金山的那次地震.
In order to shake the surface of the sun that much,
为了更多的晃动太阳表面,
the solar flare had to release a colossal amount of energy.
太阳耀斑必须释放大量的能量.
It turns out that's almost the same amount of energy
换算过来几乎等于
as if you cover the entire land mass of the earth with dinamite,
用炸♥药♥覆盖地球整个表面
about a yard thick.
一♥码♥(0.91米)厚.
And set it all off at once.
一次爆♥炸♥.
These explosions are not small.
那些爆发很大.
Earthquakes aren't the only natural disasters with equivalents on the sun.
在太阳上,地震不是唯一的天灾.
A flare can also kick-off a solar tsunami.
耀斑还能引起太阳的海啸.
As waves of plasma in the sun's atmosphere rock it up
当太阳大气层里的等离子波
at 700 thousand miles per hour,
以每小时70万英里的速度跃起,
spreading around the entire face of the star
散布到太阳的整个表面,
in a matter of hours.
在几小时之内.
While sunquakes and solar tsunami
而日震和海啸
pose no danger to earth,
没给地球造成危害,
the violent action of a flare
耀斑猛烈的活动
frequently triggers dangerous eruptions
经常会引发危险的爆发,
called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs.
被称为日冕物质抛射,或CME.
In a CME
在一个CME里,
energy from a flare flees a blob of
来自耀斑的能量消失在一团
highly charged radioactive plasma
高电荷辐射等离子,
out of the solar atmosphere.
冲出太阳的大气层.
Coronal mass ejections
日冕物质抛射,
range and speeds, but take in a curl
其范围和速度,卷曲状地,
as quick as
快速地,
800-900 miles per second,
每秒800-900英里速度,
which is extremely fast and it
极端的快速,
expell a massive amount of material.
并抛出大量的物质.
It can be the same amount of mass as, say, mount Everest,
它抛出的物质的大小,这么说吧,相当于珠穆朗玛峰,
coming out from the sun and
离开太阳,
flying out into the space.
飞进太空.
Where does this blob of superheated radioactive
当高热高辐射的等离子团离开
plasma go when it leaves the sun?
太阳后会到哪里去呢?
Sometimes it sails out harmlessly in the space.
有时在太空里无害地航行.
Other times it may head closer to home.
其他时候可能会接近我们的家园.
Coronal mass ejections from the sun
来自太阳的日冕物质抛射
are perhaps the most dangerous threat you've never heard of.
也许是你从未听说过的最大的危害.
Also known as solar storms,
亦称为太阳风暴,
they hurl a large masses of supercharged particles
抛出大量超重粒子,
across 93 million miles of space.
越过9300万英里空间.
Most takes several days to travel from the sun to the earth,
大部分经过几天从太阳到地球,
but some rocket across the solar system
一部分飞越太阳系,
at up to 6 million miles an hour,
高于每小时600万英里的速度,
reaching our planet in less than 16 hours.
到达地球不足16个小时.
These storms can induce currents in the outer atmosphere
这些风暴能够引起外大气层的电流,
knocking out satellites and cross-country power grids
轰击人造卫星和旷野的输电线,
and carry the potential to
带着电压
rid just as much heavy gunner our infrastructure
就象许多重炮手那样轰击基础设施
as a hurricane or a tornado.
如同飓风或龙♥卷♥风♥.
But who on earth is keeping an eye
但地球上谁在留意
on this potentially hazardous cosmic blasts?
这个宇宙风潜在的危害呢?
This is the headquarters
这是美国国家海洋与大气管理局
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
的总部,
home to the US governments national weather service.
为美国政♥府♥提供气象服务.
Their daily forecasts, whatches and warnings
他们的日常预报,观察和警告
are essential information for everyday life on our planet.
是我们地球每天生活的基本信息.
But there is a lesser known group of forecasters working here
然而有一个很少有人知道的预报员团体在这里工作
in a special division called "The Space Environment Center".
一个特殊的部门称为"太空环境中心".
Out primary job is to monitor the sun
我们主要的工作是监控太阳,
and put up the alerts, watches and warnings
提供警报,观察和警告,
for solar activity.
关于太阳活动方面的.
Good morning and welcome bright in briefing.
早上好,欢迎来听取简报.
We have one unknown on the ration seen flare from east slam
这有一个东半球未知的象是耀斑的东西,
as a possible CME.
可能是日冕物质抛射.
We have not had protons but we have had electrons.
我们没有质子,但有电子.
One thing you notice is that this region
一件事,你们要注意这个区域,
pretty stall the activity in the sun.
太阳上活动停止的漂亮地方.
Bristol thinks it might be packing up your head the next couple of weeks.
Bristol认为在未来几个星期里可能会停下你的项目.
These space forecasters
这些太空预报员
are on high alert for solar storms
高度戒备,对付太阳风暴,
that might disrupt life on earth.
它可能破坏地球上的生命.
Solar storm clouds are made up of charged particles,
太阳风暴会产生带电粒子,
so they are initially diverted around the planet
它们被磁场牵制
by a magnetic field,
在地球周围,
just like waves breaking around the bow of a boat.
就象围绕着船头的波浪.
It turns out to be very important
它转出去是非常重要的,
because if it impacts to the outer atmosphere directly,
因为如果直接撞击外大气层,
it would knock little bits of the atmosphere off in the space.
将把小部分大气撞进太空.
One reason why Mars doesn't have an atmosphere
火星为什么没有大气的原因之一
is that it doesn't have a strong internal magnetic field.
就是没有一个内在的强大的磁场.
And so gradually over
慢慢地经过了
million or maybe billions of years
数百万可能数十亿年,
the atmosphere was gradually knocked off in the space
大气逐渐被撞进了太空,
by the influence of the solar wind
被那太阳风,
and by the CMEs that skim past the planet.
和日冕物质抛射掠过以前的火星.
But our magnetic field is not the perfect force field of scifi movies.
然而我们的磁场不是科幻电影里的理想的磁力场.
Some particles can penetrate it
有些粒子可能穿透它,