宇宙（2021）

这光穿越宇宙，
This light journeyed through the universe,
经过 90 亿年的旅程，地球形成了。
and after nine billion years of its journey, the Earth formed.
然后，在我们星球的整个历史中，它完成了最后一次
And then, during the whole history of our planet, it completed the last
它的第三次旅程，并进入了我们的望远镜。
third of its journey, and entered our telescopes.
所以这是来自时间边缘的图像。
So this is an image from the edge of time.
GN-z11 是最早形成的星系之一
GN-z11 was one of the very first galaxies, formed at a time
当宇宙本身正在形成时。
when the universe itself was taking shape.
大爆♥炸♥后不久。
Shortly after the Big Bang.
按照今天的标准，GN-z11 是一个奇怪的星系。
GN-z11 was a strange galaxy by today's standards.
比银河系小25倍。
25 times smaller than the Milky Way.
但充满了巨大的，暴♥力♥的星星。
But filled with enormous, violent stars.
潜伏在这些动荡的巨人身边……
Lurking alongside these volatile giants...
..还有其他事情。
..there were other things.
微妙的物体在漩涡中挣扎。
Delicate objects struggling in the maelstrom.
宇宙中最早的一些行星。
Some of the first planets in the universe.
这些都是奇异的原始世界。
These were strange, primordial worlds.
在其中一个的地平线上，
And over the horizon of one of them,
太阳升起。
a sun rose.
标志着宇宙历史的新篇章。
Marking a new chapter in the history of the universe.
恒星和行星之间关系的开始......
The beginnings of a relationship between stars and planets...
..那会，
..that would,
数十亿年后，在一个遥远的世界……
billions of years later, on a faraway world...
..导致生命的起源。
..lead to the origin of life.
现在，我们不知道何时何地
Now, we don't know when or where
宇宙中的第一个黎明破晓。
the first dawn broke in the universe.
但我们所知道的是
But what we do know is that
第一个黎明不是第一刻。
the first dawn was not the first moment.
恒星和行星必须来自某个地方。
The stars and planets had to come from somewhere.
所以第一个黎明之前是一个漫长而黑暗的夜晚。
So the first dawn was preceded by a long, dark night.
天文学家称这个时代为宇宙黑暗时代。
Astronomers call this era the cosmic Dark Ages.
如果我们继续回到过去，
If we continued to journey back in time,
我们会看到阴影笼罩整个宇宙。
we'd see shadows fall across the universe.
星系会消失。
The galaxies would disappear.
第一批原始恒星将被一颗一颗地熄灭。
The first primitive stars would be extinguished one by one.
黑暗真的会
And darkness truly would
临到深渊。
be upon the face of the deep.
这里，
Here,
在宇宙黑暗时代难以穿透的阴霾中……
in the impenetrable gloom of the cosmic Dark Ages...
......我们对了解宇宙起源的追求......
..our quest to understand the origins of the universe...
..似乎结束了。
..would seem to end.
那么我们如何窥探宇宙黑暗时代来探索起源
So how can we peer into the cosmic Dark Ages to explore the origin
宇宙的？
of the universe?
好吧，也许与直觉相反，来自星星的光
Well, perhaps counterintuitively, the light from the stars
仍然可以指引我们，因为那星光一直在旅行
can still guide us, because that starlight has been travelling
跨越宇宙数百万甚至数十亿年才能到达
across the universe for millions or even billions of years to reach
我们，以及有关宇宙变化和演化方式的信息
us, and information about the way the universe has changed and evolved
在那星光下烙上了印记。
becomes imprinted in that starlight.
星星照亮了我们穿越时空的航程。
The stars have illuminated our voyage through time.
但它们的光不能直接引导我们穿越黑暗时代。
But their light can't guide us directly across the Dark Ages.
相反，它们的光可用于构建宇宙地图……
Instead, their light can be used to build maps of the universe...
..在空间和时间上。
..in space and time.
这使我们能够导航...
That allow us to navigate...
..走向创造的时刻。
..towards the moment of creation.
而最有价值的光...
And the most valuable light of all...
..来自壮观的天鹅之歌♥中非常特殊的星星
..comes from very particular stars in the spectacular swansong
他们的生活。
of their lives.
恒星存在于永久的冲突状态中，因为力
Stars exist in a permanent state of conflict because the force
重力是无情的。 任由它自己的设备，它会粉碎
of gravity is relentless. Left to its own devices, it will crush
任何东西，没有限制。
anything and everything, without limit.
但幸运的是，其他力量开始发挥作用。 作为明星
But fortunately, other forces come into play. As the star
坍塌，它的核心发热，变成一个巨大的
collapses, its core heats up and turns into a giant
核聚变反应堆。
nuclear fusion reactor.
氢气转化为氦气。 这会释放能量，从而产生
Hydrogen is converted into helium. That releases energy, which creates
一种压力，它支撑着星星。
a pressure, which holds the star up.
但是像我们太阳这样的恒星燃烧了数亿吨♥氢
But stars like our sun burn hundreds of millions of tonnes of hydrogen
每秒进入氦气。
into helium every second.
尽管它们很大，但它们的大小并不是无限的。
And although they are big, they're not infinite in size.
星星和人类一样，都有一生。
Stars, just like human beings, have a lifetime.
他们受制于时间无情的前进。
They are subject to the relentless march of time.
现在，对于像我们太阳这样的星星，
Now, for stars like our sun,
坍塌一直持续到它产生一种新的异国情调的类型
the collapse continues until it produces a new and exotic type
恒星，被称为白矮星。
of star, known as a white dwarf.
白矮人是奇怪的野兽。
White dwarves are strange beasts.
星星的残骸。
The fading remains of stars.
超密集，行星大小的核心，通常完全由
Super-dense, planetary-size cores, usually composed entirely
碳和氧。
of carbon and oxygen.
曾经是我们星球大小的一百万倍的恒星，
Stars that were once a million times the size of our planet,
压到地球那么大。
crushed to the size of the Earth.
使碳承受极端压力。
Subjecting the carbon to extreme pressures.
并且制♥造♥白矮星，实际上，
And making white dwarves, in effect,
恒星钻石。
stellar diamonds.
这些钻石星非常平衡，能够抵抗
These diamond stars are critically balanced, able to resist
无情的向内引力，
the relentless inwards pull of gravity,
但只是而已。
but only just.
这可以使他们滴答作响的定时炸♥弹♥。
And that can make them ticking time bombs.
2018 年，哈勃在轨道上。
In 2018, Hubble was in orbit.
望远镜聚焦在一个很远很远的星系上。
The telescope focused on a galaxy far, far away.
寻找我们知道即将结束的遥远白矮星
Hunting for a distant white dwarf that we knew was coming to the end
其非凡的一生。
of its extraordinary life.
数百万年来，白矮星一直隐藏着。
For millions of years, the white dwarf had remained hidden.
锁定在一个更大的恒星周围的轨道上。
Locked in orbit around a much bigger star.
一个红巨星。
A red giant.
当他们互相盘旋时，
As they circled each other,
白矮星的引力从红巨星中吸收了气体和等离子体。
the white dwarf's gravity drew in gas and plasma from the red giant.
白矮星的质量增加了……
The mass of the white dwarf increased...
..直到它接近，一个临界极限。
..until it approached, a critical limit.
被称为钱德拉塞卡质量。
Known as the Chandrasekhar mass.
并超越了它。
And surpassed it.
引发巨大的热核反应。
Triggering a colossal thermonuclear reaction.
白矮星爆♥炸♥了……
The white dwarf detonated...
..在巨大的爆♥炸♥中......
..In a gigantic explosion...
..称为超新星。
..called a supernova.
那几百万光年之外……
That millions of light years away...
..被哈勃探测到。
..was detected by Hubble.
那颗白矮星，或者更准确地说，是超新星
That white dwarf star or, to be more precise, the supernova
它变成了，有一个名字。
that it became, has a name.
它被称为SN 2018 GV，
It's called SN 2018 GV,
即使是7000万
and even though it is 70 million
光年之外，它是如此明亮，我们可以用它拍电影。
light years away, it is so bright that we could make a movie on it.
我的意思是，想象一下 - 这是一颗行星大小的恒星
I mean, imagine that - this is a star the size of a planet
以同样明亮的闪光结束它的生命
ending its life with a flash of light that's as bright
作为五十亿个太阳。
as five billion suns.
现在，虽然像这样的超新星只会发光
Now, although supernovas like these only shine
几天，
for a few days,
他们向整个宇宙投下一道深邃的光芒。
they cast a profound light out across the universe.
我们给哈勃看到的那种超新星命名了。
We've given a name to the sort of supernova Hubble saw.
它们被称为IA型超新星。
They're called type IA supernovae.
它们很常见，可以让我们绘制进化图
And they're common enough to allow us to map the evolution
宇宙的。
of the universe.
IA 型超新星真的是大自然给我们的礼物。
Type IA supernovae really are nature's gift to us.
因为它们都以同样的方式爆♥炸♥，
Because they all explode in the same way,
这意味着它们都以相同的亮度发光。
that means that they all shine with the same brightness.
这意味着如果我们看到一个更暗的
And that means that if we see one that's dimmer,
它必须更远。
it must be farther away.
这使我们能够测量到银河系的距离
And that allows us to measure the distance to the galaxy
包含超新星。
that contains the supernova.
并且因为它们如此耀眼，我们可以看到它们数百亿
And because they shine so brightly, we can see them tens of billions
光年之外。
of light years away.
这意味着我们可以一直测量到星系的距离
That means that we can measure the distance to galaxies all the way
向着可观测宇宙的边缘。
out towards the edge of the observable universe.