宇宙的奇迹（2011）

Why are we here?
我们为何在此
Where do we come from?
我们又来自何方
These are the most enduring of questions.
这些问题源远流长
And it's an essential part of human nature to want to find the answers.
而人类天性就爱探索答案
And we can trace that ancestry back
追根溯源
hundreds of thousands of years to the dawn of humankind.
时间定格在几十万年前 人类文明出现之刻
But in reality, our story extends far further back in time.
实际上 我们的故事将延伸至更早的年代
Our story starts with the beginning of the universe.
从宇宙起源说起
It began 13.7 billion years ago.
宇宙起源于一百三十七亿年前
And today it's filled with over 100 billion galaxies,
而今 宇宙中已形成逾千个星系
each containing hundreds of billions of stars.
每个星系拥有数以千亿的星球
In this series, I want to tell that story
在本节目中 我将向大家讲述这个故事
because ultimately we are part of the universe.
因为说到底 我们是宇宙的一部分
So its story is our story.
宇宙的故事 便是我们的故事
It's a story that you couldn't tell without something so fundamental
要讲述这个故事就不能忽略一个最基本的东西
that it's impossible to imagine the universe without it.
没有它 宇宙便无从说起
It's woven into the very fabric of the cosmos.
它在宇宙中无所不在
Time.
这便是时间
The relentless flow of time
在时间长河的浸润下
has driven the evolution of the universe
宇宙不断演化
and created many extraordinary wonders.
并创造出无数令人叹为观止的奇迹
These wonders take us from the very first moments
这些奇迹将引领我们
in the life of the universe to its eventual end.
见证宇宙生命的始与末
This is Chankillo on the north-western coast of Peru.
这里是秘鲁西北海岸的长基罗
And it's one of South America's lesser known archaeological sites.
它在南美的考古遗址中算不上引人注意
But, for me, it is surely one of the most fascinating.
但对我来说 它绝对是最迷人的地方
Around 2,500 years ago,
约两千五百年前
a civilisation we know almost nothing about
一个几乎不为我们所知的文明
built this fortified temple in the desert.
在荒漠中筑起了这固若金汤的庙宇
Its walls were once brilliant white
它的外墙曾经一片炽白
and covered with painted figures.
上面喷绘着各种图案
Today, all but the smallest fragments of the decorations are gone.
如今 就算再小的绘饰碎片都已灰飞湮灭
The details of this culture
这个文明的所有信息
and all traces of its language are lost.
及其文字记载的踪迹也已消失殆尽
And yet, if you stand in the right place,
不过 如果你站在合适的地方
you can still experience the true purpose of Chankillo,
依然能感受长基罗的真谛
in just the same way as you could the day that it was built.
就如同你亲眼见证它拔地而起的瞬间
But, to do that, you have to be here before the sun rises.
但前提是 必须在日出前赶到这
These towers form an ancient solar calendar.
这些塔楼构成了古代阳历
Now, at different times of year,
在每年的不同时期
the sunrise point is at a different place on the horizon.
地平线上的日出点也会有所不同
21st December, which here in the southern hemisphere
对于南半球来说 12月21日为夏至
is the summer solstice, the longest day,
是一年中日照最长的一天
and the sun rises just to the right of the right-most tower.
因而太阳会从最右边的塔楼升起
Then, as the year passes,
在随后的一年里
the sun moves through the towers
太阳会穿过一座座塔楼
until on 21st June,
到了6月21日
which is the winter solstice, the shortest day,
也就是冬至 一年中日照最短的那天
it rises just to left of the left-most tower.
它会从最左边的塔楼升起
Actually just in between that mountain you can see in the distance
就在远处那座山
and the left-most tower.
与最左边的塔楼之间
So, at any time of year, if you watch the sun rise,
因而在一年的任何时候 只要你观察日出
you can measure its position and you can tell,
就能通过太阳的位置
within an accuracy of two or three days, the date.
准确说出日期 误差最多两三天
Today's date is September the 15th.
今天是9月15号♥
So that means the sun will rise
这也就意味着
between the fifth and the sixth towers.
太阳将在第五和第六座塔间升起
Chankillo still works as a calendar
长基罗依然可以行使其太阳历的职责
because the sun still rises in the same place today
因为正如同这些巨石当初坐落之时
as it did when these stones were first laid down.
太阳依旧在同一位置升起
That's a magnificent sight,
真是太壮观了
as the sun burns through the towers.
太阳从塔尖冉冉升起
You can almost feel the presence of the past here.
在这里 你几乎能嗅到古代的气息
Imagine what it must have been like.
想象一下当时的场景
Thousands of citizens stood here to greet the sun,
数千市民伫立在这 恭候日出
which was almost certainly a deity. Almost certainly their god.
太阳即是他们的神明
What a magnificent achievement.
这是多么伟大的成就啊
Probably one of our earliest attempts to begin to measure the heavens.
也许这是人类第一次尝试度量神的国度
Over the millennia,
千年之后
that desire to measure what's going on in the sky
这股探知天空的渴望
has led to modern astronomy
造就了现代天文学
and the foundations of our modern civilisation.
也成为了现代文明的基石
I might build one in my garden.
也许我会在自己的花♥园♥里建一个
I want one!
真想建一个
The 13 towers that line this ridge
耸立在山脊上的十三座塔楼
stand testament to our enduring fascination with the clockwork of the heavens.
应证了人类对天地时间的无限迷恋
And to the direct connection between our lives and the cosmos.
也见证了芸芸众生与宇宙的直接联♥系♥
The rising and setting of the sun provides an epic heartbeat
日出日落 这史诗般的脉搏
that allows us to mark the passage of time.
教会人类标记时间的痕迹
A day on Earth is the 24 hours
一日为二十四个小时
it takes our planet to rotate once on its axis.
即地球绕轴自转一周
Our months are based on the 29-and-a-half days
一月为二十九天半
it takes the moon to wax and wane in the night sky.
即月亮在夜空完成盈亏圆缺
And a year is the 365-and-a-quarter days
一年为三百六十五又四分之一天
it takes us to orbit once around the sun.
即地球绕太阳公转一周
These familiar timescales mark the passing of our lives.
人类的生命便消逝在这些熟悉的时间量程之间
But the life of the universe plays out on a much grander scale.
然而宇宙的时间量程远比年月日浩大
When you look up into the night sky, you don't just see stars.
仰望夜空 映入眼帘的不仅仅是一颗颗星星
Those tiny points of light are a million different clocks,
那点点星光更是悬在夜空中的百万支时钟
whose lifespans mark out the passage of time
它们的存在记载了
over billions, or even trillions, of years.
数十亿 甚至数万亿年时间的流逝
This film is about the greatest expanses of time.
本片将向您介绍跨度无垠的时间
The deep time that shapes the universe.
那塑造了宇宙的深邃时间
From its fiery beginnings,
宇宙从大爆♥炸♥开始
through countless generations of stars, planets and galaxies,
经历无数代恒星 行星 星系的演变
to its eventual demise,
最终走向灭亡
the fate of the universe is determined by the passage of time.
随着时间的推移 宇宙的命运也已注定
Timescales in the cosmos seem so unimaginably vast,
宇宙的时间量程大到无法想象
it's almost impossible to relate to them.
它几乎在我们的认知范围之外
Yet there are places on Earth where
然而 在地球上的某些角落
we can begin to encounter time on these universal scales.
我们能接触到宇宙量程下的时间
This is Ostional on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
这里是哥斯达黎加北太平洋海岸的奥斯蒂奥纳尔
And I've come here to
我到这来是为了
witness a natural event that's been happening
亲眼目睹一场在人类踏入此地时
long before there were any humans here to see it.
就一直出现的自然现象
And I suppose it really is a
我猜一定能
window into the distant past of life on our planet.
通过这扇窗口 了解地球生命的历史
Once the sun has dipped below the horizon
当太阳沉落地平线
and the moon conspired to make the tides just right,
月亮助兴 引起潮汐之时
this beach is visited by prehistoric creatures.
一群史前生物便会造访这片海滩
Under the cover of darkness, they emerge from the ocean.
它们在黑夜的掩护下 浮出了海面
Playa Ostional is one of the few beaches in the world
普拉亚·奥斯蒂奥纳尔是地球上少数几个
where large numbers of sea turtles make their nests.
有大量海龟产卵的海滩
But what makes this truly remarkable is the sheer length of time
但真正与众不同的 是这个场景
scenes like this have been playing out.
在历史上年复一年地不断上演
This is part of one of the oldest life-cycles on Earth.
这大概是地球最古老的生命循环之一
On nights like these,
在过去的一亿年里
for the last 100 million years,
每到这样的夜晚
turtles like this have been
这些海龟
hauling themselves out of the ocean to lay their eggs.
就会爬上海滩产卵
It's an almost incomprehensible timespan.
这几乎是段近乎无限的时间
100 million years ago, there were dinosaurs roaming the Earth,
一亿年前 恐龙还在地球上横行
but the Earth itself looked very different.
地球也是另一番面貌
South America was not connected to North America.
那时南美洲不与北美洲毗邻
North America was somewhere over close to Europe.
北美大♥陆♥在靠近欧洲的某处
Australia was connected to Antarctica.
澳大利亚则连接着南极
It really is quite...
这真是
wonderful to be so close to such an ancient cycle of life.
太棒了 能如此近距离接触这古老的生命循环
I can hear breathing, actually.
我能听到它的呼吸
So, a remarkable experience.
令人难忘的经历