宇宙的奇迹（2011）

So that sound is the sound of the
所以这个声音就是
first light released at the beginning of the universe.
宇宙起源时释放的第一束光奏响的乐章
Carry him home safely to me...
将他安全带回来
The reason we can't see this ancient light is because, as the universe expanded,
我们看不见远古的光是因为 随着宇宙膨胀
the light waves were stretched
光波被拉长
and transformed into radio waves and microwaves.
从而变为无线电波和微波
This first light is called
这第一束光被叫做
the Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB.
宇宙微波背景 简称CMB
The CMB fills every part of the universe.
CMB充斥着宇宙的每个角落
Every second, light from the beginning of time is
每一秒钟 来自时间起点的光线
raining down on the surface of the Earth in a ceaseless torrent.
都在如暴雨般无休止地落在地球表面
If my eyes could only see it,
要是我能看到的话
then the sky would be ablaze with this primordial light,
天空将因这原始的光线而灿烂闪耀
both day and night.
无论白昼黑夜
These waves have been
在130多亿年的时间里
travelling towards us for over 13 billion years.
这些波一刻不停的驶向我们
They are messengers,
它们是信使
carrying information about the origin of our universe.
带来宇宙起源的信息
In 2001, a satellite called W Map took a
2001年 一枚名为WMAP的卫星
photograph of our entire sky
拍摄了一张天空的全景微波图
to capture this ancient light.
以捕捉那束古老的光线
The image reveals that the blueprint of
这张图像显示了大爆♥炸♥后
the entire universe was created moments
整个宇宙诞生
after the Big Bang.
瞬间的结构蓝图
Well, this is one of the most important
这是科学史上一幅最为重要的
images of the sky ever taken in the history of science.
天空全景图
It doesn't have the beauty of a spiral galaxy or a nebula
也许它并不如涡旋星系或是星云那样美丽
but to a scientist, to a cosmologist,
但对于科学家 尤其是宇宙学家而言
it is the most beautiful picture ever taken,
它就是最美丽的图片
because it contains a vast amount of
因为这张图片包含了
information about the very earliest history of our universe.
大量宇宙诞生伊始的信息
When the CMB was first detected, it appeared
第一次宇宙微波背景的探测结果
that the universe was exactly the same in all directions.
说明宇宙是各向同性的
But W Map shows us that the early universe
可是WMAP卫星却向我们揭示了
was far from uniform.
宇宙并非如此整齐划一
Some areas were denser than others,
有些区域密度更大
and it's these ripples
正是这些波纹
that seeded all the structure in the cosmos.
为宇宙中的星系结构奠下基础
The explanation for those
对于宇宙微波背景中
ripples in the CMB is absolutely mind blowing,
这些波纹的解释非常惊人
because it's thought that they originated
人们认为它们发端于
in the first billion-billion-billion-
宇宙诞生之时
billionths of a second after the universe began,
几千亿分之一秒内
when the whole observable universe
那时在可观范围内的宇宙
was billions of times smaller than a grain of sand
尚比一粒沙子更为渺小
and little fluctuations called quantum
而一丁点小小的起伏
fluctuations made little bits of
称为量子起伏[量子涨落]
the universe a bit denser.
使得宇宙的一部分密度更大了
Those dense regions then got
随着宇宙不断膨胀
denser and denser as the universe continued to expand
这些稠密的区域密度也继续增长
and they seeded the formation of the
为第一颗恒星 第一个星系
first stars and the first galaxies in the universe.
播下发芽生长的种子
The early universe was a hot,
最原始的宇宙是物质与辐射的海洋
almost uniform, sea of matter and radiation.
它十分炽热 几乎整齐一致
As the universe expanded,
随着宇宙的膨胀
the slightly denser regions became increasingly dense.
原先只是轻微密集的区域变得极度稠密
Atoms clumped together to form the first structures.
原子簇集在一起形成了最原始的结构体
Over time these structures grew so
时光荏苒 这些结构体
massive that they collapsed
发育得异常庞大
under their own gravity.
并因为自身重力开始塌缩
Hydrogen fused, releasing enormous amounts of energy.
氢原子融合在一起 释放出巨大的能量
200 million years after the Big Bang,
宇宙大爆♥炸♥的两亿年后
the first stars in the cosmos burst into life.
第一颗恒星横空出世
Darkness was banished
黑暗被无情的撕碎
and the cosmos began to fill with light.
从此宇宙开始沐浴光明
Planets formed and fell into orbit around
一颗颗行星闪亮登场
the stars and these young
围绕着恒星运转
solar systems orbited the galaxies.
而这些年轻的太阳系则围绕着星系运行
And the only reason why any of this
而这一切存在的原由
exists is because of those tiny density fluctuations
都是因为宇宙在诞生之初
that appeared when the observable
尚如沙粒大小时
universe was smaller than a grain of sand.
就包含的微小的量子起伏
Without them there would be no planets
没有它们 就没有行星恒星
or stars and no galaxies.
更没有星系一说了
Our universe would look the same in every direction.
我们的宇宙将在各个方向丝毫不差
For billions of years,
亿万年过去了
generations of stars lived and died.
无数恒星交替诞生或消亡
And then, nine billion years after it all began,
于是 大爆♥炸♥后的第九十亿年
in an unremarkable piece of space in the
在英仙臂的猎户臂处
Orion spur of the Persius arm of
一片不起眼的空间
a galaxy called the Milky Way,
也就是我们的银河系
a star was born that we call the Sun,
一颗恒星诞生了 那就是太阳
that illuminated our embryonic Solar System with light.
她照亮了我们萌芽中的太阳系
So the light from the star
使我们沐浴在和煦温暖的
that bathes the Earth has its ultimate origin
光芒之中的恒星之光 也在宇宙诞生
in the tiny ripples that appeared
那一瞬间的微小波纹中
in the first moments of our universe's life.
拥有自己最初的归宿
By capturing the light from the skies,
通过捕捉天空中的光芒
we've been able to tell the
我们可以发掘出
story of the universe's origins and evolution,
宇宙的起源与演化
and it's worth reflecting on
这么伟大的一件事
what a remarkable thing that is.
绝对值得回味
You know, little beings like me
像我一样的沧海一粟
scurrying around on the surface of a rock
匆匆行走与一块岩石表面
on the edge of one of the galaxies
而这块岩石不过是某个星系边缘的一处角落
have been able to understand
尽管如此 我却能够
the very origin and evolution of the universe.
一窥宇宙起源与演化的奥秘
But there's one more twist to this story,
但是这个故事中还有另一个转折点
because that ability to use light,
因为这种利用光线
to capture it, and use it to understand our world,
捕捉它 透过它来了解世界的能力
may have played a key role
对于地球上
in the emergence of complex life on Earth.
复杂生物的出现可能至关重要
This is the Yoho National Park
这里是优鹤国家公园
in the Rocky Mountains of Canada,
坐落于加拿大落基山脉
one of the most spectacular mountain ranges
它是北美洲最为壮观的
in North America.
山脉之一
100 years ago, a fossil
一百年前 在布尔吉斯页岩上
field was discovered here at the Burgess Shale
人们发现了一片化石场
that may reveal how light
那里可能揭示了光线
shaped life on Earth.
是如何打造地球生命的
Well, this is one of the
这是世界上最重要的
most important fossil sites in the world,
化石发现地之一
but actually it's one of the
事实上它也是
most important scientific sites of any kind,
最为重要的科学研究场所之一
and it's not just because of the number
不仅仅是因为封印在这些岩石中的
and diversity of animals
动物数量奇大
you find fossilised in these rocks,
种类繁多
it's because of their age.
更因为它们着实历史悠久
These fossils are over 500 million years old.
这些化石已经有五亿年的历史了
There is virtually no record
地球上几乎没有比它们更早的
of complex life on Earth before this time.
复杂生物记录了
It's as if, at one instant
似乎是一刹那间
in this time we call the Cambrian Era,
在寒武纪时代的某一瞬间
complex multi-cellular life
一种复杂的多细胞生命
suddenly emerged almost intact on the planet.
突然完好无损地出现在星球上
It's called the Evolutionary Big Bang.
这一事件被称为进化大爆♥炸♥
This is one of the beautiful
这是在化石层里找到的
animals you find up here in the fossil beds.
一种非常美丽的动物
It's called a trilobite. It's a very complex organism.
它叫三叶虫 是一种很复杂的生物体
It's got an external skeleton, it's got jointed limbs,
有外骨骼 有肢臂关节