哈伯130億年前的照片：英語精讀講義

On the 24th of April 1990,

1990年4月24日，

space shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble telescope into orbit.

發現號太空梭將哈伯望遠鏡送入軌道。

This was an exciting time for space exploration,

那是太空探索令人興奮的時刻，

as Hubble promised to produce mind-boggling images, 慣用語

因為哈伯有望拍攝出令人驚嘆的影像，

showing us an early view of our universe as it was forming.

向我們展示宇宙形成初期的景象。

But as soon as Hubble came online, 講解

但哈伯一上線，

scientists noticed a serious problem with its mirror.

科學家們就發現它的主鏡存在嚴重問題。

Although this was the most precisely cut mirror ever made,

儘管這是有史以來切割得最精確的鏡面，

a slight defect of just 2,000 nanometers meant that Hubble failed to produce sharp images.

但僅僅2000奈米的微小缺陷意味著哈伯無法生成清晰的影像。

After 3 years,

三年後，

scientists managed to produce a fix for the mirror, 文法

科學家們成功為鏡面制定了修復方案，

and Hubble began scanning the universe for its secrets.

哈伯便開始掃描宇宙尋找它的秘密。

Since then, 文法

從那時起，

Hubble has operated for nearly 30 years,

哈伯已經運作了近30年，

capturing the most stunning images of distant stars and galaxies.

捕捉到了遙遠恆星和星系最令人驚嘆的影像。

But, like everything,

但是，就像世間萬物一樣，

Hubble has its limits,

哈伯也有其極限，

and the world's most famous telescope will eventually come to an end in the not-too-distant future. 片語搭配

這台世界上最著名的望遠鏡最終將在不久的將來走向終結。

But how long does it have left? 文法

它還剩下多少時間？

And why has it reached a limit in terms of what it can observe? 片語搭配

為什麼它在觀測能力上達到了極限？

Throughout its lifetime,

在其整個生命週期中，

Hubble has taken millions of amazing pictures.

哈伯拍攝了數以百萬計的驚人照片。

It's able to observe other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that an ordinary telescope couldn't see. 用詞

它能夠觀測到普通望遠鏡無法看到的電磁波譜的其他部分。

Since it's outside of Earth's atmosphere,

因為它在地球大氣層之外，

it has an unobstructed view of the universe,

它擁有毫無遮擋的宇宙視野，

which allows it to capture objects

這使得它能夠捕捉到

that are dimmer and much more distant than a ground-based telescope ever could.

比地面望遠鏡所能觀測到的更暗、更遙遠的天體。

Despite this, 表達脈絡

儘管如此，

Hubble's best images have come and gone, 慣用語

哈伯最佳影像的時代已經過去，

and the limitations of physics

物理學的限制

will likely stop it from seeing anything dimmer or further than it already has. 文法

可能使它無法再看到比目前所見更暗或更遠的東西。

In order to observe the furthest and dimmest objects in the universe,

為了觀測宇宙中最遠和最暗的天體，

you need an extremely high-resolution telescope

你需要一台超高解析度的望遠鏡

and the ability to capture as much light as possible. 文法

以及捕捉盡可能多光線的能力。

The resolution of a telescope is limited to the number of wavelengths it can fit across its mirror.

望遠鏡的解析度受到其鏡面上能容納的波長數量的限制。

The angular resolution of a telescope measures its ability to identify two separate objects 用詞

望遠鏡的角解析度衡量了它分辨兩個獨立天體的能力，

that have a short angular distance when observed by a telescope.

這兩個天體在被望遠鏡觀測時角距離很小。

This is given by 1.22 multiplied by the wavelength of the light

其計算公式是1.22乘以光波長，

over the diameter of the mirror.

除以鏡面直徑。

When observing visible light of about 500 nanometers,

當觀測大約500奈米的可見光時，

Hubble has an angular resolution of about 0.05 arc seconds.

哈伯的角解析度約為0.05角秒。

This beats the human eye's resolution by a factor of 1,000. 片語搭配

這比人眼的解析度高出1000倍。

For even shorter wavelengths like ultraviolet,

對於像紫外線這樣更短的波長，

the resolution gets even better,

解析度甚至會更好，

and Hubble can achieve an angular resolution as low as 0.01 arc seconds. 文法

哈伯可以實現低至0.01角秒的角解析度。

Hubble is also limited by the types of wavelengths it can observe.

哈伯也受到它能觀測的波長類型的限制。

Stars emit a wide range of light,

恆星發出範圍很廣的光，

and although Hubble can observe a wide range of wavelengths,

儘管哈伯可以觀測很寬範圍的波長，

it can't observe anything greater than near infrared.

但它無法觀測長於近紅外線的光。

This limits its ability to look back in time to distant objects. 慣用語

這限制了它回溯時間觀測遙遠天體的能力。

As the universe expands,

隨著宇宙的膨脹，

the fabric of space expands with it. 慣用語

空間結構也隨之膨脹。

When light travels through the universe,

當光在宇宙中傳播時，

its wavelength is stretched with the expansion of space.

它的波長會隨著空間的膨脹而被拉長。

This means that by the time the light arrives at Hubble, 文法

這意味著當光線到達哈伯時，

the wavelength of the light is longer than when it left the object.

光的波長比離開天體時更長。

This is known as redshifting. 用詞

這被稱為紅移。

As the distance to an object increases, 文法

隨著天體距離的增加，

the longer its light will spend traveling through space,

它的光在太空中傳播的時間就越長，

and the more red-shifted it will get.

它的紅移程度也會越大。

If the light is red-shifted too much,

如果光被紅移得太多，

it could be stretched to a wavelength outside of Hubble's viewing range.

它可能會被拉長到哈伯觀測範圍之外的波長。

One of the main goals of the Hubble telescope

哈伯望遠鏡的主要目標之一

was to find the most distant galaxy in the known universe.

是找到已知宇宙中最遙遠的星系。

It achieved this in 2016 when it discovered galaxy GN-z11.

它在2016年發現了GN-z11星系，實現了這一目標。

This galaxy is located 32 billion light-years away, 用詞

這個星系位於320億光年之外，

and the light we see from it shows the galaxy as it was 13.4 billion years ago. 文法

我們看到來自它的光，展示了該星系134億年前的模樣。

This galaxy is at the very limit of how far into the past Hubble can see,

這個星系處於哈伯能看到過去的最遠極限，

and it was discovered due to some incredible circumstances.

而且它的發現要歸功於一些令人難以置信的條件。

The galaxy just so happens to be in an area of the universe 片語搭配

這個星系恰好位於宇宙中一個特殊的區域，

where there is very little neutral gas between it and Hubble.

在它和哈伯之間幾乎沒有中性氣體。

This gave the telescope a clear view to observe the galaxy.

這給了望遠鏡一個清晰的視野來觀測這個星系。

The light coming from the galaxy passed by another nearby galaxy,

來自該星系的光線經過了另一個附近的星系，

which caused it to be gravitationally lensed. 用詞

這導致了重力透鏡效應。

This happens when the light from an object is bent by the gravitational pull of another object.

當一個天體的光線被另一個天體的重力彎曲時，就會發生這種情況。

Light that would otherwise miss the observer 文法

那些原本會錯過觀測者的光線

is bent in a way which directs it toward the observer.

發生了彎曲，並射向了觀測者。

This caused the light from galaxy GN-z11

這使得來自GN-z11星系的光

to be magnified just enough for Hubble to observe it. 文法

被放大得剛好足以讓哈伯觀測到它。

So far, 文法

到目前為止，

Hubble has been capturing these stunning images for 29 years.

哈伯捕捉這些令人驚嘆的影像已經29年了。

Due to its design,

得益於其設計，

Hubble was capable of being serviced in orbit. 文法

哈伯能夠在軌道上進行維修。

Over the years,

多年來，

the space shuttle crew visited Hubble on five separate missions to fix and replace faulty components.

太空梭機組人員在五次單獨的任務中造訪哈伯，修理和更換了故障部件。

However, since the shuttle program ended in 2011,

然而，自從太空梭計畫在2011年結束後，

we no longer have the ability to maintain Hubble,

我們就不再具備維護哈伯的能力，

which is starting to take its toll on the telescope. 慣用語

這開始對這台望遠鏡產生不利影響。

Hubble has six gyros on board,

哈伯搭載了六個陀螺儀，

which it uses to maneuver and point its telescope precisely toward its target.

它利用這些陀螺儀進行機動並將望遠鏡精確地指向目標。

In the last 5 years,

在過去的5年裡，

three of these gyros have failed.

其中三個陀螺儀已經發生故障。

Even if Hubble continues to function over the next decade, 文法

即使哈伯在未來十年內繼續運作，

its orbit is constantly decaying, 用詞

它的軌道也在不斷下降，

and in the 2030s,

到了2030年代，

Hubble will crash into the atmosphere and burn up before reaching the ground. 片語動詞

哈伯將會墜入大氣層，在落地前燃燒殆盡。

By the time this happens,

到那時，

the next generation of space telescopes will be in orbit,

下一代太空望遠鏡將會在軌道上運行，

producing even more stunning images of our universe.

拍攝我們宇宙更令人驚嘆的影像。

But Hubble's groundbreaking images will never be forgotten.

但哈伯拍攝的開創性影像永遠不會被遺忘。

So, although Hubble will be decades old before it retires,

因此，儘管哈伯在退役前將有幾十年的歷史，

its existence will be a mere flash compared to the age of the objects it's managed to capture. 慣用語

與它所成功捕捉的天體的年齡相比，它的存在只是一瞬間。

Nevertheless, 表達脈絡

儘管如此，

the incredible engineering and science behind this telescope

這台望遠鏡背後令人難以置信的工程學和科學

helped us take an enormous step forward in our understanding of the universe. 慣用語

幫助我們在了解宇宙的道路上邁進了一大步。

Thank you very much for watching,

非常感謝您的觀看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我們下期影片再見。