2019年经济学人 被光闪瞎(1)

 

It was quite a show: a train of illuminated¹ dots moving across the sky, many of them as bright as Polaris, the north star.

这是一场相当精彩的表演：一列发光的小点在天空中移动，其中许多亮得像北极星一样。

These were not new astronomical² objects, however.

但这些并不是新的天文体。

Rather, they were the first tranche of satellites for Starlink, a project intended to provide internet access across the globe.

相反，它们是星链项目的第一批卫星，该项目旨在为全球提供互联网接入。

These were launched into orbit on May 24th by SpaceX, an American rocketry firm.

5月24日，这些卫星由美国火箭公司SpaceX发射进入轨道。

Seeing satellites from the ground with the naked eye is nothing new.

在地面肉眼观看这些卫星并不是什么新鲜事。

But astronomers³ (professional and amateur) were surprised, and unhappy,

但天文学家们（专业的和业余的）

at just how many and how bright the Starlink satellites appeared to be.

对星链卫星的数量和亮度感到惊讶和不快。

Quite a few of them took to Twitter to raise the alarm and post pictures and videos of the blazing birds.

不少人在推特上发出警报，并上传了照片和视频。

Their worry was that these satellites and their successors could change the night sky for ever.

他们担心这些卫星和它们的继任者会永远改变夜空。

If the initial 60 members of the Starlink network were already causing noticeable light pollution,

他们的理由是，如果最初的60个星链网络成员已经造成了明显的光污染

they reasoned, how bad would it get once the full constellation⁴ of 12,000 had been launched?

那么一旦12000个卫星全部发射完毕，情况会变得多么糟糕？

For those who enjoy watching the night sky for pleasure it would surely be sad,

对于那些以观赏夜空为乐的人来说，这无疑是悲哀的，

for it would more than triple the number of man-made objects in the firmament⁵

因为这将使天空中的人造物体数量增加两倍多

and thus further degrade the natural beauty of the heavens—

从而进一步降低了天空的自然美—

a beauty already diminished in many places by light pollution from the ground.

由于地面上的光污染，许多地方的这种美已经减少了。

For those involved in investigating the universe scientifically, though, it may be more than merely sad.

然而对于那些参与科学研究宇宙的人来说，这可能不仅仅是悲伤。

In some cases it could be job-threatening.

在某些情况下，这可能会威胁到工作。

Preliminary analysis shows, for example, that almost every image from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile,

例如，初步分析表明几乎所有来自智利大型综合巡天望远镜的图像，

currently nearing completion and intended to photograph the entire available sky every few nights when it is operational,

目前已接近完工，并打算每隔几个晚上拍摄整个可用的天空，

could contain a satellite trail. These can be edited out, but each correction destroys valuable data.

可能包含一条卫星轨迹。这些数据可以在编辑中删除，但每次修正都会破坏有价值的数据。

It is possible that some experiments,

有可能一些实验，

such as regularly timed observations of the variation in behaviour of astronomical objects, will no longer be feasible.

如对天体行为变化的定时观测，将不再可行。

Optical astronomers thus have cause to be nervous about Starlink.

因此，光学天文学家有理由对星链感到紧张。

For radio astronomers its impact may be even more serious.

对射电天文学家而言，其影响可能更加严重。

The satellites' mode of operation necessarily requires them to send radio signals back to Earth,

卫星的操作模式必然要求它们向地球发送无线信号，

all of which will be stronger than any signal arriving from deep space.

所有这些信号将比来自外太空的任何信号都强。

This can be accommodated to a certain extent by knowing which frequencies the satellites are broadcasting on,

通过了解卫星广播的频率，并进行相应的调整，

and adjusting accordingly. But exactly how badly radio observatories⁶ are affected⁷

可以在一定程度上适应这种情况。但无线电观测站受影响的程度

will depend on how well the satellites manage to confine their broadcasts within those frequencies, which remains⁸ to be seen.

将取决于卫星如何把它们的广播控制在这些频率范围内，这还有待观察。

Elon Musk⁹, SpaceX's boss, initially¹⁰ dismissed astronomers' concerns,

起初SpaceX的CEO埃隆·马斯克对天文学家的担忧不予理睬，

tweeting at the weekend that there were "already 4,900 satellites in orbit, which people notice ~0% of the time.

他周末发推特表示“已经有4900颗卫星进入轨道，几乎没人注意到。

Starlink won't be seen by anyone unless looking very carefully & will have ~0% impact on advancements¹¹ in astronomy."

除非非常仔细地观察，否则任何人都看不到星链并且它对天文学的进步的影响约为0%。”

1 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

2 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

3 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

5 firmament   

n.苍穹；最高层

参考例句：

• There are no stars in the firmament.天空没有一颗星星。
• He was rich,and a rising star in the political firmament.他十分富有，并且是政治高层一颗冉冉升起的新星。

6 observatories   

n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网