TED演讲:从遥远的星系中我们可以学到什么(1)

 Here are some images of clusters of galaxies¹. 这是一些星团的照片。

They're exactly what they sound like. 正如听上去一样。

They are these huge collections of galaxies, 它们是一堆星系，

bound together by their mutual² gravity. 由于互相的引力而吸引在一起。

So most of the points that you see on the screen are not individual stars, 你在屏幕上看到的大部分点，不是单独的恒星，

but collections of stars, or galaxies. 而是一系列恒星，或者称为星系。

Now, by showing you some of these images, 现在通过展示这些图片，

I hope that you will quickly see that galaxy³ clusters are these beautiful objects, 希望你已经看到星团是很美丽的东西，

but more than that, 都不止于此，

I think galaxy clusters are mysterious, 我认为星团是神秘的，

they are surprising, 它们让人惊奇，

and they're useful. 而且它们很有用。

Useful as the universe's most massive laboratories. 作为宇宙里最大的实验室，它们很有用。

And as laboratories, to describe galaxy clusters is to describe the experiments that you can do with them. 就像描述实验室一样，要描述星团，就要去描述你能够通过它们做的实验。

And I think there are four major types, 我认为那包括四种主要类型，

and the first type that I want to describe is probing the very big. 我想描述的第一类是去探测“极大”。

So, how big? 那么，是多大？

Well, here is an image of a particular galaxy cluster. 这里是某个星团的一张照片。

It is so massive that the light passing through it is being bent⁴, it's being distorted by the extreme gravity of this cluster. 它的质量非常大，以至于光在经过的时候，由于其引力的作用而变弯了。

And, in fact, if you look very carefully you'll be able to see rings around this cluster. 事实上，如果你仔细看，能够看到这个星团周围的光环。

Now, to give you a number, 具体到数字，

this particular galaxy cluster has a mass of over one million billion suns. 这个星团的质量有超过10的15次方个太阳那么大。

It's just mind-boggling how massive these systems can get. 这些系统质量之巨大简直让人瞠目结舌。

But more than their mass, 但除了巨大的质量之外，

they have this additional feature. 他们还有其他特殊之处。

They are essentially⁵ isolated⁶ systems, 它们基本上可以算是孤立的系统，

so if we like, we can think of them as a scaled-down version of the entire universe. 如果愿意的话，我们可以将它们想象为整个宇宙的缩小版本。

1 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。