英语听力文摘 English Digest 560、为何星星会闪烁？

 　　Why Do Stars Twinkle?

 

　　If you’ve ever glanced skyward on a clear evening, you’ve probably noticed with some wonderment the sheer numbers of stars. Some are tiny, barely visible points. Others radiate strong white light. And from our earthly vantage point, these points of light seem fixed¹.

 

　　But, of course, stars and other celestial² objects grow brighter and dimmer over time. Now, a massive new data set collected by astronomers³ at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona documents the brightening and dimming of more then 200 million heavenly bodies.

 

　　The data come from images captured by a large telescope in Arizona looking for Near Earth Objects, or NEOs in other words, asteroids⁵ whose proximity⁶ to Earth could be cause for alarm.

 

　　Information about how celestial objects dim and brighten was a fortunate byproduct of the asteroid⁴ hunt. And it’s now proving valuable for helping⁷ astronomers and other scientists understand more about the evolution of stars, black holes, and the structure of the Milky⁸ Way.

 

　　For example, the data include information about more than 1,000 exploding stars, or supernovas. Being able to observe, as it were, how supernovas play out by measuring the increasing intensity⁹ of their brightness over time, allows scientists to better understand the life and death of stars.

 

　　And that’s only one example. As more scientists mine the data, new discoveries about how the heavens work are sure to follow.

 

 

　　为何星星会闪烁？

 

　　某个晴朗的夜晚，抬头瞥一眼夜空，你可能会惊奇地发现满天繁星。有些小到难以看见。其他一些恒星则发出强烈的白光。从地球这一有利视角看去，这些光点似乎总是这么亮。

 

　　但是，星星和其它天体当然会随着时间的推移逐渐变得明亮或是昏暗。如今，加州理工学院和亚利桑那大学的天文学家已搜集了大量数据，它们记录了2亿多天体变得明亮和黯淡的过程。

 

　　这些数据源自于科学家在亚利桑那州用大型望远镜探测近地天体，也就是NEOs时捕捉的卫星图片，近地天体是指那些接近地球时有可能会对地球构成威胁的小行星。

 

　　有关天体如何明暗变幻的信息是科学家探测小行星时意外的收获。如今，这一收获在帮助天文学家和其他科学家深入了解恒星，黑洞和银河系的演变过程方面有重要价值。

 

　　例如，这些数据涵盖了1千多个爆发星体，或称为超星体的信息。的确，人们可以通过观测并对比日益变亮的超星体的亮度来弄清它们爆发的过程 ，从而进一步了解星辰的诞生和灭亡。

 

　　这只是其中的一枚例子。随着越来越多的科学家探测相关数据，关于苍穹演变史的新发现指日可待。

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

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 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

5 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

6 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

9 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。