国家地理-2008-03-20 Rho Ophiuchi Cloud 璀璨的星云

Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud is one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations¹ Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula² is about 407 light years away from Earth.

The infrared³ astronomical⁴ satellite, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, gave us the first all sky view of our dusty infrared universe. Floating above the galactic center is the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud, about 400 light years away. It's one of the most spectacular nearby star-forming regions. NASA's Spitzer space telescope has now given us an impressive new view of this cloud's central core.

Compact yellow green arcs and filaments⁶ are shock fronts from proto-stellar jets within the cloud. These jets shoot out from young stars still growing as they gobble up the surrounding dust and gas. Here we see infrared light with wavelengths⁸ from 3.6 to 8 microns. Widening the coverage⁹ to include 24 microns yields an even richer array of colors that shed light on the temperature and composition of the dust here.

The cloud is named after the nearby star Rho Ophiuchi which ironically is not thought to be associated with the star-forming region, and does not appear in the Spitzer image. Also known as Lynds 1688, this region contains over 300 baby stars with ages of up to a few hundred thousand years. The dusty envelopes around the younger stars make them appear red in this rendering¹⁰. In visible eye, they can't be seen at all, which is why astronomers¹¹ rely on Spitzer's infrared perspective to help study the hidden universe.

1. infrared : adj.  红外线的

of or being rays of light of long wavelength⁷ that cannot be seen but give heat.

 2. galactic : adj.

relating to a galaxy¹²

 3. filament⁵ : n.

 a very thin thread or wire; e.g. an electric filament

 4. shock front :

The boundary between the pressure disturbance¹³ created by an explosion (in air, water, or earth) and the ambient atmosphere, water, or earth.

 5. gobble up :

to eat something very quickly, especially in an impolite or greedy way

 6. yield : v.

to produce a result, answer, or piece of information

 7. proto- : esp. tech

first in time or order, especially having others come after it or develop from it; original

e.g. protostellar, protogalaxy

 

1 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

2 nebula   

n.星云，喷雾剂

参考例句：

• A powerful telescope can resolve a nebula into stars.一架高性能的望远镜能从星云中分辨出星球来。
• A nebula is really a discrete mass of innumerous stars.一团星云实际上是无数星体不连续的集合体。

3 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

4 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。

5 filament   

n.细丝；长丝；灯丝

参考例句：

• The source of electrons in an electron microscope is a heated filament.电子显微镜中的电子源，是一加热的灯丝。
• The lack of air in the bulb prevents the filament from burning up.灯泡内缺乏空气就使灯丝不致烧掉。

6 filaments   

n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物

参考例句：

• Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide\" by the thick filaments. 此外，肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
• Wetting-force data on filaments of any diameter and shape can easily obtained. 各种直径和形状的长丝的润湿力数据是易于测量的。 来自辞典例句

7 wavelength   

n.波长

参考例句：

• The authorities were unable to jam this wavelength.当局无法干扰这一波长。
• Radio One has broadcast on this wavelength for years.广播1台已经用这个波长广播多年了。

8 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

11 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》

12 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。

13 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。