美国国家公共电台 NPR Astronomers Are On A Celestial Treasure Hunt. The Prize? Planet Nine

Astronomers² Are On A Celestial³ Treasure Hunt. The Prize? Planet Nine

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Astronomers now think they've discovered a new planet in our solar system. All they have to do is find it. NPR science correspondent Joe Palca has been exploring scientists' passion for discovery as part of his series Joe's Big Idea. Today he brings us a story of a celestial treasure hunt to find Planet Nine.

JOE PALCA, BYLINE⁴: Nobody's actually seen the new planet. The reason astronomers think it's out there is the strange behavior of some smallish objects orbiting in the outer reaches of the solar system. By studying the so-called extreme Kuiper Belt objects, astronomers have deduced that the gravity of something big, something ten times more massive than the Earth, seems to be tugging⁶ on them, altering their paths around the sun. Caltech astronomer¹ Mike Brown says it's hard to know exactly where that tug⁵ is coming from.

MIKE BROWN: We don't have complete orbits of any of our objects yet. So if you could wait 15,000 years, I could pinpoint⁷ exactly where Planet Nine is.

PALCA: For now, all Brown can do is map out a swath of sky where his computer model says the new planet might be. And that's one of the problems with Brown's predictions for the new planet. They're based on just a handful of small objects. And some astronomers are skeptical⁸ there's enough evidence to make a credible⁹ treasure map. Brown's Caltech colleague Konstantin Batygin says they were aware that invoking¹⁰ a new planet to explain the strange behavior of their objects would expose them to ridicule¹¹. There have been a lot of wild goose chases in the search for new planets.

KONSTANTIN BATYGIN: We worked hard for about a year to try and find some other explanation.

BROWN: Because we were kind of tired of everybody always saying, there must be a planet. There must be a planet. There must be a planet, even - we were tired of ourselves having said it several times.

PALCA: When did it go from, oh, that's ridiculous to, wait a minute, maybe that's not ridiculous?

BROWN: So that was at a - there was a moment when that happened.

PALCA: Brown says the moment came because of something unexpected their computer model predicted. The model said not only would a giant planet explain the behavior of distant objects, such a planet would also tilt¹² the orbits of some objects closer to the sun by 90 degrees. And did such objects exist? One day, Brown found an astronomical¹³ survey that appeared to have them.

BATYGIN: We went over to Mike's office. And...

BROWN: I had the predictions from the computer model on. And I put the new objects on top of the predictions, and they sat exactly where they were supposed to sit.

BATYGIN: It was this moment where you sit back, and you recognize that this is actually real.

BROWN: Not just this cute little math anymore.

BATYGIN: For the first time, we actually believe ourselves. This planet is really out there.

PALCA: Batygin and Brown aren't the only ones convinced there's something to look for. Scott Sheppard is an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. He was the first to notice the strange behavior of the distant objects and suggest a new planet might be responsible. Like Brown and Batygin, he expects the new planet to be in an orbit much, much farther out than Neptune¹⁴. But he expects it may be visible later this year, and he'll be using large telescopes to search the most promising¹⁵ patches of sky.

SCOTT SHEPPARD: We're both aware that this big object could be out there. We're both interested in very similar science. We're not teaming up, but we also don't want to compete against each other. So what we have agreed to do is share our field. So if we observe a certain area of sky, there's no reason for anyone else to observe that sky again.

PALCA: There's an interesting dynamic here. On the one hand, Sheppard would like someone to find the planet because it would vindicate¹⁶ the predictions that it's out there.

SHEPPARD: Of course - yeah, you just want to find it. And anyone would want it to be them, for sure. But it would be nice just to find it, just to know that what we're seeing out there is real.

PALCA: Caltech's Mike Brown says he feels the same way.

BROWN: We want it found. I would rather that somebody finds it tomorrow than that we find it in 10 years. I'd rather I find it tomorrow, I mean, to be honest.

PALCA: It would be oddly fitting if Brown did find the new planet since he had a major role in demoting Pluto¹⁷ from planetary status a decade ago. Right now, Brown says finding the planet is basically a matter of luck. You happen to pick the right patch of sky, you win. We may know who got lucky by the end of the year - or maybe not. Joe Palca, NPR News.

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 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》

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

6 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

7 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句

11 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

12 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

13 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。

14 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 vindicate   

v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确

参考例句：

• He tried hard to vindicate his honor.他拼命维护自己的名誉。
• How can you vindicate your behavior to the teacher?你怎样才能向老师证明你的行为是对的呢？

17 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。