新奇事件簿 卫星将扰乱我们对星空的观测

Astronomers¹ are concerned that our views of the heavens are becoming more and more obscured. Their warning comes ahead of a whole series of satellite launches by a variety of companies. Thousands of satellites are being launched into orbit throughout 2020 to make high-speed Internet more readily available across the world from space. The scientists say the skies will be so littered with arrays of satellites they will compete for our attention with the stars. They say the satellites will link up to form "mega-constellations" that could interfere² with radio astronomy and the quality of images from optical telescopes. The astronomers said the satellites will appear as dazzling white streaks³ of light that could be mistaken for stars.

天文学家担心，我们能看到的天空变得越来越模糊。在多家公司发射出一系列卫星前，他们就发出了这些警告。到2020年，成千上万颗卫星将被发射到轨道上，以使高速互联网在太空中更容易被全世界使用。科学家们说，天空将布满卫星阵列，它们将与恒星争夺我们的注意力。他们表示卫星将连接起来形成“巨型星座”，可能会干扰射电天文学和光学望远镜的图像质量。天文学家称，这些卫星将以令人眼花缭乱的白色条纹光出现，可能被误认为是恒星。

Technology analysts⁴ say there are plans to launch as many as 46,000 satellites into space over the next few years. This is five times more than the number of objects sent into space since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, over six decades ago. Satellites from companies like SpaceX and Amazon will provide much faster Internet speeds to even the remotest areas of the world. They will provide global connectivity across the globe. Even today, about 14 million people in the USA live in rural areas with zero Internet coverage⁵. SpaceX will launch 120 satellites in January and has plans to send a further 12,000 into orbit in the next decade. Astrophysicist Dr Dave Clements called the initiative a "tragedy".

技术分析人士说，在未来几年内，计划将向太空发射多达4.6万颗卫星。这是自60多年前1957年发射第一颗人造卫星以来送入太空的物体数量的5倍多。来自SpaceX和亚马逊的等公司的卫星将为世界，乃至世界最偏远的地区提供更快的网速。它们将在全球范围内提供全球连接。即使在今天，美国仍有约1400万人生活在没有互联网覆盖的农村地区。SpaceX将于一月发射120颗卫星，并已计划在未来十年内再向轨道发射12000颗。天体物理学家Dave Clements博士称这一举措是一场“悲剧”。

1 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》

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 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。