万物简史 第286期:砰!(21)（在线收听） |
One fragment, known as Nucleus G, struck with the force of about six million megatons—seventy-five times more than all the nuclear weaponry in existence. 有个名叫“核G”的碎块，其撞击威力高达6亿吨级──相当于现有核武器的总威力的75倍。 Nucleus G was only about the size of a small mountain, but it created wounds in the Jovian surface the size of Earth. 核G只有大约一座小山大小，但它在木星表面造成了地球大小的伤口。
It was the final blow for critics of the Alvarez theory. 这对批评阿尔瓦雷斯理论的人来说是决定性的打击。
Luis Alvarez never knew of the discovery of the Chicxulub crater or of the Shoemaker-Levy comet, as he died in 1988. 路易斯·阿尔瓦雷斯永远也不知道发现了奇克休留布大坑或苏梅克-列维彗星。他于1988年与世长辞。
Shoemaker also died early. 而且，苏梅克也去世得太早。
On the third anniversary of the Shoemaker-Levy impact, he and his wife were in the Australian outback, 在木星撞击事件发生3周年之际，他和他的妻子长眠在澳大利亚腹地。
where they went every year to search for impact sites. 他每年都要去那里寻找撞击现场。
On a dirt track in the Tanami Desert—normally one of the emptiest places on Earth, 在塔塔米沙漠的一条土路上──这里通常是地球上最空旷的地方，
they came over a slight rise just as another vehicle was approaching. 他们正翻越一个小丘，恰好对面来了另一辆汽车。
Shoemaker was killed instantly, his wife injured. 苏梅克旋即丧命，他的妻子受了伤。
Part of his ashes were sent to the Moon aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. 他的部分骨灰被“月球探索者”号宇宙飞船送上了月球，
The rest were scattered around Meteor Crater. 其余的撒在陨星坑周围。
Anderson and Witzke no longer had the crater that killed the dinosaurs, 安德森和威策克的大坑不再是恐龙灭绝的原因。
"but we still had the largest and most perfectly preserved impact crater in the mainland United States," Anderson said. “但我们仍然拥有美国本土最大、保存最完好的撞击坑。”安德森说。
(A little verbal dexterity is required to keep Manson's superlative status. （为了让曼森大坑保持最高的地位，用词方面需要有点儿灵活性。
Other craters are larger—notably, Chesapeake Bay, which was recognized as an impact site in 1994—but they are either offshore or deformed.) 别的坑还要大──引人注目的是切萨皮克湾，它于1994年被确认是个撞击现场──但它们不是在近海，就是变了形。） |
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