VOA慢速英语--NASA称新发现的行星或拥有生命形式

 

For the first time ever, astronomers¹ have discovered a system of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting around a single star.

The finding was announced Wednesday by officials from NASA – the U.S. space agency – and other research team members. The discovery was also published in the journal Nature.

Scientists said three of the newly discovered planets are in the so-called habitable zone. This is the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water, and possibly life.

Thomas Zurbuchen is an associate administrator² of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. He said the discovery could play an important role in finding new environments that could support life forms.

“Answering the question ‘are we alone’ is a top science priority,” he said. “And finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable³ step forward toward that goal.”

The new discovery set the record for the most habitable-zone planets found around a single star. These planets outside our solar system are called exoplanets. NASA says the seven new discoveries are just 40 light years away from earth.

The planets were observed by NASA’s Spitzer Telescope. NASA says the planets are circling around a small, nearby dwarf⁴ star called TRAPPIST-1. The star is not hot like the sun. It is very cool, meaning liquid water could survive on planets orbiting close to it.

Scientists say further study is needed to determine whether these rocky, terrestrial planets could support any life forms. But they agree that the new discovery shows the possibility that many other Earth-size planets could be out there.

Thomas Zurbuchen said the latest findings provide valuable information about other worlds and what they may look like. But he added that much remains⁵ unknown and will only become clear with future discoveries.

“There’s many things we don’t know - many questions we have that come up when we see these observations. We look at all these animations⁶. Very likely nature is way more beautiful, way more amazing than what we’ve animated⁷ here. It’s always that way.”

Sara Seager is a professor of planetary science and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She said the new exoplanet discoveries gives her great hope for future research about other worlds.

“When there’s one, there’s more. And so that’s why I’m so excited to be here today to share it with you. Because with this amazing system, we know that there must be many more potentially life-bearing worlds out there just waiting to be found.”

Some of this future research will be completed with the help of new advanced observance tools NASA has yet to launch.

One of those is the James Webb Space Telescope – a large infrared⁸ telescope with a nearly 7-meter mirror. It is scheduled to launch in October 2018.

Words in This Story

habitable – adj. able to sustain life

priority – n. something important needing to be dealt with before other things

dwarf – adj. smaller than normal size

terrestrial – adj. relating to the Earth, not space

potentially – adv. possibility of becoming real

infrared – adj. producing or using rays of light that cannot be seen

mirror – n. a piece of glass that reflects images

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 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 animations   

n.生气( animation的名词复数 )；兴奋；动画片；（指电影、录像、电脑游戏的）动画制作

参考例句：

• You'll see your team cheerleaders and mascot performing new animations as well. 你会看到啦啦队队长跟吉祥物也都会有全新的动作。 来自互联网
• Ability to create simple movie and animations using graphic & multimedia software. 能够用平面和多媒体软件制作简单的电影及动画。 来自互联网

7 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

8 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。