Mars and Astronomy

By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: September 17, 2003
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This is Phoebe Zimmermann.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Richard Rael with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. The planet¹ Mars² came close to Earth in August, closer than it has been in the past sixty-thousand years. This event helped create a huge interest in the science of astronomy³.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
People have always watched the beautiful night sky. Many ancient people of the world closely⁴ studied the stars for signs from their gods. The Mayan and Aztecs of Central America and Mexico built special tall buildings to observe the stars. The ancient people of Egypt, Greece, Italy, and China also studied the stars. The people who lived on the islands of the Pacific used the stars to find their way across huge areas of ocean.
The people of Earth today still look to the stars for information -- not about ancient gods, but about the universe. Modern technology has made it possible to see objects in space that are thousands of millions of kilometers away.
VOICE TWO:
However, without technology you can see all of the same objects in the night sky that ancient people saw. There is a lot to see and study. It takes a little work and a little knowledge, but it is really very easy.
If you live in the northern part of the world, you can search the night sky to the north and find Polaris the great North Star.
Ancient people watched Polaris for a long time and discovered that it moves very little. It can always be found in the same place in the northern sky. Ancient people used the Polaris star to guide their ships across oceans.
In the southern part of the world you can see in the night sky Alpha and Beta Centauri. They point the way to the beautiful group of stars called the Southern Cross. Ancient people used the Southern Cross to guide their ships.
VOICE ONE:
Ancient people who watched the night sky considered five great mysteries. These mysteries were objects that moved from place to place. Some of these objects seemed to move straight ahead. Others seemed to move in one direction for a while and then move back in the opposite direction. Some could be seen for a few months and then disappeared. But they did not seem to 1)shine like other stars.
Almost every ancient culture knew of these five mysteries. The ancient Greeks called them “planetes.” (PLAN-ee-teess).The word means 2)wanderer -- one who moves from place to place with no home.
On a dark, clear night, away from the lights of a city, you can still find the five wanderers using only your eyes. However they are no longer mysteries. Today we know them as 3)Saturn⁵, 4)Jupiter⁶, Venus, 5)Mercury⁷ and the closest planet to Earth, the red planet, Mars.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the next planet beyond the Earth. Mars is the only planet whose surface can be seen from Earth. It is about half the size of our planet. The ancient Romans named it after their god of war because of its red color.
The surface of Mars is more like Earth than any other planet. However, because it is further from the sun than Earth, temperatures on Mars are much lower. Most of the time the temperatures are far below freezing. Plants and animals could not live now on Mars. However many scientists believe that such life may have existed long ago.
American space agency⁸ exploration vehicles are now on their way to Mars to investigate this idea. They will search for water and evidence that life may have existed at one time. Experts believe that Mars will be the first planet humans will explore.
VOICE ONE:
On August twenty-seventh, Mars had traveled across space to within about fifty-six-million kilometers from Earth. You may think this is still a very great distance and it really is. However, to those who study the night sky this was a very close distance. It is closer than Mars has been for the past sixty-thousand years.
As Mars moved closer to Earth, newspapers, television programs and computer Internet sites had many stories about Mars. NASA supplied beautiful photographs of the planet taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. One of the photographs shows the largest known volcano⁹ in our solar system, the huge Olympus Mons. NASA also supplied photos taken by cameras on the surface of Mars.
Experts said anyone with some kind of observing device¹⁰ could get a close look at Mars. All they needed to do was look to the south at anytime between the setting¹¹ of the sun and dawn. Mars would look closer, be brighter and could be seen much more clearly than ever before. They would even be able to see the polar ice at the bottom of the planet.
VOICE TWO:
Kelly Beatty is the editor of Sky and Telescope Magazine. Sky and Telescope is a magazine for people who study the night sky. Mister¹² Beatty said many people have been buying telescopes to observe Mars. He said even less costly¹³ telescopes were selling quickly. He said these telescopes are good for observing Mars because the planet is so bright and easy to find.
Sky and Telescope Magazine has a Web site on the Internet. The magazine lists many astronomy groups called clubs. Club members meet to enjoy the science of astronomy. These clubs began meeting more often as Mars came closer to Earth. Many told newspapers and television stations they would permit anyone to use their telescopes to get a close look at Mars.
VOICE ONE:
Kate Graham works¹⁴ for the Glenwood Caverns¹⁵ Adventure Park, in the western town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Mizz Graham sells tickets to people who want to ride to the top of Iron Mountain on special cars. Mizz Graham says more than four-hundred-fifty people made the trip at night to observe Mars on August twenty-seventh. Mizz Graham says the group used a large telescope to see the red planet.
People who observed Mars from Iron Mountain were only a few of many thousands who wanted to see the planet. The Southern Cross Astronomical¹⁶ Society of Miami, Florida held a free public viewing of the red planet. Many similar groups around the world did the same. These groups helped millions of people to see Mars for the first time.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Mars is moving away from the Earth now. It is moving away at about nine-thousand kilometers an hour and gaining speed. By the end of September it will be moving away at a speed of about twenty-six-thousand kilometers an hour. That may sound very fast. However, it is a slow movement of an object in space.
The experts say Mars is getting easier to see. This is because it rises earlier in the night sky and is not so bright. In late August, it did not look like the red planet. It was a very bright white color.
After the moon, it was the brightest object in the night sky. It is still many times brighter than any other object in the night sky. Now, as it moves farther¹⁷ away, it is once again becoming the color red. People who look to the southeast will see the red planet without even trying. After dark it will be very near the moon. By the end of September it will begin to slowly lose the very bright color we see now.
VOICE ONE:
Experts suggest you try to observe the planet with some kind of telescope. It does not need to be costly. Even a cheap one will let you see some detail of the planet's surface that will disappear by early October.
A small telescope will let you see the darker and lighter¹⁸ red colored areas. You may also see the white color of the bright Martian south pole. The ice there is melting now. It is the middle of the Martian summer. With a good telescope you may even see the high, thin blue clouds of Mars. Or perhaps the yellow areas that are the great Martian deserts covered by sand.
VOICE TWO:
Mars is only one of the many interesting objects that can be seen at night. You can easily learn more about the sky, stars and planets¹⁹. Most libraries have books that can teach anyone about the science of astronomy. You can also learn a great deal from the Internet. A good place to start is with Sky and Telescope Magazine. The magazine's address is www.skyandtelescope.com. Sky and Telescope are all one word.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Mario Ritter. This is Phoebe Zimmermann.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Richard Rael. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.

注释：
1) shine [Fain] v.发光
2) wanderer [5wRndErE(r)] n.漫游者，流浪者
3) Saturn [5sAtE(:)n] n.土星
4) Jupiter [5dVu:pitE] n.木星
5) Mercury [5mE:kjuri] n.水星

1 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

2 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

3 astronomy   

n.天文学

参考例句：

• Mathematics is connected with astronomy.数学与天文学有联系。
• Astronomy is an abstract subject.天文学是一门深奥的学科。

4 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

5 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• 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。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

6 Jupiter   

n.木星

参考例句：

• Jupiter is unlike the Earth in almost every way.木星与地球几乎完全不同。
• The astronomers were taking an observation of Jupiter.天文学家们正在观测木星。

7 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

8 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

9 volcano   

n.火山

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning.火山一早突然爆发了。
• It is most risky to go and examine an active volcano.去探察活火山是非常危险的。

10 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

11 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

12 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

13 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

14 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

15 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

16 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。

17 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

18 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

19 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星