美国国家公共电台 NPR--An astrophysicist breaks down what NASA's Webb telescope tells us about our universe

An astrophysicist breaks down what NASA's Webb telescope tells us about our universe

Transcript¹

NPR's Morning Edition speaks with astrophysicist Alex Filippenko of the University of California, Berkeley about the latest findings of the Webb Telescope.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So many of us are still in wonder this morning, scientists included, because of the new images taken by NASA's Webb telescope. It's brought mankind to the deepest corners of the universe. The extremely detailed² pictures show stellar nurseries and individual stars. On the line with us this morning is University of California, Berkeley astrophysicist Alex Filippenko. He is so excited, he has agreed to join us in California to talk about the implications of all these images.

Good morning. Thank you so much for being with us, Professor.

ALEX FILIPPENKO: Well, good morning, Rachel. It's a true pleasure to be here because it's such an exciting time for astronomers³ and, I think, for the general public seeing all these fantastic images.

MARTIN: Yes. We personally made a rare exception at our family dinner table last night and allowed screens so we could show our kids these images. I imagine this also dominated dinner conversation at your house.

FILIPPENKO: Oh, wow. Well, you know, these are just incredible. So I think everyone is just aghast at what the quality is from the Webb telescope.

MARTIN: Right. They're so clear, the light so spectacular. Is there a particular image you found most revelatory?

FILIPPENKO: Well, I like the first one that they revealed on Monday because it shows these distant galaxies⁴ - thousands of them - in a patch of sky, no bigger than a grain of sand held at arm's length. And if you extrapolate over the whole sky, the implication is that there are between a hundred billion and a trillion galaxies in the observable part of our universe. And each of them has billions, if not hundreds of billions of stars. So those are pretty amazing numbers.

MARTIN: What clues do these images offer about the beginnings of the universe?

FILIPPENKO: Well, that's one of the main things that we hope to study with Webb with more detailed images of this type. We hope to see the very first stars and galaxies forming about 13 1/2 billion years ago, just a couple of hundred million years after the birth of the universe, the moment we call the Big Bang.

MARTIN: And explain how these pictures compare to images provided by Hubble, the older telescope.

FILIPPENKO: Right. So Hubble is a fantastic device, but it operates mostly at what we call visible or optical wavelengths⁵ - the wavelengths of light that you can see. The Webb telescope is tuned⁶ for the infrared⁷. So that's commonly called heat radiation, like from hot coals in a fire. And what's great about the infrared is that it gives a complementary picture to what Hubble provides. And so looking, for example, at extremely distant galaxies, most of their ultraviolet and visible light gets shifted into the infrared because of the expansion of the universe. And so the only way to detect these infant galaxies and the first stars ever to have formed is to look at infrared wavelengths.

MARTIN: So we explained to our kids last night that this is significant - all these images - in part because we just keep learning how big the universe is. And my 10-year-old insists that because of this, there must be other life out there. Not to put you on the spot, but what is your answer to him?

FILIPPENKO: Well, yeah, there's almost certainly other life out there. Whether there's a lot of intelligent life is a different question. And I personally think it's quite rare. But we're likely not unique. So we will be looking for biosignatures in the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars. That's one of the main exciting projects to be done with the Webb. And certainly, I'm looking forward to those results. Maybe we'll find that life is more common than some of us think.

MARTIN: Oh, I can't believe I almost interrupted that. But that's the most important part. Astrophysicist Alex Filippenko, thank you for your time this morning.

FILIPPENKO: It was a pleasure. Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 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》

4 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

5 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

6 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。