VOA慢速英语--黑洞图像背后的女人

The Woman Behind the Image of the Black Hole

Trying to capture an image of a black hole is like trying to take a picture of an orange sitting on the surface of the moon from Earth-- with your smartphone.

That is what Dr. Katie Bouman said two years ago during her TED¹ talk called “How to take a picture of a black hole.”

Bouman is 29 years old. She received her doctoral degrees in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She later became a postdoctoral researcher with the international Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT, project. The project’s scientists produced a black hole image from data collected from a series of telescopes around the world. Together, they formed an Earth-sized “virtual²” telescope -- one powerful enough to do what had once seemed impossible.

This week, the team of scientists, led by Sheperd S. Doeleman of Harvard University, released to the public the first-ever image of a black hole.

Soon after, another image was spreading over social media and the news. It showed a smiling Bouman with the black hole image on her computer screen. She wrote on Facebook, “Watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed.”

Bouman led a team that helped create an algorithm, or set of computer processes that turned the huge amount of telescopic data into one image.

Bouman quickly became a symbol for women in science.

One especially popular Twitter post showed a side-by-side picture of Bouman with hard drives of black hole image data next to another woman scientist: Margaret Hamilton. In 1969, Hamilton helped write on-board computer code for NASA’s Apollo space program.

Twitter user Tammy Emma Pepin wrote of Bouman, “Here’s to more women in science -- getting their credit and being remembered in history.”

And Twitter user Pooja Chandraskekar, who recently completed her studies in engineering at Harvard, wrote, “So many young girls will see Dr. Katie Bouman as an inspiration³ and go on to make their own discoveries in space, physics, and computer science. A historic⁴ moment not just for science, but for women in science.”

But Bouman herself quickly noted⁵ that she was not the only one responsible for the image of the black hole. She posted on Facebook, “No one algorithm or person made this image, it required the amazing talent of a team of scientists from around the globe and years of hard work…”

After the press event Wednesday, Bouman spoke⁶ with members of the media. She said she is looking forward to developing more algorithms and methods that will help lead to an even better, sharper image of a black hole.

Bouman will begin her teaching career at the California Institute of Technology later this year.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

virtual - adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

symbol - n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality — often + of

inspiration - n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create : a force or influence that inspires someone

amazing - adj. causing great surprise or wonder : causing amazement⁷

talent - n. a special ability that allows someone to do something well

globe - n. an object that is shaped like a large ball with a map of the world on it

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

3 inspiration   

n.灵感，鼓励者，吸气

参考例句：

• These events provided the inspiration for his first novel.这些事件给了他创作第一部小说的灵感。
• What an inspiration she was to all around her!她对于她周围所有的人是一种多么大的鼓舞！

4 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。