VOA慢速英语2019 科学家称雪茄状物体并非外星飞船

Scientists Say Cigar-Shaped Object Not Alien Spaceship

Scientists report that the first object from another star system found speeding through our solar system in 2017 was not an alien spaceship.

科学家报告称，2017年发现的首个来自其他星系并快速穿行太阳系的物体并不是外星飞船。

Astronomers² named the cigar-shaped object ‘Oumuamua, but they still do not know exactly what it is. Its strange shape and movements made some scientists wonder whether ‘Oumuamua was some kind of technology from a distant world. They wondered whether alien beings had created the object to explore the universe.

天文学家将这个雪茄状物体命名为“奥陌陌”，但他们仍然不能确定这个物体的身份。这个形状和运行轨迹都很奇怪的物体让一些科学家想知道，“奥陌陌”是否是来自遥远世界的某种技术。他们想知道，这个物体是否是外星人为探索宇宙而创造出来的。

But after studying records from the 2017 sighting, an international team of researchers wrote that “we find no compelling evidence to favor an alien explanation.”

但在研究了2017年的目击记录后，一个国际研究团队得出的结论是，“我们没有找到能支持外星物体这一解释的强有力证据。”

Scientists followed Oumuamua from October 14, 2017, until January 2, 2018. They raced to collect as much data as possible as it passed through our solar system. Then it became too difficult to see, even using the most powerful telescopes.

科学家从2017年10月14日至2018年1月2日对“奥陌陌”进行了追踪。在其穿行太阳系时，科学家迅速收集了尽可能多的数据。那之后，即使使用最强大的望远镜，也很难再观察到“奥陌陌”的踪迹。

The object has a reddish color and is estimated to be about 800 meters long.

这个物体呈红色，据估计长度在800米左右。

“Our key finding is that ‘Oumuamua’s properties are consistent with a natural origin, and an alien explanation is unwarranted,” said astronomer¹ Matthew Knight³. He works at the University of Maryland and was co-leader of the study. The findings were reported in the journal Nature Astronomy.

天文学家马修·奈特表示，“我们的关键发现是，'奥陌陌’的性质符合自然起源，而且外星物体这个解释没有任何根据。”奈特在马里兰大学工作，是这项研究的共同作者。研究结果发表在《自然·天文学》期刊上。

"We have never seen anything like 'Oumuamua in our solar system. It's really a mystery still," Knight said. “The alien spacecraft hypothesis is a fun idea,” he added, but the study suggests there are many natural explanations for it.

奈特说，“我们在太阳系中从未看到过像'奥陌陌’这样的物体。这仍是个谜。”他还说，“外星飞船这种假设是很有趣的观点”，但研究认为，有许多自然解释。

‘Oumuamua was first seen by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope at the University of Hawaii. Its name in the native Hawaiian language means a messenger arriving from a great distance.

最早发现“奥陌陌”的是夏威夷大学的“泛星1号”望远镜。“奥陌陌”这个名字在夏威夷本土语中的意思是“来自遥远距离的信息”。

Knight said it is not easy to describe Oumuamua as a comet or asteroid⁴. Asteroids⁵ are rocky, with no ice, and comets are a mixture of rock and ice, so the scientists decided⁶ to use the more general word, “object.”

奈特表示，不能简单地用彗星或小行星来描述“奥陌陌”。小行星通常布满岩石，而且没有冰，而彗星则是岩石和冰的混合物，因此科学家决定用更为笼统的词来描述“奥陌陌”，这个词就是：物体。

Oumuamua was ejected from a distant star system and is moving through interstellar space and through our solar system. It has a strange spinning movement, much like a bottle laying on the ground, spinning on its side. It moves like a comet, but does not have evidence of gas emissions⁷ like a comet.

“奥陌陌”从遥远的恒星系中被弹出，然后穿越星际空间和太阳系。“奥陌陌”的运行轨迹是一种奇怪的旋转方式，很像是平放在地上的瓶子用一侧旋转。其运行轨迹和彗星很像，但是没有证据证明它的气体排放也与彗星相似。

The researchers wrote that a “straightforward explanation for Oumuamua is that it is a planetesimal.” That means a planetary building block - or a piece of one - formed in a faraway star system.

研究人员写道，“最直观的解释是：'奥陌陌’是一颗微行星”。也就是在遥远的恒星系中形成的一个行星构件或者行星碎片。

What it is made of remains⁸ a mystery, including whether it is just rock, or includes some metal or other particles.

“奥陌陌”的组成成份仍是个谜题，比如其是只有岩石，还是也包括一些金属或其他颗粒。

When another telescope begins operating in 2022, Knight said, researchers believe scientists will start seeing more objects like it every year. That telescope is called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, or LSST.

奈特表示，另一个望远镜将于2022年投入使用，研究人员相信，从那时起，科学家每年都会观测到更多这样的物体。这个即将投入使用的望远镜名为“大型综合巡天望远镜”，简称LSST。

As for ‘Oumuamua, it is currently on the other side of the planet Saturn⁹, continuing its trip, flying out of our solar system, to who knows where.

至于“奥陌陌”，它现在在土星的另一面，仍在继续穿越之旅，飞出太阳系之后，谁也不知道它会去哪里。

Words in This Story

alien – n. from somewhere other than the planet Earth

cigar – n. a roll of tobacco leaves that is longer and thicker than a cigarette and that is smoked

compel – v. to force someone to do something

favor – v. to support

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze¹⁰, or plan something

consistent – adj. always acting¹¹ or behaving in the same way

unwarranted – adj. unreasonable¹²

hypothesis – n. an idea or theory that is not proven but that leads to further study or discussion

eject – v. to push something out

spin – v. to turn or cause someone or something to turn around repeatedly

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 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》

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

5 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 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。

9 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。

10 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。