观测火星的最佳时机

39 观测火星的最佳时机

DATE=6-20-01
TITLE=SCIENCE REPORT - Observing Mars¹
BYLINE=Mario Ritter 

（Start at 59" ）This is the Bill White with VOA Special English Science Report.
Scientists say this is a good time to observe the planet² (1) Mars. Mars changes in brightness³ more than any other planet.  In June and July, Mars will shine brighter than (2) Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Mars is also interesting to watch from week to week because it moves among the stars more quickly than other planets⁴. Mars is known as "the red planet."  In fact, it is bright orange.
This month, you can observe Mars best around the middle of the night.  If you face directly south, Mars will be the brightest star before you.  If you live in the northern half of the world, Mars will be low in the southern sky, near the star group called Scorpius. But Mars will be almost overhead⁵ if you live in the southern half of the world. You can easily recognize Mars because of its brightness and orange color.
This month, Mars will be especially bright for two reasons. About every two years, Mars reaches a point (3) opposite the sun in our sky.  A planet is said to be at "(4) opposition⁶" when this happens. Mars reached opposition on June thirteenth.
Mars also has an unusual (5) orbit⁷. The distance from Earth to the sun changes very little because Earth's orbit is almost a perfect (6) circle. But Mars' orbit is shaped more like an egg than a circle. So its distance from the sun changes much more during the (7) Martian year.
On June twenty-first, "the red planet" will be about sixty-seven million kilometers from Earth. This is the closest Mars has been since Nineteen-Eighty-Eight. 
You can see changes in Mars' distance from Earth at opposition most clearly by using a (8) telescope.  This year, even a small telescope will show that Mars is round like a very small full moon.  A larger telescope will show markings that are caused by different qualities of the Martian soil. Some areas reflect more sunlight than others do. On Earth, we see these differences as spots or markings of different colors. 
A telescope also will show that the north and south poles of Mars are covered with ice just like the Earth's poles. Even huge dust storms have been seen in the Martian atmosphere.
Mars has (9) captured⁸ the human imagination for thousands of years. Its changes in brightness and its movement through the sky make Mars a special sight. Next week we will tell more about Mars, the (10) mysterious "red planet."
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bill White.

(1)  Mars [mB:z] n.火星
(2)  Sirius [`siri[s] n.天狼星
(3) opposite [ `RpEzit] adj.相对的, 对面的
(4) opposition [CpE`ziFEn] n. [天]冲
(5) orbit [ `R:bit] n.轨道
(6) circle [`s[:kl] n.圆周, 圆形物
(7) Martian [`mB:FiEn] adj.火星的
(8) telescope [`teliskEUp] n.望远镜
(9) capture [`kAptFE] vt.俘获, 捕获, 夺取
(10) mysterious [mis`tiEriEs] adj.神秘的

1 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。

2 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。

3 brightness   

n.明亮，亮度，聪颖，光泽度，灯火通明

参考例句：

• The brightness of the paint has worn off a little.油漆的光泽有些磨损了。
• Her eyes squinted against the brightness.亮光刺得她眯起眼睛。

4 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

5 overhead   

adj.在头顶上的，悬空的；n.间接开支

参考例句：

• A number of birds are circling overhead.很多鸟在头顶上空盘旋。
• Many stars overhead are invisible to the naked eye.天上的许多星星是肉眼看不到的。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

8 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。