TED演講者：John C. Mather / 約翰 · C · 馬瑟

演講標題：How the James Webb Space Telescope will unfold the universe / 詹姆斯韋伯太空望遠鏡是如何揭秘宇宙的

內(nèi)容概要：The James Webb Space Telescope is a miracle of modern science and engineering. With a 21-foot, gold-coated mirror protected by a sunshield that's the size of a tennis court, it's the world's most powerful telescope and humanity's latest attempt to answer questions like: "Where did we come from?" and "Are we alone?" (It also needed to be folded up like origami in order to launch into space.) Nobel Laureate John C. Mather, the leader of the team at NASA that built the Webb, explains how the telescope will observe the first galaxies to form in the early universe, peer behind clouds of cosmic dust and gas to reveal stars being born and uncover new details about places like Europa and Titan, which could harbor life. "We're going to get a great surprise from this telescope," Mather says.

詹姆斯韋伯太空望遠鏡是一項現(xiàn)代科學和工程奇跡。有著一塊21英尺寬，鍍金，且由一個網(wǎng)球場那么大的遮陽板保護的鏡面，它是世界上最強的望遠鏡以及人類為回答類似“我們從哪來？”和“我們是否孤獨？”的問題的最新嘗試。 （為了發(fā)射進太空，它還需要被像折紙藝術(shù)一樣折疊起來。）諾貝爾獎獲得者，NASA建造韋伯望遠鏡的團隊領袖，約翰 · C · 馬瑟 （John C. Mather），解釋了該望遠鏡將如何觀察宇宙初期最早形成的星系，將目光穿透朵朵宇宙塵埃和氣體云來揭示恒星誕生以及發(fā)覺類似木衛(wèi)二和土衛(wèi)六的地點的新細節(jié)，在那兒可能會有生命?！拔覀儗⑼ㄟ^這個望遠鏡獲得巨大驚喜，” 馬瑟說道。

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【1】When I was six, my father told me that I was made out of tiny cells filled with chromosomes that would control my fate.

在我六歲時, 我爸爸告訴過我 我由充滿染色體的小細胞組成, 它們掌控我的命運。

【2】I thought, "That's amazing.

我當時想:“這真棒。

【3】There are so many mysterious things in there, and I want to know more."

那里面有很多神秘的東西, 我想知道更多。”

【4】I read about Galileo and Darwin, and I became a scientist.

我讀到過伽利略和達爾文, 并且成為了一名科學家。

【5】At that time, hardly anything was known.

那時沒多少東西是已知的。

【6】We did not yet know that the chemical elements came from exploded stars, that everything you see around you was recycled from inside of stars.

我們還不知道化學元素來自恒星爆炸, 不知道你周圍所見的一切 都再生于恒星內(nèi)部。

【7】So we did not know we are recycled stars.

所以我們不知道我們是再生的恒星。

【8】But we set off to measure the Big Bang, and we measured the map of the cosmic microwave background radiation, using millimeter waves and it's the entire sky wrapped around on to an oval so you can see it.

但我們開始衡量宇宙大爆炸, 并且測量了宇宙微波背景輻射圖, 利用毫米波 并且它是把整個宇宙 包在一個橢圓里 讓你能看見它。

【9】We see that there are hot and cold spots in this Big Bang material.

我們看到,這份宇宙大爆炸資料上 有熱點和冷點。

【10】Now we say, well, that's because those were there in very, very beginning, who knows exactly why, but they led to the existence of galaxies, stars, planets and, eventually, people.

現(xiàn)在我們會說,好吧, 那是因為它們最最開始時就在那了, 沒人知道到底是為什么, 但是它們導致了星系、恒星、行星 以及后來人類的存在。

【11】No spots, no people.

沒有這些點就不會有人類。

【12】So it turned out to be important.

所以它是重要的。

【13】So then how did that work?

那么它是怎么運作的呢?

【14】What happened next?

接下來發(fā)生了什么？

【15】Well, we said let's take pictures.

我們說,那我們拍照片吧。

【16】So, of course, we take pictures of the sky with the Hubble Space Telescope.

所以我們就用哈勃太空望遠鏡 拍攝天空的照片。

【17】This picture was taken around 1995, and it shows galaxies far, far, far away.

這張照片拍攝于大約1995年, 它呈現(xiàn)了離我們很遠很遠的星系。

【18】It shows what you can get with the telescope that's about eight feet in diameter and can observe visible light.

它展示了使用 這個大概直徑八英尺 且能觀測可見光的 望遠鏡所能得到的東西。

【19】So we were thrilled to have this picture.

因此我們當時非常激動 能得到這張圖像。

【20】And it shows thousands of galaxies.

它包含了數(shù)千星系。

【21】They were unable to include the most distant galaxies, the ones that would be as they were being born, so there are no baby pictures of galaxies in this picture.

當時無法拍到那些最遠的星系, 那些正在生成的星系, 所以這張圖里沒有 星系們的出生照。

【22】We needed to have an even bigger and more powerful telescope that could pick up the infrared light from the most distant universe that has been stretched out by the expansion of the universe.

我們需要一個更強大的望遠鏡, 它要能夠捕捉到 來自宇宙的最角落 因宇宙膨脹被拉長的紅外線。

【23】So we didn't know what we would find.

我們當時不知道能找到什么。

【24】So astronomers wrote a book and they said, "Please build us an even more powerful telescope."

所以天文學家們寫了本書,并說: “請為我們造一個更強的望遠鏡?！?/p>

【25】And we did.

我們照辦了。

【26】This is the James Webb Space Telescope, you see a gigantic mirror, it's hexagonal, it's coated with gold so it reflects infrared light.

這是詹姆.斯韋伯太空望遠鏡, 你看到的是一個巨大的鏡面, 它是六邊形的, 鍍上了金來讓它反射紅外光。

【27】It is 21 feet across.

它有21英尺寬。

【28】It is protected by a five-layer metalized plastic sunshade as large as a tennis court.

它由一個網(wǎng)球場大小的 五層金屬化塑料 遮陽板保護著。

【29】This telescope is so large that it could not fit into the rocket without being folded up like origami.

這個望遠鏡大到如果 它不像折紙一樣被折疊起來 就放不進火箭里。

【30】It's an incredible engineering accomplishment to be able to even conceive and build this telescope.

能夠構(gòu)想并建造這個望遠鏡 是一項了不起的工程學成就。

【31】So we built it.

我們建造了它。

【32】And then we've launched it.

然后我們發(fā)射了它。

【33】It went up into space from French Guiana on Christmas morning, 2021.

它于2021年圣誕節(jié)早晨 在法屬圭亞那被送進了太空。

【34】It was a perfect launch.

那是一次完美的發(fā)射。

【35】The Arianespace company sent it straight to where we needed to go.

阿麗亞娜空間公司把它直接送到了 我們需要它去的地方。

【36】So we think we can have 20 years of operational scientific observations with this great new telescope.

我們認為這個很棒的新望遠鏡 能給我們二十年的 可用科學觀測。

【37】And it took only two minutes to go through the tropical clouds up towards the vacuum of outer space.

它穿過熱帶云層飛向外太空的真空 只用了兩分鐘。

【38】Now I want to show you how it unfolded in outer space, this origami telescope.

現(xiàn)在我想向你展示 它在外太空是如何展開的, 這個像折紙一樣的望遠鏡。

【39】First we unfolded the solar panels.

首先我們展開太陽能板。

【40】Then we unfold the transmitter antenna so we can talk back and forth.

然后我們展開了傳輸天線, 來讓我們能夠互相交流。

【41】Then we unfold the panels that hold the great sunshade in place.

接著我們展開了 固定巨大遮陽板的板面。

【42】This takes us actually two weeks in real life.

這實際花了我們兩個星期。

【43】You see it compressed here so we can show it to you.

我們在此用動畫 縮短時間向你們展示。

【44】This is just a miracle of modern engineering, and it's so complicated.

這是一個現(xiàn)代工程的奇跡, 并且它很復雜。

【45】And you'd say, is there any way you could have done this without this great telescope?

你會問,有沒有不用 這個大望遠鏡的 其它方法？

【46】And the answer seems to be no.

這個問題的答案似乎是沒有。

【47】You need a big telescope.

你需要一個大望遠鏡。

【48】It needs to be in outer space.

它需要被放在外太空。

【49】It needs to be cold, so it doesn't glow and emit its own infrared.

它需要保持低溫, 來防止它自己發(fā)出紅外光。

【50】And third is, being very carefully unrolled all by commands from here.

第三,它需要通過地面發(fā)送的指令 來非常小心地被展開。

【51】So you ask, how could you possibly make such a complicated thing work?

那你會問, 怎么能讓這么復雜的東西運作呢？

【52】Well, number one, practice, practice, practice, rehearse and test, fix it when it's not quite right.

首先,練習練習再練習, 重復并檢驗, 在不對的時候修正。

【53】And then, of course, have two of everything, if you possibly can.

然后盡可能備份所用東西。

【54】And third, have arguments with all of your friends to say, is this really right?

第三,和你所有朋友討論 這個是否真是對的？

【55】Can you think of anything that's a mistake that we might be making that we should fix before we launch it?

你能想到我們正在犯的錯誤 并在發(fā)射前應該修正的嗎？

【56】So the last step is finally to unfold the telescope itself.

最后一步就是把望遠鏡展開。

【57】And there it is in outer space, not quite ready to use because it's still warm and has not yet been focused.

它就這樣在外太空里, 未完全準備好被使用, 因為它還是溫暖且沒被聚焦的。

【58】So we had to wait for several weeks for it to start to cool down to a low enough temperature that we could do the next steps.

所以我們需要等幾個星期, 讓它開始冷卻到 一個低到足以我們開始 接下來步驟的溫度。

【59】We send it to a place called Lagrange Point 2, about a million miles farther out from the Sun than we are.

我們把它送到一個 叫第二拉格朗日點的地方, 一個比我們距離太陽 還要遠大約一百萬英里的地方。

【60】This is a place that moves around the Sun with us every year, so the telescope does not get any farther away.

這個地方每年和我們 一起繞太陽公轉(zhuǎn), 這樣望遠鏡就不會飛遠。

【61】It is the only place that we can put a telescope where this is the setup, and you can have the one-sided umbrella that protects the telescope from the Sun and the Earth and the Moon.

這是在這種設計下 唯一可以安置望遠鏡的地方, 你能有一個讓望遠鏡 不受太陽、地球和月球影響的 單面保護傘。

【62】So the next thing is, what did we see?

接下來我們看到了什么？

【63】We focused the telescope and took some pictures of the same star we looked at with the Webb.

我們將望遠鏡聚焦 并拍攝了些 我們用韋伯望遠鏡看到的恒星。

【64】So the fuzzy picture is the Spitzer Space Telescope launched in 2003.

這張模糊的圖片是由2003年發(fā)射的 斯皮策太空望遠鏡拍攝的。

【65】The sharp picture is the new Webb telescope.

這張清晰的圖片則來自 新的韋伯望遠鏡。

【66】We were so thrilled that it worked.

我們因為它的成功十分激動。

【67】We got a nice, sharp image of the star, and we can calculate now the sensitivity of this object, that if you were a bumblebee, a square centimeter object hovering at the distance

我們得到了一張漂亮、 清晰的恒星照片, 并且現(xiàn)在我們可以計算 這個物體的敏感度, 假如你是只小蜜蜂, 一個平方厘米的小物體

【68】of the Moon from the Earth, away from the telescope, we would be able to see you, both the sunlight you reflect and the heat you emit.

漂浮在離望遠鏡 有地球到月亮那么遠的距離外, 我們將能看到你, 你反射的陽光和 你散發(fā)的熱量都能。

【69】So there are no bumblebees in space, but there's something out there that we don't know.

太空里當然沒有小蜜蜂, 但那里有我們不知道的東西。

【70】And I'm so sure that we're going to get a great surprise from this telescope.

我很確定我們將從這個望遠鏡 這里得到巨大的驚喜。

【71】So I'll show you what we look at.

我來展示下我們看到的東西。

【72】Here is an example of a place where stars are being born as we speak.

這是一個此時此刻 恒星正在誕生的例子。

【73】Now we know, more or less, that stars explode and produce dust, which goes and is recycled into new stars.

現(xiàn)在我們知道, 恒星爆炸產(chǎn)生或多或少的塵埃, 這些塵埃被回收成為新的恒星。

【74】This is a place where the recycling is happening.

這是一個回收正在發(fā)生的地方。

【75】Stars are being born in this beautiful cloud of glowing gas and dust.

一些恒星正從這美麗的由發(fā)光氣體 和塵埃組成的云中誕生。

【76】On the left-hand side shows you what we see with visible light with the Hubble Space Telescope.

左邊的圖像是 我們用哈勃望遠鏡 看到的可見光。

【77】The right-hand side shows you that you can begin to see through the dust with an infrared camera that we also have on the Hubble telescope.

右邊的圖像是通過 哈勃望遠鏡上也有的紅外相機 透過塵埃看到的東西。

【78】It's beautiful.

它很美。

【79】Astronomers want to see inside and we will with the Webb telescope.

天文學家們想看看內(nèi)部, 我們將會做到, 通過韋伯望遠鏡。

【80】We can look at everything in the solar system from Mars on out.

我們可以看到太陽系內(nèi) 比火星遠的東西。

【81】So this is a pretty interesting one, everybody knows Mars might be alive.

這個很有意思, 眾所周知火星可能有生命。

【82】What about Europa?

那木衛(wèi)二呢？

【83】Europa is a satellite of Jupiter.

木衛(wèi)二是木星的一顆衛(wèi)星。

【84】It has a liquid ocean covered with ice.

它有著被冰覆蓋的液體海洋。

【85】We know because we sent a probe out there named after Galileo himself, and we saw this and took this picture.

我們知道是因為我們曾送去 和伽利略同名的探測器, 我們看到并拍攝了這張圖片。

【86】Now we know that there is water coming out from the cracks between the ice blocks and once in a while, they can be watched from here.

現(xiàn)在我們知道有水從冰塊間的 裂縫里出來, 有時它們能從這里被觀測到。

【87】And we are planning to send a probe to fly through the water jets and see if there might be any organic molecules in them.

我們正在計劃送去一個探測器 飛行穿過噴出的水柱 看看它里面 是否有任何有機分子。

【88】Is it alive? Well, maybe.

它有生命嗎？可能有。

【89】We'll be watching this satellite with the Webb telescope as well.

我們也會用韋伯望遠鏡 觀察這顆衛(wèi)星。

【90】Farther on out in the solar system, we've been watching Titan.

在太陽系里更遠的地方, 我們觀測了土衛(wèi)六。

【91】Titan is the only moon in the solar system that has oceans and lakes and rain and rivers and an atmosphere on the surface.

土衛(wèi)六是太陽系里 唯一有海洋和湖泊, 還有降雨和河流, 以及一個表面大氣的衛(wèi)星。

【92】It is so cold, though, that its liquid hydrocarbons, methane and ethane, that you would use for fuel here on Earth.

不過它非常冷, 這些都是液態(tài)烴, 甲烷和乙烷, 在地球上被用作燃料的液體。

【93】So we'll be examining this with the Webb telescope and we'll be sending a probe out there to land with even a helicopter to go exploring.

我們會用韋伯望遠鏡來觀測它, 向那送去探測器, 甚至放下無人直升機來探索。

【94】So is this a place that's interesting for life?

這是一個生命 覺得有意思的地方嗎？

【95】Possibly.

可能是。

【96】People ask me all the time, are we sure that the kind we have here is the only kind?

人們總是問我, 我們肯定我們是 生命的唯一形態(tài)嗎？

【97】Well, maybe not.

也許不是。

【98】And if not, this is a good place to look because it's different, but it still has solids, liquids and gases, and it has a liquid hydrocarbon, which might be a possible solvent.

如果不是,這是一個開始尋找的 好地方,因為它不一樣, 但它依舊有固體、液體和氣體, 而且它有可能作為溶劑的烴。

【99】We'll see.

我們會知道的。

【100】Next thing we want to look at is, are there planets around other stars that might have life?

接下來我們想看看, 其它恒星周圍有沒有 可能存在生命的行星？

【101】So we will be looking in this way at small stars that have Earth-sized planets.

我們將以這種方式 觀測有地球大小行星的小恒星。

【102】When a planet goes in front of the star, it can block some starlight, some of the starlight goes through the atmosphere of the planet, if it has one, and on its way to our telescope, and we can analyze that and look for the chemistry of such an atmosphere.

當一顆行星運動到恒星前方, 它能夠擋住部分星光, 星光的一部分會穿過行星的大氣, 如果它有大氣的話, 在光到我們望遠鏡的路上, 我們能分析它 并找出這類大氣的化學成分。

【103】So, number one, does a little Earth-like planet out there have an atmosphere?

第一,一顆小型類地行星 是否有大氣？

【104】Number two, does it have any molecules in the atmosphere?

第二,在它的大氣里是否有任何分子？

【105】And number three, could they be water?

然后第三,它們會不會是水？

【106】Is there enough water out there so that there could be a liquid ocean?

如果那里有足夠的水, 那里會不會有液態(tài)海洋？

【107】Well, maybe.

有可能。

【108】We will find out and we'll tell you.

我們會一探究竟并告訴你。

【109】So are we alone?

我們是孤獨的嗎？

【110】Well, I don't know.

我不知道。

【111】But we'll be going on after this project to even more powerful telescopes that can examine little Earths around stars like the Sun.

但我們會在這個項目后 繼續(xù)用甚至更強大的望遠鏡 觀測繞著類似太陽的恒星 的“小地球”們。

【112】And then we'll be able to say, "Really, really, are they like home?"

然后我們將能夠說, “說實話,它們和地球相似嗎？”

【113】And maybe yes.

有可能是。

【114】We will be telling you all about what we find out, beginning with our first scientific observations this summer.

我們將把我們 找到的一切告訴你, 從我們這個夏天的 第一次科學觀測開始。

【115】So please stay tuned.

所以請保持關(guān)注。

【116】Astronomers travel with the speed of light and the speed of imagination.

天文學家們以光和想象力的速度 前進著。