source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4dFLY_-vKs

The European Space Agency has launched its Euclid telescope on a mission to produce an enormous 3D map of the cosmos. Euclid, which cost more than a billion dollars, blasted off on a rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It's hoped the project will improve our understanding of dark matter and dark energy. Researchers know virtually nothing about these phenomena, which appear to make up the vast majority of the universe. Euclid will carry out its work from an observing position on the opposite side of our planet to the Sun. We're live now to Florida, where we're joined by Professor Bob Nicol, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Surrey. He's worked on the Euclid telescope since its inception and was lucky enough to see its launch a short time ago. Professor, welcome to you. Just explain this phenomena to us and what this mission is hoping to be able to do. Hello everyone from Florida. Very hot here. It's hoping to give us the next bit of the puzzle to what this dark universe really is. So as you alluded to, 95% of the universe is dark. It doesn't shine and we have to observe it through other means. We know something about it, but we don't know all of the things about these dark substances in the universe. So Euclid really is the next step in our discovery of what this stuff is that makes up most of our universe. And as you said, we can't actually see it. So how will Euclid take photos of this thing we can't see? Well we see it through its influence on other things. So we see it through its influence on things we can see. So it's using a topic called, a methodology called weak gravitational lensing. And that's where the shapes of distant galaxies are perturbed as the light from them comes to us and passes through the dark matter between us. So we see it through its influence on other things. And if we get more and more galaxies, then we get a more and more accurate map of where that dark matter is and what it looks like. And what will the knowledge that's gained from this mission and what will it do in improving our understanding of our origins? Well we are fascinated about the universe we live in. Ever since we've been able to look up into the stars, we've tried to understand why does the universe look like it is. In fact, the dark sky is an enigma to us through something called Obelisk Paradox. So I think we've always had this lust for information of why the universe is the way it is. And then as we discover things, that sort of fundamental science, we turn that fundamental knowledge into more applied knowledge as things get more and more understood. So it's very hard to predict how these fundamental discoveries will help us today. But in the future, it gives us a foundation for more interesting technology, more interesting applications of our science. So the telescope is on its way now to its final destination. Just explain what happens then and how quickly you'll start getting information and be able to analyze it. Sure. Well, it was just announced here, which is absolutely fantastic to hear it. We've communicated with the satellite. So thumbs up. The satellite is talking back to Earth, which is a major milestone, as probably people may remember. That's always one of those very anxious moments when you fly a satellite and it doesn't talk back to you. But that's past. Euclid is now talking to us. It's got a month long journey until it gets to this place called the second Lagrangian point where the James Webb telescope is hanging out at the moment. And at that point, it'll go through about three months of just checking its instrument, taking the first images, making sure that they all are exactly as we expect them to be. And then it'll launch into a five year mission where it will scan about a third of the extra galactic sky. Bob, tell us what it meant to you to see it go up into space, the telescope. You've been working on this for 10 years. Well, it's actually been 15 years. And today is a very special day as it's my mother's birthday. So I think she'd be very proud of my involvement in such a wonderful mission. So God rest her soul. Also I'm a Manchester City fan and I would put it up there with probably winning the treble. Brilliant. Clearly a very significant day indeed. Professor, thanks very much. Thumbs up there from Cape Canaveral. Thank you. Thank you.

Section 1:

1. telescope: a device used to observe distant objects by collecting and focusing electromagnetic radiation

2. mission: an important task or assignment that is given to someone

3. cosmos: the universe regarded as a complex and orderly system

4. Euclid: the name of the telescope launched by the European Space Agency

5. billion: a cardinal number equivalent to one thousand million

6. blast off: to leave the ground and begin flight, especially in a rocket

7. understanding: the ability to comprehend or grasp information or concepts

8. dark matter: a hypothetical form of matter that is thought to account for approximately 84% of the matter in the universe, but does not interact with electromagnetic radiation

9. dark energy: an unknown form of energy that is hypothesized to permeate all of space and accelerate the expansion of the universe

10. phenomena: observable facts or events that can be scientifically investigated

11. virtually: nearly or almost, but not exactly or according to strict definition

12. majority: the greater part or number; more than half

13. observing position: a specific location from which observations or measurements are made

14. inception: the beginning or start of something

15. lucky: having good luck; fortunate

16. phenomena: observable facts or events that can be scientifically investigated

17. influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something

18. perturbed: to cause anxiety or uneasiness in someone

19. accurate: correct in all details; exact

20. enigma: a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand

Section 2:

1. "It's hoped" - express a desire for something to happen

Example: It's hoped that this mission will bring new discoveries about the universe.

2. "which appear to" - used to express that something seems to be true based on evidence, but it is not certain

Example: Dark matter and dark energy appear to make up the majority of the universe.

3. "we have to" - used to express a necessity or obligation

Example: We have to observe dark matter through other means because it doesn't shine.

4. "we don't know all of the things" - used to express the lack of complete knowledge or understanding about something

Example: We don't know all of the things about dark substances in the universe.

5. "So as you alluded to" - used to refer to something mentioned or referenced earlier in the conversation

Example: So as you alluded to, 95% of the universe is dark and we need to study it further.

6. "we can't actually see it" - used to express the inability to physically observe or perceive something

Example: We can't actually see dark matter, but we can study its influence on other objects.

7. "So how will" - used to inquire about or question a method or process

Example: So how will Euclid take photos of something we can't see?

8. "that's where" - used to indicate a specific location or point in a process

Example: That's where the shapes of distant galaxies are perturbed by dark matter.

9. "we get more and more" - used to express an increasing amount or quantity

Example: When we get more and more galaxies, our map of dark matter becomes more accurate.

10. "to see it go up into space" - used to describe witnessing the launch or ascent of an object into space

Example: It was incredible to see the telescope go up into space after 15 years of hard work.

Section 3:

1. What is the main purpose of the Euclid telescope?

2. Why is dark matter and dark energy considered important in understanding the universe?

3. How does Euclid observe dark matter if it cannot be seen directly?

Section 4:

1. The main purpose of the Euclid telescope is to produce a 3D map of the cosmos.

2. Dark matter and dark energy are important because they make up the majority of the universe and yet we know very little about them.

3. Euclid observes dark matter by studying its influence on other objects, such as the shapes of distant galaxies.

Section 5: (Chinese translation of the article)

歐洲航天局發(fā)射了它的歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡，旨在繪制一個龐大的宇宙三維地圖。歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡耗資10億美元，從佛羅里達(dá)卡納維拉爾角的火箭升空。該項目希望能提高我們對暗物質(zhì)和暗能量的理解。研究人員幾乎對這些現(xiàn)象一無所知，它們似乎占據(jù)了宇宙的絕大部分。歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡將在太陽的對面位置進(jìn)行觀測工作。我們現(xiàn)在來到佛羅里達(dá)，與薩里大學(xué)的天體物理學(xué)教授鮑勃·尼科爾一起連線。自歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡提出以來，他就一直在參與研究，并且剛剛在不久前看到了它的發(fā)射。教授，歡迎來到佛羅里達(dá)。請向我們解釋一下這個現(xiàn)象以及這個任務(wù)希望能實現(xiàn)什么。大家好，我來自佛羅里達(dá)。這個任務(wù)希望能夠給我們揭示這個神秘的宇宙的下一個謎底。正如你所提到的，宇宙的95%是黑暗的。它不發(fā)光，我們必須通過其他手段進(jìn)行觀測。我們對它有一些了解，但我們對宇宙中的這些黑暗物質(zhì)還不了解所有的東西。因此，歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡實際上是我們在探索構(gòu)成我們宇宙大部分物質(zhì)的下一個步驟。正如你所說，我們實際上看不見它。那么歐幾里得望遠(yuǎn)鏡如何拍攝這個我們看不見的東西呢？我們是通過它對其他事物的影響來看到它的。具體來說，我們通過一種叫做弱引力透鏡的方法來觀察遠(yuǎn)處星系的形狀在光線經(jīng)過我們與它們之間的暗物質(zhì)時的扭曲現(xiàn)象。所以我們是通過它對其他事物的影響來看到它的。如果我們獲得更多的星系，我們就能得到更準(zhǔn)確的暗物質(zhì)分布圖及其形態(tài)。這次任務(wù)得到的知識將如何提高我們對起源的理解呢？我們對我們居住的宇宙非常感興趣。自從我們能夠抬頭看星星以來，我們一直在努力理解宇宙為什么看起來是這樣的。事實上，無窮無盡的星空對我們來說是一個謎。我認(rèn)為我們一直對為什么宇宙是這樣的信息渴望不已。隨著我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)知識逐漸轉(zhuǎn)化為更應(yīng)用的知識，隨著對它們的了解越來越透徹。所以很難預(yù)測這些基礎(chǔ)性的發(fā)現(xiàn)將如何幫助我們今天，但在未來，它為我們提供了一個更有趣的技術(shù)和科學(xué)應(yīng)用的基礎(chǔ)。這個望遠(yuǎn)鏡現(xiàn)在正朝著最終目的地前進(jìn)。這之后會發(fā)生什么，你們會多快開始獲取信息并進(jìn)行分析呢？當(dāng)然。這個消息剛剛發(fā)布，聽到這個消息真是太棒了。我們已經(jīng)與衛(wèi)星進(jìn)行了通信。拇指朝上。衛(wèi)星正在回應(yīng)地球，這是一個重要的里程碑，也許一些人還記得，當(dāng)你發(fā)射衛(wèi)星卻無法與它通信時，那總是令人非常焦急的時刻。但那已經(jīng)過去了。歐幾里得現(xiàn)在正在與我們交流。它還有一個月的時間到達(dá)稱為第二個拉格朗日點的位置，詹姆斯·韋伯望遠(yuǎn)鏡目前正在那里。在那一點上，它將經(jīng)過大約三個月的時間來檢查儀器，拍攝第一批影像，并確保它們都與我們的預(yù)期完全一致。然后它將開始為期五年的任務(wù)，掃描大約三分之一的外星系天空。鮑勃，請告訴我們，對你來說看到望遠(yuǎn)鏡進(jìn)入太空意味著什么。你已經(jīng)在這個項目上工作了10年。實際上，這是15年的時間了。而今天是我母親的生日，所以對我來說今天是非常特別的一天。我想她會為我參與到這樣一個美妙的使命中而感到非常自豪。愿她安息。此外，我還是曼城的球迷，我認(rèn)為這次發(fā)射和贏得三冠王差不多重要。太棒了。顯然，這是一個非常重要的日子。教授，非常感謝你。從卡納維拉爾角發(fā)來的拇指朝上。謝謝，謝謝。