時差N小時:為何星星會閃爍 Why Do Stars Twinkle

If you've ever glanced skyward on a clear evening,you've probably noticed with somewonderment thesheer numbers of stars.

你是否在某個晴朗的夜晚抬頭瞥見夜空后驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)滿天繁星。

Some are tiny, barely visible points.

有些小到難以看見。

Others radiate strong white light.

其他一些則發(fā)出強烈的白光。

And from our earthly vantage point, these points oflight seem fixed.

從地球這一有利視角看去，這些光點似乎總是這么亮。

But, of course, stars and other celestial objects grow brighter and dimmer over time.

但是，星星和其它天體當然會隨著時間的推移逐漸變得明亮或是昏暗。

Now, amassive new data set collected by astronomers at the California Institute of Technologyand theUniversity of Arizona documents the brightening and dimming of more then 200 millionheavenlybodies.

而現(xiàn)在，加州理工學院和亞利桑那大學的天文學家已搜集了大量數(shù)據(jù)并且記錄了2億多天體變得明亮和黯淡的過程。

The data come from images captured by a large telescope in Arizona looking for NearEarthObjects, or NEOs in other words, asteroids whose proximity to Earth could be cause foralarm.

這些數(shù)據(jù)源自于科學家在亞利桑那州用大型望遠鏡探測近地天體，也就是NEOs時捕捉的衛(wèi)星圖片，近地天體是指那些接近地球時有可能會對地球構成威脅的小行星。

Information about how celestial objects dim and brighten was a fortunate byproduct of theasteroid hunt.

有關天體如何明暗變幻的信息是科學家探測小行星時意外的收獲。

And it's now proving valuable for helping astronomers and other scientistsunderstand moreabout the evolution of stars, black holes, and the structure of the Milky Way.

如今，這一收獲在幫助天文學家和其他科學家深入了解恒星，黑洞和銀河系的演變過程方面有重要價值。

For example, the data include information about more than 1,000 exploding stars, orsupernovas.

例如，這些數(shù)據(jù)涵蓋了1千多個爆發(fā)星體，或稱為超星體的信息。

Being able to observe, as it were, how supernovas play out by measuring the increasingintensityof their brightness over time, allows scientists to better understand the life and deathof stars.

的確，人們可以通過觀測并對比日益變亮的超星體的亮度來弄清它們爆發(fā)的過程 ，從而進一步了解星辰的誕生和滅亡。

And that's only one example.

這只是其中的一例。

As more scientists mine the data, new discoveries about how theheavens work are sure tofollow.

隨著越來越多的科學家探測相關數(shù)據(jù)，關于蒼穹演變史的新發(fā)現(xiàn)指日可待。