媒體英語(yǔ)
What is left at the heart of a star explosion? 恒星爆炸后的殘余物中心是什么？
1987 年 2 月，一顆恒星在銀河系附近的一個(gè)星系中爆炸，盡管當(dāng)時(shí)使用了強(qiáng)大的望遠(yuǎn)鏡進(jìn)行觀測(cè)，但仍無(wú)法確認(rèn)爆炸留下的碎片中心是哪一種天體。然而，現(xiàn)在科學(xué)家們表示他們已經(jīng)揭開(kāi)了恒星爆炸或超新星爆炸殘余物的神秘面紗。
The supernova was visible from Earth for four months, shining with the power of a hundred million Suns. There was so much debris that even the most powerful telescopes could not confirm what remained at its heart.
曾經(jīng)長(zhǎng)達(dá)四個(gè)月之久，人們可以在地球上看到這顆超新星，它發(fā)出的光芒亮度相當(dāng)于一億個(gè)太陽(yáng)。由于恒星爆炸產(chǎn)生大量碎片，即便是用最強(qiáng)大的望遠(yuǎn)鏡進(jìn)行觀測(cè)，也無(wú)法確認(rèn)超新星爆炸后的殘骸中心是什么。
But that's now changed with new data from Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope. That shows that the remnant is a neutron star, which is a dead star's collapsed core and made of the densest material in the Universe.
但美國(guó)國(guó)家航空航天局詹姆斯·韋布空間望遠(yuǎn)鏡的新觀測(cè)數(shù)據(jù)給出了這個(gè)問(wèn)題的答案。新數(shù)據(jù)表明恒星爆炸的殘余物是一顆中子星，它是一顆死亡恒星坍塌的核心，由宇宙中密度最大的物質(zhì)構(gòu)成。
The discovery will confirm the theories of what [happens] to giant stars when they reach the end of their lives. That's important because supernovas are responsible for the spread of life-giving elements across the Universe, and the new data will help refine our understanding of how this happens. It will also give astronomers an opportunity to study a 'baby' neutron star and learn how they evolve over time.
這一發(fā)現(xiàn)將證實(shí)巨星到達(dá)生命盡頭時(shí)的最終歸宿與現(xiàn)有理論相符。證實(shí)這一點(diǎn)很重要，因?yàn)槌滦瞧鸬綄⒅С稚匦璧脑叵蛴钪婵臻g擴(kuò)散的作用，而新的數(shù)據(jù)將完善我們對(duì)這一過(guò)程的理解。新的數(shù)據(jù)還將為天文學(xué)家提供一個(gè)研究 “嬰兒” 中子星的機(jī)會(huì)，并掌握它們隨著時(shí)間的推移進(jìn)行演變的方式。
詞匯表
supernova 超新星
debris 碎片，殘骸
telescopes 望遠(yuǎn)鏡
remnant 殘余物
neutron star 中子星
collapsed core 坍塌的核心
densest 密度最大的
elements 元素
astronomers 天文學(xué)家
evolve 演變，演化
閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問(wèn)題。
1. How long was the supernova visible for from Earth?
2. Why could telescopes not confirm what was at the supernova's heart initially?
3. True or False? A neutron star is made of the densest material in the Universe.
4. What are two reasons why the discovery is important?
答案
1. How long was the supernova visible for from Earth?
The supernova was visible from Earth for four months.
2. Why could telescopes not confirm what was at the supernova's heart initially?
Telescopes could not confirm what remained at its heart because there was so much debris.
3. True or False? A neutron star is made of the densest material in the Universe.
True. A neutron star is a dead star's collapsed core and made of the densest material in the Universe.
4. What are two reasons why the discovery is important?
The discovery is important because it will refine our understanding of the spread of life-giving elements, and it will also give astronomers an opportunity to study a 'baby' neutron star and learn how they evolve over time.
