经济学人: 系外行星的卫星探索之旅 (2)

 　　That was intriguing¹ enough for them to be awarded a chunk² of coveted³ observing time on the Hubble Space Telescope, to take a closer look. 这对他们来说足够令人着迷，因为他们可以获得大量观测时间，用哈勃空间望远镜进行更近距离的观测。

　　The Hubble has a much bigger mirror than Kepler, and so should be able to generate a firmer signal. 哈勃的镜面比开普勒大得多，因此应该能够产生一种更强的信号。

　　After 40 hours of observation, and after putting their data through the statistical⁴ wringer to try to remove any possible sources of bias⁵, 进行了40个小时的观察后，并在进行了大量的数据筛选排除了任何可能的偏见后，

　　such a signal is exactly what they think they have found. 这样一种信号正是他们认为他们所发现的。

　　Only big moons would cause enough of a dip in brightness to be detectable⁶ with today's instruments. 只有大卫星才会造成足够的光亮倾角，从而被现在的仪器探测到。

　　And, with the important caveat⁷ that the room for uncertainty⁸ is large, Kepler-1625b's proposed moon seems indeed to be a real whopper. 有了这个重要的警示—不确定的空间非常巨大，Kepler-1625b的拟议卫星似乎确实是真实存在的巨物。

　　Dr Kipping thinks it is at least as massive as Earth itself. Its diameter seems to be about four times greater, roughly that of Neptune⁹. 基平博士认为其至少和地球一样巨大。其直径似乎约有海王星的四倍之大。

　　Its parent planet is comparably hefty—more massive even than Jupiter, the solar system's biggest world. 其母行星相对更大—甚至比木星还大，木星是太阳系中体积最大的。

　　Intriguingly¹⁰, there are hints that the newly found moon's orbital plane may be tilted¹¹ with respect to its parent planet's orbit around the system's star. 有趣的是，有暗示表明，关于其环绕星系恒星的周围的母行星轨道，这颗新发现的卫星的轨道平面或许是倾斜的。

　　The only moon in Earth's solar system with a similar arrangement is Triton, a satellite of Neptune. 地球太阳系中唯一一个有类似情况的卫星是海卫一，一颗环绕海王星运行的卫星。

　　Rather than forming in place, Triton is thought to have been captured by Neptune from the Kuiper Belt, a sort of cosmic junkyard beyond Neptune's orbit. 海卫一的形成地并不在这里，普遍认为海卫一是被海王星从柯伊伯带俘获过来的，柯伊伯带是在海王星轨道另一边的宇宙垃圾场。

　　And it is just possible that things are stranger still. The moon's parent star is elderly, and is in the process of swelling¹² into a red giant. 事情可能还是很奇怪。这个卫星的母恒星年岁较大，并且还在向红巨星膨胀的过程中。

　　Dr Kipping speculates that one explanation for the moon's giant size might be that the dying star is heating the moon's atmosphere, 基平博士推测卫星巨大体积的解释之一或是因为这个枯萎的恒星加热了卫星的大气，

　　causing it to expand and increasing the moon's effective diameter. 导致其扩张并使卫星的有效直径增长。

　　Assuming, that is, that the moon is real at all. To nail this question down, Dr Teachey and Dr Kipping hope to be granted more time on the Hubble next May, 假设这颗卫星真实存在。为了得到确定答案，提奇和基平博士希望明年五月能有更多时间利用哈勃空间望远镜进行观测，

　　when—if their previous observations were correct— the planet and its putative¹³ moon are next due to swing in front of their star. 那时—如果他们之前的观察没错的话—行星及其假定卫星就是下一个在恒星前边晃动的物体。

　　Separately, they are hoping to use the Keck telescope, in Hawaii, to try to measure the wobble that the moon's parent planet induces in its star. 他们希望在夏威夷使用凯克望远镜测量该卫星的母星在其恒星中引发的摇晃度。

1 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

3 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

5 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

6 detectable   

adj.可发觉的；可查明的

参考例句：

• The noise is barely detectable by the human ear.人的耳朵几乎是察觉不到这种噪音的。
• The inflection point at this PH is barely detectable.在此PH值下，拐点不易发现。

7 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

10 intriguingly   

参考例句：

• Intriguingly, she gave to the music a developed although oddly malleable personality. 最神奇的是，她的音乐具有成熟却又很奇怪地极富可塑性。 来自互联网
• Intriguingly, the patients brains were riddled with tangles, but not amyloid plaques. 有趣的是，患者的大脑中充满了各缠结，但并没有粉斑。 来自互联网

11 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

12 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

13 putative   

adj.假定的

参考例句：

• There have been many attempts to track down the putative Loch Ness monster.人们为追踪假定存在的尼斯湖水怪做了许多努力。
• He is the putative father of this child.他是这孩子的推定的父亲。