澳大利亚科学家发现超级地球 距地球仅14光年

 　　Australian astronomers¹ have discovered the closest potentially habitable planet found outside our solar system so far — a super-Earth located just 14 light years away.

　　澳大利亚的天文学家发现了太阳系外的一个潜在的宜居星球。这颗超级地球是迄今为止离我们最近的一颗，距地球仅仅14光年。

　　The planet, reported in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, is one of three detected orbiting a small red dwarf² star called Wolf 1061 in the constellation³ Ophiuchus.

　　据《天体物理学》杂志报道，这颗行星系围绕红矮星沃尔夫1061旋转的三颗行星之一，这三颗行星都处于蛇夫座当中。

　　澳大利亚科学家发现超级地球 距地球仅14光年

　　"The middle planet Wolf 1061c, is orbiting within the so-called 'Goldilocks zone' — the habitable zone where it might be possible for liquid water and maybe even life to exist," said the study's lead author Dr Duncan Wright of the University of New South Wales.

　　该研究主要作者邓肯·赖特博士就职于澳大利亚新南威尔士大学。他介绍说：“沃尔夫1061c在3颗行星中位置居中，位于'宜居带'，那里可能会有液态水甚至是生命存在。”

　　"This discovery is especially exciting because the star is extremely calm. Most red dwarfs⁴ are very active, giving out X-ray bursts and super flares⁵ which spells doom⁶ for any life"

　　“这个发现尤其让人兴奋，因为这颗恒星表面极度风平浪静。大多数红矮星非常活跃，会释出X射线，还有吞噬一切生命的超级耀斑。”

　　Wolf 1061 is about a quarter the mass of the Sun with a surface temperature of about 3,100 degrees Celsius⁷ — just over half that of the Sun.

　　沃尔夫1061的质量大约是太阳的四分之一；表面温度大概是太阳的一半，大约在3100摄氏度左右。

　　The three newly detected planets are all thought to be rocky terrestrial worlds. The nearest planet orbits the star every five days and is about 1.4 times the mass of the Earth.

　　这三个新探测到的星球都被认为是石质的类地行星。最近的行星每五天绕红矮星旋转一周，质量是地球的1.4倍左右。

　　"It is fascinating to look out at the vastness of space and think a star so very close to us — a near neighbour — could host a habitable planet," said Dr Wright.

　　赖特博士说：“仰望漫无边际的宇宙，意识到在离我们如此之近的地方可能存在一颗宜居行星，这种感觉相当奇妙。”

1 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

3 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

4 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

5 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。