VOA慢速英语2019 科学家发布首张黑洞照片（在线收听）

Scientists Release First-Ever Image of Black Hole

An international team of astronomers announced Wednesday it had successfully captured the first-ever image of a black hole.

一个国际天文学家团队周三宣布，他们成功捕获了有史以来的首张黑洞照片。

The image was released during a press event at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Press events were also held in several other world cities.

美国国家科学基金会在华盛顿特区举行的新闻发布会上公布了这张照片。世界其他多座城市也举行了新闻发布会。

The picture shows the black hole having a dark center, encircled by a bright orange and yellow ring spreading outward. The image is very similar to numerous artists’ drawings through the years of what scientists believed a black hole looked like.

照片显示，黑洞的中心是黑色的，外围是向外延伸的明亮的橙色和黄色环状结构。这张照片与众多艺术家描绘的黑洞非常相似，而艺术家的描绘基于科学家多年来的设想。

Black holes are areas in space where gravity is so strong that nothing – not even light – can escape them. They are believed to be formed by collapsed stars. The presence of black holes affects the surrounding environment in extreme ways.

黑洞是太空中的区域，由于这里的重力过于强大，以致任何东西都无法逃离，就连光都不行。科学家认为，黑洞是恒星碰撞后形成的产物。黑洞的存在会以极端方式影响周围环境。

Black holes are not easy to capture on camera because they are surrounded by thick dust material and extremely hot gases.

黑洞不易被相机捕捉，因为它们被浓厚的灰尘物质和极热气体所包围。

But scientists say they were able to produce the new image from data collected from a series of radio telescopes around the world. The telescopes are part of the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project.

但科学家表示，他们能用全球各地多个射电望远镜收集到的数据来生成黑洞照片。这些射电望远镜是国际项目“事件视界望远镜”（简称EHT）的组成部分。

Harvard University scientist Sheperd Doeleman leads the EHT project. He announced the image discovery.

哈佛大学科学家谢弗德·多尔曼是“事件视界望远镜”项目负责人。他宣布了黑洞照片的产生过程。

"We are delighted to be able to report to you today that we have seen what we thought was unseeable. We have seen and taken a picture of a black hole. Here it is."

“今天，我们很高兴能向大家报告，我们看到了此前被认为无法看到的东西。我们看到并拍到了一张黑洞照片。这就是那张照片。”

Doeleman explained that the image resulted from a combined effort involving all eight of the EHT radio telescopes working at the same time. Over several days in April 2017, each piece of equipment centered on a galaxy 55 million light years away from Earth.

多尔曼解释说，这张照片是“事件视界望远镜”项目全部8个射电望远镜同时工作所取得的成果。2017年4月，每台望远镜连续数天聚焦距地球5500万光年的一个星系。

The galaxy is called Messier 87, or M87. At the center of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole. The new image shows this black hole. It has a mass 6.5 billion times greater than Earth’s sun.

这个星系名为梅西尔87（简称M87）。该星系的中心有一个超大质量黑洞。这张照片展示了这个黑洞的情况。该黑洞的质量约为太阳的65亿倍。

Researchers said in a statement that the EHT project created an Earth-sized “virtual telescope” to capture the highest possible image quality. The effort involved years of international cooperation by hundreds of researchers seeking to understand “the most extreme objects in the Universe.”

研究人员在声明中表示，“事件视界望远镜”项目创造了一个地球大小的“虚拟望远镜”，以捕获最佳图片质量。数百名研究人员为理解“宇宙中最极端的物体”（指黑洞）而进行了数年的国际合作。

Dimitrios Psaltis is an EHT project scientist from the University of Arizona in Tucson. He said the new picture provides strong evidence to support Albert Einstein’s theories relating to the laws of gravity.

迪米特里奥斯·萨提斯是参与“事件视界望远镜”项目的一名科学家，他来自位于图森市的亚利桑那大学。他说，这张照片提供了强有力的证明，足以支持阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦提出的万有引力相关理论。

"The size and shape of the shadow matches the precise predictions of Einstein’s general theory of relativity, increasing our confidence in this century-old theory,” Psaltis said.

萨提斯说，“阴影的大小和形状与爱因斯坦广义相对论的精准预测相符，这增加了我们对这个有100年历史的理论的信心”。

Three years ago, scientists used highly sensitive observing equipment to pick up the sound of two smaller black holes coming together to create a gravitational wave. That discovery also confirmed Einstein’s theory.

3年前，科学家用高度敏感观察设备接收到了两小小型黑洞融合产生引力波的声音。这一发现同样证实了爱因斯坦的理论。

Sheperd Doeleman said the new image provides the first visual evidence to confirm that theory. It also helps to unlock the mystery of black holes. He added that he felt very satisfied that the image did not contain any big surprises.

谢弗德·多尔曼表示，黑洞照片为证实这一理论提供了首个视觉证据。这同时有助于解开黑洞的谜团。他还表示，他对所捕获的照片不包含任何大惊喜感到相当满意。

"You could have seen something that was unexpected, but we didn't see something that was unexpected. We saw something so true. We saw something that really had a ring to it, if you can use that term or phrase."

“你们本可能看到出乎意料的事情，但是我们没看到任何意料之外的信息。我们看到的黑洞相当真实。我们看到黑洞的确被环状结构所包围，如果可以使用这种说法或这个词的话。”

Even though the data was first gathered in 2017, it required a huge effort to produce the image released on Wednesday. The operation involved an international team of scientists using supercomputers to process massive amounts of data.

尽管这些数据在2017年收集，但由于需要大量工作，所以照片在周三才得以公布。这包括一个国际科学家团队用超级计算机处理海量数据。

Jessica Dempsey is deputy director of the East Asian Observatory in Hawaii and a co-discoverer in the project. “We’ve been hunting this for a long time,” she said of the new black hole image. “We’ve been getting closer and closer with better technology,” she added.

杰西卡·登普西是总部位于夏威夷的东亚天文台的副主任，同时也是黑洞项目的联合发现者。“我们追寻了很长时间”，她指的是黑洞照片。她还说，“得益于更先进的技术，我们一直在不断接近目标。”

Words in This Story

data – n. information or facts about something

delighted – adj. very pleased

virtual – adj. something that can be done or seen using computers or the Internet instead of going to a place

shadow – n. a dark area made by something blocking light

precise – n. exact and correct

sensitive – adj. ability to measure small and exact details

visual – adj. relating to seeing