评论
打印
From an orbiting disco ball to a new NASA mission, there's been lots of satellite news in the past week, some of it controversial, and some less so.
无论是环绕地球的“迪斯科球灯”卫星，还是美国宇航局的新任务，上周实在有太多跟卫星有关的新闻。其中一些备受争议，还有一些只是人们茶余饭后的谈资。
First, the commercial spaceflight startup Rocket Lab had their second test launch last week, and it went really well.
爆炸新闻之首：上周，商业航天初创公司火箭实验室公司进行了他们的第二次试射，进展十分顺利。
They launched their rocket, adorably called Still Testing, from New Zealand, and it got all four of its satellites into orbit.
该公司从新西兰发射了他们代号为“仍在测试”的火箭，这枚火箭已成功携带四颗卫星进入轨道。
Three were for industry or science, and one of them was just for fun. Well, fun for Rocket Lab, at least.
其中三颗是科学卫星，还有一颗是商用卫星，或者说，至少对火箭实验室公司来说是有商用功能吧。
A lot of astronomers are pretty upset, because that fourth satellite is basically a disco ball.
很多天文学家对此很不满意，因为这第四颗卫星就是一颗迪斯科球。
It's called the Humanity Star, and it's a geodesic sphere about a meter across with 65 highly reflective sides.
这颗名为“人类之星”的卫星是一颗测地线球体，直径大约一米，周身有65块高度反光面板组成。
It was designed to reflect sunlight back to Earth, and to be a flashing beacon brighter than any star we can see, apart from the Sun, of course.
设计这颗卫星的初衷是将太阳光反射到地球上，使其成为一个闪烁的灯塔，亮度要比人类能看到的任何星星都要大。不过，当然不会比太阳更亮。
It'll only last about nine months, after which it'll fall back to Earth and should burn up in the atmosphere.
这颗卫星大概只有九个月的寿命。九个月后，它就会落回地球，在穿越大气层的过程中就会燃烧殆尽。
The idea behind it is to encourage people to think about their lives and humanity's place in the universe.
其背后的理念是鼓励人类思考生活及人性在宇宙里的位置。
Which is neat, but some astronomers have argued that maybe this is really just a hunk of shiny space garbage.
听起来很纯粹啊，不过有一些天文学家认为，这颗卫星或许不过是宇宙间一块发着光的垃圾罢了。
After all, you could get that shared human experience by looking at the stars already there, or the moon, which is a satellite that reflects the sun.
毕竟，要想获得上述体验，抬头看看天空里已经有的星星就行了，实在不行还有月亮，可别忘了月亮也是可以反射太阳光的一颗卫星。
And more importantly, the Humanity Star will probably get in the way of scientific observations.
而且更重要的是，这颗“人类之星”很可能阻碍科学家的观测。
See, there are already tons of satellites in space, and they frequently show up as long, white streaks through astronomers' images.
毕竟宇宙里已经很多卫星了，而且这些卫星高频出现在天文学家的镜头里，呈现出又长又白的条纹状。
But at least those satellites are typically useful, like for GPS or research.
不过，至少这些卫星是尤其功用的，比如用于GPS定位和科学研究。
The Humanity Star, on the other hand, exists only to be seen. And it's supposedly going to be a lot brighter than other satellites.
但这颗“人类之星”只有观赏之用，至多也就是会比其他卫星更亮罢了。
Part of the engineering inspiration behind the Star is the Iridium flare phenomenon, an unintentional byproduct of having satellites in space.
“人类之星”背后的部分工程学灵感源自于铱星闪光现象，这种现象是宇宙间多颗卫星存在的副产物。
Iridium is a telecommunications company with a network of very reflective satellites around Earth.
铱系统是地球周围反光性极强的卫星组成的网络，可起到通信系统的作用。
When one of these satellites catches sunlight, the resulting flare is ridiculously bright, like, brighter than most things in the sky.
只要该系统中的一颗卫星吸收到日光，其反射出的闪光就亮得惊人，可以让天空中的其他事物黯然失色。
Iridium flares interfere with astronomical observations and, unfortunately, they're pretty common, but at least they're brief.
铱星闪光会干扰天文观测，而且铱星闪光现象十分普遍，不过还好并不复杂。
But Rocket Lab took this one step further and built something that, in the eyes of some scientists,
但火箭实验室公司更进一步，
is designed to be as bright and inconvenient as Iridium flares all the time.
建造了这种在一些科学家眼里有过之而无不及的东西。
So the Humanity Star is all fun and games, until it interferes with science.
所以，说“人类之星”只有观赏之用的前提是它不会干扰科学研究。
But no matter how people feel about it, one thing's for sure: Its parent company Rocket Lab is doing some cool work.
但无论大家的感觉如何，有一件事是可以肯定的：该卫星的研发公司火箭实验室公司正在做一件很酷的事。
Someday, the company hopes to make 50 to 120 trips to space each year to launch satellites, more than any other organization.
该公司希望有朝一日能每年飞往太空50-120次以发射卫星，总量要高于任何一家组织。
And, maybe thankfully, most of those satellites will be practical.
我们先祈祷这些卫星里的大多数都有实际用途吧。
Meanwhile, last Thursday, NASA put a new satellite into orbit that's definitely useful!
不过，上周四，美国宇航局又发射了一颗卫星到轨道里，这颗卫星可就有大用处了！
It's called GOLD, or Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, and it's expected to start doing science in mid-October.
这颗卫星名为“黄金使命”，又称地球及边缘的全球范围观察。该卫星预计于10月中旬开启科学研究。
Along with its partner satellite ICON, which should launch later this year, GOLD will study Earth's upper atmosphere,
届时，“黄金使命”将和它的伙伴卫星电离层连接探测器一起研究地球的高空大气，
specifically, where the thermosphere and the ionosphere overlap.
也就是热层与电离层重叠的区域，电离层连接探测器将于今年下半年发射。
The thermosphere is a layer of our atmosphere that absorbs lots of heat from the Sun, keeping us comfy and not frozen to death.
热层是大气层中的一部分，负责吸收来自太阳的大量热量，让人类保持在一个舒服的状态，不至于冻死。
It's technically considered space, and it's where the International Space Station lives.
技术上，将这部分区域成为太空，因为那里有国际空间站。
It's made mainly of uncharged particles, and stretches from around 90 kilometers above the Earth up to 1000 kilometers.
热层主要由不带电粒子组成，地球上空大概90-1000km的区域都属于热层。
Meanwhile, the ionosphere is the region of the atmosphere where radiation from the Sun has knocked electrons off lots of atoms.
电离层也是大气层的一部分，该层通过太阳的辐射将原子电离为电子。
So it's full of charged particles, or ions.
所以电离层里到处都是带电粒子，也称离子。
And depending on the Sun's conditions, it can stretch anywhere from 50 to 1000 kilometers above the Earth.
地球上空50-1000km的区域都是电离层，具体视太阳的情况而定。
The area where the thermosphere and ionosphere overlap is really dynamic, because it's where two kinds of gas interact.
热层与电离层相重叠的区域动态性很强，因为电离层里有两种气体相互作用。
So there's all kinds of stuff going on there. The thing is, we don't know much about those interactions.
所以那里有很多粒子，关键是，我们并不了解电离层里发生了什么反应。
Until now, they've been really hard to study, because satellites in the thermosphere tend to deorbit relatively quickly.
直到现在，我们一直都在努力研究，因为热层的一些卫星脱离轨道的趋势相对加快了。
In general, we at least know that both space weather and Earth weather influence that region, so that will guide GOLD's observations.
总体而言，我们至少知道空间气象和地球天气都会影响高空大气，这一点可以引导我们观测“黄金使命”。
During the day, GOLD will look at how the Sun affects this overlapping area, and how Earth's weather affects the thermosphere's temperature and dynamics.
白天的时候，“黄金使命”会观测太阳影响重叠区域的方式以及地球天气影响热层温度和力学情况的方式。
Then, at night, GOLD will look at the ionosphere.
夜间，“黄金使命”会观测电离层的情况。
As this region moves around, unpredictable, dense pockets of ions can develop,
由于这个区域是可移动的，很难预估，
and they can partially or completely disrupt radio transmissions to and from space.
所以大量的电子会部分或彻底干扰到宇宙与地球间的无线电传播。
Which is not great, because that's how we communicate with the ISS and get GPS signals.
这一点不太好，因为地球与国际空间站和GPS信号之间就是通过无线电传播进行的。
So GOLD will study those pockets to help us better understand the interference, and maybe eventually compensate for it.
所以“黄金使命”将研究这些离子群，以帮助人类更好地理解干扰现象，或许还能做一些补救工作。
Data from the satellite will also be used to calibrate models of the upper atmosphere.
卫星传回的数据也可以用于校准高空大气的模型。
Since this area has been so hard to study directly, a lot of our understanding of what's going on up there has come from models.
由于高空大气很难直接研究，所以我们对高空大气的很多理解都是从模型获得的。
Lots of them are based directly on physical principles, but without data to confirm, we don't really know how well they're working.
很多模型是直接基于物理原理的，但如果没有数据来确认，我们就无法真正了解到高空大气是如何运作的。
Using models and direct observations will allow us to do lots more research and better understand this environment.
通过模型和直接的观测，我们就能做更多的研究，也能更好地理解高空大气。
And it's really important to figure out what's going on there, because that's where astronauts live!
弄清高空大气的运作情况是非常重要的，因为那里可是宇航员作息的地方啊！
And, for better or worse, where the Humanity Star now lives. And we want to keep these people and satellites safe!
而且，不管怎么说，高空大气里现在也有“人类之星”这颗卫星了，我们想要保证人类和卫星的安全啊！
Well, definitely the people, and at least most of the satellites. It depends on who you ask.
不过，关键时刻还是要以保住人的安全为先，并尽量保全大部分卫星，这都取决于向谁发问。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Space!
那么，感谢大家收看本期的《太空科学秀》！
If you'd like to keep learning about the universe with us, or if you want to write a disco song about space, let us know in the comments below, and go to youtube.com/scishowspace and subscribe.
如果你想继续与我们一起了解太空，如果你想为太空写一首迪斯科舞曲的话，请在下方评论，并登陆youtube.com/scishowspace订阅我们的栏目哦！
