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最后一次观测罕见天象──金星凌日

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Astronomers and stargazers will get a last chance to glimpse a rare astronomical event known as the transit of Venus starting on Tuesday.


现世的天文学家和天文爱好者即将迎来最后一次观测罕见天象──金星凌日──的机会。



The phenomenon, which occurs when Venus's orbit brings the planet between Earth and the sun, takes place roughly twice a century -- the last transit was on June 8, 2004 -- and won't happen again until 2117.


这是金星运行到地球和太阳之间时所发生的一种天文现象，100年内大概出现两次，上次是在2004年6月8日，而下一次要等到2117年。



Unlike in a solar eclipse, in which the moon temporarily obscures the sun, Venus will appear as a small black dot passing across the sun in the daytime sky. Spectators are advised to wear special solar eyeglasses, or dark, polarized lenses such as welder's glasses, to prevent eye damage.


跟月球暂时遮住太阳的日食景象不同，金星将在白天从太阳前方掠过，形成一个小黑斑。建议观测者佩戴特殊的太阳镜或焊工等使用的深色偏光镜，保护眼睛免受损害。



Richard Vondrak, deputydirector of Solar System Exploration at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said studying the event is 'important in understanding our place in space.' The transit of Venus was critical to the determination of Earth's distance from the sun, and thus the size of the solar system, Dr. Vondrak said. In the late 19th century, scientists finally ascertained the distance based on data from several transits, after a mathematician first proposed observing the transits back in 1663.


隶属于美国国家航空航天局(NASA)的戈达德航天中心(Goddard Space Flight Center)太阳系探索部副主任冯德拉克(Richard Vondrak)说，研究金星凌日对了解地球在宇宙中的位置十分重要。他说，观测金星凌日对于确定地球与太阳之间的距离、进而确定太阳系的大小来说至关重要。19世纪末，科学家根据几次金星凌日的数据最终确定了地球与太阳之间的距离。此前，一位数学家在1663年首次提出观测金星凌日现象。



Jay M. Pasachoff, an astronomy professor at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., said such events continue to provide scientists with insight into planets in Earth's solar system and beyond. Dr. Pasachoff, who will be in Maui, Hawaii, for the transit, will be studying it for clues to Venus's atmosphere as sunlight passes through the outer rim of the planet. He said scientists hope the same method can be used to study atmospheres on exoplanets, distant planets outside the solar system.


美国马萨诸塞州威廉姆斯学院(Williams College)天文学教授帕萨乔夫(Jay M. Pasachoff)说，研究这类天象使得科学家能不断深入了解太阳系行星及系外行星。帕萨乔夫届时将去夏威夷毛伊岛(Maui)研究此次金星凌日现象，在太阳光穿透金星外缘时寻找有助于了解金星大气层的线索。他说，科学家希望能用同样的方法研究系外行星的大气层。系外行星是指太阳系以外的遥远行星。



Viewers on the East Coast of the U.S. can watch the transit of Venus with their protective glasses from 6 p.m. EDT until sunset, Dr. Vondrak said. It can be viewed from most parts of the world, but not from Portugal or from big swaths of Spain, South America and Africa.


冯德拉克说，美国东海岸的观测者可戴着护目镜从东部夏令时间下午6点一直看到日落。世界上绝大多数地方都能看到这个天文现象，但葡萄牙、西班牙大部分地区以及南美和非洲等地看不到。



From many parts of Europe, people will be able to view the latter part of the 6 1/2-hour transit after sunrise. Alaska and Hawaii are the only two states from which it will be possible to view the full transit.


这次金星凌日全程历时六个半小时。人们在欧洲很多地方可在日出后观看到金星凌日的后半程。阿拉斯加和夏威夷将是美国仅有的两个可能见到金星凌日完整过程的州。



Dr. Vondrak said people can watch the transit without special glasses by tuning in to NASA's live webcast of the event from Mauna Kea, Hawaii, starting at 5:45 p.m. EDT.


冯德拉克说，人们可以不用佩戴特殊的眼镜来观看这次天文现象，那就是收看NASA从夏威夷莫纳克亚山(Mauna Kea)进行的网上现场直播，直播将于美国东部夏令时间下午5点45分开始。



'So many people are missing the fact that it's a 21st-century topic,' Dr. Pasachoff said. 'It gives us a last chance in over 100 years to test ideas about distant planets.'


帕萨乔夫说，很多人都忽视了这样一个事实，即这是21世纪的一个话题，这是我们在未来100多年时间里最后一次测验关于遥远行星的想法的机会。



Jie Jenny Zou


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