介绍:
Is There New Life in Outer Space?
If you have watched the film Avatar, you may wonder if Earth is the only habitable planet in the universe. Given the large number of the galaxies, many scientists hold the belief that there is certainly extra-terrestrial life. But it seems we are having trouble finding them.
如果你看过电影《阿凡达》，你或许会想知道地球是否是宇宙中唯一一颗宜居星球。鉴于宇宙中星系数量众多，许多科学家都认为一定有地外生命存在。但我们似乎难以找到他们。
In August, NASA announced the discovery of a possible Earth-like planet. Located 31 light years away, it could support life.
今年8月，美国航空航天局宣布发现一颗可能与地球类似的行星。它距离地球31光年，可能拥有生命可以生存的环境。
“I think it’s an amazing discovery,” said Lisa Kaltenegger from the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell in the US. “We have Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or TESS for short that’s scanning the whole sky, where the brightest and closest objects are, to find planets like ours and this is the first one.”
“我认为这是项惊人的发现，”来自美国康奈尔卡尔萨根研究所的丽莎·卡顿内格表示。“我们使用了凌日系外行星勘测卫星（简称‘苔丝’）扫描了整个天空，在亮度最大和距离最近的天体中寻找和地球类似的星球，这颗星球是我们发现的首例。”
The planet, named GJ 357 d, is believed to be around twice the size of Earth and have six times Earth’s mass. According to the New York Post, it is located within the outer edge of its star’s habitable zone, where it receives about the same amount of stellar energy from its star as Mars does from the sun. Specifically, it is about 18 C below zero.
这个名为GJ 357 d的行星被认为约有地球的两倍大，质量是地球的6倍。据《纽约邮报》报道，这颗行星“位于其所在恒星系的宜居带外缘，所接收到的恒星能量与火星从太阳接收到的能量相当”。具体而言，其表面温度约为零下18摄氏度。
You may think this is too low for human habitation. But according to CNN, if it has a thick atmosphere, the planet could trap enough heat to warm the planet and allow liquid water on its surface.
你或许会认为这样的温度对于人类生存而言太低了。但据美国有线电视新闻网报道，如果该行星拥有致密的大气层，就能吸收足够热量使气温升高，并允许液态水的存在。
habitable 宜居的
Given 鉴于
announced 宣布
for short 简称
scanning 扫描
mass 质量
Specifically 具体而言
atmosphere 大气层
trap 吸收
大家还在听
