2,1 and lift off...
2,1,發射。
Going to Hubble is a calculated risk.
維修哈勃應該是有風險的。
Space flight is risky by any means.
太空飛行是危險的。
So in the scheme of things, this is something that I have determined and on behalf of my family, that it's worth risking my life for.
那么按情況我得做出決定,于是我代表我的家庭決定為此去冒一下生命危險。
Why is an aging telescope that's nearly reached its 20 year life expectancy worth the risk?
為什么一架如此老化的望遠鏡,使用都快20年了還值得冒這么大危險去維修呢?
Because Hubble continues to astound us with surprising details about our universe as it has since its 1990 launch.
因為哈勃一直讓我們驚喜不已,從1990年發射升空后,它一直向我們展現我們宇宙的方方面面。
Astronomers have long wondered where stars like our sun come from.
天文學家們一直想知道像太陽一樣的恒星到底來自何方。
Jeff Hester of Arizona State University knows that stars evolve from clouds of gas and dust.
亞利桑那州立大學的杰夫?海斯特知道氣體云和塵埃演化出了恒星。
What he hopes to discover is how these clouds give life to stars.
他想知道的是這些星云到底是如何演化成恒星的。
Astronomers suspected that the Eagle Nebula might provide clues, but even the most powerful earth-bound telescopes couldn't get a clear view.
天文學家覺得老鷹星云也許能提供線索,但即使地面最強大的望遠鏡也無法拍出清晰的圖。
Spring, 1995. Hester aims Hubble Space Telescope toward the Eagle Nebula.
1995年春,海斯特將哈勃太空望遠鏡對準老鷹星云。
As he downloads his images from Hubble, Hester can hardly believe his eyes.
等他看到從哈勃下載的圖后,他幾乎不能相信自己的眼睛。
This is Hubble's first picture of the Eagle Nebula, some 6,500 light-years away.
這是哈勃拍攝的第一張老鷹星云的圖,距離地球6500光年。
It shows three gigantic pillars made of gas and dust.
那有3個由氣體和塵埃組成的巨型柱子。
The tower on the left is about 4 light-years tall.
左邊的柱子大約有4光年高。
What gives them their shape is the fact that fairly nearby there are some very, very massive, very luminous, very hot stars
讓柱子擁有如此外觀的是——離柱子非常近,質量極度巨大,極其明亮,也極其炙熱的許多恒星;
that are dumping out huge amounts of ultraviolet radiation.
這些恒星釋放出巨量的紫外輻射,
And it's sculpting the surroundings.
塑造出了它們周邊的景象。
These celestial pillars have never been revealed in such stunning detail.
這些空間巨柱從來沒有被披露的如此清晰。