評論
打印
To get some idea of this extraordinary distance
為讓大家更直觀地認識這段驚人的距離
and the challenge it presents,
和它所意味著的挑戰
I'm going to imagine that we could hitch a ride
想象一下，如果我們能搭上
on the fastest man-made object in existence.
現存最快的人造交通工具
Voyager one was launched in 1977.
旅行者一號 1977年發射
Now over 30 years old,
30多年后的今天
it's traveled more than 13 billion miles.
它航行的路程已逾130億英里
It's mission so far has taken it to Jupiter and Saturn.
它已完成了到木星與土星航行
By using their gravity to boost speed,
借用行星的重力作用加速
the little spacecraft has entered the record books.
這艘小型飛船已被載入了史冊
It might not look fast,
或許這樣看起來不快
but Voyager is racing through space at 11 miles a second.
卻在以每秒十一英里的速度于宇宙中穿梭
On Earth, 11 miles a second looks like this.
在地球上，秒速十一英里是這樣的
It's 39,000 miles an hour.
時速三萬九千英里
At this speed, we could circle the globe one and a half times in an hour.
以此速度，我們每小時能繞地球一周半
How long would it take a spaceship
那么一艘速度達到旅行者號的飛船
traveling at Voyager's speed to get to the nearest earth-like planet, Gliese?
究竟要多久能抵達最近的類地行星葛利斯呢
The answer reveals the true scale of the cosmos.
問題的答案讓我們真正見識了宇宙之浩淼
For even traveling at 11 miles a second,
即使秒速達到11英里
the journey to Gliese would still take over 350,000 years.
到達葛利斯仍需三十五萬年以上
I think we have a chance to
我認為我們還是有機會
become a lasting part of the ever-changing universe
成為這瞬息萬變的宇宙中永恒的一部分
and to discover what other wonders it might hold,
并去探索它的眾多奧妙
but to do this, we will have to develop
但為達到這一目的，我們必須在
new technology on an enormous scale.
科技發展上跨出一大步
And that's going to take some serious engineering.
而這將需開啟巨大的工程
There are many in the field of cosmology who believe as I do,
宇宙學領域有觀點與我一致的眾多專家
that finding ways to travel great distances
認為找出一種在太空遠距離航行的方法
will be essential to keeping human life amazing in the universe.
是讓人類在宇宙中幸存的關鍵
If we could build a machine
如果我們能建造一臺機器
capable of traveling to other solar systems,
在其他太陽系中穿梭
we would open up a fascinating possibility.
我們將開創一種美好的可能
The survival of the human race for billions of years.
即人類在數億年后依然幸存
