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At two high-altitude sites, in two countries, two very different telescope projects have come online to scan the skies.
為了觀測天空，分別在兩個國家的高海拔地區建立了截然不同的望遠鏡項目。
At Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, a new instrument on the Hale Telescope is looking for exoplanets. Called Project 1640, it’s designed to blot out the infrared light of a star, without blocking the light from anything else. That allows astronomers to directly observe exoplanets, even though the star is thousands or even millions of times brighter.
海耳望遠鏡坐落在圣迭戈鄉村的帕洛瑪天文臺上，它上面最新安裝的儀器正在尋找系外行星。這個項目就是“1640”計劃，旨在遮擋來自恒星的紅外線，同時并不阻斷從其他物體發出的光線。這就使天文學家能夠直接觀測系外行星，盡管恒星比行星要亮一千倍甚至上百萬倍。
Most known exoplanets have been discovered by indirect means, but planetary scientists believe they can learn a lot more from direct observation.
眾所周知，系外行星是通過間接方式發現的，但是行星科學家們相信，通過直接觀測會了解到更多。
Over in Namibia, meanwhile, a new telescope called HESS II is seeking out higher-energy photons. The 28-meter telescope is designed to identify very high energy gamma rays. And gamma rays, the most energetic kind of electromagnetic radiation, already pack a pretty good wallop.
與此同時在納米比亞上空，一個叫做“HESS II”的新式望遠鏡正在尋找高能光子。這架高28米的望遠鏡被設計用來辨別高能的伽馬射線。伽馬射線是一種極其活躍的電磁輻射，它聚合的沖擊力相當強。
The gamma rays HESS sees are mostly by-products of extremely violent astrophysical events such as supernovae and flaring black holes.
HESS觀測到的伽馬射線大多數是極端猛烈的天體物理現象的副產品，比如說超新星的爆炸，以及燃燒的黑洞。
HESS and Project 1640 differ in method and motive. But for astronomers studying exoplanets or extreme astrophysics, the new projects represent two more eyes on the sky.
HESS和“1640”計劃的不同之處在于觀測方法和動機。但對于正在研究系外行星和極端天文物理現象的天文學家來說，這兩個項目代表著兩只監視天空的眼睛。
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