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The advantage of this "transit" method is that it is well-suited to mass production.
這種“中天”方法的優勢在于非常適合大量成果產出。
Kepler was designed to stare fixedly at a single patch of sky in the constellation of Cygnus, observing around 150,000 stars simultaneously.
開普勒的設計目標是固定監控天鵝座星群中天空的一小塊地方，同時觀察約150000顆恒星。
The consequential torrent of data can be used to draw statistical conclusions about the rest of the galaxy.
利用間接傳輸的數據流可得出關于星系剩余部分的統計結論。
It seems likely that every one of the Milky Way's hundreds of billions of stars sports at least one planet.
似乎有可能銀河數千億顆恒星中的每一顆都至少在一個行星中嬉戲。
Many of these are of a type unknown in the solar system.
其中很多都是太陽系中未知的類型。
The most common in Kepler's data are "super-Earths"—rocky worlds intermediate in size between Earth and Neptune.
開普勒數據中最常見的是“超級類地行星”—大小介于地球和海王星之間的多巖世界。
Kepler also helped prove that "hot Jupiters" are common. These are gas giants which orbit implausibly close to their stars.
開普勒還幫助證實了“熱木星”的普遍性。它們是氣體巨星，圍繞距離它們非常之近的恒星軌道而行
Theorists, who would previously have argued that such planets were impossible,
之前認為這些行星不可能存在的理論學家
are still debating whether they are able to form in situ or whether they coalesce farther out in their stellar systems and then migrate inward,
仍爭辯它們是否能夠在原地形成或是它們是否是在更遠處的恒星系統中合成，然后再向內部移動，
knocking other planets into deep space as they do so in a game of planetary billiards.
與其他行星相撞進入更深處的太空，就像在行星臺球游戲中一樣。
Kepler's biggest quarry was Earthlike planets at just the right distance around their stars for liquid water to exist on their surfaces.
開普勒的最大獵物群是類地行星，它們與其恒星距離適當，這樣液態水才能在它們的表面存在。
Several have turned up, but the search became harder in 2013, by which time two of the four gyroscopes that kept the telescope stable had broken.
已經找到了幾個類地行星，但在2013年搜尋任務變得更加艱難，那時四個維持望遠鏡穩定的陀螺儀中，有兩個已經損壞。
Kepler's engineers came up with an ingenious fix, relying on the radiation pressure exerted by sunlight to re-steady the craft.
開普勒的工程師想出了一個獨創性的修補方法，依靠太陽外露的輻射壓力重新穩定航空器。
With its fuel depleted, no technological rescue is possible this time. But nothing succeeds like success. Exoplanets are now the hottest topic in astronomy.
隨著其燃料的耗盡，這一次再也沒有可能的技術補救方法了。但是一事成功百事順?，F在外星行星是天文學界最熱話題。
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, launched in April, is a Kepler-like mission designed to look for exoplanets in Earth's immediate neighbourhood.
凌日系外行星勘測衛星于4月發射。它是一個開普勒類似的望遠鏡，其目的是為了尋找地球附近的外星行星。
These might be amenable to detailed follow-ups from other, more powerful telescopes.
這些或許能夠經得起來自望遠鏡后起之秀的詳細的后續行動的考驗。
In theory, it should be possible to sniff the air of such neighbours for signs of life, or even make rough maps of their surfaces.
理論上，它應該能夠嗅到附近生命體征的存在，甚至還能對它們的表面進行粗略的繪制。
Two similar European missions are scheduled to launch in 2019 and 2026. Exoplanetology is just getting started.
兩個類似的歐洲望遠鏡計劃于2019年和2026年發射。系外行星學剛剛起步。
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