小兄弟威胁着地球(1)
Suns Hidden Twin Stalks Planet Earth
太阳隐藏着的小兄弟威胁着地球
[1] When the end of the world comes, we'll know what to blame. Scientists have found compelling evidence that the Sun has a baby brother, a dark star whose eccentric orbit is responsible for periodically showering the Earth with comets and meteorites 1.
[2] The dark star--named Nemesis 2 by astronomers 3--is thought to be a brown dwarf 4" that spins round the Sun in an orbit so large it is measured in light years, the distance light travels in a year, equivalent to about 6,000 billion miles.
[3] The research suggests that, every 26m years, the star's eccentric orbit brings it within one light year of the solar system. There it causes havoc 5 in the Oort Cloud, a huge region surrounding the solar system that contains billions of bits of cosmic rubble 6 left over from the formation of planets.
[4] Of the millions of rocks it throws out of orbit at each visit, some hurtle Earthwards--and have several times nearly wiped out life on Earth.
[5] Astronomers have long wondered if the Sun has a smaller partner. Recently, two independent groups of researchers have found evidence of one.
[1]当世界末日来临时我们将知道该去责备什么。科学家们已发现明显的迹象表明：太阳有一个小弟弟，它是一颗暗星，其偏心轨道导致彗星群和流星雨周期性降落地球。
[2]这颗被天文学家叫做复仇女神星的暗星被认为是一颗"褐矮星"，它围绕太阳旋转的轨道大得要用光年计量，光年是光在一年中走过的距离，大约等于 6万亿英里。
[3]研究表明，每经过2600万年，这颗星的偏心轨道就将它带到距太阳系1光年的范围内。在那里，它引起了奥尔特云的浩劫，奥尔特云是一个巨大的围绕太阳系的区域，里面包含了数十亿从行星形成中分离出来的宇宙碎块。
[4]它每一次访问太阳系时，都从轨道上甩出上百万个岩块，其中一些飞向地球的方向--有几次几乎摧毁地球上的生命。
[5]天文学家长期以来一直怀疑太阳是否有一个小伴星。最近，两个独立的研究小组已经发现了一些端倪。
- Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- One theory about the existence of extraterrestrial life rests on the presence of carbon compounds in meteorites. 地球外存在生命的理论是基于陨星上存在碳化合物质这一事实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
- Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。
- Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
- The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。
- The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
- This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。