Herschel shows breadth of vision 赫歇尔天文台展现惊人“观察

时间：2009-07-11 06:13:30

（单词翻译:单击）

Europe's Herschel space observatory1 is set to become one of the most powerful tools ever to study the Universe.

欧盟的赫歇尔天文台被设定成为研究宇宙的最强大的工具之一。

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The "first light" data from its three instruments demonstrates a remarkable2 capability3 even though their set-up is still not complete.

Galaxy4 images released on Friday by the European Space Agency show detail previously5 unseen in the objects.

The pictures - and the thousands that will follow - should give new insights on star formation and galaxy evolution.

"We have some excellent images; they're not calibrated6（校准）, but they look spectacular（惊人的）," said Dr Göran Pilbratt, Esa's Herschel project scientist.

"They tell you we are working; it's just fantastic," he told BBC News.

Different view

Herschel is sensitive to light at long wavelengths - in the far-infrared（远红外线） and sub-millimetre range (55 to 672 microns).

Observations at these longer wavelengths do not produce the "pretty pictures" obtained at shorter wavelengths, such as the visible light detected by the famous Hubble telescope.

What they can do, however, is see features in celestial8（天上的） objects that are invisible to Hubble; and with Herschel's giant 3.5m mirror, the detail becomes extremely rich.

Friday's release includes the first two galaxy observations using the European telescope's SPIRE9 (Spectral（波谱的） and Photometric（光度测定的） Imaging Receiver) instrument.

SPIRE has pictured M74 (also known as NGC 628), a face-on spiral（正向旋涡星系） galaxy located about 24 million light-years from Earth in the constellation10（星座，星群） Pisces; and M66 (also known as NGC 3627), a barred spiral galaxy located about 36 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.

What Herschel sees in these objects is not their stars but the dusty clouds of gas that give rise to stars.

Herschel was despatched into space along with Esa's Planck telescope on 14 May.

Over the course of the past two months, both astronomical11（天文学的） satellites have been moving to observation positions some 1.5 million km from Earth, on its "night side".

The long journey has been used by engineers to switch on and check out all of the telescopes' systems.

This past week, a major review of the observatories12' status was held in Darmstadt, Germany. The meeting marked the formal handover of the facilities from the industrial manufacturers - a pan-European industrial consortium（联合，合伙） led by Thales Alenia Space.

"We're now going to start to tune13 the instruments for maximum performance," explained Dr Pilbratt. "We're going to try them out in many different observing situations in order to learn how to get the best out of them."

This verification period will then be followed by a six-week demonstration14 phase in which the operations team hope to show the world the full power of a perfectly15 prepared, fully16 mature Herschel space observatory.

Routine operations should begin towards the end of the year.

Herschel is expected to continue working through to 2013, by which time the super-fluid helium（氦） that keeps its instruments and detectors17 in the necessary ultra-cold state to make observations will have boiled off.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 observatory hRgzP     
n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台
参考例句：
  • Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
  • Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。
2 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
3 capability JsGzZ     
n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等
参考例句：
  • She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
  • Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。
4 galaxy OhoxB     
n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句：
  • The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
  • The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。
5 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前，先前（地）
参考例句：
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。
6 calibrated 6ac8922cd7bfd487c7dd1bd65d0f6191     
v.校准( calibrate的过去式和过去分词 )；使标准化；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径
参考例句：
  • Power pesticide dusters can be calibrated and used to apply pertilizer. 动力杀虫剂可以调整用来施肥。 来自辞典例句
  • The flexible diaphragm is connected to a plat cantilever-calibrated spring. 柔韧的膜片一扁平的悬臂校正弹簧相连。 来自辞典例句
7 wavelengths 55c7c1db2849f4af018e7824d42c3ff2     
n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍
参考例句：
  • I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句
8 celestial 4rUz8     
adj.天体的；天上的
参考例句：
  • The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
  • Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
9 spire SF3yo     
n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点
参考例句：
  • The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
  • They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。
10 constellation CptzI     
n.星座n.灿烂的一群
参考例句：
  • A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
  • The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。
11 astronomical keTyO     
adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的
参考例句：
  • He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
  • Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。
12 observatories d730b278442c711432218e89314e2a09     
n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
  • Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网
13 tune NmnwW     
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
参考例句：
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
14 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明，示范，论证，示威
参考例句：
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
15 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
16 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
17 detectors bff80b364ed19e1821aa038fae38df83     
探测器( detector的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
  • This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

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