【我的总结与翻译】

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico have discovered the remains of a supernova, known as G1.9 which must have lit up our galaxy with a bright flash of light about 140 years ago.

天文学家利用美国宇航局“钱德拉”X射线太空望远镜以及在新墨西哥州的甚大阵射电望远镜发现了一颗名为G1.9的超新星的残骸，而这颗星在140年前非常明亮，曾点亮了我们的银河系

At a NASA news conference Wednesday, scientists said they were able to estimate the age of the supernova by tracking its remnant's rate of expansion over the last 20 years. They say it expanded by 16% - a surprising large amount - indicating it is much younger than previously thought.

在周三美国宇航局的新闻发布会上，科学家表示，他们能够通过跟踪过去20年中该超新星残骸的膨胀率来预测出它的年龄。他们还称，它膨胀了16%，这数据太令人惊奇的，这表明它比以前想象的要年轻的多。

The scientist who led the study, Stephen (Reynolds) of North Carolina State University, said radio and X-ray technology allowed scientists to track the dying star through a dense field of gas and dust that had previously obscured the view.

领导这次研究的科学家，北卡罗莱纳州立大学的Stephen Reynolds称，无线电波和X光射线技术使得科学家能够穿透以前遮挡视线的厚重气体和尘埃来跟踪这个逐渐消失的星星。

The second most recent supernova is believed to have occured around 1680. Ever since astronomers discovered that supernova more than 50 years ago, they have been searching for more "missing" supernovae and their remnants. (Reynolds) explains that scientists have measured the rates of exploding stars in other galaxies, and found out that our own Milky Way galaxy seems to be lagging behind in the number of supernovae per century.

距今发现的第二颗超新星一直被认为发生在1680年。自天文学家50多年前发现它之后，他们一直在寻找更多“失踪”的超新星以及它们的残骸。Reynolds解释称，科学家们已测量了其他星系中爆炸星体的膨胀率，并发现我们的银河系每个世纪的超新星数量似乎都很落后。

posted on 2008-05-16 11:16 echo 阅读(13) 评论(0)  编辑  收藏 网摘收藏