【新译X世界】No.76 美国国家航空航天局捕捉到太阳“微笑”的图像

Ray of joy: Nasa captures image of the sun ‘smiling’

A Nasa satellite captured an image of what appeared to be a happy face pattern on the sun earlier this week, prompting the US space agency to say the sun was seen “smiling”. The agency released the image on Wednesday on Twitter, writing: “Today, Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the sun ‘smiling.’ Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space.”

美国国家航空航天局（Nasa）的一颗卫星本周早些时候捕捉到了一张似乎是太阳上的快乐脸谱图案的图像，这促使美国航天局说看到了太阳在“微笑”。该机构周三在Twitter上发布了这张图片，并写道：“今天，美国国家航空航天局的太阳动力学观测站捕捉到太阳在‘微笑’。在紫外线下看到，太阳上的这些黑斑被称为日冕洞，是快速太阳风涌入太空的区域。”

Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is an agency mission aimed at investigating how solar activity is created and drives space weather. First launched on 11 February 2010, the observatory’s spacecraft measures the sun’s interior, atmosphere, magnetic field and energy output. Since its release, Nasa’s photo has prompted a slew of responses online, with many comparing the image to a carved Halloween pumpkin, a lion and the sun featured in the children’s show Teletubbies.

美国国家航空航天局的太阳动力学观测站是一项机构任务，旨在调查太阳活动如何产生并驱动空间天气。该观测站的航天器于2010年2月11日首次发射，测量太阳的内部、大气、磁场和能量输出。自发布以来，美国国家航空航天局的照片在网上引起了一连串的反应，许多人将这张图片与万圣节南瓜雕刻、狮子和儿童节目天线宝宝中的太阳相比较。

Despite its friendly look, experts warn that the sun’s coronal holes may mean a solar storm hitting Earth on Saturday. Spaceweather.com said: “The cheerful mein is spewing a triple stream of solar wind toward Earth.” Solar storms are a variety of eruptions of mass and energy from the solar surface that in turn deforms the earth’s magnetic field. As a result, these storms increase the visibility of the polar lights, also known as auroras, in the northern and southern hemispheres.

尽管它看起来很友好，但专家警告说，太阳的日冕孔可能意味着星期六会有太阳风暴袭击地球。知名分析天气网站提示到：“欢快的梅因正在向地球喷出三股太阳风。” 太阳风暴是来自太阳表面的各种质量和能量的喷发，反过来使地球的磁场发生变形。因此，这些风暴增加了北半球和南半球的极光，也被称为极光的能见度。

ultraviolet light 紫外线光

gush 涌出

coronal 冠状的

spew 呕吐