中子星 Neutron stars.
超重，密度极大。 Super heavy, super dense.
拥有极端的 Extreme.
引力，磁力，热能。 Gravitational, magnetic, hot.
令人不安。 Scary.
它们摧毁行星。 They destroy planets.
甚至能摧毁恒星。 They can even destroy stars.
一份宇宙中的谜题。 A cosmic conundrum.
中子星质量非常，非常的重， They're very, very massive,
但它的体积真的，真的很小。 but they're also really, really small.
体型微小的超能星体。 Tiny cosmic super powers
很长时间，被黑洞的名气压制。 long overshadowed by black holes... Until now.
如今，中子星被推到 Neutron stars have been thrust very much
现代天文物理学的最前沿。 to the forefront of modern astrophysics.
全世界的天文学家都知道是什么导致了改变。 The world's astronomers know that something is happening.
在刚才，有什么事发生了，跟以往比很不一样。 Something's up, it's new, and it's different.
中子星是宇宙中 Neutron stars are the most interesting
最奇葩的天体。 astrophysical object in the universe.
现在，被天文学家们，牢牢地固在聚光灯下， Now firmly in the limelight,
中子星---我们最珍贵元素 neutron stars, creators of our most precious elements
和生命本身的创造者 and life itself.
captions paid for by discovery communications
距地球1.3亿光年外，一个天体正在形成， 130 million light years form earth,
天文学家称其为"NGC-4993"。 a galaxy called "NGC-4993."
两颗死星被困在一个迅速减小的螺旋中。 Two dead stars trapped in a rapidly diminishing spiral.
就像在听宇宙的鸣响。 It's like listening to the ringing of the cosmos itself.
星球碰撞的声音，如果你愿意 The sound of that collision, if you will,
将其压印在空间和时间的织物上。 imprinted on the fabric of space and time itself.
利文斯顿，路易斯安那州，先进的LIGO天文台。 Livingston, Louisiana, the advanced LiGO observatory.
它的任务是。。。探测在太空中 Its mission... To detect gravitational waves
生成的引力波。 generated in space.
引力波使时空的扭曲 A gravitational wave is a distortion of space time
通常，这是由 that's caused by, usually,
某种非常剧烈的引力事件导致。 some kind of very traumatic gravitational event.
如超新星，或黑洞 Events such as a supernova,
或大质量恒星的碰撞之类的事件。 or the collision of black holes, or massive stars.
2015年，LIGO通过首次重力波探测， 2015... LiGO makes history by detecting gravitational waves
创造了历史。 for the first time,
爱因斯坦的预言在100年后得以呈现。 100 years after Einstein's prediction.
这是黑洞撞击的标志 It's the signature of the crash of black holes.
就像听到远处发生车祸的声音， It's almost like listening to the sound
你却没有亲眼看到。 of a distant car crash that you didn't witness.
但你非常聪明 But you're so clever,
这次车祸的声音是如此独特 and the sound of this car crash is such a unique signature,
你可以用电脑来模拟 that you are able to use your computers to model
一定是撞在一起的那种车祸。 exactly the type of cars that must have collided together.
在2017年，LiGO接收到一种不同的信号。 In 2017, LiGO picks up a different kind of signal.
2017年8月的事件展现出的现象 The unfolding of the August 2017 event
简直太不寻常了。 was nothing short of extraordinary.
因此，收到了信号，非常强的信号。 So, the signal comes in, and the signal is strange.
这个信号持续了很长时间。 It has a long-lasting signal.
超过100秒。 It's over 100 seconds.
不到两秒钟，伽马射线望远镜 Less than two seconds later, a gamma-ray telescope
从天空的同一区域 detected a flash of gamma rays
探测到伽马射线闪光。 from that same part of the sky.
很快，世界上的天文学家 And very quickly, the world's astronomers
就知道发生了什么事。 know that something is happening.
有什么事发生了，在刚才，跟以往相比很不一样。 Something's up, it's new, and it's different.
一个很长的引力波信号 This combination of a long gravitational wave signal
和伽马射线暴的组合 and a blaze of gamma rays...
成为天文学家的灯塔。 Acts as a beacon for astronomers.
当他们看到这个事件， When they saw this event,
他们向所有的天文学家 they sent out a worldwide alert
发出了一个全球性的警报， to astronomers across the globe, saying,
说：“嘿，我们看到一些有趣的东西， "hey, we saw something interesting,
它来自一片特殊的星空。” and it came from a particular patch of sky.
然后，大范围的讨论， Then, all the chatter started
在天文界开始了， amongst the astronomical community,
所有人都开始用望远镜 and everyone starting pointing their telescopes
瞄准星空的这一区域。 at this one part of the sky.
数小时内，成千上万的天文学家 Within hours, thousands of astronomers
全世界的物理学家都在疯狂地 and physicists across the globe are frantically
收集关于这个神秘事件的数据。 collecting data on this mysterious event.
不仅仅是引力波， There is not just the gravitational waves,
也不仅仅是伽马射线。 there is not just the gamma rays.
还有可见光，有红外线 There's a visible light, there's infrared light,
有紫外线。 there's ultraviolet light.
所有这些信号交织在一起，给我们讲述了一个故事。 And all these signals together tell us a story.
这是首次 And this was the very first time
我们同时看到了这两个信使 we've seen these two multiple messengers at once...
引力波和集束光。 Gravitational waves and regular light.
所以，这对天文学来说是一个开创性的时刻 So, that was a groundbreaking moment for astronomy.
科学家意识到 Scientists realize
这次不是黑洞碰撞。 this isn't another black-hole collision.
这是不同的事件。 This is something different.
当你想看宇宙中的爆炸时 When you see an explosion in the universe,
候选事件并不多。 there aren't exactly a lot of candidates.
宇宙中没有多少东西会爆炸。 There's not a lot of things in the universe that blow up.
但长长的信号就像一把冒烟的枪。 But the length of the signal is the smoking gun.
两个黑洞的碰撞会快速发生。 The collision of two black holes was quick.
这是一个更长，更慢的死亡螺旋， This one was the longer, slower, death end-spiral
来自两颗中子星。 of two neutron stars.
它们盘旋着，距离越来越近，速度越来越快。 Spiraling in, closer and closer, speeding up.
之后，当它们最终相撞， And then, when they finally collide,
交汇在一起，释放巨大的 when they finally touch, releasing a tremendous
能量进入周围星空。 amount of energy into the surrounding system.
碰撞产生巨大的物质云， The collision throws up huge clouds of matter,
可能会稍微减慢光速。 which may have slowed down the light very slightly.
光和引力波 The light and gravitational waves
经过一亿三千万年的旅行 travel for 130 million years,
几乎同时到达地球。 arriving at earth almost simultaneously.
天文学家第一次看到中子星相撞。 It's the first time astronomers see neutron stars collide.
他们称之为“千新星”。 They call it a "kilonova."
这次壮观的宇宙事件 And this spectacular cosmic event
不仅仅释放能量。 doesn't just release energy.
中子星碰撞的后果， The aftermath of this neutron-star collision,
千新星事件，产生了大量的碎片 this kilonova, created a tremendous amount of debris,
冲向太空。 which blasted out into space.
也许最终为我们提供了 And this may finally have provided us
制造重元素的 the evidence of where some very special
一些非常特别的证据 heavy elements are created.
通过中子星的毁灭产生了种子 Through the destruction of a neutron star comes the seeds
成为构成生命的基本要素。 for the essential ingredients of life itself.
我们呼吸氧分子。。。氧气。 We breathe oxygen molecules... O2.
水是氢和氧构成。 Water is hydrogen and oxygen.
我们身体的大部分是由碳化合物构成。 Most of our body is made up of carbon compounds
包括氮，磷。 that include nitrogen, phosphorus.
在人类历史上的科学中 One of the big questions in science
有一个重大问题 over the history of humanity has been,
“基本元素源于何处？” "what are the origins of these elements?"
结果发现中子星扮演着关键的角色 And it turns out that neutron stars play a critical role
创造了许多重元素。 in creating many of the heavy elements.
地球上的大多数元素是由恒星制造的。 Most of the elements on earth are made in stars.
但最重的元素是如何形成的 But how the heaviest elements are made
一直以来，是困扰科学界持续时间最长的谜团之一。 has been one of science's longest-running mysteries.
很长一段时间，我们知道 For a long time, we knew there was a problem
事关重原子产生的问题 with making these heavier atoms...
例如黄金和铂金之类的东西，一直到铀。 Things like gold and platinum, all the way out towards uranium.
实际上，宇宙中最有活力的东西 And really, the most energetic thing we had
是超新星。 in the universe was supernova explosions.
因此，它们必须在超新星爆发中被创造出来 So, they had to be created somehow in supernovas.
但是，当科学家进行计算机模拟时， But when scientists ran computer simulations,
虚拟超新星爆发，无法锻造这些超大原子。 virtual supernovas failed to forge these oversized atoms.
2016年，天文学家Edo Berger提出 In 2016, astronomer Edo Berger explained
解开谜团的可行办法。 a potential solution to the mystery.
如果你打开这些书中的任何一本 If you open any one of these books,
翻到金子是从哪里来的那页， and flip to the page that tells you where gold came from,
它会告诉你黄金，来自超新星爆炸。 it will tell you that gold came from supernova explosions.
很明显这些教科书已经过时了。 But it was becoming clear that the textbooks were out of date.
形成重元素需要大量中子， To form heavy elements requires a lot of neutrons,
因此，另一个可信的理论是 and so, another possible theory was that
最重元素， the heaviest elements were produced in the mergers
在两颗中子星合并中产生。 of two neutron stars in a binary system.
然而当时，没有人真的见过 But at the time, no one had actually seen
中子星碰撞。 a neutron-star collision.
很难说服天文学界 It was difficult to convince the community
这是一个用于 that this was a potential channel
生产重元素的潜在渠道。 for the production of heavy elements.
事实证明，在宇宙中 The proof is to actually see this process
这一过程经常发生。 happening in the universe.
2017年，千新星事件 The 2017 kilonova
提供完美的机会。 provides the perfect opportunity.
产生数千小时的观测数据。 It generates thousands of hours of data.
科学家注意到一种模式。。。 Scientists notice a pattern...
千新星烟烬颜色的细微变化。 Subtle changes in the color of the kilonova remnants.
在太空中，当你发现一个非常显着的事件， In space, when you have an event that is very bright,
发出一定量的光 it emits a certain amount of light,
我们认为颜色 and it emits it at certain wavelengths...
以特定的波长传播。 What we think of as colors.
烟火中显示出的不同颜色 Different colors in a pyrotechnics display
表明烟花中，使用了不同的化学物质。 indicate the use of different chemicals in fireworks.
同样地，科学家也可以 In the same way, scientists can uncover the elements
从千新星爆炸的颜色中，发现这些元素。 in the kilonova by the colors in the explosion.
当千新星变红时，他们意识到这就是想追寻结果， As the kilonova turns red, they realize it's the result
新创造的重元素 of newly-created heavy elements
开始吸收蓝光。 starting to absorb blue light.
我们看到千新星爆发的残留变化 As we watched this remnant change...
会变色、膨胀和冷却 The explosion change in color, expand and cool...
我们可以估计，产生了什么样的元素。 We could estimate what sort of elements were being produced.
碎片发出的光偏移了 The light from the debris shifts
从蓝色和紫色到红色和红外线. from blue and Violet to red and infrared.
颜色的变化提供了线索 The color change provides clues
显示存在某些重金属。 about the presence of certain heavy metals.
中子星碰撞，千新星 Well, this neutron-star collision, this kilonova,
产生的亮度和光谱 produced brightness and a color spectrum
与预测模型一致 that are consistent with models of predictions
产生金和铂。 that produce gold and platinum.
这个模型叫做“R过程” This model is called "The R-process,"
“快速俘获中子”的简称。 short for "rapid neutron capture."
这个词有点复杂 That is a bit of a complicated term
它描述了我们如何使原子重于铁原子。 that describes how we make atoms heavier than iron.
你需要一个富中子的环境。 You need a really neutron-rich environment.
就像你想象的那样，一个富含中子的环境， And as you might imagine, a neutron-star collision
产生大量中子星碰撞。 is a very neutron-rich environment.
如果这些模型是正确的 If these models are correct...
这惊到我了。。。 And this blows me away...
这次碰撞，是千新星 This collision, this kilonova,
产生了几十倍地球质量的物质 produced several dozen times the mass of the Earth
全是金子。 in just gold.
2017年的千年新星不仅揭示了 The 2017 kilonova not only reveals
重元素的来源， the origin of key elements,
还揭示中子星内部 it sheds light on the neutron star's interior...
宇宙中最强物质 The strongest material in the universe
产生的磁场 creating a magnetic field
比地球大一万亿倍。 a trillion times greater than that of earth.
两颗中子星陷入死亡螺旋。 Two neutron stars caught in a death spiral.
这场巨大的千新星爆炸不仅会发光 This massive kilonova explosion not only sheds light
还会创造金和铂 on the creation of heavy elements,
这样的重元素， such as gold and platinum,
同样为科学家研究宇宙中 it also provides scientists with a unique insight
最神秘的物体，提供了独特的见解。 into one of the most mysterious objects in the universe.
试着想象一下，中子星到底是什么样子 Trying to imagine what a neutron star is really like
真是挑战我们的想象力。 really challenges our imagination.
同样对我们的物理学理论提出了挑战。 It also challenges our theoretical physics.
我们得去看看，我们的电脑模型，我们的数学 We have to go to our computer models, our mathematics,
估计一下，中子星会是什么样子 to have some estimate of what this might be like.
现在，科学家无需依赖 Now, scientists don't have to rely
他们的想象力。 on their imaginations.
他们可以使用来自千新星的真实数据 They can use hard data from the kilonova
找出中子星跳动的源泉。 to work out what makes neutron stars tick.
我们从观察中得到了很多信息 There's so much information we got from observing
一起单一的事件，一对中子星的碰撞。 that one single event, that one colliding neutron star pair.
现在，我们第一次 Now, for the first time, we have an accurate estimate
对中子星的质量和直径，有了准确的判断。 of the mass of a neutron star, and the diameter.
我们终于可以开始描述 We can finally begin to piece together
中子星是如何工作的。 how neutron stars really work.
科学家们计算出它们直径只有12.4英里 They calculate the diameter is just 12.4 miles,
比曼哈顿还少一英里。 1 mile less than the length of Manhattan.
确定中子星物理特性 Nailing down any physical characteristic
非常重要。 is really important.
如果有一个， And if there's gonna be one,
半径稍大，可以从它那里 the radius is a big one, because from there,
知道质量，密度也就迎刃而解。 if you know the mass, you can get the density.
如果你知道总密度 And if you know the overall density,
就能搞清楚 you can start to figure out what the layering
中子星内部如何分层。 inside of a neutron star is like.
对物理学家来说，中子星的内部 For physicists, the interior of a neutron star
是宇宙中最有趣的地方之一。 is one of the most intriguing places in the universe.
你必须意识到 You have to realize that the conditions
中子星内部是非常非常不同的 inside a neutron star are very, very different
与地球的情况大相径庭。 than the conditions that exist here on earth.
我们谈论的是如此致密的材料， We're talking about material that's so dense
即使原子核也不能独立存在。 that even the nuclei of atoms can't hold together.
有的中子星 With a neutron star, you're taking something
比太阳还重 that weighs more than the sun,
恒星大小的物质压缩在一起，比城市还小。 and compressing it down to be smaller than a city.
密度之大，假设你把它放在地面上， It's so dense that, if you tried to put it on the ground,
中子星会穿透地壳，直达地心。 it would fall right through the Earth.
高密度意味着高重力 High density means high gravity...
它的重力是地球的2000亿倍。 Gravity 200 billion times greater than on earth.
想象一下，爬上中子星 Imagine climbing up on a table on the surface
表面的桌子上，再跳下来。 of a neutron star and jumping off.
你立刻就被压扁 You're gonna just get flattened instantly,
在其表面摊成肉饼。 and just spread out on that surface.
因此，别想在那上面做俯卧撑。 So, don't even think about trying to do push-ups.
强大的引力 Added to the intense gravity
还有异常强大的磁场， are hugely powerful magnetic fields,
恐怖剂量的X射线辐射 awesome X-ray radiation,
星球电场功率比闪电还要多 electric fields 30 million times more powerful
3000万倍， than lightning bolts,
以及高能粒子暴。 and blizzards of high-energy particles.
对于太空旅者来说，这不是个好地方。 This isn't a good neighborhood for a space traveler.
假如你发现自己就在中子星附近 If you were to find yourself in the vicinity
这将是个坏消息。 of a neutron star, it's gonna be bad news.
首先，你会被难以置信的 First, you would be torn apart
强磁场撕裂。 by the incredibly strong magnetic fields.
然后，X射线辐射会把你轰成碎片。 Then, the X-ray radiation would blast you to a crisp.
当中子星重力场把你拉近 And as it pulled you closer,
强烈引力会把你的原子和分子， its intense gravity would stretch out
拉伸成一个很长的粒子流。 your atoms and molecules into a long, thin stream.
你的速度会越来越快 You would build your speed faster and faster,
然后，你最终会撞击它的表面， and then, you would finally impact the surface,
溅落其表。 splatter across it.
这个过程释放出的能量 And that process would release as much energy
如同核爆。 as a nuclear bomb.
如果我能在坠入中子星或黑洞之间做出选择， If I had the choice between falling into a neutron star
我想我会选择黑洞。 versus a black hole, I think I'd pick the black hole.
‘因为我真的不想 'Cause I don't really feel like being torn apart
被磁场和X射线爆裂。’ by a magnetic field and blasted with x-rays.
在宇宙尺度上，中子星可能只有一品脱大小 On a cosmic scale, neutron stars may be pint-sized,
然而他们却能挥出重拳。 but they sure pack a serious punch.
所有被压抑能量的秘密， The secret to all this pent-up power
在地表下发生的事情 is what's going on below the surface.
有了新的千新星数据， Armed with the new kilonova data,
现在我们可以进行虚拟旅行。 we can now take a virtual journey
进入中子星的核心。 into the heart of a neutron star.
首先，我们必须穿过它的大气层。 First, we must pass through its atmosphere.
现在，这不像地球的大气层 Now, it's not like the Earth's atmosphere,
中子星的大气有100英里厚。 which goes up, like, a 100 miles.
在一颗中子星上，大气层有这么深， On a neutron star, the atmosphere is about this deep,
和我们周围的空气相比，它非常稠密。 and it's extremely dense compared to the air around us.
在压缩的大气下面是一层电离铁， Below the compressed atmosphere is a crust of ionized iron,
铁原子核和自由流动的 a mixture of crystal iron nuclei,
铁电子的混合物。 and free-flowing iron electrons.
现在，中子星引力很强， Now, the gravity's so strong
星球表面几乎完全平滑。 that it's almost perfectly smooth.
地面上最高的山 The biggest mountains on the surface
不到四分之一英寸高。 are gonna be less than a quarter of an inch high.
四分之一英寸的山脉听起来很奇怪 A quarter-inch mountain range may sound odd...
但当我们深入地表时，事情变得更奇怪了。 But things get even stranger as we go below the surface.
这里是宇宙中最强物质的家园。 This is home to the strongest material in the universe.
太奇怪了，科学家把它比作意面 It's so weird, scientists liken it to nuclear pasta.
当我们潜到中子星的外壳下面时 As we dive beneath the crust of a neutron star,
中子本身开始把自己结合成 the neutrons themselves start to glue themselves together
奇异的形状。 into exotic shapes.
首先，它们形成的团块看起来像侏儒 First, they form clumps that look something like gnocchi,
然后，在更深的层次上，侏儒把自己粘在一起， then, deeper, the gnocchi glue themselves together
形成像意面一样的长条。 to form long strands that look like spaghetti.
更深层的，意大利面融合在一起 Even deeper, the spaghetti fuse together
形成一片千层面。 to form sheets of lasagna.
最后，千层面融合在一起 And then, finally, the lasagna fuse together
变成质量均匀的一块，但上面有洞。 to become a uniform mass, but with holes in it.
所以，看起来像意大利通心粉。 So, it looks like penne.
这意大利面，核子口味 This is pasta, nuclear style,
在超过一百万华氏度的 simmering at a temperature
温度下炖煮。 of over one million degrees Fahrenheit.
极端重力弯曲、挤压、拉伸 Extreme gravity bends, squeezes, stretches,
与中子结合，创造出一种物质 and buckles neutrons, creating a material
密度是铁的10000亿倍。 100,000 billion times denser than iron.
旅程变得更加极端。 But the journey gets even more extreme.
更深更神秘更难理解。 Even deeper is more mysterious and harder to understand.
中子星的核心 The core of a neutron star...
离这些层很远， Which is very far away from these layers,
我们称之为“意面核”。。。 which we call the "nuclear pasta"...
可能是最奇异的物质形式。 Is perhaps the most exotic form of matter.
如此异境，可能是物质，受引力影响， So exotic it might be the last bastion of matter
完全坍缩成黑洞之前的最后堡垒。 before complete gravitational collapse into a black hole.
来自美国宇航局钱德拉天文台的数据 Data from NASA's Chandra observatory
表明中子星核是由超流体构成的 suggests the core is made up of a super fluid...
一种奇异的无摩擦物质状态。 A bizarre friction-free state of matter.
实验室生产的类似的超级液体 Similar super fluids produced in the lab
表现出奇怪的特性。 exhibit strange properties,
例如，超流体具有反重力向上流动 such as the ability to flow upwards
并逃离密封容器的能力。 and escape airtight containers.
尽管我们对恒星内部的情况 Although our knowledge of the star's interior
不尽了然，耀眼的诞生， is still hazy, there's not mystery
使其并不神秘。 about its dazzling birth.
宇宙所能提供的 Forged into life during the most spectacular event
最壮丽的事件中孕育了生命 the universe has to offer...
大质量的恒星以爆炸走向死亡。 The explosive death of a massive star.
中子星 Neutron stars...
体积如曼哈顿大小，但质量是太阳的两倍。 Manhattan-sized, but with a mass twice that of our sun.
如此稠密的物质，一茶匙重达十亿吨。 So dense a teaspoon of their matter weighs a billion tons.
轰然而来的过程，令人心驰神往。 Mind-blowing objects that arrive with a bang.
中子星在母星死亡的过程中 Neutron stars spark into life
迸发出生命的火花。 amid the death of their parent star.
它们是再生的终极故事， They're the ultimate story of resurrection,
置死地而后生。 or of life from death.
这是宇宙循环的一部分。 It's all part of a cosmic cycle.
恒星诞生自非常冷的气体聚集成的巨大云团。 Stars are born from giant clouds of very cold gas.
星云在自身引力作用下崩塌了， Those clouds collapse under their own gravity,
塌缩中心的地核密度 and the density of the core at the center of the collapse
开始增加。 starts to increase.
恒星是一个巨大的核聚变反应堆。 A star is a huge nuclear fusion reactor.
它的引力是如此强大 The force of its gravity is so powerful
把原子融合在一起 that it fuses atoms together
使元素越来越重。 to make progressively heavier and heavier elements.
恒星把氢转换成氦。 The star fuses hydrogen into helium.
一旦它排出氢气，变得足够大， Once it exhausts its hydrogen, then, if it's massive enough,
它就开始转换核心的氦。 it can start fusing helium at its core.
聚变继续，形成碳 Fusion continues, forming carbon,
氧，氮，一直到铁。 oxygen, nitrogen, all the way up to iron.
一旦恒星的核心有铁， Once a star has iron in the core,
就像是毒死了它， it's almost like you've poisoned it,
因为这会在恒星的核心 because this extinguishes the nuclear reactions
消除核聚变反应。 in the core of the star.
一旦转换成铁，就没有能量释放。 You fuse something into iron, and you get no energy.
突然之间，没有什么可以支撑 All of a sudden, there's nothing to support
核心引力的挤压。 the crush of gravity.
无辐射压力推出物质 No radiation pressure pushing out
意味着没有能力，阻止外部物质落入 means no pressure keeping the outer regions from falling in,
它们就是这么运做的。 and that's what they do.
当恒星在死亡的痛苦中崩溃时 As the star collapses in its death throes,
它的核心变得狂野，疯狂， its core becomes the wildest, craziest,
成为宇宙中最怪异的压力锅。 and freakiest pressure cooker in the whole universe.
原料都准备好了。 The ingredients are all in place.
烹饪中子星的时候到了。 It's time to start cooking up a neutron star.
如果我们放大原子核 If we were to scale up an atomic nucleus
至棒球那么大， to be the size of a baseball,
在正常原子中，最近的电子 in a normal atom, the nearest electron would be
远超那些树上的， way over in those trees,
但在极端条件导致 but in the extreme conditions that lead to
中子星的形成， the formation of a neutron star,
这些电子被推到离原子核更近的地方。 those electrons can be pushed closer to the nucleus.
它们从任何方向快速移动。 They can come zipping in from any direction.
如果温度和压力足够高， And if the temperatures and pressures are high enough,
它们甚至能击中原子核 they can even strike the nucleus
然后进入它，它们就可以撞击质子。 and enter it, and they can hit a proton.
把它们转化成更多的中子。 And when they do, they become converted into more neutrons.
所以，在这些物体的形成过程中 So, in the formation of one of these objects,
质子和电子消失了， the protons and electrons disappear,
剩下的几乎全是纯中子， and you're left with almost entirely pure neutrons,
没有什么能阻止他们挤在一起 with nothing to stop them from cramming together
填满整个棒球场 and filling up this entire baseball
中子导致了难以置信的高密度。 with neutrons leading to incredibly high densities.
现在，海量电子 With the sea of electrons
被原子核吸收了， now absorbed in the atomic nuclei,
星体中的物质现在挤得更紧了。 the matter in the stars can now press together a lot tighter.
将3亿吨质量的物质 It's like squeezing 300 million tons of mass
挤压成糖块大小。 into a single sugar cube.
当恒星崩塌时 As the star collapses,
大量的气体星核塌缩。 enormous amounts of gas fall towards the core.
核心体积小，但质量大。 The core is small in size, but huge in mass.
几十亿吨的气体从中反弹出来， Billions of tons of gas bounce off of it,
然后爆发成宇宙中 then erupt into the biggest fireworks display
最大的焰火表演…超新星爆发。 in the cosmos... A supernova.
如此巨大。 It's massive.
如此明亮。 It's bright.
如此壮观。 It's imposing.
在宇宙中，超新星爆发 Supernova are among the most dramatic events
是最引人注目的事件之一。 to happen in the universe.
一颗正在死去的恒星。。。 A single star dying...
一颗恒星的死亡。。。迸发出的光芒，比整个星系都耀眼夺目。 One star dying... Can outshine an entire galaxy.
这场灾难却诞生了 And arising out of this cataclysm,
一个新的，非常奇怪的宇宙天体。 a new and very strange cosmic entity.
最终，当超新星爆炸的烟雾散去， When the smoke finally clears from the supernova explosion,
只剩下一个最真实，最迷人的星体， you're left with one of the most real, fascinating,
它是整个宇宙中，不可思议的怪物。 unbelievable monsters of the entire universe.
人类目睹超新星爆发 Humans have been witnessing supernovas
已有数千年历史， for thousands of years,
然而，我们现在才明白 but we're only now just starting to understand
真正看到的是 what we've truly been witnessing...
中子星的诞生 The births of neutron stars.
当超新星变得又大又亮时 But while supernovas are big and bright,
中子星如此之小， neutron stars are small,
它们中的很多甚至不发光。 and many don't even give off light.
那么，宇宙中有多少中子星？ So, how many neutron stars are out there?
我们发现银河系中大约有2000颗中子星， We know of about 2,000 neutron stars in our galaxy,
但是，实际数量可能有许多，很多，非常多， but there probably are many, many, more.
我的意思是----仅银河系就有几千万颗 I'm talking about tens of millions in the milky way alone,
整个宇宙肯定有几十亿颗。 and certainly billions throughout the universe.
中子星可能很小，但也会自相残杀， Neutron stars may be small, but some give themselves away,
向宇宙中射出光束。。。 shooting beams across the universe...
脉冲频闪是无懈可击的宇宙灯塔。 Unmistakable, pulsing strobes of a cosmic lighthouse.
我们对中子星的认知日新月异。 Our knowledge of neutron stars is expanding fast.
早先，我们甚至不知道它们的存在 But we didn't even know they existed
直到50多年前的一个幸运发现。 until a lucky discovery just over 50 years ago.
剑桥，穆拉德无线电天文台， Cambridge, the Mullard radio observatory,
研究生Jocelyn Bell， Jocelyn bell, grad student,
操作新射电望远镜 operating the new radio telescope.
扫描天空，做各种很酷的天文工作 Scanning the sky, doing all sorts of cool astronomy stuff,
在数据中，看到她所说的“一个噪点” and sees what she calls "a bit of scruff" in the data.
这个噪点很短 This scruff is a short
但不断重复的爆发辐射 but constantly repeating burst of radiation
来自距地球1,000光年之外。 originating 1,000 light years from earth.
它是如此稳定和规律，让贝尔确信 It's so stable and regular that bell is convinced
她的望远镜有毛病。 there's a fault with her telescope.
她重新指向那片星空。 She returns to that spot,
找到一个重复的，有规律的信号 and finds a repeating, regular signal...
天空中不断向我们闪烁的一点， A single point in the sky that is flashing at us continually,
就像在和我们打招呼“嗨，你好，我在这。” saying "Hi. Hi. Hi."
闪电，闪电，闪电。 Blip, blip, blip.
砰，砰，砰。 Boom, boom, boom.
脉冲，脉冲，脉冲。 Pulse, pulse, pulse.
我们对宇宙一无所知， Nothing that we know of in the universe,
竟有如此稳定，时间间隔如此完美的脉冲。 has such a steady, perfectly-spaced in time, pulse.
一切看起来，都太完美了，肯定是人造的。 It seemed so perfect that it must have been artificial.
就像是人类有意为之。 It looks like someone is making that,
但事实证明，这不是来自一个人，而是来自一个星体。 but it turns out, it's not a person, but a thing.
她发现的星体，被称为“脉冲星”。 What she discovered was called a "pulsar."
脉冲星是一类快速旋转的 A pulsar is a type of rapidly spinning
中子星。 neutron star.
在20世纪30年代，中子星被天文界理论认定， Neutron stars had been theorized in the 1930s,
然而，科学家推测其太过微弱，无法察觉。 but were thought to be too faint to be detected.
学界预测了中子星的存在 Neutron stars were hypothesized to exist,
但没有认真对待。 but not really taken seriously.
只是一句，“哦，太可爱了。 It was just a, "oh, that's cute.
也许它们存在，但也许没有。” Maybe they're out there, but probably not."
监测到的脉冲信号 The signal bell detected
像是科幻小说里的东西。 seemed like something from science fiction.
以前没有人在天文学上见过， No one had ever seen this in astronomy before,
有些人甚至猜测这是外星人的广播信号。 and some people even speculated that it was an alien signal.
她甚至称它们为“小绿人信号” She even called them "LGM objects"...
“小绿人” "little green men."
然而，后来贝尔发现了第二个信号。 But then, bell found a second signal.
小绿人回到了虚构世界， Little green men went back to being fiction,
脉冲星成为科学事实。 and pulsars became science fact.
脉冲星的发现出人意料， The discovery of pulsars came out of the blue.
没人预见它的存在。 Nobody was expecting this.
因此，这是天文学界，一个惊人的突破。。。 So, it was an amazing breakthrough...
真的非常重要。 Really important.
脉冲星的脉冲，源自它们与生俱来的旋转。 Pulsars pulse because they are born to spin.
超新星爆发，使母星崩塌， They burst into life as their parent star collapses
它们就孕育其中。 during a supernova.
任何正在发生的爆发 Any object at all that is undergoing
任何类型的坍缩事件， any sort of compression event,
假设它有任何初始角动量， if it has any initial angular momentum at all,
最终会导致其旋转。 it will eventually end up spinning.
当恒星坍缩时，它旋转得越来越快。 As the star shrinks, it spins faster and faster.
它们旋转如此之快的源头，来自大质量恒星 They spin so quickly because the Earth-sized core
如地球大小的核心 of a massive star
坍塌成一个小城市。 collapsed to something as small as a city.
因此，星体的尺寸变小了 So, because the size of the object became so much smaller,
旋转的速度必定大幅增加。 the rate of spin had to increase by a tremendous amount.
中子星可以非常非常快地旋转。 Neutron stars can spin really, really, fast.
它们的表面移动得太快了。 Their surface is moving so fast.
在某些情况下，它在约20%的光速度下旋转。 It's moving at about 20% the speed of light, in some cases.
因此，如果你踏上中子星之旅 So, if you were to get on the neutron star ride...
没有孕妇，没有驼背，没有心脏病， No pregnant women, no bad backs, no heart issues,
在任何时候都要把胳膊和腿放在车内， keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times,
如若不然，它们立即就会消失。 because they are about to be obliterated.
当它们旋转时，会产生高能光束。 And as they spin, they generate flashing beams of energy.
这光束就像灯塔的光束。 This beam is like a lighthouse beam.
一秒钟内，你会看到，多次周期性闪光。 You see these periodic flashes many times per second.
因此，每次你看到它。。。光束，光束，光束。 So, every time you see it... Beam, beam, beam.
这些光束是脉冲星的名片。 These beams are the pulsar's calling card.
它们是由中子星内部的 They're generated by the elemental chaos
混乱元素产生。 raging inside a neutron star.
虽然这颗恒星主要是 Although the star is predominantly
一个中子球， a ball of neutrons,
地壳上散布着质子和电子， the crust is sprinkled with protons and electrons,
每秒旋转数百次， spinning hundreds of times a second,
产生难以置信的磁场。 generating an incredible magnetic field.
在这个强大的磁场中， And with this strong magnetic field,
产生强劲的电场 you can create strong electric fields.
电场和磁场 And the electric and magnetic fields
相互作用而产生辐射。 can work off of each other and become radiation.
这些中子星从它们的转轴上喷射出… These neutron stars send jets... Beams of radiation...
辐射光束。 Out of their spinning poles.
假设中子星的转轴没有对准 And if their spinning pole is misaligned,
如果稍有倾斜， if they're a little bit tilted,
这束光会画出贯穿宇宙的光圈。 this beam will make circles, across the universe.
如果我们进入其中一个光圈里 And if we're in the path of one of these circles,
我们会看到闪光…一次闪光。 we'll see a flash... A flash.
就像你在船上一样 Just like if you're on a ship,
在一个雾蒙蒙的夜晚你可以看到远处的灯塔， and you observe a distant lighthouse in a foggy night,
你可以在广阔的太空中看到脉冲星 you can see pulsars across the vast expanse of space
因为它们有非常强大的光束。 because they are immensely powerful beams of light.
然而有时，脉冲星受到外力的推动 But sometimes, pulsars get an extra push
这会助其加速旋转。 that accelerates the spin even more.
通过向它倾倒更多的物质， The way you make it spin even faster
是导致它旋转得更快的方法。 is by subsequently dumping more material onto it.
那叫做“吸积”，最终旋转得速度 That's called "accretion," and you end up spinning it up
比先前的转速还要快。 even faster than it was already spinning.
如恒星吸血鬼， Like stellar vampires,
脉冲星已经准备好吸取 pulsars are ready to suck the life
任何离其太近的星体生命。 out of any objects that stray too close.
重力把物质吸进来了， Gravity is bringing that material in,
任何旋转都会加速。 which means that any spin it has is accelerated.
它旋转得越来越快。 It spins faster and faster.
这些毫秒脉冲星 These millisecond pulsars
以每秒700转左右的速度旋转。 spin at around 700 revolutions per second.
他们是终极料理机。。。 They are the ultimate kitchen blender...
会砍，会切，甚至还会油炸。 They will chop, they will slice, they will even julienne fry.
那么，是什么阻止了中子星 So, what stops neutron stars
四分五裂？ from simply tearing themselves apart?
中子星是个奇异天体，引力大到不可思议 Neutron stars are incredibly exotic objects
巨大引力把它的物质束缚一起， with immense, immense forces that bind them together,
因此，它们可以保持 and so, they can be held rigid even against
难以置信的速度，急速旋转。 these incredibly fast rotation speeds.
中子星有着不可思议的强大引力 They have incredibly strong gravity,
即使转得飞快， and this is what allows them to hold together
也会让它的物质聚集在一起。 even though they're spinning around so fast.
转速快的难以想象。 The speed of the spin is hard to imagine.
地球的一天，有24小时。 On earth, a day is 24 hours long.
中子星的一天，只有七百分之一秒。 On a neutron star, it's a 700th of a second long.
超高速脉冲星，并非科学家们， Super-speeding pulsars are not the only weird stars
唯一关注的奇异恒星。 that scientists are coming to grips with.
还有另一种中子星， There is one other type of neutron star,
拥有宇宙中最强磁场。 that has the most powerful magnetic field in the universe.
这个磁力怪兽，被称之为“磁星”。 This magnetic monster is called a "magnetar."
观测脉冲中子星的天文学家 Astronomers monitoring pulsing neutron stars
注意到了一些非常奇怪的现象。 have noticed something very odd.
在极少数情况下，它们会突然加速。 On very rare occasions, they can suddenly speed up.
这很疯狂。 That's amazing.
我的意思是，你发现一个非常致密的天体， I mean, you've got this incredibly dense object,
突然间，它转得更快了。 and suddenly, it's spinning faster.
一瞬间…就发生了。 It happens... Instantly.
中子星突然改变频率。 They'll suddenly change frequency.
做到这一点需要惊人的能量。 It would take an amazing amount of power to do that.
怎么做到的？ What's doing it?
这些速度的突然变化，被称为“小差错”。 These sudden changes in speed are called "glitches."
一个导致这些小故障的主要原因 One leading idea for what causes these glitches
地核物质附着在外壳上， is that the core material latches onto the crust,
会影响它旋转的方式。 and this affects the way it can spin around.
地壳下多余的物质导致它裂开， Excess material beneath the crust cracks it open,
引起故障。 causing the glitch.
这个过程释放出大量的辐射， This process releases a tremendous amount of radiation,
一股X射线，重塑中子星的表面 a blast of x-rays, causes the face of the neutron star
改变旋转速度。 to rearrange itself, and for the rotation speed to change.
然而，还存在另一种解释。 But there's another possible explanation.
小差错也可能是由星震引起的。 Glitches could also be caused by starquakes.
有时，地壳会破裂。 Sometimes, the crust gets ruptured.
任何改变脉冲星几何结构的东西 Anything that basically changes the geometry of the pulsar
都会改变它旋转的速度。 can change the rate at which it spins.
那么，有什么力量 So, what could be powerful enough
足以引起中子星震呢？ to cause these starquakes?
确实不可思议， It's hard to believe
宇宙中有何种力量 that there's any force in the universe
承受巨大的引力 that could deform the matter inside of a neutron star,
致使中子星内部物质变形。 which is undergoing tremendous gravity.
但说到改变中子星， But when it comes to a neutron star,
有一种能量可以做到，那就是磁力。 if there's one thing that can do it, it's magnetism.
极端磁场 Extreme magnetic fields
会使恒星内部会变得扭曲 within the star can get so twisted
能把它们的外壳撕开。 they can rip the crust wide open.
因此，天体表面自我重组 And so, the surface can restructure itself,
不断重塑。 and constantly reshape.
仅仅一个中子星 And just a tiny reconfiguration
表面的微小重构， of the surface of a neutron star,
只有几毫米， on the order of a few millimeters,
就会伴随着巨大的能量释放。 would be associated with an enormous release of energy.
中子星的巨大引力 The neutron star's immense gravity
几乎是瞬间使恒星表面恢复平滑。 smooths over the star's surface almost instantaneously.
好像故障从来就没发生过。 It's like the glitch never happened.
当谈到中子星时， When it comes to neutron stars,
磁场的破坏是无止境的。 there is no end to magnetic mayhem.
在全球“最强磁场”比赛中 Meet the reigning champion
碰到卫冕冠军。。。 in the universal "strongest magnetic field" competition...
磁星。 The magnetar.
超新星爆发中形成的10颗中子星中 1 in 10 neutron stars formed during a supernova
至少有一颗会成为磁星。 becomes a magnetar.
磁星的情况，正如其名。。。 The thing about magnetars, as is implied in their name...
具有极强的磁场。 The magnetic field on them is so strong,
即使一个习惯用大数据的人 that even somebody who is used to using big numbers...
比如说，天文学家 Like, say, an astronomer...
还是有点敬畏这些天体。 Is still kind of in awe of these things.
磁星的磁场 Magnetars have a magnetic field
比地球强一千万亿倍。 one thousand trillion times stronger than that of earth's.
这么大的磁力会严重破坏 This amount of magnetism
任何接近它的东西。 will seriously mess up anything that comes close.
任何我们熟悉的普通天体， Any normal object that we are familiar with,
如果它接近磁星，就会被撕得粉碎。 if it got close to a magnetar, it would just be shredded.
任何运动的带电粒子， Any charged particle with any movement at all,
从它的原子中撕裂出来。 would just be torn from its atom.
这是一个疯狂的情景。 It would be just an insane situation.
磁星光彩夺目，但生命短暂。 Magnetars burn brightly, but their lives are brief.
我们推测磁星 We think magnetars...
这类强磁化的中子星。。。 These intensely magnetized neutron stars...
生命短暂。 Can only be really short-lived.
他们的磁场是如此强大 Their magnetic field is so powerful
它的能量，应该在短时间内衰减， that it should decay over very rapid time scales,
只运行几万年的时间。 only on the order of a few ten thousand years.
似乎是它的能量释放，导致了他们的崩溃。 It seems their very strength leads to their downfall.
磁场如此强大 That magnetic field is so strong
使它收集周围的物质，导致体积越来越大。 that it's picking up material around it, and accelerating it.
好吧，这种情况为它的旋转增添了阻力，减慢了速度。 Well, that acts like a drag, slowing it down.
所以，随着时间的推移，中子星的自转变慢。 So, over time, the spin of the neutron star slows,
磁场消失了。 and the magnetic field dies away.
在他们的生命中 During their lives,
磁星的运作方式与脉冲星大不相同。 magnetars operate very differently than pulsars.
它们没有光束。 They don't have beams.
它们的磁场射出 Their magnetic fields shoot out gigantic bursts
巨大的高能辐射。 of high-intensity radiation.
然而，最近天文学家发现了一颗中子星 But recently, astronomers have spotted one neutron star
很难归类。 that's hard to classify.
它的行为就像一个双重人格明星。《Jekyll and Hyde》是英国作家Stevenson的作品，讲述主角的两面人生，是一部脍炙人口的经典小说。 It behaves like a stellar Jekyll and Hyde.
这颗特殊的中子星，是一个很奇怪的例子。 So, this particular neutron star is a really weird example.
它的行为就像一颗无线电脉冲星 It behaves both like a radio pulsar,
同时，也是一颗高磁化的磁星。 and also a highly-magnetized magnetar.
拥有极强的磁场 It has the extreme magnetic fields,
不时磁暴， it can have these magnetic outbursts,
但它的两极 but it also has this strong jet of radiation
同样有强烈的辐射流。 coming out of its poles.
就像性格分裂。 It's almost like it has a split personality.
在2000年，第一次发现时 When first sighted in 2000,
这颗星在发射无线电波。。。 this star was emitting radio waves...
具有典型的脉冲星行为。 Typical pulsar behavior.
然后，16年后，它停止了脉冲 ， Then, 16 years later, it stopped pulsing,
突然发生巨大的X射线爆发。 and suddenly started sending out massive X-ray bursts...
磁星行为。 The actions of a magnetar.
科学家们感到困惑。 Scientists were baffled.
我们不知道，这是不是脉冲星变成了磁星， We don't know if this thing is a pulsar turning into a magnetar,
亦或是磁星变成脉冲星。 or a magnetar turning into a pulsar.
一种理论是----恒星磁场的突然扭曲， One theory is that these X-ray bursts happened
导致这些X射线爆发。 because the star's magnetic field suddenly twisted.
压力太大，中子星裂开了， The stress became so great, the star cracked wide open,
从破裂的地壳迸发出X射线。 releasing the X-rays from the fractured crust.
构成中子星的物质，是我们已知宇宙中， A neutron star is the densest material
密度最大的东西。 that we know of in the universe.
但是，我们已经看到了，现实中一些能让它 And yet, we've seen things
改变和分离的事物。 that actually make it shift and pull apart.
实际上，这颗中子星 This neutron star is actually ripping itself apart
在磁场的作用下，自我分裂。 under the forces of the magnetic field.
假如情况属实， If this is the case,
平静的中子星变成狂暴的磁星， placid neutron stars turn into raging magnetars,
不光彩地变老。 growing old disgracefully.
你想一个人的生命周期 When you think about the life cycle of a human being,
随着年龄的增长，似乎放慢了脚步。 we seem to kind of slow down over age,
归于平静。 become a little more calmer.
中子星的作用正好相反。 Neutron stars do the opposite.
当它们形成时， They can be spinning faster than they were
可以比以前旋转得更快， when they were formed,
随着时间的推移，磁场会变得更强。 and the magnetic field can get stronger over time.
这是一种反向老化过程。 It's sort of a reverse aging process.
但是，这些奇怪的变化是极其罕见的。 But these strange changes are extremely rare.
大多数脉冲星都是有规律的。 Most pulsars are as regular as clockwork.
通常，脉冲星异常规矩。 Pulsars are normally incredibly regular.
你可以把表，与它们的脉动时间同步。 You can literally set your watch to the timing of their pulse.
在未来的宇宙探索中 And it's this stability that we may use
我们可以利用这种稳定性。 in our future exploration of the universe.
如果你是星际飞船的船长， You know, if you're a starship captain,
你需要的是一个贯穿银河的GPS系统。 what you need is a galactic GPS system.
最终，中子星将是那个答案。 Well it turns out, neutron stars may be the answer.
天文学家经常比较 Astronomers often compare
旋转中子星的稳定闪光，被称为“脉冲星”， the steady flash of spinning neutron stars, called "pulsars,"
就像宇宙灯塔。 to cosmic lighthouses.
这些闪光不仅非常可靠， These flashes are not only remarkably reliable,
每个脉冲星都有自己独特的闪烁光束。 each pulsar has its very own distinct flickering beam.
每个脉冲星的频率都稍有不同。 Each one has a slightly different frequency.
每个脉冲星的速率都稍有不同。 Each one has a slightly different rate.
银河系的任何人，不管你在哪里 Anyone in the galaxy, no matter where you are,
所有人都知道这些脉冲星的位置吗？ can all agree on the positions of these pulsars.
脉冲星的独特特征 The unique signature of pulsars
为未来的太空旅行， opens up intriguing possibilities
提供了有趣可能性。 for the future of space travel.
我们基本上会用脉冲星 We would basically be using pulsars
对我们所处的位置进行三角定位。 to be able to sort of triangulate where we're at.
因为这些脉冲非常精确 And because those pulses are so precise,
我们可以用类似于 we can use that in a similar way that we use GPS satellites
地球上GPS卫星的方法。 that are stationed above the Earth.
用脉冲星作为导航工具 Using pulsars as navigational aids
不是什么新主意。 is not a new idea.
在20世纪70年代，它得到了美国宇航局 It was recognized by the NASA voyager mission
旅行者任务的认可。 in the 1970's.
太空船表面贴着 Affixed to the surface of those spacecraft
一面黄金记录板。 is a golden record.
脉冲星地图覆盖在记录板之上 And on the plate that covers that record
原则上可以告诉 is a pulsar map, which in principle could tell
先进的外星文明如何找到地球 an advanced alien civilization how to find earth,
因为它记录了，地球相对于 because it uses the position of earth
14个已知脉冲星的位置， relative to 14 known pulsars,
作为一种有效的三角测量方法 as, effectively, a way to triangulate
我们星球相对于 the position of our planet
所有这些脉冲星的位置。 relative to all of these pulsars.
外星人没有联系我们，但美国宇航局仍然使用脉冲星地图。 Aliens haven't made contact, but NASA still uses pulsar maps.
美国宇航局最近发射了一颗卫星 NASA recently launched a satellite
叫做“利基六分仪 ” called "nicer sextant"
安放在国际空间站上， that exists on the international space station,
被用来检验这些理论。 that is being used to test these types of theories.
他们用脉冲星来确定 They've used pulsars to figure out the location
以每小时17，000英里的速度 of an object orbiting around the Earth
绕地球运行物体的位置。 at 17,000 miles an hour,
他们将它的位置 and they were able to pinpoint its location
精确在三英里以内。 to within three miles.
太不可思议了。 That's pretty incredible.
通过比对它们相对于已知脉冲星的位置， By recognizing their position relative to known pulsars,
可以为未来的太空任务进行导航。 future space missions could navigate the universe.
中子星将带我们踏上这段不可思议的旅程。。。 Neutron stars are gonna take us on this incredible journey...
某些东西是必要的 Something as necessary
如：需要知道你在银河系的位置。 as knowing where you are in the galaxy.
我们可能在几百光年之外， We could be many hundreds of light years away,
中子星可以告诉我们 but neutron stars can actually show us
处在银河系的什么地方。 where in the milky way we are.
我读了很多科幻小说， I read a lot of science fiction,
我喜欢能去宇宙各地的想法 and I love the idea of being able to go
从恒星到恒星，从行星到行星。 from star to star, planet to planet.
在未来，这么想有点奇怪， It's kind of weird to think that, in the future,
建立一个银河坐标网格， as a galactic coordinate grid,
我们可能会使用这些巨大的原子钟， we might wind up using these gigantic atomic nuclei,
这些快速旋转的、奇怪的构造， these rapidly spinning, bizarrely-constructed,
磁性的，强烈引力的物体，例如中子星。 magnetic, fiercely gravitational objects like neutron stars.
自从被误认为是小绿人 Neutron stars have come a long way
中子星研究已经走过了很长的路。 since being mistaken for little green men.
曾被视为天文奇观， Once overlooked as astronomical oddities,
现在，它们已经成为真正的超级巨星。 they've now taken center stage as genuine stellar superstars.
中子星真正令人兴奋的是 What's really exciting about neutron stars is that,
我们正在研究它们。 we're at the beginning of studying them.
我们还没有得出结论。我们学到了很多， We're not at the conclusion. We've learned a lot,
但还有很多东西要学。 but there's a lot more to be learned.
从卑微的中子中如何产生最有力的， From the humble neutron comes the most powerful,
最快最强的磁场 the most rapid, the strongest magnetic field,
宇宙中最奇异的物体 the most exotic objects in the cosmos.
我喜欢凤凰涅盘的想法， I love the idea of a Phoenix,
从灰烬中重生。。 something actually rising from its own ashes.
你认为有些东西会死，这就是故事的结尾 You think something dies, and that's the end of the story,
但更美的是 but something even more beautiful,
更令人着迷的是，死后重生。 even more fascinating, comes afterwards.
我一开始就告诉过你，但你不相信我 I told you at the beginning, and you didn't believe me,
但现在，我希望你能知道。。。 but now, I hope you do...
中子星是宇宙中 Neutron stars are the most fascinating
最迷人的的天体。 astrophysical objects in the universe.