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大家好 Hello.
我是斯蒂芬·霍金 My name is Stephen Hawking
物理学家 宇宙学家 physicist, cosmologist
还可以说是一个梦想者 And something of a dreamer.
尽管我行动不便 说话要借助电脑 Although I can not move and I have to speak through a computer.
但在精神世界中 我是自由的 In my mind, I am free.
自由地去探索宇宙 并提出一些难解之谜 free to explore the universe and ask the big questions.
比如 外星人真的存在吗 Such as do aliens exist?
如若存在 他们可能在哪里栖身呢 If so, where could they be found?
他们长什么样子 他们的身体由什么构成 What do they look like? What are they made of?
它们也是智能生命吗 Are they intelligent?
还有如果他们真的现身 And if we met them,
这对人类又将意味着什么呢 what would it mean for humankind?
一起去探索吧 Check it out.
与霍金一起探索宇宙 外星人
无论我到哪里 Wherever I go in the world,
人们总喜欢问 外星人真的存在吗 people ask me, do aliens exist
这问题问得好 it's a good question,
因为它直接关系到我们在宇宙中的地位 because it cuts to the heart of how we see our place in the universe.
浩渺宇宙 地球是唯一存在生物的星球吗 Are we alone on our small, round, blue ball?
我想不会 这基于一个重要的事实 I think probably not, because of one fact.
宇宙浩瀚 无边无垠 The universe is big... really big.
我们的星球不过是太阳系八大行星之一 Our planet is just one of eight in orbit around our sun
作为两千亿颗星星中的一枚 Which itself is hardly special,
地球实在说不上特别 being one of about 200 billion stars in a vast spare
我们所在的星系 银河系 Our galaxy, the milky way.
它是如此庞大 以至于我时常觉得它深不可测 It's so big, some days I find it hard to comprehend.
但即使如此浩瀚的银河系 But even the milky way
也不过是苍茫宇宙中的一粟 is just a tiny drop in a cosmic ocean
也不过是千万亿星系所编织成的 just one of 100 billion galaxies formed into
向四面八方张开的巨网中的一点 an enormous web stretching away in all directions.
在这一画面中 每个亮点都是一个星系 At this scale, each point of light is an entire galaxy,
这不仅让我们清楚地看到自己的渺小 which not only puts our little world in perspective
更让我们难以相信自己真的是唯一的存在 but also makes it difficult to believe we really are alone.
从数学逻辑看来 单是如此巨大的数字 So to my mathematical brain, the numbers alone
就足以使外星生物的存在不是无稽之谈 make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
真正的难题在于 如何获悉 The real challenge is to try and work out
住在遥远外太空的生物 究竟长什么样子 what aliens might actually be like, living on some far-off world.
这有无限可能 也引人无限遐想 the possibilities are infinite and infinitely intriguing.
翻译：取子小Q 化石鱼 yank121 amira
校对：阿橙 时间轴：Ghost
后期：鱼骨头 总监：阿橙
外星生物可能还在进化初期 Alien life could range from simple,
如一些沿石壁流下的绿色粘液 green slime that doesn't do much but drip
也可能是相当高等的动物 例如啮齿类动物 to more advanced animals something with a bit more bite.
但当然 这不过是最初的猜想 But, of course, that's just the start of what could be out here.
在如此浩瀚的宇宙中 In such a massive universe,
我们自然会想 是否有智能生物存在 it's logical to wonder if there are intelligent beings,
或许还有科幻片里描绘的外星文明 perhaps even civilizations like those in science-fiction TV shows and movies.
《星球大战》与《星际迷航》 这两部我最爱的电影 "Star Wars" and "Star Trek," two of my personal favorites,
或许远比我们的想象更贴近现实 may be closer to reality than we think.
至少很可能拥有相似的情节 Similar scenarios are at least conceivable.
但若深思 这其实也大大缩小了现实的可能 But think about it more, and even this is limiting the options.
他们可能外表太过稀奇古怪 There could be life forms so strange
以至我们都认不出那是生物 we wouldn't even recognize them as life.
亦或许他们习性奇特 居然生存在恒星的内部 Perhaps there are really exotic creatures that live in center of stars
他们甚至可能是像宇宙尘埃一般的 or even huge communities of microorganisms
庞大的微生物群落 that look like clouds of cosmic dust.
也许外星生物的生命如此短暂 Maybe aliens live and die so fast
由生到死 不过转瞬 that they come and go in the blink of an eye.
总之在如此浩瀚的宇宙中 存在着无尽可能 So in such a vast universe with so many possibilities,
我们如何知晓要寻找的究竟为何物 how do we know what to look for or,
更何况 又该从何入手呢 for that matter, where to look for it?
一切都要回到人类起源之处去探寻 The answer is right back where we began.
我们所需的线索 都在地球之上 The information we need is here at home,
只因为唯有此地孕育着为人所知的生命 for the simple reason that home harbors the only known examples of life.
物理学法则似乎放之四海而皆准 The laws of physics appear to be the same everywhere,
以此类推 生命法则也应如是 So it follows that the laws of life should be universal, too.
即使细枝末节或有不同 Even if the detail is different,
我们可将地球上生物 We can use life on earth
作为一本了解外星生命的指南手册 as a kind of alien hunters' handbook.
来引导我们了解生命本质及其机理 A field guide to what life actually is, and how it works
无论它起源于何处 no matter where it occurs.
第一章 生物起源 Chapter one in our particular case
要将我们带回450万年前 takes us back to 4.5 million years.
当时的地球 初生不久 to when the earth was really quite young.
生命的起源至今仍是未解之谜 Exactly what triggered life here is still a mystery
但也有不少理论 but there are several theories.
最常见的理论认为生命的起源完全是巧合 The most common one is that life began purely by accident.
起源于原始汤的水池里 In pools of primodial soup,
原始汤:生命起源和演化所需的原始环境
富含名为氨基酸的化学物质 full of chemicals called amino acids
数百万年来 这些分子不断地随机碰撞 These molecules would have collided at random for millions of years
直到一次完美地化合反应发生 until the perfect combination just happened
这次幸运之极的碰撞 开启了生物起源之门 the ultimate lucky break that started the chain of life.
生命的自发产生 乍看之下让人难以置信 It is extremely unlikely that life could spontaneously create itself.
但在这一理论中 这却并非不可能之事 But I don't think that's a problem with this theory.
就像是中彩票 It's like winning a lottery.
虽然概率微小 但几乎每周都有人中头彩 with the odds are astro-nomical most weeks someone hits the jackpot.
另一种有趣的理论 被称为"有生源说" But there is another intriguing idea called "panspermia,"
称生命可能起源于其它地方 which says that life could have originated somewhere else ..
被传播到各个行星 and it's been spread from planet to planet
载体就是小行星 by asteroids.
小行星内部似乎可以携带被冰冻的微生物 It seems possible that lumps of rock could carry frozen organisms inside them
能够忍受极端的温度和真空条件的微生物 organisms able to with stand extremes of temperature and the vacuum of space.
若真如此 小行星现在依然 If so, asteroids could even now
能够作为行星间生物传播的载体 be transporting life to other worlds.
无论哪一种理论是对的 Regardless of which theory is right,
生命一旦出现 我们便进入了下一章 once life begins, the next chapter starts.
物竞天择 适者生存 That's all about survival.
它将你我还有外星人联系在一起 survival links you me and ET
并且演变出了一套自己的法则 and it generates rules all of its own.
生存需要能量 即食物来维持 Survival demands a source of energy what we call food,
否则生命便会慢慢消亡 or else it would grind to a halt.
一旦有了养料 生物便开始了繁殖 Once nourished, life can then copy itself to
来抵御种族的灭亡 protect against the death of any one individual.
最终 这导致了进化 Ultimately, that leads to evolution
这种进化即使在其它星球同样可能发生 evolution that would happen even on alien worlds,
在某些情形下 producing, in some instances,
产生的动物我认为我们可以称之为生命 animals that I think we would recognize as being alive,
即便它们看起来有些奇怪 even if they look a bit strange.
因此 我们寻找外星人的下一步 So, the next step on our alien hunt is
是找一个地方 或几个地方 to find a place, or places,
上面的生物可以找到食物 繁衍进化 where organisms might find food and replicate and evolve.
我们都知道 这需要一点 And as far as we know, that requires one thing.
和大多数人一样 我觉得水很美很神奇 Like most people, I find water both beautiful and fascinating.
同时它也是所有已知的生命形式的关键 But it's also the key to all known forms of life,
从细菌到蓝鲸 from bacteria to blue whales.
如果在外星球上找到水 Find water elsewhere
那附近就可能存在外星生命 and aliens could exist nearby.
好消息是 水在外太空中确实很常见 The good news is that water is very common indeed out in space.
固态水散布在整个宇宙中 Frozen water litters the universe,
从微小的单晶 到山那么大的冰态彗星 from tiny, single crystals to icy comets the size of mountains.
但是要想找到液态水 必须找到合适的温度 But to find liquid water, we need somewhere at the right temperature.
每颗恒星周围都有一个区域 Around every star is a region where it's
既不太冷也不太热 而是刚好合适 not too hot or too cold, but just right.
像《金发姑娘与三只熊》中的麦片粥一样 Like the porridge in the story of goldilocks and the three bears.
金发姑娘喝道第三碗刚好喝饱
在我们太阳周围 有两颗行星 Around our sun, there are two planets
就位于这个"金发姑娘"地带 that lie in this "goldilocks" zone --
地球和火星 the earth and Mars,
因此我确信我们迟早会去拜访火星 which is why one day I'm sure we'll pay it a visit.
从70年代开始就有机器人探索火星 Robots have been exploring mars since the '70s,
但是它们还未发现生命 but they have yet to find life.
我不认为我们该放弃 I don't think we should give up.
在火星表面之下 Beneath the martian surface,
美国国家宇航局的勇气号发现了这些白盐 NASA's Spirit Rover discovered these white salts
它们的形成与液态水有关 which are formed in contact with liquid water.
卫星照片显示出有水系构型 Satellite images reveal drainage patterns
以及由河流和海洋冲蚀后的痕迹 and erosion of the kinds caused by rivers and oceans.
火星表面以下很有可能仍有液态水 There may well still be moisture under Mars' surface --
这些液态水也许足以维持生命 moisture that perhaps could support life.
我希望有一天能有足够的资金送人们上火星 I hope one day we will find the money to send men and women to Mars.
这足以吸引公众的眼球 It would capture the public's imagination just as the
就像60年代阿波罗登月吸引我眼球一样 Apollo moon missions captured mine back in the '60s.
如果他们找到哪怕只是几种火星微生物 If they found even a few martian microbes,
在我看来 in my opinion,
这将成为有史以来最令人振奋的发现之一 it would be one of the most exciting discoveries ever made.
但是即便火星没有生命 But even if mars is barren,
仍可以在其它星球寻找液态水 there are other places to look for liquid water.
其中一处距离火星仅有3万千英里远 One of them lies a mere 30 million miles from Mars.
就在大行星木星的一个小而神秘的卫星上 On a small, mysterious moon that orbits the giant planet Jupiter.
这就是木卫二 This is Europa.
木卫二非常小 直径不到2千英里 Europa is tiny -- just under 2,000 miles in diameter
而且非常冷 仅有零下260度 and it's very cold -- minus 260 degrees.
整个卫星被大约15英里厚的冰层覆盖着 The entire moon is covered in a layer of ice perhaps 15 miles thick.
但是木卫二地表以下可能隐藏着一个热源 But Europa may have a hidden heat source beneath the surface.
木卫二每3.6天就围绕木星转一圈 Europa orbits Jupiter once every 3.6 days,
其轨道呈鸡蛋形状 in an egg-shaped path.
木星对其的引力不断变化 The gravitational pull from Jupiter changes constantly,
不断拉伸然后挤压木卫二 stretching, then compressing europa.
这过程就像揉捏一块粘土 This process is like kneading a piece of clay
使其变得又热又暖 to make it warm and soft,
所产生的热量也许足够融化冰层的底层 and the heat produced may be enough to melt the underside of the ice sheet.
从而产生一个隐蔽的液态水的海洋 creating a hidden ocean of liquid water protected
由上面覆盖着厚厚的冰层保护着与真空隔绝 from the vacuum of space by the solid ice above.
若真如此 那里可能有生命存在 If so, there could be aliens living here --
进化得足以适应这种黑暗和古老的水世界 creatures that have evolved to exploit this dark and ancient water world.
我认为甚至可能想象得出它们的体征 I think it's even reasonable to guess at some of their physical features.
那里的生命可能和我们的海洋生物一样游泳 Aliens here would probably swim in a similar way to our own ocean life,
因为液态水在哪里都是一样的 since liquid water is the same stuff everywhere.
它们可能用其外表的化学物质自己发光 They might use chemicals in their skin to generate their own light,
就像地球上的很多深海生物一样 as many deep-sea creatures do back home.
它们甚至可能像鱼群一样群居 They might even swim in school-like colonies,
就像地球上的水生物一样 just as aquatic animals do on earth.
但是即使木卫二内部真有高等动物存在 But even if advanced animals do live inside Europa,
我认为它们在短期内不会尝试与我们联系 I think they're unlikely to be trying to make contact with us anytime soon.
它们被紧紧包裹在15英里厚的冰层下 They'd exist cocooned in an icy shell 15 miles thick,
所以它们意识不到宇宙的存在 无忧无虑 so they'd be blissfully unaware of the universe beyond.
要找到它们 我们得派遣飞船来这里 To find them, we'd need to send a mission here,
这将比访问火星更加冒险而昂贵 which would be even more risky and expensive than visiting Mars.
我希望有一天我们能够揭开木卫二的秘密 I hope one day we will discover Europa's secrets.
但在那之前 我们仍值得继续 But before then, it's worth continuing our journey
以更宽的视野探索外星生命 to search for aliens with a wider outlook.
我认为我们需要离开太阳系 I think we need to leave our solar system and
探索在那之外的广袤星空 voyage into the vastness that lies beyond.
宇宙中有无数颗恒星在我们周围 但直到现在 Stars surround us in the universe, but until recently,
也没人知道究竟有多少恒星拥有行星 no one knew how many had planets in orbit around them,
更不用说有多少行星上面可能存在生命 let alone if any of those planets could support alien life.
弄清这些很困难 因为恒星很大很耀眼 Finding out is tough, because stars are big and blindingly bright.
而行星很小很暗淡 Planets are tiny and dark.
观测它们需要巨大倍数的望远镜技术 Spotting them requires technology on an enormous scale.
夏威夷的Keck双筒望远镜 The binocular keck telescope in Hawaii,
每个镜头有30英尺长 with its twin 30-foot mirrors,
这是迄今为止陆地上最强大的望远镜之一 is one of the most powerful land-based telescopes ever built.
但即使是这个强大的家伙也看不到遥远的行星 But even this vast machine can't see distant planets.
然而 它可以观测到一些飘摇不定的恒星 Instead, it looks for stars that wobble
这种迹象标明有颗看不见的行星围绕着它 -- the telltale sign of an unseen planet in orbit.
链球运动员就能解释这个原理 A hammer thrower demonstrates the principle.
当他旋转时 链球拽着他的身体 As he spins, the hammer pulls on his body
他从一侧摇晃到另一侧 and he wobbles from side to side.
同样事情也会发生在被行星围绕着的恒星上 The same thing happens as a planet swings 'round its star.
行星如果运行到其恒星与地球之间 也会现身 Planets also reveal themselves if they pass between their star and us.
行星可导致恒星规律的变暗 The planet causes regular dimming,
通过计时 我们甚至可以计算出 and from the timing, we can even determine
它是否在恒星的"金发姑娘"地带内 if it's inside the star's "goldilocks" zone.
第一个遥远的行星发现于1995年 The first distant planet was discovered in 1995.
从那以后 又发现了上百个 Since then, hundreds more have been found.
我认为这些都是相当令人兴奋的发现 This, I think, is a pretty exciting discovery.
这可能会是一个重大的突破 It could be an coverage of a major break through.
这会让我们重新界定我们的宇宙生命观 One that will both redefine our view of life in the universe
也会是科学真正的成功 and be a real triumph for science itself.
在外太空的某处 或许并不远 Somewhere out there, perhaps not so far away,
有一颗类似于地球的岩态行星 is a rocky planet a bit like earth,
一颗拥有液态水的行星 a planet with liquid water,
而生命就在那里起源 where life has begun.
由于适者生存的进化作用 Due to the power of evolution,
这里的外星人可能看上去非常的熟悉 aliens here might be surprisingly familiar,
即便它们最初看起来很不一样 even if, at first, they seem anything but.
例如 外星人需要一个进食口进食 Aliens that eat, for example, need an input orifice,
或者 也就是我们所说的 一张嘴 or, as most people say, a mouth.
同样 如果他们生活在固态地表的话 Likewise, if they live on a solid surface,
他们很可能是有下肢的 they'll probably have legs.
下肢的具体情况可能会有所不同 The detail might be different,
但在陆地上行动 下肢还是非常有用的 but legs are good things to have on land,
特别是在动物攀爬峭壁的时候 especially if the animal is clinging to the side of a cliff.
如果行星上光线较好 If the planet is well-lit,
那么拥有眼睛就几乎是肯定的 eyes are almost guaranteed.
眼睛使生物能够准确地觉察所处的环境 They let a creature accurately sense its environment.
就连眼睛的位置也会遵循与地球上一样的规则 Even the position of the eyes will follow the same rules as on earth.
被捕食类动物的眼睛倾向于长在头的两侧 Prey animals tend to have eyes on either side of their head,
使得它们能够防备食肉动物的袭击 allowing them to look out for predators.
食肉动物 即使是外星食肉动物 Predators, even alien ones,
也需要前视的眼睛以精确的判断距离 need forward-facing eyes to accurately judge distance
这是捕猎时的一种重要技能 -- an essential skill when hunting.
由于进化的普遍作用 Alien struggles of life and death are probably happening right now,
外星人现在或许正在生死搏斗 thanks to the universal power of evolution.
但在我看来 进化是如此的非同寻常 But in my opinion, evolution is so remarkable,
我们并不能真正地确定它的极限 we can't really be sure of its ultimate limits.
类似地球的行星或秘密的海洋 Life-forms on earthlike planets or in hidden oceans
并非生命存在形式的唯一可能 are not the only options.
我们可以更进一步地进入宇宙深处 We can go even further into the depths of the universe
来寻找其他种类的外星人 in search of other kinds of aliens,
与我们完全不同的外星人 extraterrestrials that are totally unlike us,
我们所不了解的生命形式 life but not as we know it.
与霍金一起了解宇宙 《外星人》
我认为我是个乐观主义者 I like to think of myself as an optimist,
对我们广阔古老而又拥有无数星系的宇宙 and so in our vast, ancient universe,
也同样乐观 with its countless galaxies.
几乎任何物理上可能的生命形式 Almost any life-form that is physically possible
都可能在某处存在着 is likely to exist somewhere.
所以它们可能 或许更应该是非常怪异的 So they could be, perhaps shoul be really bizarre aliens
遵循着不同的进化途径 that followed a different evolutionary path.
这便是依赖于其他化学物质 aliens that don't depend on water,
而不依赖水的外星人 but on other chemicals instead.
氮气是一种可能 Nitrogen is one possibility.
在地球上这是一种气体 It's a gas on earth,
但当温度极低时 它便能以液态形式存在 but it can exist as a liquid when it's very, very cold,
华氏零下三百二十度时 minus 320 degrees fahrenheit.
是否会存在一个被冰封海岸所包围的 So, is there a world of nitrogen oceans,
液态氮海洋世界呢 lapping frozen shores,
那里的外星人在人类无法生存的温度下进化 where aliens have evolved in temperatures that would kill a human instantly?
这里生物需要的化学物质与我们完全不同 Life here would need chemistry very different than our own
一种构成我们身体的 寒冷天气的混合成分 - a cold-weather remix of the ingredients that make us.
第一种成分 当然是水 Ingredient number one, of course, is water.
男性身体平均拥有八加仑的水 The average male holds 8 gallons.
所以 让我们来将水换成液氮 So, let's swap water for liquid nitrogen.
另外还有两磅的磷 There's also about 2 pounds of phosphorus,
半磅的盐 half a pound of salt,
足以打出一颗钉子来的铁 enough iron to make a nail,
三磅的石灰 3 pounds of lime,
十五种也许同样会在 15 trace elements,
外星人体内起作用的微量元素 which might also work in alien biology,
接着是这个 四十五磅的碳 And then, this. Carbon, 45 pounds of it.
但如果碳被其他的物质换掉了又会怎样呢 But what if carbon was switched with something else?
或许是硅 Silicon, perhaps.
硅的特性与碳有稍许的不同 Silicon has slightly different properties,
但却可以起到相同的作用 but it could do the same job.
由于成分的恰当组合 With the right ingredients,
极端低温生物便成了可能 ultra-low-temperature life might be possible.
果真如此 那么将极其缺乏能量 If so, I think energy would be scarce,
所以这里的生物将会移动的非常缓慢 so things around here would move very slowly.
其他的可能性就更加怪异了 Other possibilities are even stranger.
天文学家们对遥远行星的探索已经发现 The astronomers searching for far-off planets have discovered
许多行星似乎都是巨大的气体行星 that many seem to be giant gas plantets.
就像我们的木星和土星 Like our own Jupiter and Saturn.
或许是会有由气体形成的外星人的 Perhaps there are aliens made of gas.
这里生活的外星人需要消耗一些物质 Aliens living here would need to consume something.
我猜想它们能够利用 I imagine they could use
时常在这些行星上爆发的闪电风暴的能量 the power of lightning storms that constantly rage on planets like these.
如果这种极端的生命形式是可能的 If such extreme life-forms are possible,
那么存在于宇宙其他地方的生命 then life elsewhere in the universe
将会是非常普遍的 could be very common, indeed.
处于恒星的"金发姑娘"区域之外的行星 There are certainly many more planets that fall outside
当然要比处于其内的行星多很多 the "goldilocks" regions of stars than fall inside them.
突然间你会发现 It suddenly seems like
似乎你所看到的所有地方都有生命的存在 there could be life nearly everywhere you look.
但是 从根本上讲 But, ultimately,
我认为外星人由什么构成并不重要 I think it doesn't really matter what aliens are made of.
对我来说 它们能做些什么才是重要的 To me, it's what they can do that counts.
它们也会研究宇宙吗 Are they thinking about the cosmos, too,
也会像我们一样去探索宇宙的秘密吗 trying to unlock its secrets just as we are?
总而言之 外星生物是否同我们一样 In short, has alien life evolved as we have
已进化成了智能生物 and developed intelligence?
与霍金一起了解宇宙 《外星人》
如果宇宙中充满了智慧的地外文明外星人 If the universe is full of intelligent, spacefaring aliens,
那我觉得它们中至少有一些会对我们感兴趣 I think at least some of them might be interested in us.
但愿只是好奇 If only as a curiosity.
当然 很多人相信它们已经来过地球 Of course, many people believe they are already here.
外星人绑架的故事 Tales of alien abduction have been common
在五十年代我读大学时就已经非常常见了 ever since I was an undergraduate in the 1950s.
我也看了所有的这些"B"级电影 And I watched all those "B" movies, too.
故事情节总是千篇一律 The story always goes the same
深夜 一个人独自行驶在安静的小路上 a lone individual on a quiet road at night
恰巧不小心绕错了弯 迷了路 happens to take an unscheduled detour and finds himself lost.
听到这种故事的时候我总是很怀疑 I'm always a bit suspicious when I hear these tales.
我会从外星人的视角来审视这个故事 Look at it from the aliens' point of view.
它们乘坐高科技飞船 跨越广袤的宇宙 What's the point of crossing vast tracts of the universe in a high-tech ship
就只为了劫持几个地球人吗 just to abduct some lone earthling?
我认为 若外星人到来 In my opinion, if aliens are here,
理应伴有铺天盖地的新闻报道 I suspect the newspapers would be full of the story.
如果政府也参与了掩盖事实真相 And if governments are involved in their cover-up,
这绝对是他们有史以来最成功的掩盖计划 they're doing a much better job at it than they seem to do at anything else.
缺少与外星人接触引发了一个严肃的科学问题 So, the lack of alien contact raises a serious scientific problem.
外星人究竟在哪里 Where is everybody?
我们探测宇宙中的声音已长达四十年之久 We've been listening to space for over 40 years.
但在这期间 我们一无所获 And in all that time, we've picked up nothing.
除了仅有的一次神秘事件 Well, except for one mysterious occasion.
1977年8月16日 On August 16, 1977,
美国俄亥俄州一台无线电望远镜 a radio telescope in Ohio
捕捉到一组日后闻名世界的信号 picked up a signal that became famous.
该望远镜随着地球的转动 The telescope listened to space by
搜索外太空以探测来自宇宙的声音 scanning the skies as the earth rotated.
仅一次 它记录下一组激动人心的信号 And just once, it recorded a signal that got everyone excited,
也就是人们所熟知的wow信号 the "wow!" signal, as it became known.
信号显示了一阵稳定的无线电波来源 The signal was a steady source of radio waves,
正是外星人可能发送的讯息类型 just the kind an alien race might send,
因为它从宇宙浩大的信息量中脱颖而出 because it stands out from the radio static that fills the universe.
电脑以六个字母和数字记录下了这组信号 A computer recorded the signal as six letters and numbers.
天文学家杰里·艾汉看过数据后 Astronomer Jerry Ehman saw the data
在页面边缘写下一个词 and wrote one word in the margin.
艾汉和他的同事们不断地搜寻这一片天空 Ehman and others subsequently searched the same patch of sky many times
但却空手而归 But found nothing.
wow信号消失了 The "wow!" signal had vanished.
整个神秘事件揭示了 The whole mysterious episode reveals that making contact
用无线电与外星人取得联系的难度巨大 with aliens via radio is always going to be difficult.
在浩瀚的宇宙中 In such a vast universe,
信息需要许久才能抵达目的地 messages take a long time to reach their destination.
wow信号似乎来自一个200光年外的星系 The "wow" signal appeared to come from a star system 200 light years away.
所以这信号历经至少200年才传到地球 So it took at least 200 years to reach us.
我们倘若回复 将耗费又一个200年传去信号 If we sent a reply, it would take another 200 years to reach them,
时至那时 它们也许已经忘记曾发送过信号 by which time they might have forgotten they sent anything
并早已放弃了等候回音 and stopped listening for a reply.
更糟的话 它们也许已经与此期间自我毁灭了 Worse, they might well have destroyed themselves in the meantime.
人类在短时间内就发现了原子弹的威力 The human race very quickly discovered the power of the atom bomb.
如果智能外星人也有类似的发现 If the same holds for intelligent aliens,
他们也许活不长久 then they might not last long.
也许他们在发现E=mc²不久后 Perhaps they all blow themselves up soon after
就已毁灭了自己 they discover that "E" equals "mc" squared.
如果文明要历经百万年才能形成 If civilizations take billions of years to evolve
毁于一旦只是瞬间的事情 only to vanish virtually overnight,
很遗憾 我们几乎不可能听到来自他们的消息 then, sadly, we've next to no chance of hearing from them.
他们的空间和时间对我们而言都太遥不可及 They are simply too far away in space and time to reach.
但也有最后一种可能: But there is one last possibility
有效避免了自我毁灭的外星人 -- that aliens who have avoided destroying themselves
正大张旗鼓地占领宇宙 are already colonizing the universe.
为了寻找高等外星生物人类只有两种选择 The human race has only two options when it comes to looking for advanced aliens.
静静倾听 抑或更主动一些 We can listen, or we can be more active
向宇宙发布我们与外星人交流的期待 and broadcast our willingness to talk.
我们必须谨慎考虑将要说的话 We'd have to think very carefully about what we might say.
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我认为这有些过于冒险 I think this might be just a little too risky.
我们看看自己就能明白 We only have to look at ourselves to see
智能生物已达到的发达程度 也许还是不见为妙 how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.
我们人类已经掌握了控制自身进化的技术 We humans are already capable of manipulating the course of our own evolution.
假设 高级外星人也具备相同能力 Exactly the same, presumably, would be true of advanced extraterrestrials.
他们也许最终能够停止衰老 甚至长生不老 Ultimately, they could halt aging and become virtually immortal.
不仅如此 What's more,
他们可能早在百万年前就已达到这种水平 they might have reached that point millions of years ago.
这听起来也许有些耸人听闻 It might sound unlikely,
但如果按逻辑推理一下 but if you think about it logically,
就能想到 外星人的技术 alien technology should be
绝不会逊色于我们从山顶洞人发展到制造火箭 as extraordinary to us as a rocket ship to a caveman.
我觉得他们耗尽了自己星球的所有能源后 I imagine they might exist in massive ships like these,
可能生活于这样的大型飞船中 having used up all the resources from the home planet below.
此类高等外星生物也许会成为游牧物种 Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads
伺机征服并掌控任何能够达到的星球 looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.
当真如此 也难怪他们会寻找新的星球 If so, it makes sense for them to exploit each new planet for
搜集更多搭建飞船的材料以维持航行 materials to build more spaceships so they could move on.
谁知道有什么阻挡得了他们 Who knows what the limits would be?
也许他们的能力只会 Perhaps their capabilities would only be limited
受到所掌控能源多少的限制 by how much power they could harness and control.
那有可能远远超出我们的预料 And that could be far more than we might first imagine.
比如 也不无可能从一整颗恒星上收集能量 For example, it might be possible to collect the energy from an entire star.
为此 他们可以在太空中安置无数面镜子 To do that, they could deploy millions of mirrors in space,
环绕整座太阳 并将其能量汇集到一处 encircling the whole sun and feeding the power to one single collection point.
如此惊人的能量也许能够 Such power might make it possible
改变时空结构 to walk the very fabric of space
并形成一个虫洞[时空隧道] and create a portal called a wormhole.
这条通道会成为一条捷径 This portal would act like a shortcut,
让外星人能在瞬间穿越漫长的距离 allowing them to travel huge distances in the blink of an eye.
像我们一样 他们也许也是从 Like us, they would probably have evolved from
开采周围一切能源的物种进化而来 a species used to exploiting whatever it can.
如果外星人有朝一日前来拜访我们 So, if aliens ever visit us, I think
我认为结局会非常类似 the outcome would be much as when
克里斯多弗·哥伦布初次登陆美洲 Christopher Columbus first landed in America,
众所周知 那对美洲原住民是一次灾难 which didn't turn out very well for the native americans.
始于寻找外天外水源的外太空之旅 So the journey that started with the search for water has
我们已经进入了一个可能存在的遥远世界 led us to far-off worlds that I think probably do exist.
在如此浩瀚的宇宙中 In such a massive place as the cosmos,
我们只要看看自己就足以证明 we only have to look at ourselves for proof that
最不可能发生的事情随时都能发生 extremely unlikely things can and do happen all the time.
让我们祈祷 如若外星人找到我们 Let's just hope that if aliens do find us,
他们是为和平共处而来 they'll come in peace.