好英语网小望远镜的大发现
A small telescope, no bigger nor more powerful than a high-end digital camera, has helped researchers discover two new planets, both similar in makeup to the gas giant Jupiter.
一架在体积和功能上都与高端数码相机相当的小型望远镜帮助研究者发现了两颗新行星，这两颗行星在组成上都和巨型气体行星木星类似。
One, named KELT-2Ab, is unique because it is near a very bright star. The bright light from the star will help researchers understand the atmosphere of the planet, said Thomas G. Beatty, an astronomer at Ohio State University who was involved in the research. “It’s the only way to really understand a planet’s interiors and exteriors,” he said. “We can get enough of a signal from the light that goes through or reflects off the planet.”
其中一颗行星被命名为KELT-2Ab，它的独特之处在于它临近一颗非常明亮的恒星。参与此研究的俄亥俄州立大学(Ohio State University)天文学家托马斯·G·比提(Thomas G. Beatty)说，来自恒星的强光能够帮助研究者了解行星上的大气。“这是真正了解一个行星的内部和外部的唯一方式，”他说，“不论是穿过该行星的光线，还是从该行星反射出的光线，我们都可以从中获得足够的信号。”
绘制的KELT-1b图像。它的质量是土星的30倍。
The second planet, called KELT-1b, is about 30 times the mass of Jupiter. It is so massive that it is being designated a brown dwarf, a category reserved for bodies “too heavy to be planets but not heavy enough to be stars,” Mr. Beatty said.
第二个行星被命名为KELT-1b。它的质量是木星的30倍。比提说，由于质量巨大，它被认定为褐矮星，这是一类“质量超过了行星但又不足以成为恒星”的天体。
KELT-1b is so close to its star that a year for the planet is just 29 hours, Mr. Beatty said.
比提还说，KELT-1b和它的恒星之间的距离很近，该行星的一年只相当于地球上的29个小时。
KELT-1b is about 825 light-years from Earth, KELT-2Ab about 360. Each planet receives thousands of times more sunlight from its star than the Earth does from the Sun, Mr. Beatty said.The researchers identified the planets using the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope, or KELT, housed at Winer Observatory, near Sonoita, Ariz., which cost less than $75,000 to build. The most expensive telescopes in the world cost billions of dollars, Mr. Beatty said.
KELT-1b距离地球大约825光年，KELT-2Ab距离地球约360光年。比提说，每颗行星从临近的恒星获得的光是地球从太阳获得的阳光的数千倍。研究者使用Kilodegree极小望远镜(KELT)识别了这两颗行星，该望远镜位于亚利桑那州索诺伊塔(Sonoita, Ariz.)的维纳天文台(Winer Observatory)，修建费用还不到7.5万美元。比提说世界上最昂贵的望远镜价值数十亿美元。
With a 42-millimeter lens, the instrument is “sort of like the little telescope that could,” Mr. Beatty said. “If an amateur astronomer had the money, they could buy the components and assemble this very easily.”
这架望远镜的镜头42毫米，是架“蛮不错的小望远镜，”比提说。“如果一个业余天文爱好者有钱的话，他们可以购买部件，然后很轻易就能组装起来。”
He presented the findings recently at the national meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Anchorage, and the papers have been submitted to journals for publication.
在美国天文学会 (American Astronomical Society)最近在安克雷奇召开的全国性会议上，比提公布了他的发现，相关论文也提交给了期刊以供发表。