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SSS 2009-01-06

时间:2010-05-17 01:55:43

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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This will just take a minute. 

If we want to learn more about our planet and other planets in the universe, we can get some help from stars that are long dead and gone. That’s what U.C.L.A.’s Michael Jura said at the American Astronomical1 Society meeting January 5th. His team used observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to investigate dead white dwarf2 stars.

Dust and debris3 swirl4 around young stars. The pieces clump5 together to form asteroids7 and bigger planets. When a star like our sun finally dies, it blows itself up, bright red. Then it shrinks down into a skeleton of its former self—a white dwarf. The gravitational pull of these white dwarfs8 can attract nearby asteroids that then get pulverized9.

Eight different white dwarf systems were examined. In the surrounding asteroid6 dust, there was a mineral similar to olivine, which is common here on Earth. And there wasn’t much carbon, also similar to the make-up of asteroids and rocky planets in our own solar system. The results suggest that the same materials that make up Earth and our solar system's other rocky bodies could be common in the universe. As could be rocky planets themselves. An insight for which we can thank dead stars.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.

 


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1 astronomical keTyO     
adj.天文学的,(数字)极大的
参考例句:
  • He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
  • Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。
2 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
3 debris debris     
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
参考例句:
  • After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
  • Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
4 swirl cgcyu     
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形
参考例句:
  • The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
  • You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿,看着雪花飘飘。
5 clump xXfzH     
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走
参考例句:
  • A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
  • It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。
6 asteroid uo1yD     
n.小行星;海盘车(动物)
参考例句:
  • Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
  • It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小,但这样的危险还是存在的。
7 asteroids d02ebba086eb60b6155b94e12649ff84     
n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 );海盘车,海星
参考例句:
  • Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星,亦称为“小型行星”,在外太空中不计其数。
  • Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。
8 dwarfs a9ddd2c1a88a74fc7bd6a9a0d16c2817     
n.侏儒,矮子(dwarf的复数形式)vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句
9 pulverized 12dce9339f95cd06ee656348f39bd743     
adj.[医]雾化的,粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 );将…弄成粉末或尘埃;摧毁;粉碎
参考例句:
  • We pulverized the opposition. 我们彻底击败了对手。
  • He pulverized the opposition with the force of his oratory. 他能言善辩把对方驳得体无完肤。 来自辞典例句

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