An international team of scientists from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is investigating mysterious signal spikes emitting from a 6.3-billion-year-old star in the constellation Hercules （'h?:kjuli:z]） —95 light years away from Earth. The implications are extraordinary and point to the possibility of a civilization far more advanced than our own.
The unusual signal was originally detected on May 15, 2015, by the Russian Academy(?'k?d?mi) of Science-operated RATAN (r?'t?n)-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia, but was kept secret from the international community. Interstellar space reporter Paul Gilster broke the story after the researchers quietly circulated a paper announcing the detection of “a strong signal in the direction of HD164595.”
drill /dr?l/ 演習(xí)
not a drill 不是演習(xí)
n. 訓(xùn)練顶燕；鉆孔機(jī)助赞；鉆子；播種機(jī)
vi. 鉆孔荒椭；訓(xùn)練
vt. 鉆孔卵沉；訓(xùn)練它抱；條播
n. (Drill)人名配阵；(德烙肺、英)德里爾
extraterrestrial /‘?kstr?t?’r?str??l/
adj. 地球外的n. 天外來(lái)客
ratan /
r?’t?n
/
abbr. 雷達(dá)和電視導(dǎo)航設(shè)備（Radar and Television Aid to Navigation）
n. (Ratan)人名誉帅；(西)拉坦
academy /
?’k?d?mi/
n. 學(xué)院淀散；研究院；學(xué)會(huì)蚜锨；尩挡澹科院校
Investigate /
[?n’v?st?ɡet
/
v. 調(diào)查；研究
mysterious /
m?’st?r??s
/
adj. 神秘的亚再；不可思議的郭膛；難解的
spike /spa?k/
尖峰脈沖
n. 長(zhǎng)釘，道釘氛悬；釘鞋则剃；細(xì)高跟
vt. 阻止；以大釘釘牢如捅；用尖物刺穿
constellation /
,kɑnst?’le??n
/
n. [天] 星座棍现；星群；薈萃镜遣；興奮叢
Hercules /?r?kju?l/
. 赫居里士（希臘神話中大力神）
implications /
‘?mpl?'ke??n
/
n. 含義己肮；暗示；牽連悲关，卷入谎僻；可能的結(jié)果，影響
extraordinary /?k?str?rd?n??ri/
adj. 非凡的寓辱；特別的艘绍；離奇的；臨時(shí)的讶舰；特派的
civilization /
s?v?l?’ze??n
/
n. 文明；文化
Interstellar /,?nt?’st?l?/
adj. [航][天] 星際的
quietly /?kwa??tli/
adv. 安靜地；秘密地跳昼；平穩(wěn)地
circulate /
‘s?kj?let
/
vi. 傳播般甲，流傳；循環(huán)鹅颊；流通
vt. 使循環(huán)敷存；使流通；使傳播
mysterious /
m?’st?r??s
/
adj. 神秘的堪伍；不可思議的锚烦；難解的
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The mysterious star’s designation ( /?d?z?ɡ'ne??n/) is HD164595, and it’s considered to be sun-like in nature with a nearly identical metallic (/m?'t?l?k/)composition to our own star. So far, a single Neptune (/'neptju:n/)-like (but warmer) planet has been discovered in its orbit—HD 164595 b. But as Gilster explained, “There could, of course, be other planets still undetected in this system.”
Decorated (/'d?k?ret/) Italian SETI researcher and mathematician Claudio Maccone along with Russia’s Nikolai Bursov of the Special Astrophysical Observatory are the principal scientists working on the apparent discovery. They claim that “permanent monitoring of this target is needed.”
[圖片上傳中。帝雇。涮俄。（1）]
The RATAN-600 Radio Telescope in Russia. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
“The signal conceivably fits the profile for an intentional transmission from an extraterrestrial source,” said Alan Boyle, author of The Case for Pluto who reported the story for Geekwire. “In any case, the blip is interesting enough to merit discussion by those who specialize in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.”
conceivably /k?n’siv?bli/
adv. 令人信服地；可相信地尸闸；想得到地
intentional /?n’t?n??nl/
adj. 故意的彻亲；蓄意的；策劃的
transmission /
tr?ns’m???n
/
n. 傳動(dòng)裝置吮廉，[機(jī)] 變速器苞尝；傳遞；傳送宦芦；播送
blip /bl?p/
n. （在雷達(dá)屏幕顯示出的）物體光點(diǎn)
merit /
‘m?r?t
/
n. 優(yōu)點(diǎn)宙址，價(jià)值；功績(jī)调卑；功過
vt. 值得
vi. 應(yīng)受報(bào)答
specialize /
‘sp???la?z
/
vi. 專門從事抡砂；詳細(xì)說明；特化
vt. 使專門化令野；使適應(yīng)特殊情況舀患；詳細(xì)說明
specialize in 專營(yíng)
specialize in 專門研究
specialize in 專門經(jīng)營(yíng)
specialize in 專攻
specialize in 國(guó)營(yíng)的
Extraterrestrial /'?kstr?t?'r?str??l]/
adj. 地球外的
n. 天外來(lái)客
The signal’s strength indicates that if it in fact came from a isotropic beacon, the power source would have to be built by a Kardashev Type II civilization. (The Kardashev scale is used to determine the progress of a civilization’s technological development by measuring how much energy was used to transmit an interstellar message.) An ‘Isotropic’ beacon means a communication source emitting a signal with equal power in all directions while promoting signal strength throughout travel.
indicate /'?nd?ket]/
vt. 表明；指出气破；預(yù)示聊浅；象征
isotropic /a?s?’trɑp?k/
adj. [物][數(shù)] 各向同性的；等方性的
beacon /‘bik?n/
n. 燈塔现使，信號(hào)浮標(biāo)低匙；烽火；指路明燈
vt. 照亮碳锈，指引
vi. 像燈塔般照耀
throughout /
θr?’a?t
/
adv. 自始至終顽冶，到處；全部
prep. 貫穿售碳，遍及
In his acclaimed work “Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations,” Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev explained that a Type II civilization would be able to harness the energy of their entire host star. The most common hypothetical example of this would be a Dyson Sphere—which is a massive artificial structure that could completely encapsulate a star and transfer the energy to a nearby planet.
acclaim /?’klem/
vt. 稱贊强重；為…喝彩绞呈，向…歡呼
n. 歡呼，喝彩间景；稱贊
vi. 歡呼佃声，喝彩
Soviet /‘sov?’?t/
adj. 蘇聯(lián)的；蘇維埃的倘要；委員會(huì)的
n. 蘇維埃（代表會(huì)議）圾亏；委員會(huì)；代表會(huì)議
astronomer /?’strɑn?m?/
n. 天文學(xué)家
harness /
‘hɑrn?s
/
vt. 治理封拧；套志鹃；駕馭；披上甲胄泽西；利用
n. 馬具曹铃；甲胄；挽具狀帶子尝苇；降落傘背帶铛只；日常工作
hypothetical /
,ha?p?’θ?t?kl
/
adj. 假設(shè)的；愛猜想的
massive /
‘m?s?v
/
adj. 大量的糠溜；巨大的淳玩，厚重的；魁偉的
artificial /
,ɑrt?’f??l
/
adj. 人造的非竿；仿造的蜕着；虛偽的；非原產(chǎn)地的红柱；武斷的
encapsulate /
?n’k?psj?’let
/
vt. 壓縮承匣；將…裝入膠囊；將…封進(jìn)內(nèi)部锤悄；概述
vi. 形成膠囊
[圖片上傳中韧骗。。零聚。（2）]
A cut-away diagram of an idealized Dyson shell, a variant on Dyson’s original concept. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Venus /'vi:n?s/ 金星
Mercury /'m?:kjuri/ 水星
n. [天] 金星袍暴；維納斯（愛與美的女神）
Basically, if the signal was beamed out into the galaxy without aim or direction, that would require an enormous amount of power to actually be detected. But what if the signal was beamed specifically at our solar system? Well, that would require less energy and could indicate the presence of a Kardashev Type I civilization—meaning that it could be a highly technological, contemporary society that harnesses the solar energy emitted by its local star, much like our planet does with solar panels. This particular civilization’s social structure is theorized to be completely globalized and interconnected.
Basically /‘bes?kli/
adv. 主要地，基本上
presence /‘pr?zns/
n. 存在隶症；出席政模；參加；風(fēng)度蚂会；儀態(tài)
galaxy /
‘ɡ?l?ks
/
n. 銀河淋样；[天] 星系；銀河系胁住；一群顯赫的人
n. 三星智能手機(jī)品牌 2015年三星中國(guó)公布Galaxy的中文名稱為“蓋樂世”
enormous /
?’n?rm?s
/
adj. 龐大的趁猴，巨大的刊咳；兇暴的，極惡的
specifically /
sp?’s?f?kli
/
adv. 特別地儡司；明確地
technological /
t?kn?’lɑd??kl
/
adj. 技術(shù)的芦缰；工藝的
contemporary /
k?n’t?mp?r?ri
/
n. 同時(shí)代的人；同時(shí)期的東西
adj. 當(dāng)代的枫慷；同時(shí)代的；屬于同一時(shí)期的
beam/bim/
n. 橫梁浪规；光線或听；電波；船寬笋婿；[計(jì)量] 秤桿
vt. 發(fā)送誉裆；以梁支撐；用…照射缸濒；流露
vi. 照射足丢；堆滿笑容
n. (Beam)人名；(阿拉伯)貝亞姆庇配；(英)比姆
particular /p?'t?kj?l?/
adj. 特別的斩跌；詳細(xì)的；獨(dú)有的捞慌；挑剔的
n. 詳細(xì)說明耀鸦；個(gè)別項(xiàng)目
theorize /θi?ra?z/
vi. 建立理論或?qū)W說；推理
vt. 建立理論
interconnect /?nt?k?’n?kt/
vt. 使互相連接
vi. 互相聯(lián)系
“The signal is provocative enough that the RATAN-600 researchers are calling for permanent monitoring of this target,” said Gilster. And that’s exactly what is transpiring. As of last night, the SETI institute is diverting its Allen Telescope Array in northern California to investigate while their counterparts at METI International (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) will use Panama’s Boquete Optical Observatory.
provocative /pr?’vɑk?t?v/
adj. 刺激的啸澡，挑撥的袖订；氣人的
n. 刺激物，挑撥物嗅虏；興奮劑
call for
要求洛姑；需要；提倡皮服；邀請(qǐng)楞艾；為…叫喊
permanent ['p?m?n?nt]
adj. 永久的，永恒的冰更；不變的
n. 燙發(fā)（等于permanent wave)
transpiring transpire /
tr?n’spa??
/
vi. 發(fā)生产徊；蒸發(fā)；泄露
vt. 使蒸發(fā)蜀细；使排出
institue /['?nst?tut]/
vt. 開始（調(diào)查）舟铜；制定；創(chuàng)立奠衔；提起（訴訟）
n. 學(xué)會(huì)谆刨，協(xié)會(huì)塘娶；學(xué)院
divert /d??v?t/
diverting da?’v?t??
adj. 有趣的；令人快樂的
v. 使轉(zhuǎn)移痊夭；使得到消遣（divert的現(xiàn)在分詞）
counterpart /‘ka?nt?pɑrt/
n. 副本刁岸；配對(duì)物；極相似的人或物
Optical /ɑpt?kl/
adj. 光學(xué)的她我；眼睛的虹曙，視覺的
observatory /
?b’z?v?t?ri
/
n. 天文臺(tái)；氣象臺(tái)番舆；瞭望臺(tái)
Panama /p?n?mɑ/
n. 巴拿馬（位于拉丁美洲）酝碳；巴拿馬城
The detection of the mysterious signal and the ensuing investigations will be discussed at the IAA SETI Permanent Committee during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 27—the same day and location where Elon Musk will reveal his plans to colonize Mars. The Observer will be following up on both these stories from the Congress.
ensuing //
adj. 接著發(fā)生的
ensure /?n’??r/
vt. 保證，確保恨狈；使安全
committee /k?’m?ti/
n. 委員會(huì)
astronautical /?str?'n?:tik,-k?l/
adj. 宇航的疏哗；太空航行學(xué)的；航天員的（等于astronautic）
congress /
‘kɑ?ɡr?s
/
n. 國(guó)會(huì)禾怠；代表大會(huì)返奉；會(huì)議；社交
colonize /['kɑl?na?z]/
vt. 將…開拓為殖民地吗氏；移于殖民地芽偏；從他地非法把選民移入
vi. 開拓殖民地；移居于殖民地
Mars /mɑrz/
n. 戰(zhàn)神弦讽；[天] 火星
observer /
?b’z?v?
/
n. 觀察者哮针；[天] 觀測(cè)者；遵守者
follow up
跟蹤坦袍；堅(jiān)持完成十厢；繼續(xù)做某事
*Robin Seemangal focuses on NASA and advocacy for space exploration. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he currently resides. Find him on Instagram for more space-related content: *@nova_road.
advocacy /?dv?k?si/
n. 主張；擁護(hù)捂齐；辯護(hù)
exploration /,?kspl?’re??n/
n. 探測(cè)蛮放；探究；踏勘
reside /
r?’za?d
/
vi. 住奠宜，居装洹；屬于
raised /rezd/
adj. 凸起的压真；發(fā)酵的娩嚼；浮雕的
v. 提高（raise的過去時(shí)和過去分詞）；舉起滴肿；撫育岳悟，撫養(yǎng)
