TED2015
Jedidah Isler: How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe
耶底大·艾斯勒: 我是如何爱上类星体，耀星体和这不可思议的宇宙的
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耶底大·艾斯勒第一次爱上夜空是在她还是个小女孩的时候。现在她是个研究活跃的超大质量黑洞的天体物理学家。 在这次令人陶醉的演讲中，她带我们去认识距离地球万亿公里以外的那些比太阳质量大10亿到100亿的物体--有时它们还会向地球喷射强大的粒子流。
Jedidah Isler - Astrophysicist
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies. Full bio
Jedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
My first love was for the night sky.
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我的初恋给了夜空。
00:16
Love is complicated.
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我对它爱很复杂。
00:17
You're looking at a fly-through of the
Hubble Space Telescope Ultra-Deep Field,
Hubble Space Telescope Ultra-Deep Field,
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你们现在看到的是一个哈勃望远镜超深空图像，
00:22
one of the most distant images
of our universe ever observed.
of our universe ever observed.
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这是目前我们能观测到的最遥远的宇宙图像之一。
00:26
Everything you see here is a galaxy,
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你们现在所看到的一切都是星系，
00:29
comprised of billions of stars each.
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每个都由几十亿颗星球组成。
00:32
And the farthest galaxy is
a trillion, trillion kilometers away.
a trillion, trillion kilometers away.
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最远的星系距离我们有10的24次方公里。
00:37
As an astrophysicist, I have
the awesome privilege of studying
the awesome privilege of studying
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作为一个天体物理学家，我很荣幸能研究
00:40
some of the most exotic objects
in our universe.
in our universe.
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一些宇宙中最吸引人的东西。
00:44
The objects that have captivated me
from first crush throughout my career
from first crush throughout my career
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那让我在职业生涯中始终迷恋的
00:48
are supermassive,
hyperactive black holes.
hyperactive black holes.
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就是超大质量的活跃的黑洞。
00:53
Weighing one to 10 billion times
the mass of our own sun,
the mass of our own sun,
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这些比太阳重1-100亿倍星级黑洞，
00:57
these galactic black holes
are devouring material,
are devouring material,
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正吞噬着物质，
01:00
at a rate of upwards of
1,000 times more
1,000 times more
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以超过“平均”超大质量黑洞
01:04
than your "average"
supermassive black hole.
supermassive black hole.
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1000倍的速度。
01:07
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
01:09
These two characteristics,
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这两个特质，
01:11
with a few others, make them quasars.
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与一些其他的特点一起，使他们成为了类星体。
01:14
At the same time, the objects I study
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与此同时，我研究的天体
01:17
are producing some of the most
powerful particle streams
powerful particle streams
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释放着一些从未检测到的
01:20
ever observed.
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最强粒子流。
01:21
These narrow streams, called jets,
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这些细小的粒子流被称为喷射流，
01:24
are moving at 99.99 percent
of the speed of light,
of the speed of light,
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以光速99.99%移动着
01:29
and are pointed directly at the Earth.
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而且直冲地球。
01:33
These jetted, Earth-pointed, hyperactive
and supermassive black holes
and supermassive black holes
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这些高速，直冲地球，活跃且超重的黑洞
01:39
are called blazars, or blazing quasars.
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被称为耀变体，或者闪耀的类星体。
01:43
What makes blazars so special
is that they're some of the universe's
is that they're some of the universe's
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耀变体如此特殊是因为他们是宇宙中
01:47
most efficient particle accelerators,
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一些最有效的粒子加速器，
01:49
transporting incredible amounts
of energy throughout a galaxy.
of energy throughout a galaxy.
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将不可思议的能量传送到星系中。
01:54
Here, I'm showing an
artist's conception of a blazar.
artist's conception of a blazar.
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现在，我正展示的是一个艺术家对于耀变体的设想图。
01:57
The dinner plate by which
material falls onto the black hole
material falls onto the black hole
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物质掉入黑洞时所经过的餐盘
02:00
is called the accretion disc,
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被叫做吸积盘，
02:02
shown here in blue.
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也就是蓝色的部分。
02:04
Some of that material is slingshotted
around the black hole
around the black hole
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有些物质被弹射到黑洞周围
02:07
and accelerated to insanely high speeds
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然后在喷射流中加速到异常高的速度
02:09
in the jet, shown here in white.
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也就是白色的部分。
02:11
Although the blazar system is rare,
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虽然耀变体系统很少见，
02:14
the process by which nature
pulls in material via a disk,
pulls in material via a disk,
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但是通过吸盘自然的吸收物质的过程
02:17
and then flings some of it out via a jet,
is more common.
is more common.
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然后通过喷射流放出，是很常见的。
02:21
We'll eventually zoom out of
the blazar system
the blazar system
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我们最后将缩小耀变体系统
02:24
to show its approximate relationship
to the larger galactic context.
to the larger galactic context.
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来展示它与更大的星系的近似关系。
02:33
Beyond the cosmic accounting
of what goes in to what goes out,
of what goes in to what goes out,
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除了对宇宙中进出的物质的计算外，
02:38
one of the hot topics in
blazar astrophysics right now
blazar astrophysics right now
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目前在耀变体天体物理学中的一个热点话题是
02:41
is where the highest-energy
jet emission comes from.
jet emission comes from.
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那些高能的喷射流来自哪里。
02:45
In this image, I'm interested
in where this white blob forms
in where this white blob forms
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在这张图中，我感兴趣的是这些白色物质来自哪里
02:48
and if, as a result, there's any
relationship between the jet
relationship between the jet
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还有，是否最终这些喷射流与吸积盘
02:52
and the accretion disc material.
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之间有任何的联系呢。
02:55
Clear answers to this question
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对于这个问题的清晰的回答
02:57
were almost completely
inaccessible until 2008,
inaccessible until 2008,
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在2008年以前几乎是没有的，
03:00
when NASA launched a new telescope
that better detects gamma ray light --
that better detects gamma ray light --
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直到美国宇航局发射了一个能够更好的探测伽玛射线的新望远镜
03:04
that is, light with energies
a million times higher
a million times higher
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这种射线相比X射线，
03:07
than your standard x-ray scan.
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有比其高一百万倍的能量。
03:10
I simultaneously compare variations
between the gamma ray light data
between the gamma ray light data
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同时，我年复一年日复一日的比较
03:14
and the visible light data from
day to day and year to year,
day to day and year to year,
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伽玛射线的数据和其他可见光的数据的变化，
03:18
to better localize these gamma ray blobs.
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来更好的定位伽玛射线圈。
03:21
My research shows that in some instances,
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我的研究表明有些时候，
03:24
these blobs form much closer
to the black hole
to the black hole
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这些射线圈比我们预想的
03:27
than we initially thought.
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要距离黑洞更近。
03:29
As we more confidently localize
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当我们越发确定
03:31
where these gamma ray
blobs are forming,
blobs are forming,
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伽玛射线圈形成的地方，
03:34
we can better understand how jets
are being accelerated,
are being accelerated,
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我们就能更好的理解喷射流被加速过程，
03:37
and ultimately reveal
the dynamic processes
the dynamic processes
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最终揭示
03:40
by which some of the most fascinating
objects in our universe are formed.
objects in our universe are formed.
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宇宙中一些迷人的天体的动态形成过程。
03:45
This all started as a love story.
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这是一个爱情故事开始的。
03:49
And it still is.
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并且一直是。
03:51
This love transformed me from
a curious, stargazing young girl
a curious, stargazing young girl
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这个爱把我从一个好奇的，仰望星空的小女孩
03:55
to a professional astrophysicist,
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转变成一个天体物理学家专家，
03:57
hot on the heels of celestial discovery.
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热衷于发现天体。
04:00
Who knew that chasing after the universe
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谁知道追随着宇宙
04:03
would ground me so deeply
to my mission here on Earth.
to my mission here on Earth.
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会让我深深地投入到我在地球上的工作中。
04:07
Then again, when do we ever know
where love's first flutter
where love's first flutter
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还有，我们什么时候会知道
04:10
will truly take us.
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我们的爱好最终会将我们引向何方。
04:11
Thank you.
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谢谢大家。
04:13
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jedidah Isler - AstrophysicistJedidah Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes that emit powerful jet streams. They are the universe’s most efficient particle accelerators, transferring energy throughout galaxies.
Why you should listen
Jedidah Isler has been staring at the stars since she was 11 or 12. But because neither her undergraduate college or the university where she got her first master’s degree offered astronomy majors, she threw herself wholeheartedly into physics. It wasn’t until she entered a doctoral program that she was able to dedicate her time to the studying the night sky. In 2014, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in Astrophysics from Yale.
Isler studies blazars — supermassive hyperactive black holes at the center of galaxies, some of which emit powerful streams of particles. Sometimes these are oriented toward Earth, offering us a unique perspective on the physics of the universe. Isler is a Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow in Physics at Syracuse University. She participates in the Future Faculty Leader program at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics and was named a 2015 TED Fellow.
Isler is also interested in breaking down barriers that prevent many students — especially women of color — from becoming scienists. She works to make STEM accessible to new communities.
Jedidah Isler | Speaker | TED.com