TEDGlobal 2011
Lucianne Walkowicz: Finding planets around other stars
露西安 沃可薇姿：在其他恆星周圍尋找行星
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我們要如何在其他恆星周圍尋找到其他行星－甚至適合居住的行星？ 通過觀測行星經過恆星時造成的陰影，露西安 沃可薇姿與凱普勒任務新發現了大約1,200個可能的行星系。 利用新的技術，他們或許會發現一個擁有適合生命條件的行星。
Lucianne Walkowicz - Stellar astronomer
Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares." Full bio
Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Planetary systems outside our own
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在我們太陽系之外的行星系
00:17
are like distant cities whose lights we can see twinkling,
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就好像遙遠的城市，我們可以看見有燈火在閃爍，
00:20
but whose streets we can't walk.
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但是卻有一條難以踰越的街道。
00:23
By studying those twinkling lights though,
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然而通過研究這些閃爍，
00:25
we can learn about how stars and planets interact
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我們可以瞭解到恆星時如何與行星互相作用
00:28
to form their own ecosystem
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來形成他們自己的生態系統
00:30
and make habitats that are amenable to life.
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並創造出能夠承載生命的棲息地。
00:33
In this image of the Tokyo skyline,
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在這張東京市的圖片中，
00:35
I've hidden data
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我將從最新型的
00:37
from the newest planet-hunting space telescope on the block,
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行星探測空間望遠鏡，凱普勒任務，所獲得的數據
00:39
the Kepler Mission.
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隱藏在了這個街區里。
00:41
Can you see it?
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看的見嗎？
00:43
There we go.
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在這裡。
00:45
This is just a tiny part of the sky the Kepler stares at,
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這只是凱普對勒觀測行星的
00:48
where it searches for planets
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範圍中的一小塊。
00:50
by measuring the light from over 150,000 stars,
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通過每半個小時一次
00:53
all at once, every half hour,
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精確地測量全部15萬顆
00:55
and very precisely.
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行星的光譜。
00:57
And what we're looking for
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我們想要尋找
00:59
is the tiny dimming of light
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是行星在移動過程中
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that is caused by a planet passing in front of one of these stars
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經過恆星時阻擋住射向我們的
01:04
and blocking some of that starlight from getting to us.
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一部份光線所造成的黯淡。
01:07
In just over two years of operations,
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在僅僅兩年的運行後
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we've found over 1,200
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我們發現了1200個
01:12
potential new planetary systems around other stars.
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可能是圍繞其他恆星運轉的行星系統。
01:15
To give you some perspective,
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相比較下，
01:17
in the previous two decades of searching,
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在凱普勒任務之前的長達二十年的搜尋中，
01:20
we had only known about 400
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我們只發現了
01:22
prior to Kepler.
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400顆行星。
01:24
When we see these little dips in the light,
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黨發現這光亮的減弱
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we can determine a number of things.
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我們可以確認一些事情。
01:28
For one thing, we can determine that there's a planet there,
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一是可以確認那裡有一顆行星，
01:30
but also how big that planet is
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還有它的尺寸，
01:33
and how far it is away from its parent star.
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和距離它所圍繞的恆星的距離。
01:36
That distance is really important
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這距離是非常重要的，
01:38
because it tells us
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因為它能告訴我們
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how much light the planet receives overall.
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大致上這行星接收到了多少光。
01:42
And that distance and knowing that amount of light is important
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對距離與光照強弱的瞭解是非常關鍵的，
01:45
because it's a little like you or I sitting around a campfire:
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這就好像我們坐在一個篝火邊上。
01:48
You want to be close enough to the campfire so that you're warm,
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你會想要靠的夠進好讓自己取暖，
01:50
but not so close
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但是又不可以太近，
01:52
that you're too toasty and you get burned.
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導致溫度太高把自己燙傷。
01:54
However, there's more to know about your parent star
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然而，除了整體上行星會接收到多少光線，
01:57
than just how much light you receive overall.
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對恆星的還有許多其他的信息需要瞭解。
01:59
And I'll tell you why.
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讓我來告訴你原因。
02:01
This is our star. This is our Sun.
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這是我們的行星，太陽。
02:04
It's shown here in visible light.
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這裡所呈現的是可見光。
02:06
That's the light that you can see with your own human eyes.
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就是我們人類的眼睛可以看見的光。
02:08
You'll notice that it looks pretty much
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大家發現這基本上
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like the iconic yellow ball --
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就是典型的我們小時候
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that Sun that we all draw when we're children.
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所畫的黃色圓球。
02:14
But you'll notice something else,
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但大家有沒有看到還有一些別的東西，
02:16
and that's that the face of the Sun
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這就是太陽的表面
02:18
has freckles.
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有一些斑點。
02:20
These freckles are called sunspots,
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這些斑點被稱作太陽黑子，
02:22
and they are just one of the manifestations
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他們是太陽磁場
02:24
of the Sun's magnetic field.
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活動的表現之一。
02:26
They also cause the light from the star to vary.
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它使得恆星發出的光產生變化。
02:29
And we can measure this
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這個現象是可以用
02:31
very, very precisely with Kepler and trace their effects.
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凱普勒望遠鏡非常精確地測量與追蹤的。
02:34
However, these are just the tip of the iceberg.
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而這也才只是冰山一角而已。
02:37
If we had UV eyes or X-ray eyes,
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如果我們能看見UV射線與X射線，
02:40
we would really see
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我們會真正認識到
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the dynamic and dramatic effects
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太陽磁場活動
02:44
of our Sun's magnetic activity --
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所產生的活躍又激烈的景象。
02:46
the kind of thing that happens on other stars as well.
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其他的恆星上也發生著同樣的事情。
02:49
Just think, even when it's cloudy outside,
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想像一下，即使窗外烏雲密佈，
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these kind of events are happening
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這樣壯觀的景象在我們的
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in the sky above you all the time.
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天空之上時刻都在發生。
02:57
So when we want to learn whether a planet is habitable,
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黨我們想要瞭解一顆行星是否適宜居住，
03:00
whether it might be amenable to life,
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是否能承載生命，
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we want to know not only how much total light it receives
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我們不僅想要知道它接收到多少陽光，
03:04
and how warm it is,
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溫度有多高，
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but we want to know about its space weather --
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我們還想知道它的太空氣候。
03:09
this high-energy radiation,
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由恆星產生的
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the UV and the X-rays
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強力的輻射線，
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that are created by its star
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比如UV射線與X射線。
03:15
and that bathe it in this bath of high-energy radiation.
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行星就沐浴在這些強力的射線中。
03:18
And so, we can't really look
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還有，我們從
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at planets around other stars
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自己的太陽系中觀察
03:22
in the same kind of detail
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所得的信息要比從其他恆星的
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that we can look at planets in our own solar system.
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行星上觀察得到的詳細的多
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I'm showing here Venus, Earth and Mars --
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我這裡展示的時金星，地球和火星
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three planets in our own solar system that are roughly the same size,
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這三顆我們太陽系中的行星基本上大小相同，
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but only one of which
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而其中只有一顆
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is really a good place to live.
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適合生命生存。
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But what we can do in the meantime
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但是我們可以做的是
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is measure the light from our stars
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通過測量我們恆星發出的光，
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and learn about this relationship
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研究恆星與各個
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between the planets and their parent stars
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行星之間的關係。
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to suss out clues
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來摸索出一些線索
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about which planets might be good places
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好讓我們知道在茫茫太空中哪些行星
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to look for life in the universe.
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可能是會找到生命的地方。
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Kepler won't find a planet
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凱普勒不會在每一顆
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around every single star it looks at.
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它所觀察的恆星周圍發現行星。
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But really, every measurement it makes
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但它所做的每一個測量
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is precious,
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都非常寶貴。
03:59
because it's teaching us about the relationship
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因為它告訴我們
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between stars and planets,
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恆星與行星間的關係，
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and how it's really the starlight
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還有星光才是真正
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that sets the stage
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在宇宙中為生命的形成
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for the formation of life in the universe.
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提供條件的角色。
04:09
While it's Kepler the telescope, the instrument that stares,
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雖然是凱普勒望遠鏡在凝視著太空
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it's we, life, who are searching.
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但最終是我們，在不斷地搜尋。
04:15
Thank you.
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謝謝
04:17
(Applause)
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掌聲。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lucianne Walkowicz - Stellar astronomerLucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, studying starspots and "the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares."
Why you should listen
Lucianne Walkowicz is an Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She studies stellar magnetic activity and how stars influence a planet's suitability as a host for alien life. She is also an artist and works in a variety of media, from oil paint to sound. She got her taste for astronomy as an undergrad at Johns Hopkins, testing detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope’s new camera (installed in 2002). She also learned to love the dark stellar denizens of our galaxy, the red dwarfs, which became the topic of her PhD dissertation at University of Washington. Nowadays, she works on NASA’s Kepler mission, studying starspots and the tempestuous tantrums of stellar flares to understand stellar magnetic fields. She is particularly interested in how the high energy radiation from stars influences the habitability of planets around alien suns. Lucianne is also a leader in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a new project that will scan the sky every night for 10 years to create a huge cosmic movie of our Universe.
Lucianne Walkowicz | Speaker | TED.com