ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aomawa Shields - Astronomer, astrobiologist, actor, writer
Aomawa Shields studies the climate and habitability of planets outside of the Solar System.

Why you should listen

Dr. Aomawa Shields received her PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2014. She also received an MFA in Acting from UCLA in 2001, and a Bachelor's degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT in 1997. She is currently an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow, a UC President's Postdoctoral Program Fellow, and a 2015 TED Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Dr. Shields is the founder of Rising Stargirls, an organization dedicated to encouraging girls of all colors and backgrounds to explore and discover the universe using theater, writing, and visual art. She uses her theater and writing background to communicate science to the public in engaging, innovative ways.

More profile about the speaker
Aomawa Shields | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Aomawa Shields: How we'll find life on other planets

奧瑪瓦 · 謝茲: 我哋點樣尋找外太空生命存在

Filmed:
1,734,106 views

天文學家奧瑪瓦 · 謝茲通過對遙遠系外行星大氣嘅探索嚟尋找外太空生命存在嘅證據。 研究之餘,佢仲係受過一般訓練嘅演員兼 TED Fellow,並致力透過戲劇表演、寫作同埋視覺藝術激發年輕女性對天文學嘅興趣。佢話︰「可能以後會有一班女性加入呢個充滿矛盾發現嘅天文學家行列。呢班人會善用佢哋背景,再一次印證,我哋人類並唔係宇宙中唯一嘅生命存在。 」
- Astronomer, astrobiologist, actor, writer
Aomawa Shields studies the climate and habitability of planets outside of the Solar System. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

我喺度搵緊其他有生命存在嘅星球
00:12
I am in search搜尋 of another另一個 planet星球
in the universe宇宙 where life exists存在.
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雖然我唔能夠用肉眼睇到呢啲星球
00:18
I can't see this planet星球
with my naked裸體 eyes眼睛
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就算用埋最先進嘅望遠鏡
00:21
or even with the most powerful強大 telescopes望遠鏡
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00:23
we currently目前 possess擁有.
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但我知道佢就喺嗰度
00:25
But I know that it's there.
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而且掌握大自然本身嘅矛盾
00:27
And understanding理解 contradictions矛盾
that occur發生 in nature自然
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可以幫到我哋搵到呢個星球
00:31
will help us find it.
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響我哋嘅星球
00:33
On our planet星球,
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邊度有水,邊度就有生命
00:34
where there's water, there's life.
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所以我哋尋找嗰啲
00:36
So we look for planets行星 that orbit軌道
at just the right distance距離
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同恒星保持合適運行距離嘅星球
00:39
from their佢哋 stars星星.
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00:42
At this distance距離,
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呢個表入面
藍色係代表咗唔同恒星嘅適居帶
00:43
shown顯示 in blue藍色 on this diagram
for stars星星 of different不同 temperatures溫度,
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00:47
planets行星 could be warm溫暖 enough
for water to flow on their佢哋 surfaces表面
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而呢種距離暖到
可以令水喺星球嘅表面流動
形成咗湖同海
00:50
as lakes湖泊 and oceans海洋
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而生命就有可能響呢啲地方出現
00:52
where life might可能 reside居住.
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一啲天文學家集中精神
00:54
Some astronomers天文學家 focus重點 their佢哋 time
and energy能源 on finding發現 planets行星
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尋找位於適居帶嘅星球
00:58
at these distances距離 from their佢哋 stars星星.
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我嘅任務就係接手佢哋嘅工作
01:00
What I do picks選擇 up where their佢哋 job工作 ends結束.
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我要推算出系外行星嘅氣候
01:03
I model模型 the possible可能
climates氣候 of exoplanets行星.
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下面我會講解點解呢樣會咁重要
01:07
And here's呢度有 why that's important重要:
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除咗距離之外
01:09
there are many好多 factors因素
besides除咗 distance距離 from its star明星
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仲有好多其他因素
決定一個星球有生命嘅存在
01:12
that control控制 whether係唔係
a planet星球 can support支持 life.
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就攞金星做例子
01:16
Take the planet星球 Venus金星.
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佢嘅名代表咗羅馬人
一個象徵愛同美麗嘅女神
01:18
It's named after the Roman羅馬 goddess女神
of love and beauty,
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正因為佢喺天空
以美善、輕飄嘅姿態出現
01:22
because of its benign良性,
ethereal空霛 appearance外觀 in the sky天空.
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01:26
But spacecraft航天器 measurements測量
revealed透露 a different不同 story故事.
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但探測器做出嘅測量欲唔係想像中咁靚
01:30
The surface表面 temperature溫度 is close關閉
to 900 degrees Fahrenheit華氏,
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金星表面嘅溫度高達華氏 900度
亦即攝氏500度
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500 Celsius攝氏度.
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01:36
That's hot enough to melt融化 lead導致.
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佢嘅溫度足夠融咗鉛
佢厚厚嘅大氣層
而唔係佢同太陽嘅距離
01:39
Its thick atmosphere氣氛, not its distance距離
from the sun太陽, is the reason原因.
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令大氣層出現溫室效應
01:42
It causes原因 a greenhouse溫室 effect影響 on steroids類固醇,
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太陽嘅熱力被大氣層鎖住
01:46
trapping捕獲 heat from the sun太陽
and scorching炎炎 the planet's行星嘅 surface表面.
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熱力留返喺度,將星球表面加熱
01:50
The reality現實 totally完全 contradicted矛盾
initial初始 perceptions看法 of this planet星球.
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現實同我哋最初對金星嘅想像係倒返轉
從太陽系學到,一個星球嘅大氣
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From these lessons
from our own自己 solar太陽 system系統,
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we've我哋都 learned that a planet's行星嘅 atmosphere氣氛
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對星球嘅氣候以至生命嘅孕育
係非常之重要
02:00
is crucial關鍵 to its climate氣候
and potential to host主機 life.
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我哋唔知道呢啲系外行星嘅大氣係點樣
02:04
We don't know what the atmospheres大氣
of these planets行星 are like
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因為呢啲星球相比起佢哋嘅恒星
02:07
because the planets行星 are so small
and dim昏暗 compared比較 to their佢哋 stars星星
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實在太細啦,兼且離我哋太遠啦
02:12
and so far away from us.
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例如,其中一個
02:14
For example例子, one of the closest最近 planets行星
that could support支持 surface表面 water --
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最接近我哋又可以維持地表水嘅星球
02:18
it's called Gliese格利泽 667 CcCc --
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叫做 Gliese 667 Cc
真係一個有魅力嘅名
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such a glamorous迷人 name名字, right,
nice phone電話 number數量 for a name名字 --
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好似個電話號碼咁
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it's 23 light years away.
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佢距離我哋有 23 光年咁遠
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So that's more than 100 trillion万億 miles英里.
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超過一兆英里
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Trying試圖 to measure措施
the atmospheric大氣 composition組成
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要響系外行星經過佢哋恒星嗰時
量度佢哋嘅大氣組成
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of an exoplanet行星 passing透過
in front前面 of its host主機 star明星 is hard努力.
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係非常艱難嘅
就好似嘗試望住隻果蠅
飛過一架車嘅前燈
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It's like trying試圖 to see a fruit水果 fly
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passing透過 in front前面 of a car's架車嘅 headlight前照燈.
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OK, now imagine想象 that car架車
is 100 trillion万億 miles英里 away,
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好,你可以想像嗰架車離你一兆英里
而你只想知嗰隻果蠅嘅顏色
02:47
and you want to know
the precise精確 color顏色 of that fly.
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02:52
So I use computer計數機 models模型
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所以我利用一個電腦模擬程式
去計算星球需要乜嘢大氣層
02:54
to calculate計算 the kind一種 of atmosphere氣氛
a planet星球 would need
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先至會有合適嘅氣候提供水同孕育生命
02:57
to have a suitable climate氣候
for water and life.
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Here's呢度有 an artist's藝術家嘅 concept概念
of the planet星球 Kepler-勒-62f,
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呢度係畫家對開普勒-62f 概念嘅理解
用地球做參照
03:05
with the Earth地球 for reference參考.
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It's 1,200 light years away,
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佢有 1,200 光年咁遠
比地球大 40%
03:09
and just 40 percent百分比 larger than Earth地球.
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03:12
Our NSF-fundednsf 資助 work found發現 that it
could be warm溫暖 enough for open打開 water
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我哋 NSF 資助嘅項目發現
無論佢嘅大氣同運行軌道嘅方向係咩
03:16
from many好多 types類型 of atmospheres大氣
and orientations取向 of its orbit軌道.
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佢都夠暖俾到水出現
所以,我想未來嘅望遠鏡
可以追蹤呢個星球
03:20
So I'd like future未來 telescopes望遠鏡
to follow遵循 up on this planet星球
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去搵出星球上面嘅生命線索
03:23
to look for signs迹象 of life.
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03:26
Ice on a planet's行星嘅 surface表面
is also important重要 for climate氣候.
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星球表面嘅冰
係另一種決定氣候嘅重要因素
冰吸收長波,偏紅嘅光
03:29
Ice absorbs吸收 longer,
redder wavelengths波長 of light,
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反射短波嘅藍光
03:33
and reflects反映 shorter, bluer light.
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03:35
That's why the iceberg冰山
in this photo looks睇黎 so blue藍色.
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呢個就係點解呢幅圖嘅冰咁藍
嚟自太陽嘅紅光通過冰塊時就被吸收
03:39
The redder light from the sun太陽
is absorbed吸收 on its way through透過 the ice.
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剩低藍光穿過底部出返嚟
03:42
Only the blue藍色 light
makes使 it all the way to the bottom底部.
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之後藍光反射到我哋嘅眼
03:45
Then it gets得到 reflected反映
back to up to our eyes眼睛
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所以我哋見到藍色嘅冰
03:48
and we see blue藍色 ice.
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我嘅模型推算出
星球圍繞溫度較低嘅恒星時
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My models模型 show顯示 that planets行星
orbiting軌道 cooler冷卻器 stars星星
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could actually講真 be warmer溫暖
than planets行星 orbiting軌道 hotter stars星星.
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佢嘅溫度
會比圍繞較熱嘅恒星嘅星球更高
下面係第二個矛盾︰
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There's another另一個 contradiction矛盾 --
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冰吸收嚟自溫度較低嘅恒星
波長較長嘅光
03:58
that ice absorbs吸收 the longer
wavelength波長 light from cooler冷卻器 stars星星,
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光,或者能量,令冰嘅溫度上升
04:02
and that light, that energy能源,
heats加熱 the ice.
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探索呢啲矛盾嘅嘢點樣影響星球氣候
04:06
Using使用 climate氣候 models模型 to explore探討
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04:09
how these contradictions矛盾
can affect影響 planetary行星 climate氣候
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對於尋找外星生命
係非常重要嘅
04:12
is vital重要 to the search搜尋 for life elsewhere第二度.
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04:16
And it's no surprise驚喜
that this is my specialty專業.
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絕對唔係意外,呢個係我鑽研方向
04:19
I'm an African-American非洲裔美國人 female女性 astronomer天文學家
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我係非裔女性美國天文學家
亦係一個受過真正訓練嘅演員
04:22
and a classically經典 trained訓練 actor演員
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鍾意化妝,睇時尚雜誌
04:24
who loves to wear穿 makeup化妝
and read fashion時尚 magazines雜誌,
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所以我好欣賞大自然存在嘅矛盾
04:28
so I am uniquely唯一 positioned定位 to appreciate欣賞
contradictions矛盾 in nature自然 --
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(笑聲)
04:33
(Laughter笑聲)
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04:34
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
呢啲矛盾引領我哋研究
04:38
... and how they can inform可否告知 our search搜尋
for the next planet星球 where life exists存在.
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將我哋帶到下一個有生命存在嘅星球
我嘅組織, Rising Stargirls
04:42
My organization組織, Rising上升 StargirlsStargirls,
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通過戲劇表演、寫作同視覺藝術
04:45
teaches astronomy天文學
to middle-school中學 girls女孩 of color顏色,
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教授天文學俾唔同膚色嘅中學女生
04:48
using使用 theater劇院, writing寫作 and visual視覺 art藝術.
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呢個又係另一個矛盾
04:52
That's another另一個 contradiction矛盾 --
science科學 and art藝術 don't often經常 go together一起,
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科學同藝術好多時唔能夠喺埋一齊
04:56
but interweaving交織 them can help
these girls女孩 bring their佢哋 whole整個 selves自我
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但係將佢哋擺埋一齊
可以令佢哋明白佢哋學嘅嘢
05:00
to what they learn學習,
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或者有一日
佢哋會加入天文學家嘅行列
05:01
and maybe one day join加入
the ranks行列 of astronomers天文學家
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05:05
who are full of contradictions矛盾,
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呢個充滿矛盾發現嘅職業
05:06
and use their佢哋 backgrounds背景
to discover發現, once一旦 and for all,
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利用佢哋嘅背景
探索到我哋唔係宇宙中唯一嘅生物
05:10
that we are truly真正 not alone一手一腳
in the universe宇宙.
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多謝
05:14
Thank you.
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(掌聲)
05:15
(Applause掌聲)
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Translated by Ellen Zhang
Reviewed by Chak Lam Wan

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aomawa Shields - Astronomer, astrobiologist, actor, writer
Aomawa Shields studies the climate and habitability of planets outside of the Solar System.

Why you should listen

Dr. Aomawa Shields received her PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2014. She also received an MFA in Acting from UCLA in 2001, and a Bachelor's degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT in 1997. She is currently an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow, a UC President's Postdoctoral Program Fellow, and a 2015 TED Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Dr. Shields is the founder of Rising Stargirls, an organization dedicated to encouraging girls of all colors and backgrounds to explore and discover the universe using theater, writing, and visual art. She uses her theater and writing background to communicate science to the public in engaging, innovative ways.

More profile about the speaker
Aomawa Shields | Speaker | TED.com