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 （'hə: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(ə'kædəmi) of Science-operated RATAN (ræ'tæn)-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 /drɪl/ 演习
not a drill 不是演习
n. 训练；钻孔机；钻子；播种机
vi. 钻孔；训练
vt. 钻孔；训练；条播
n. (Drill)人名；(德、英)德里尔
extraterrestrial /‘ɛkstrətə’rɛstrɪəl/
adj. 地球外的n. 天外来客
ratan /
ræ’tæn
/
abbr. 雷达和电视导航设备（Radar and Television Aid to Navigation）
n. (Ratan)人名；(西)拉坦
academy /
ə’kædəmi/
n. 学院；研究院；学会；专科院校
Investigate /
[ɪn’vɛstɪɡet
/
v. 调查；研究
mysterious /
mɪ’stɪrɪəs
/
adj. 神秘的；不可思议的；难解的
spike /spaɪk/
尖峰脉冲
n. 长钉，道钉；钉鞋；细高跟
vt. 阻止；以大钉钉牢；用尖物刺穿
constellation /
,kɑnstə’leʃən
/
n. [天] 星座；星群；荟萃；兴奋丛
Hercules /ɜrˈkjuːl/
. 赫居里士（希腊神话中大力神）
implications /
‘ɪmplɪ'keʃən
/
n. 含义；暗示；牵连，卷入；可能的结果，影响
extraordinary /ɛkˈstrɔrdənˌɛri/
adj. 非凡的；特别的；离奇的；临时的；特派的
civilization /
sɪvələ’zeʃən
/
n. 文明；文化
Interstellar /,ɪntɚ’stɛlɚ/
adj. [航][天] 星际的
quietly /ˈkwaɪətli/
adv. 安静地；秘密地；平稳地
circulate /
‘sɝkjəlet
/
vi. 传播，流传；循环；流通
vt. 使循环；使流通；使传播
mysterious /
mɪ’stɪrɪəs
/
adj. 神秘的；不可思议的；难解的
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The mysterious star’s designation ( /ˌdɛzɪɡ'neʃən/) is HD164595, and it’s considered to be sun-like in nature with a nearly identical metallic (/mə'tælɪk/)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 (/'dɛkəret/) 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.”
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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 /kən’sivəbli/
adv. 令人信服地；可相信地；想得到地
intentional /ɪn’tɛnʃənl/
adj. 故意的；蓄意的；策划的
transmission /
træns’mɪʃən
/
n. 传动装置，[机] 变速器；传递；传送；播送
blip /blɪp/
n. （在雷达屏幕显示出的）物体光点
merit /
‘mɛrɪt
/
n. 优点，价值；功绩；功过
vt. 值得
vi. 应受报答
specialize /
‘spɛʃəlaɪz
/
vi. 专门从事；详细说明；特化
vt. 使专门化；使适应特殊情况；详细说明
specialize in 专营
specialize in 专门研究
specialize in 专门经营
specialize in 专攻
specialize in 国营的
Extraterrestrial /'ɛkstrətə'rɛstrɪəl]/
adj. 地球外的
n. 天外来客
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 /'ɪndɪket]/
vt. 表明；指出；预示；象征
isotropic /aɪsə’trɑpɪk/
adj. [物][数] 各向同性的；等方性的
beacon /‘bikən/
n. 灯塔，信号浮标；烽火；指路明灯
vt. 照亮，指引
vi. 像灯塔般照耀
throughout /
θrʊ’aʊt
/
adv. 自始至终，到处；全部
prep. 贯穿，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 /ə’klem/
vt. 称赞；为…喝彩，向…欢呼
n. 欢呼，喝彩；称赞
vi. 欢呼，喝彩
Soviet /‘sovɪ’ɛt/
adj. 苏联的；苏维埃的；委员会的
n. 苏维埃（代表会议）；委员会；代表会议
astronomer /ə’strɑnəmɚ/
n. 天文学家
harness /
‘hɑrnɪs
/
vt. 治理；套；驾驭；披上甲胄；利用
n. 马具；甲胄；挽具状带子；降落伞背带；日常工作
hypothetical /
,haɪpə’θɛtɪkl
/
adj. 假设的；爱猜想的
massive /
‘mæsɪv
/
adj. 大量的；巨大的，厚重的；魁伟的
artificial /
,ɑrtɪ’fɪʃl
/
adj. 人造的；仿造的；虚伪的；非原产地的；武断的
encapsulate /
ɪn’kæpsjə’let
/
vt. 压缩；将…装入胶囊；将…封进内部；概述
vi. 形成胶囊
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A cut-away diagram of an idealized Dyson shell, a variant on Dyson’s original concept. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Venus /'vi:nəs/ 金星
Mercury /'mə:kjuri/ 水星
n. [天] 金星；维纳斯（爱与美的女神）
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 /‘besɪkli/
adv. 主要地，基本上
presence /‘prɛzns/
n. 存在；出席；参加；风度；仪态
galaxy /
‘ɡæləks
/
n. 银河；[天] 星系；银河系；一群显赫的人
n. 三星智能手机品牌 2015年三星中国公布Galaxy的中文名称为“盖乐世”
enormous /
ɪ’nɔrməs
/
adj. 庞大的，巨大的；凶暴的，极恶的
specifically /
spə’sɪfɪkli
/
adv. 特别地；明确地
technological /
tɛknə’lɑdʒɪkl
/
adj. 技术的；工艺的
contemporary /
kən’tɛmpərɛri
/
n. 同时代的人；同时期的东西
adj. 当代的；同时代的；属于同一时期的
beam/bim/
n. 横梁；光线；电波；船宽；[计量] 秤杆
vt. 发送；以梁支撑；用…照射；流露
vi. 照射；堆满笑容
n. (Beam)人名；(阿拉伯)贝亚姆；(英)比姆
particular /pɚ'tɪkjəlɚ/
adj. 特别的；详细的；独有的；挑剔的
n. 详细说明；个别项目
theorize /θiəraɪz/
vi. 建立理论或学说；推理
vt. 建立理论
interconnect /ɪntɚkə’nɛkt/
vt. 使互相连接
vi. 互相联系
“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 /prə’vɑkətɪv/
adj. 刺激的，挑拨的；气人的
n. 刺激物，挑拨物；兴奋剂
call for
要求；需要；提倡；邀请；为…叫喊
permanent ['pɝmənənt]
adj. 永久的，永恒的；不变的
n. 烫发（等于permanent wave)
transpiring transpire /
træn’spaɪɚ
/
vi. 发生；蒸发；泄露
vt. 使蒸发；使排出
institue /['ɪnstɪtut]/
vt. 开始（调查）；制定；创立；提起（诉讼）
n. 学会，协会；学院
divert /dɪˈvɚt/
diverting daɪ’vɝtɪŋ
adj. 有趣的；令人快乐的
v. 使转移；使得到消遣（divert的现在分词）
counterpart /‘kaʊntɚpɑrt/
n. 副本；配对物；极相似的人或物
Optical /ɑptɪkl/
adj. 光学的；眼睛的，视觉的
observatory /
əb’zɝvətɔri
/
n. 天文台；气象台；瞭望台
Panama /pænəmɑ/
n. 巴拿马（位于拉丁美洲）；巴拿马城
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. 接着发生的
ensure /ɪn’ʃʊr/
vt. 保证，确保；使安全
committee /kə’mɪti/
n. 委员会
astronautical /æstrə'nɔ:tik,-kəl/
adj. 宇航的；太空航行学的；航天员的（等于astronautic）
congress /
‘kɑŋɡrəs
/
n. 国会；代表大会；会议；社交
colonize /['kɑlənaɪz]/
vt. 将…开拓为殖民地；移于殖民地；从他地非法把选民移入
vi. 开拓殖民地；移居于殖民地
Mars /mɑrz/
n. 战神；[天] 火星
observer /
əb’zɝvɚ
/
n. 观察者；[天] 观测者；遵守者
follow up
跟踪；坚持完成；继续做某事
*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 /ædvəkəsi/
n. 主张；拥护；辩护
exploration /,ɛksplə’reʃən/
n. 探测；探究；踏勘
reside /
rɪ’zaɪd
/
vi. 住，居住；属于
raised /rezd/
adj. 凸起的；发酵的；浮雕的
v. 提高（raise的过去时和过去分词）；举起；抚育，抚养
