Humanity's Search for Cosmic Truth and Poetic Beauty | Maria Popova | TED

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

[The Universe in Verse]

[Univerzum u stihu]

[Prelude]

[Uvod]

In 1908,

Godine 1908,

Henrietta Swan Leavitt,

Henrijeta Svon Levit,

one of the women known as the Harvard Computers,

jedna od žena poznatih kao kompjuteri sa Harvarda,

who changed our understanding of the universe

koje su promenile naše razumevanje univerzuma

long before they could vote,

mnogo pre nego što su mogle da glasaju,

was cataloging photographic plates at the Harvard College Observatory,

katalogizovala je fotografske ploče u opservatoriji fakulteta Harvard,

single-handedly analyzing 2,000 variable stars --

sama analizirajući 2 000 promenljivih zvezda -

stars with fluctuating brightness,

zvezda kolebljive svetlosti,

kind of like a lighthouse beacon --

nalik farovima sa svetionika -

when she began noticing a distinct correlation

kada je zapazila izrazitu podudarnost

between their brightness and their blinking pattern.

između njihove jačine i obrazaca treperenja.

That correlation made it possible to measure the distance of stars

Ta podudarnost je omogućila merenje udaljenosti zvezda

for the very first time,

prvi put u istoriji,

furnishing the yardstick of the universe.

obezbedivši aršine univerzuma.

Meanwhile, a dutiful teenage boy in the Midwest

U međuvremenu, marljivi tinejdžer sa srednjeg zapada

was repressing his childhood love of astronomy

je potiskivao svoju dečačku ljubav prema astronomiji

and beginning his legal studies to fulfill his dying father's demand

i započinjao je studije prava kako bi ispunio zavet oca na samrti

for an ordinary, reputable life.

za običnim, čestitim životom.

When his father died,

Kada mu je otac umro,

Edwin Hubble turned that passion for the stars into formal study

Edvin Habl je strast prema zvezdama pretvorio u formalne studije

and discovered two revolutionary facts about the universe:

i otkrio je dve revolucionarne činjenice o univerzumu:

that it is tremendously bigger than we thought

da je zapanjujuće veći nego što smo mislili

and that it's getting bigger and bigger by the blink.

i da raste sve više i više u treptaju oka.

One October evening in 1923,

Jedne oktobarske večeri 1923. godine,

perched at the foot of the largest telescope in the world,

zgrčen u podnožju najvećeg teleskopa na svetu

at Mount Wilson Observatory, not far from here,

u opservatoriji Maunt Vilson, nedaleko odavde,

Hubble took a 45-minute exposure of Andromeda,

Habl je zabeležio 45-minutnu ekspoziciju Andromede,

which was then thought to be one of many spiral nebulae in our Milky Way.

koja se tada smatrala jednom od mnogih spiralnih maglina u našem Mlečnom putu.

The notion of a galaxy,

Zamisao o galaksiji,

a gravitationally bound cluster of stars and dust and dark matter,

grupi gravitacijski povezanih zvezda, prašine i tamne materije,

didn't exist at the time.

nije postojala tada.

The Milky Way, which, by the way, was coined as a term

Mlečni put čiji je, usput, termin skovao

by Chaucer in the 14th century,

Čoser u XIV veku,

was thought to be what was called an "island universe"

smatrao se nečim što je nazivano „ostrvskim univerzumom”

beyond the edge of which lay cold, dark nothingness.

preko čije ivice počiva hladno, mračno ništavilo.

But when Hubble looked at the photograph the next morning

Međutim, kada je Habl pogledao sledećeg jutra fotografiju

and compared it to previous ones,

i uporedio je sa prethodnim,

he furrowed his brow

namrštio je čelo

and with a gasp of revelation scribbled right on top of the plate "VAR"

i s uzdahom otkrovenja naškrabao je na vrhu ploče „VAR”

and then drew an exclamation point

i potom nacrtao uzvičnik

because he had realized that a tiny fleck in Andromeda

jer je shvatio da sićušna pega u Andromedi

previously thought to be a nova

koju su do tad smatrali novom

could not possibly be a nova,

uopšte ne može da bude nova,

given its blinking pattern across these different photographs.

s obzirom na njen šablon treperenja na različitim fotografijama.

And it was, in fact, a variable star.

I zapravo se radilo o promenljivoj zvezdi.

Which meant, given Henrietta Leavitt's data,

Što je značilo, imajući u vidu Henrijetine podatke,

that it was very, very far away,

da je veoma, veoma daleko,

farther than the edge of the Milky Way.

dalje od ivice Mlečnog puta.

Which meant that Andromeda was not a nebula in our own galaxy,

A to je značilo da Andromeda nije maglina u našoj galaksiji,

but a whole other galaxy,

već potpuno druga galaksija

out there, in the cold, dark nothingness.

tamo negde u hladnom, mračnom ništavilu.

Suddenly, the universe was a garden, blooming with galaxies,

Iznenada, univerzum je bio bašta u kojoj bujaju galaksije,

with ours but a single bloom.

a naša je tek jedan cvet.

That same year, in another country,

Te iste godine, u drugoj državi,

suspended between two World Wars,

zatečen između dva svetska rata,

another young scientist came up with the radical idea

još jedan mladi naučnik je imao radikalnu zamisao

of using rocket technology,

korišćenja raketne tehnologije,

this deadly military technology,

ove smrtonosne vojne tehnologije,

to mount an enormous telescope and launch it into Earth's orbit.

kako bi natovario ogromni teleskop i lansirao ga u zemljinu orbitu.

Not only closer to the stars, but bypassing the atmosphere

Ne samo bliže zvezdama, već zaobilazeći atmosferu

that occludes our terrestrial instruments.

koja se preprečuje našim zemaljskim instrumentima.

It would take another two generations of scientists

Biće potrebne još dve generacije naučnika

to make that telescope a reality:

da ostvare tu viziju teleskopa:

a shimmering poem of metal, physics and perseverance

svetlucavu poemu metala, fizike i istrajnosti

bearing Hubble's name.

koja nosi Hablovo ime.

But when the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990,

Međutim, kada je svemirski teleskop Habl lansiran 1990. godine,

our human fallibility had slipped into the precision of the instrument,

jedna ljudska omaška se potkrala u preciznost instrumenta

and it turned out that its primary mirror

i ispostavilo se da je njegovo glavno ogledalo

was ground into the wrong spherical shape,

izbrušeno u pogrešan sferni oblik,

warping these long-awaited images of the unfathomed universe.

iskrivljujući te dugoočekivane slike nedokučivog univerzuma.

Up the coast from Mount Wilson Observatory,

Na obali blizu Opservatorije Maunt Vilson,

a teenage girl watched her father, who had worked on the Hubble,

tinejdžerka je posmatrala oca, koji je radio na Hablu

one of NASA's first Black engineers, come home brokenhearted.

kao jedan od NASA-inih prvih inženjera crnaca kako se vraća kući skrhan.

He didn't know that his observant daughter

Nije bio svestan da će njegova opažajna kćerka

would become poet laureate of his country

postati pesnička laureatkinja ove države

and would commemorate him in the tenderest tribute

i da će mu odati najnežniju počast

that an artist's daughter has ever composed for a scientist father,

koju je kćerka umetnica ikad sastavila za svog oca naučnika

which would win her the Pulitzer Prize

i koja će joj doneti Pulicerovu nagradu

the year the Hubble's corrected optics captured that revolutionary,

u godini kada je Habl sa korigovanom optikom zabeležio revolucionarnu

ultra-deep field image of the observable universe,

sliku Hablovog ultra dubokog polja vidljivog univerzuma,

revealing what neither Hubble

otkrivajući nešto što ni Habl,

nor Henrietta Leavitt could have imagined.

ni Henrijeta Levit nisu mogli zamisliti.

That ours is not just one of several galaxies,

Da naša nije tek jedna od nekoliko galaksija,

but that there are 100 billion galaxies out there,

već da postoji 100 milijardi galaksija,

each containing 100 billion stars.

a svaka sadrži 100 milijardi zvezda.

Narrator: From “My God, It’s Full of Stars.”

Naratorka: Iz poeme „Gospode, puno je zvezda.”

When my father worked on the Hubble Telescope, he said

Kad je moj otac radio na teleskopu Habl, rekao je

They operated like surgeons: scrubbed and sheathed

da su operisali poput hirurga: strugali i oblagali

In papery green, the room a clean, cold and bright white.

u papirasto-zelenoj sobi čistoj, hladnoj i jarko beloj.

He’d read Larry Niven at home, and drink scotch on the rocks,

Kod kuće bi čitao Larija Nivena i pio skoč s ledom,

His eyes exhausted and pink. These were the Reagan years,

očiju iscrpljenih i rozih. Bile su to godine Regana,

When we lived with our finger on The Button and struggled

kada smo živeli s prstom na Dugmetu i borili se

To view our enemies as children. My father spent whole seasons

da gledamo na svoje neprijatelje kao decu. Otac je provodio čitave sezone

Bowing before the oracle-eye, hungry for what it would find.

poginjući se nad okom proročišta, žudeći za onim šta bi moglo da otkrije.

His face lit-up whenever anyone asked, and his arms would rise

Lice bi mu se ozarilo kad god neko priupita, a njegove ruke se podigle

As if he were weightless, perfectly at ease in the never-ending

kao u bestežinskom stanju, savršeno spokojan u beskonačnoj

Night of space. On the ground, we tied postcards to balloons

noći svemira. Dole na zemlji, vezivali smo razglednice za balone

For peace. Prince Charles married Lady Di.

zarad mira. Princ Čarls je oženio Lejdi Di.

Rock Hudson died.

Rok Hadson je umro.

We learned new words for things. The decade changed.

Naučili smo nove reči za stvari. Decenija se promenila.

The first few pictures came back blurred, and I felt ashamed

Prvih nekoliko slika je ispalo mutno i mene je bilo sramota

For all the cheerful engineers, my father and his tribe. The second time,

zbog svih tih razdraganih inženjera, mog oca i njegovog plemena. Drugog puta,

The optics jibed. We saw to the edge of all there is --

optika se povinovala. Videli smo ivicu svega što postoji -

So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.

tako svirepu i živu da se činilo kako spoznala je i ona nas.