Roy Gould: WorldWide Telescope

譯者: ilake Chang 審譯者: Lin Su-Wei(林書暐)

Roy Gould: Less than a year from now,

羅伊‧古爾德：再過不到一年，

the world is going to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy,

世界將要慶祝國際天文年，

which marks the 400th anniversary

紀念伽利略

of Galileo's first glimpse of the night sky through a telescope.

首次使用望遠鏡進行天文觀測四百週年。

In a few months, the world is also going to celebrate

幾個月以後

the launch of a new invention from Microsoft Research,

世界也將慶祝微軟研究院發佈的一項發明，

which I think is going to have as profound an impact

就像伽利略四個世紀以前的創舉一樣，

on the way we view the universe as Galileo did four centuries ago.

這項發明將對我們觀測宇宙產生深遠影響。

It's called the WorldWide Telescope,

這就是「萬維天文望遠鏡」(WorldWide Telescope)

and I want to thank TED and Microsoft for allowing me to bring it to your attention.

非常感謝TED和微軟給我這個機會向大家介紹。

And I want to urge you, when you get a chance,

同時我也希望您有空的話，

to give it a closer look at the TED Lab downstairs.

到樓下的TED實驗室近距離感受一下。

The WorldWide Telescope takes the best images

「萬維天文望遠鏡」彙集了

from the world's greatest telescopes on Earth and in space,

來自地面和太空中的全球頂級望遠鏡的優質圖片，

and has woven them seamlessly

這些圖片密合的拼接在一起

to produce a holistic view of the universe.

創造出一幅壯觀的宇宙風景畫。

It's going to change the way we do astronomy,

這將會改變天文學的研究方式，

it's going to change the way we teach astronomy

也將改變教授天文學的方式

and I think most importantly

而且，最重要的，

it's going to change the way we see ourselves in the universe.

這將改變我們在這個宇宙中看待自己的方式。

If we were having this TED meeting in our grandparents' day,

如果我們祖父那個時代就有TED集會，

that might not be so big a claim.

可能不會引起這樣大的關注。

In 1920, for example, you weren't allowed to drink;

比如，在1920年代，禁酒令還在執行；

if you were a woman, you weren't allowed to vote;

婦女還沒有投票權。

and if you looked up at the stars and the Milky Way on a summer night,

如果您在夏夜中仰望銀河，

what you saw was thought to be the entire universe.

您就以為看到了整個宇宙。

In fact, the head of Harvard's observatory back then

實際上，當時的哈佛天文台的負責人

gave a great debate in which he argued

就此展開過大辯論

that the Milky Way Galaxy was the entire universe.

他認為銀河系就是整個宇宙。

Harvard was wrong, big time. (Laughter)

哈佛無疑是大錯特錯。

Of course, we know today that galaxies extend far beyond our own galaxy.

現在我們知道許多恆星系遠遠超出了銀河系的範圍。

We can see all the way out to the edge of the observable universe,

我們幾乎能觀測到宇宙邊緣，

all the way back in time,

能夠觀察到時間的流動，

almost to the moment of the Big Bang itself.

幾乎追溯到宇宙大爆炸的瞬間。

We can see across the entire spectrum of light,

我們可以透過光譜，

revealing worlds that had previously been invisible.

發現以前觀測不到的世界。

We see these magnificent star nurseries,

我們可以看到這些壯觀星星的搖籃，

where nature has somehow arranged for just the right numbers

在那裡大自然用適當的數量和大小

and just the right sizes of stars to be born for life to arise.

創造孕育生命的星星。

We see alien worlds, we see alien solar systems --

我們觀測外星世界，我們觀測外星類太陽系

300 now, and still counting --

現在找到300個恆星系，還在增加中。

and they're not like us.

它們不像我們的太陽系。

We see black holes at the heart of our galaxy,

我們觀測銀河系中心的黑洞，

in the Milky Way, and elsewhere in the universe,

在銀河系中以及在宇宙的其他地方，

where time itself seems to stand still.

在黑洞裡時間看起來是凝固靜止的。

But until now, our view of the universe has been disconnected and fragmented,

到目前為止，我們對宇宙的認識仍是不連續的，片斷性的，

and I think that many of the marvelous stories that nature has to tell us

大自然想告訴我們的許多奇妙故事，

have fallen through the cracks. And that's changing.

都在這些片斷中失真了。但現在有了轉機。

I want to just briefly mention three reasons

我簡要列舉三個原因來說明

why my colleagues and I, in astronomy and in education,

為什麼我和我的天文學方面的和教育方面的同事們

are so excited about the WorldWide Telescope

都一致對「萬維天文望遠鏡」感到興奮

and why we think it's truly transformative.

為什麼我們認為它是一場變革。

First, it enables you to experience the universe:

第一，它可以讓你體驗整個宇宙。

the WorldWide Telescope, for me, is a kind of magic carpet

「萬維天文望遠鏡」就像魔毯

that lets you navigate through the universe where you want to go.

可以隨心所欲的帶我們飛躍整個宇宙。

Second: you can tour the universe with astronomers as your guides.

第二，在瀏覽宇宙的旅途中可以讓天文學家作為您的嚮導。

And I'm not talking here about just experts who are telling you what you're seeing,

我說的不是僅僅是一些告訴你看到的是什麼的專家們，

but really people who are passionate about the various nooks and crannies of the universe,

而是那些對宇宙各種角落裂縫都充滿熱情的人

who can share their enthusiasm

那些散發著熱情的人們

and can make the universe a welcoming place.

讓宇宙成為好客之地。

And third, you can create your own tours --

第三，你可以自己設計旅程。

you can share them with friends, you can create them with friends --

你可以與朋友分享，也可以與朋友一起設計。

and that's the part that I think I'm most excited about

這一點是最讓人興奮的，

because I think that at heart, we are all storytellers.

因為從心底裡，我們都是愛講故事的人。

And in telling stories,

在講述故事時，

each of us is going to understand the universe in our own way.

我們會以自己的方式認識宇宙。

We're going to have a personal universe.

每個人都有一個自己所認知的宇宙。

I think we're going to see a community of storytellers evolve and emerge.

我認為，未來能見到將來故事家社群的形成。

Before I introduce the person responsible for the WorldWide Telescope,

在我介紹「萬維天文望遠鏡」負責人之前，

I just want to leave you with this brief thought:

我想留給您一個簡單的問題。

when I ask people, "How does the night sky make you feel?"

當我問別人：「夜空給你什麼樣的感受？」

they often say, "Oh, tiny. I feel tiny and insignificant."

他們通常說：「渺小，我感到渺小且微不足道。」

Well, our gaze fills the universe.

好的，讓我們的目光凝視這個宇宙。

And thanks to the creators of the WorldWide Telescope,

感謝「萬維天文望遠鏡」的創造者，

we can now start to have a dialogue with the universe.

現在我們可以與宇宙對話了。

I think the WorldWide Telescope will convince you

「萬維天文望遠鏡」會讓你明白

that we may be tiny, but we are truly, wonderfully significant.

人類可能很渺小，但人生很精彩，很有意義。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

I can't tell you what a privilege it is

我十分榮幸的介紹

to introduce Curtis Wong from Microsoft. (Applause)

來自微軟的柯蒂斯‧黃（Curtis Wong）。

Curtis Wong: Thank you, Roy.

柯蒂斯‧黃：謝謝，羅伊。

So, what you're seeing here is a wonderful presentation,

如您剛剛所見這是一個精彩的演示，

but it's one of the tours.

但是這只是眾多旅程中的一個。

And actually this tour is one that was created earlier.

而且，事實上這是之前就設計好的一個旅程。

And the tours are all totally interactive,

所有的旅程都都能隨時交換作互動，

so that if I were to go somewhere ...

如果你想到某個地方

you may be watching a tour and you can pause anywhere along the way,

你可以觀看旅程，也可以隨時隨地停留，

pull up other information --

收集其他信息。

there are lots of Web and information sources

關於您要前往的目的地，

about places you might want to go --

有許多資料可供查看。

you can zoom in, you can pull back out.

你可以縮放畫面

The whole resources are there available for you.

所有的資源都在這裡，為你所用。

So, Microsoft -- this is a project that -- WorldWide Telescope is dedicated to Jim Gray,

「萬維天文望遠鏡」要獻給吉姆蓋瑞（2007.1.28失蹤於海上）

who's our colleague, and a lot of his work that he did

他是我們的同事，他做了大量的貢獻

is really what makes this project possible.

是他讓這個專案成真

It's a labor of love for us and our small team,

這是我們小組充滿愛心的成果，

and we really hope it will inspire kids to explore and learn about the universe.

我們希望這可以啟迪兒童探索和學習宇宙。

So basically, kids of all ages, like us.

適用於各年齡層，像我們也行。

And so WorldWide Telescope will be available this spring.

「萬維天文望遠鏡」今年春天發佈。

It'll be a free download -- thank you, Craig Mundie --

它可免費使用。謝謝你，克雷格蒙迪 （微軟的研發和策略長）

and it'll be available at the website WorldWideTelescope.org,

你可以到Worldwidetelescope.org下載，

which is something new.

並查閱各種新資訊

And so, what you've seen today

今天您看到的

is less than a fraction of one percent of what is in here,

其實還不到這軟體的1%，

and in the TED Lab, we have a tour

在TED實驗室，

that was created by a six-year-old named Benjamin

有一個叫班傑明的六歲小孩設計的旅程

that will knock your socks off. (Laughter)

一定會讓你大吃一驚。

So we'll see you there. Thank you.

我們在那裡見。謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）