A Taste of Solar Maximum - presented by Science@NASA

太陽最大值的滋味--由Science@NASA介紹

Experts say Solar Max is due in the year 2013.

專家表示，Solar Max將於2013年。

When it arrives, the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle

當它到來時，11年的太陽黑子週期的高峰就會到來

will bring more solar flares,

將帶來更多的太陽耀斑。

more coronal mass ejections,

更多的日冕物質噴射。

more geomagnetic storms

更多地磁暴

and more auroras than we have experienced in quite some time.

和更多的極光比我們經歷了相當長的時間。

On the weekend of July 14, 2012,

在2012年7月14日的週末。

sky watchers around the world got a taste of things to come.

世界各地的天空觀察者嚐到了未來的滋味。

It was mid-Saturday in North America

當時是北美的週六中

when a coronal mass ejection or "CME"

當日冕物質拋射或"CME&quot。

crashed into Earth's magnetic field

撞向地球磁場

and triggered the most sustained display of auroras in years.

並引發了多年來最持續的極光顯示。

For more than 36 hours,

超過36小時。

magnetic storms circled Earth's poles.

磁暴圍繞著地球'的兩極。

Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into the United States

北極光越過加拿大邊境進入美國。

as far south as California, Colorado, Kansas, and Arkansas.

南至加州、科羅拉多州、堪薩斯州和阿肯色州。

In the southern hemisphere,

在南半球。

skies turned red over Tasmania and New Zealand,

塔斯馬尼亞和紐西蘭的天空變成了紅色。

while the aurora australis pirouetted around the South Pole.

當極光繞著南極迴旋的時候

The source of the CME was giant sunspot AR1520,

集合放射粒子的來源是巨大的太陽黑子AR1520。

a seething nest of tangled magnetism

磁力交織的巢穴

more than 15 times wider than Earth itself.

比地球本身寬15倍以上。

On July 12th, the sunspot's magnetic field erupted,

7月12日，太陽黑子'的磁場爆發了。

producing an X-class solar flare

X級耀斑

and hurling a billion tons of electrified plasma toward our planet.

並將十億噸的電化等離子體投向我們的星球。

NASA's twin STEREO probes

美國宇航局的雙胞胎STEREO探測器

and the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

和歐洲航天局太陽和日光層觀測站。

monitored the CME as it billowed away from the sun.

當CME從太陽上飛走時，監測到了它。

Using those data,

利用這些數據。

analysts at NOAA and NASA successfully predicted the cloud's arrival time.

NOAA和NASA的分析師成功預測了雲層'的到達時間。

It would take almost two full days for the CME to cross the 93 million mile void

幾乎需要整整兩天的時間，CME才能穿越9300萬英里的虛空。

between Earth and sun.

在地球和太陽之間。

The CME's impact sharply compressed Earth's magnetosphere,

CME'的撞擊急劇壓縮了地球'的磁層。

briefly exposing geosynchronous satellites to solar wind plasma.

將地球同步衛星短暫地暴露在太陽風等離子體中；

The shaking of Earth's magnetic field

地球磁場的震盪

caused compass needles to swing--just a little bit--

引起羅盤針的擺動 -- 只是一點點 --

and prompted electrical currents to flow through the soil at high latitudes.

並促使電流在高緯度地區的土壤中流動。

Fortunately, the strike did no harm;

所幸的是，這一擊沒有造成傷害。

satellites survived and power grids stayed online.

衛星倖存下來，電網保持在線。

Next came the light show.

接下來是燈光秀。

As the CME's wake washed across Earth,

當CME的尾巴衝過地球時。

the polar regions of our planet lit up like a Christmas tree.

我們星球的極地就像聖誕樹一樣被點亮了。

Red, green, blue and purple auroras capped both ends of the planet,

紅、綠、藍、紫極光籠罩著地球的兩端。

glowing, dancing, and ultimately spreading to places where auroras are seldom seen.

發光、舞動，最終蔓延到很少見到極光的地方。

In Arkansas, for instance,

比如在阿肯色州。

'there was a faint glow off and on for most of the night,'

＆#39;有一個微弱的光芒斷斷續續的大部分夜晚，＆#39。

reports Brad Emfinger from a little town called Ozark.

布拉德-埃姆芬格從一個叫奧扎克的小鎮來報道。

'Around 3am there was an outburst of red and purple

'凌晨3點左右，出現了紅色和紫色的爆發。

plainly visible to the naked eye.'

肉眼可見的&#39。

In Pawnee Grasslands, Colorado,

在科羅拉多州的波尼草原上。

photographer Robert Arn saw the Northern Lights for the first time ever:

攝影師羅伯特-阿恩有史以來第一次看到了北極光。

'As soon as I stepped out of the car,

'我一下車。

the sky looked like it was on fire.

天空像是著了火一樣。

Then the Moon, Venus and Jupiter rose together in the east.

然後月亮、金星和木星一起在東方升起。

To see the conjunction and the auroras side-by-side was incredible!'

看到合體和極光並排，真是不可思議！&#39。

Meanwhile at the other end of the planet,

與此同時，在地球的另一端。

'auroras were going crazy over the South Pole,'

極光在南極上空瘋長，39。

reports Robert Schwarz at the Amundsen-Scott south pole research station.

羅伯特-施瓦茨在阿蒙森-斯科特南極研究站的報告。

'We enjoyed the show under crystal clear skies

'我們在晴朗的天空下欣賞了這場演出。

with an air temperature of minus 105 degrees F.'

空氣溫度為零下105華氏度&#39。

In Ashland, Wisconsin, on the other hand,

另一方面，在威斯康星州的阿什蘭。

John Welling watched the show in his shirt sleeves:

約翰-威靈穿著襯衫袖子看錶演。

'Tonight was absolutely the best

#39;今晚絕對是最好的

with a comfortable temperature of +78 degrees F

舒適的溫度為+78華氏度

and Northern Lights dancing overhead.

和北極光在頭頂跳舞。

The X-flare definitely lived up to the hype.'

X-flare絕對不負眾望.&#39。

From one end of the planet to the other,

從地球的一端到另一端。

spanning more than 90 degrees of combined north-south latitude,

跨越了90多度的南北綜合緯度。

183 degrees of temperature, and 360 degrees of longitude,

183度的溫度，和360度的經度。

this was truly a global space weather event.

這是一次真正的全球空間天氣事件。

And it was just a taste of things to come.

而這只是未來事情的一個味道。

The sun earth connection is heating up.

太陽地連接正在升溫。

For more news about the sun-Earth connection,

對於更多關於太陽與地球連接的新聞。

stay tuned to Science.nasa.gov.

請關注Science.nasa.gov。