The Alpha Centauri system consists of three known stars.

半人馬座阿爾法星系由三顆已知的恆星組成。

Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B are a binary pair, which means they orbit a common center of mass.

半人馬座α星A和半人馬座α星B為一對雙星，意思是它們圍繞一個共同質心公轉。

The third star, Proxima Centauri, is the closest to Earth at about 4.22 light-years away.

第三顆恆星是比鄰星，距離地球最近，約 4.22 光年。

In 2016, astronomers detected an Earth-sized planet orbiting Proxima Centauri within the

2016 年，天文學家在恆星的適居帶內，探測到一顆地球大小的行星，

star's habitable zone - the right distance to potentially support liquid water on its surface.

在比鄰星的軌道上運行——這合適的距離，支持表面有液態水的可能。

Which is why eyes are on Alpha Centauri as our first destination once we master interstellar travel.

這就是為什麼一旦我們掌握星際旅行，半人馬座α會是我們的首要目的地。

So is this deep space journey possible in our lifetime?

那麼，這種深太空旅程在我們一生中能達成嗎？

And if so, how will we get there?

如果可以，我們要怎麼到達那裡？

Outer space is bigger than we can comprehend

外太空比我們所理解的還大，

and sending a spacecraft into its depths takes a lot of time.

而且將太空船送入深處要花很多時間。

NASA's Voyager 1 is Earth's farthest spacecraft to date.

NASA 的航海家 1 號是目前距離地球最遠的太空船。

It was launched in 1977, and in 2012, it was the first craft to enter interstellar space.

它於 1977 年發射，在 2012 年，成為第一個進入星際空間的太空船。

If Voyager 1 was pointed in the direction of Alpha Centauri, it would still take tens of thousands of years to reach the system.

如果航海家 1 號指向半人馬座α的方向，那到達該星系仍需數萬年。

And that's because its propulsion system is not ideal for deep space travel.

那是因為它的推進系統不適合深太空旅行。

So clearly we need a faster way to get to our stellar neighbors.

因此，很明顯我們需要更快的方式來到達附近的恆星。

Some scientists believe that our best attempt at interstellar travel are lightsails.

有些科學家相信光帆是星際旅行最好的嘗試。

These sails would be made of ultra-thin sheets that will be propelled using light instead of wind.

這些帆由超薄的薄片製成，這些薄片使用光而不是風來推進。

One of the major initiatives researching their potential is Breakthrough Starshot.

研究光帆潛力的一個主要計畫叫「突破星擊」。

The program, initially backed by late cosmologist Stephen Hawking, aims to create a nanocraft

該計劃最初由已故的宇宙學家史蒂芬．霍金支持，目的是建造奈米太空船，

comprised of a lightsail and a gram-scale wafer that hosts a number of instruments called a StarChip.

由光帆和和克量級的晶片組成，可以容納大量稱為「星晶片」的儀器。

The nanocraft has a mirror-like sail design and is measured at 10 square meters with a mass of less than 1 gram.

奈米太空船的帆為鏡像設計，在 10 平方公尺下測量，質量小於 1 克。

By comparison a penny weighs 2.5 grams,

相比之下，一分錢是 2.5 克，

so these spacecraft will be ultralight.

因此這些太空船將是超輕型的。

The lightsail will purportedly be accelerated by laser radiation pressure from Earth at about 20 percent the speed of light.

光線據說會受到地球雷射輻射壓力而加速，速度約為光速的 20％。

The planned laser array, called a Light Beamer, will fire beams as powerful as 100 gigawatts of specific wavelengths of near-infrared light.

計畫中的雷射陣列稱為「雷射推進裝置」，可發射強度為 100 兆瓦，特定波長的近紅外光束。

The nanocraft sail would need to reflect a huge majority of the laser light to avoid instantly burning up on contact.

奈米太空船的帆需要反射大部分雷射光，以避免接觸時立即燃燒。

The idea is to launch thousands of nanocraft at once to increase the chances that at least

一次發射上千個奈米太空船的想法，目的是要增加機會，

a few will conquer the elements and reach Alpha Centauri.

至少要有少數能克服環境因素，到達半人馬座α。

If they do make it, it's estimated, the journey will only take around 20 years.

如果它們可以做到，估計這趟旅程只需 20 年左右。

Though some critics are skeptical about the ability to execute Breakthrough Starshot,

雖然有些批評人士懷疑突破星擊的執行率，

some of the world's greatest minds are actively working to make it a reality.

但世上有些厲害的人正積極實現此計畫。

The project is pushing the boundaries of science, challenging humans to create an entirely new

該項目在推動科學的界限，考驗人類能否創造出一種全新的器材，

material that meets all the extreme needs of the lightsails

來滿足光帆所需的極端需求，

and to design the largest laser ever constructed.

並設計出史上最大的雷射裝置。

But, if engineers and scientists are able perfect these pint-sized spacecraft and we

但是，如果工程師和科學家能完美製造小型太空船，

achieve interstellar travel, humanity will be rewarded with an entirely new understanding of the alien worlds beyond our own.

而我們也能實現星際旅行，那人類將獲得超出自身外，對其他世界的全新理解。

If you're looking to learn more about space exploration and astronomical phenomena be sure to watch this episode of Space Crafts.

如果你想學更多關於太空探索和天文現象的知識，一定要記得觀看 Space Crafts 這集的內容。

And don't forget to subscribe to Seeker for all things science.

為了學到所有的科學知識，別忘了訂閱 Seeker 。

Thanks for watching!

謝謝觀看！