國家地理:送給外星人的地圖(8)

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Dad's map, of course, is still out there -- but chances are slim to zero that the Pioneers or Voyagers carrying it will be intercepted. Though all four spacecraft are on interstellar trajectories, space is big, and the next stellar systems on the horizon are many thousands of years away. Plus, the spacecraft are tiny and will be completely quiet within the next couple of decades, making them extremely hard to detect.

當(dāng)然，爸爸的地圖仍在--但搭載它的“先驅(qū)者號”或“旅行者號”被截獲的希望越來越渺茫。雖然四艘探測器全部處在星際軌道上，但宇宙太大了，還要再過幾千年它們才會(huì)遇到下一個(gè)星系。此外，這些航天飛船都很小，當(dāng)它們在接下來的幾十年里徹底停止發(fā)送信號時(shí)，就更難被探測到了。

As for sending the new map: There's no Voyager-like space probe scheduled for launch anytime soon. But if this map did hitch a ride beyond our solar system, and if it got scooped up by intelligent space aliens, the map should be quite easy for them to read and follow.

至于發(fā)送新地圖：短期內(nèi)不會(huì)發(fā)射類似“旅行者號”的太空探測器了。但如果這張地圖真的在太陽系之外搭上了順風(fēng)車，如果它被聰明的外星人發(fā)現(xiàn)，那么這張地圖對他們來說應(yīng)該很容易閱讀和理解。

That raises all sorts of questions: Would extraterrestrial beings at those distances have the means to reach Earth? If so and they head our way, what if they don't come in peace? What if they're hangry? And what if they're not vegetarians?

這就引出了各種各樣的問題：距離那么遠(yuǎn)的外星生物有辦法到達(dá)地球嗎？如果可以實(shí)現(xiàn)，他們朝我們飛來，但不是帶著和平的目的呢？如果他們餓極成怒了怎么辦？如果他們不是素食主義者呢？

Here's the fundamental question that didn't stop Carl and Dad: Is it a good idea to randomly send our address into the cosmos? Today, some folks would have no reservations, given that earthly transmissions already are leaking into space and, traveling at the speed of light, are detectable by anyone with a decent radio telescope living within a hundred light-years of us. Other folks, perhaps more cautiously, would hold off on announcing our presence until we know if ETs have honorable intentions.

有一個(gè)根本的問題并沒有阻止卡爾和爸爸：隨意把我們的地址發(fā)送到宇宙中真的是個(gè)好主意嗎？現(xiàn)如今，有些人可能會(huì)對此毫不在意，因?yàn)榈厍蛏系男畔⒁呀?jīng)泄露到太空中，并且以光速傳播，任何生活在我們周圍100光年以內(nèi)的生物，只要有一臺(tái)像樣的射電望遠(yuǎn)鏡，就能發(fā)現(xiàn)這些信息。其他人，也許更謹(jǐn)慎，會(huì)推遲宣布我們的存在，直到我們清楚了外星人的意圖是否高尚。