双语新闻：澳大利亚人研究人员称，绘制了最完整的宇宙历史地图

Australian researchers say they have produced the most complete history of the universe to date. An Australian National University team says the study offers new ideas about how the universe might have started.

澳大利亚研究人员称，他们绘制出了迄今为止最完整的宇宙历史。澳大利亚国立大学的一个研究小组表示，这项研究为宇宙如何起源提供了新的思路。

The research team says the study's aim was to understand the beginnings of all the objects in the universe.

研究小组表示，这项研究的目的是了解宇宙中所有物体的起源。

The American space agency, NASA, says the universe "includes all of space, and all the matter and energy that space contains. It even includes time itself and, of course, it includes you."

美国国家航空航天局(NASA)表示，宇宙“包括所有的空间，以及空间所包含的所有物质和能量。它甚至包括时间本身，当然也包括你。”

NASA adds that "the Milky Way is but one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe -- all of them, including our own, are thought to have supermassive black holes at their centers."

美国宇航局补充说:“银河系只是可观测宇宙中数十亿个星系中的一个——所有这些星系，包括我们自己的星系，都被认为在它们的中心有超大质量黑洞。”

A black hole is an area in space with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape it.

黑洞是空间中的一个区域，它的引力非常强，连光都无法逃脱。

The Australian team says it has created the most complete maps showing the history of the universe.

澳大利亚研究小组表示，他们绘制了最完整的宇宙历史地图。

The lead writer is honorary professor Charley Lineweaver. He said that when the universe began 13.8 billion years ago in a hot big bang, there were no objects, such as atoms, people, planets, stars, or galaxies.

主要作者是名誉教授查理·莱恩韦弗。他说，138亿年前，当宇宙在一次热的大爆炸中诞生时，没有原子、人类、行星、恒星或星系等物体。

The writers say the mapping provides new ideas about how the universe came into being.

作者表示，该地图为宇宙如何形成提供了新的思路。

The Australian National University (ANU) study is published in the most recent publication of The American Journal of Physics.

澳大利亚国立大学(ANU)的这项研究发表在最新一期的《美国物理学杂志》上。

The first map shows temperature and density of the universe as it expanded and cooled. The second map shows the mass and size of all objects in the universe.

第一张图显示了宇宙膨胀和冷却时的温度和密度。第二张地图显示了宇宙中所有物体的质量和大小。

The ANU researchers say the study suggests the universe may have started as what is known as an instanton not a singularity. An instanton has a defined size and mass. A singularity is defined as a point of infinite density and temperature.

澳大利亚国立大学的研究人员表示，这项研究表明，宇宙可能是从所谓的瞬间开始的，而不是奇点。一个瞬子有一个确定的大小和质量。奇点被定义为具有无限密度和温度的点。

Put simply, this would mean that the beginning of the universe was not infinite in size. That is important because researchers say that what lies beyond the limits of the universe is "also a major mystery."

简单地说，这意味着宇宙开始时并不是无限大的。这很重要，因为研究人员说，宇宙极限之外的东西“也是一个重大谜团”。

Lineweaver told VOA that mapping the universe will increase our understanding of it.

Lineweaver告诉美国之音，绘制宇宙地图将增加我们对它的了解。

"When you extrapolate in so many different ways it gives you just a lay of the land that I just think is a beautiful way of understanding the universe," he said. "If there is one way to understand the Big Bang, it started out hot and dense and it got cooler and less dense, and as it did that, particles and objects of all kinds condensed out of this hot, dense background."

他说:“当你用这么多不同的方式进行推断时，它只会给你一个大致的了解，我认为这是理解宇宙的一种美丽方式。”“如果有一种方法可以理解大爆炸，那就是它开始时又热又密，然后变冷又不那么密，在这个过程中，各种粒子和物体从这个又热又密的背景中凝结出来。”

He said that understanding that is something that we should all make an attempt to do because that is probably the most important understanding underlying the history of the universe.

他说，理解这一点是我们所有人都应该尝试去做的事情，因为这可能是对宇宙历史最重要的理解。

Lineweaver says he believes that research into the beginning of the universe could help to answer some basic scientific questions about life beyond Earth.

Lineweaver说，他相信对宇宙起源的研究可以帮助回答一些关于地外生命的基本科学问题。

"The basic idea is, well, if we can figure out how we got here, maybe we can make better guesses about whether other life forms have evolved elsewhere."

“基本的想法是，如果我们能弄清楚我们是如何来到这里的，也许我们就能更好地猜测其他生命形式是否在其他地方进化。”