一起去看雙子座流星雨！將有120顆流星划過夜空…

Geminids meteor shower of 120 shooting stars to light up the skies this week

由120顆流星組成的雙子座流星雨將於本周照亮夜空

素材來源：每日郵報 翻譯：世界播

Britons will be treated to astonishing show visible by the naked eye of 120 shooting stars an hour in showers set to peak later in the next two days.

這兩天，英國人將有幸目睹一小時內達120顆流星划過的奇觀。

The spectacular event is set to coincide with a space rock dubbed the Christmas comet, tipped to be the brightest of the year, passing overhead this evening.

這一壯觀將與一塊被稱為「聖誕彗星」的太空岩石同時發生，這顆彗星被認為是一年中最亮的，將於夜晚從頭頂飛過。

The Christmas comet (circled) seen from Dorset.

從多塞特郡看到的聖誕彗星（圓圈裡的）。

Those who wish to catch a glimpse of the Christmas comet, which is set to whizz past Earth, will need to go to a dark spot and look south.

如果你想看一眼即將掠過地球的聖誕彗星，你需要去一個黑暗的地方朝南看。

Meanwhile, the Geminids meteor shower will consist of multi-coloured shooting stars visible from the ground on Thursday and Friday.

與此同時，本周四和周五，從地面上可以看到由彩色流星組成的雙子座流星雨。

Viewers hoping to catch a glimpse of the Christmas comet and the meteor shower are being advised by the Met Office to go to an open place away from street lights.

英國氣象局建議那些希望一睹聖誕慧星和流星雨風采的觀眾們到一個遠離街燈的空地去。

"Star gazers will be looking for clear, cloudless skies to have the best possible chance of catching a glimpse of the meteor shower," said a Met office spokesperson.

英國氣象局的一位發言人：「天文愛好者會找個晴朗無雲的地方，這樣才最有可能一睹流星雨的風采。」

Ideally a location away from light pollution will be of benefit."

最好遠離有光污染的地方。

For those in areas with low light pollution, no smog and clear skies, the Geminids are visible to the naked eye, with no specialist equipment needed.

在低光污染、無霧霾、天氣晴朗的地區，通過肉眼就可以看到雙子座流星雨，不需要專門的設備。

Pictured is a photo taken from the Carlisle Memorial Column on the Castle Howard estate in Yorkshire during a Geminid shower last year. The display is sometimes referred to as "the King of Meteor Showers"

這張照片是去年雙子座流星雨期間在約克郡霍華德城堡的卡萊爾紀念柱上拍攝的。這場流星雨有時被稱為「流星雨之王」

The fluorescent blue coloured Christmas comet will skim to within 7.1 million miles of our planet, or 30 times the distance to the moon.

這顆散發藍色熒光的聖誕彗星將掠過地球710萬英里的範圍，是到月球距離的30倍。

Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through dust and particles left over from a passing comet or asteroid.

流星雨是地球大氣層與經過的彗星或小行星留下的塵埃和微粒摩擦形成的。

The pieces burn up as they enter our atmosphere creating the bright colours. Traditionally asteroids are made of rock, and comets mostly of ice.

它們進入我們的大氣層時就燃燒起來，形成了明亮的顏色。傳統上小行星是由岩石構成的，彗星大多是由冰構成的。

Geminid meteor showers occur when moves through the debris from asteroid 3200 Phaeton as it orbits the sun.

雙子座流星雨發生在小行星「3200法厄同」圍繞太陽運行時穿過其碎片時形成的。

The Phaeton is an Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the sun than any other named asteroid.

「法厄同」是一顆阿波羅小行星，它的軌道比任何其他命名的小行星更接近太陽。

The three-mile-wide object, which NASA describes as a "rock comet", was discovered in 1983 by two British scientists examining NASA satellite images.

這顆三英里寬的天體被NASA稱為「岩石彗星」，1983年由兩位英國科學家在研究NASA衛星圖像時發現。

It was initially classified but because of its eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.

它最初被歸類為阿波羅型小行星，但因為它的偏心軌道看起來更像一顆彗星，而且把它帶到了離太陽最近的行星水星的軌道內。

The meteors move at a speed of 22 miles per second and burn up at about 24 miles above the Earth.

流星以每秒22英里的速度運動，在離地球24英里的高空燃燒。

Another unusual feature of the Geminids is that they can shine in different colours. Mostly glowing white, they may also appear yellow, blue, green or red.

雙子座流星雨的另一個不尋常之處在於它們可以發出不同顏色的光芒。它們大多發白光，也可能呈現黃色、藍色、綠色或紅色。

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