美國宇航局的科學家們稱，他們在距地球40光年處發現圍繞單一恒星“特拉普1號”(Trappist-1)運行的7顆系外行星。他們認為，這一酷似太陽系的行星系，堪稱迄今尋找外星生命的最佳地點。

NASA scientists have discovered at least seven Earth-sized planets, each potentially capable of hosting life, orbiting a nearby star just outside the solar system.
美國宇航局的科學家們發現，至少有七顆地球大小的行星圍繞著太陽系外的一顆臨近恒星運行，每顆行星都可能適宜生命體生存。

The exciting discovery announced Wednesday has been deemed one of the first realistic opportunities to begin a search for alien life outside our system as well as the first time so many planets were discovered circling the same star.
22日公開的發現激動人心，被視為開啟探索太陽系外外星生物的首批現實機遇之一，也是人類首次發現如此多的行星環繞在同一顆恒星周圍。

“This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life. Answering the question 'are we alone' is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal,” associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington Thomas Zurbuchen said in a press release.
美國宇航局科學任務署副署長華盛頓?托馬斯?祖博肯在一篇新聞稿中表示，“該發現可能給尋找適宜生存的棲居環境的謎題提供關鍵信息?？茖W界的首要任務是回答‘宇宙中只有我們嗎’的問題，而在宜居地帶首次發現這么多此類行星是科學家們向著該目標邁出的重大一步?！?

科學家們給特拉普1號的七顆行星編號b、c、d、e、f、g、h

The cluster of planets orbit a dim dwarf star, just barely the size of Jupiter, called Trappist-1. The group of planets are about 40 light years away which isn't actually all that far away from Earth. The close proximity will allow the system to be studied in great detail, according to the release.
這群行星圍繞的暗矮星和木星差不多大，被稱為特拉普1號。行星與地球相距約40光年，這樣的距離實際上并不算遙遠。據新聞稿稱，在這樣靠近的距離下，人類可以對該行星系進行詳細的研究。

科普：40光年有多遠

科學家們表示，在如此靠近的行星系發現7顆類地行星真是可喜可賀。也有網友稱，看來人類離太空移民不遠了：

那么，“真的不算遠”的40光年到底意味著什么呢？小編就來為大家科普一下。

一光年指的是光在真空中走一年的距離，折合成米數為：

9,460,730,472,580,800米

如果你數不清的話，那我們再折合成公里數，也就是：

大約94607億公里

迄今為止，應用在實踐中的最快人造飛行器是“新視野號”探測器，其實際飛行速度大約為16公里/秒。2006年1月升空的，2015年7月才掠過冥王星，花了9年半時間才飛48億公里。

如果按照這個速度來計算，理論上飛到特拉普1號星系需要大概75萬年……

不過別灰心，美國宇航局做了一個特拉普1號星系的模擬視頻，下面一起來看看了解一下這個酷似太陽系的行星系：

Three of the planets or exoplanets as scientist call them, are receiving just the right amount of energy from the host star, meaning oceans of water could cover their surfaces. Scientists refer to the ideal zone just around the star as "the habitable zone," sometimes jokingly called the "Goldilocks Zone," as it is just right for supporting life.
其中三顆行星（科學家們也稱之為系外行星）從恒星接受到的能量恰到好處，這意味著它們的表面可能覆蓋了大面積的液態水?？茖W家們將該行星系恒星周圍的理想地帶稱為“宜居地帶”，由于這里正好適宜生命生存，他們有時也將其戲稱為“金發美女地帶”。

The other three bodies farther off from the star could feature smaller bodies of water and the seventh could even boast a puddle or two under ideal conditions.
另外三顆離恒星較遠的行星表面覆蓋的液態水可能較少，理想條件下第七顆行星甚至可能只有一兩個水坑。

Based on their densities, all of the planets are believed to be rock, but scientists said they still need to study the atmospheres before determining whether or not the planets boast water and, ultimately, whether or not they could support any type of life form.
根據這些行星的密度可以判斷它們是由巖石構成的，但科學家們需要對它們的大氣進行研究，然后才能確定上面是否存在水、并最終確定它們是否適合生命體生存。

七顆行星的質量、體積、公轉周期、與恒星距離都被算出來了，根據其密度被確定為固態行星。而且，他們的質量、體積都跟地球差別不是很大。

NASA's space telescope Spitzer, an infrared telescope that trails the earth as it orbits the sun, revealed the new system.
美國宇航局史匹哲天文望遠鏡發現了這個全新的行星系。史匹哲紅外望遠鏡繞太陽運行，追蹤地球。

"This is the most exciting result I have seen in the 14 years of Spitzer operations," said Sean Carey, manager of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC. "Spitzer will follow up in the fall to further refine our understand of these planets so that the James Webb Space Telescope can follow up. More observations of the system are sure to reveal more secrets."
加州理工學院美國宇航局史匹哲科學中心負責人肖恩?卡雷稱，“這是史匹哲運行14年以來，我看到的最令人興奮的結果。”史匹哲將在秋季進一步完善我們對這些行星的了解，以便于詹姆斯?韋伯天文望遠鏡跟進。對該行星系的進一步觀察必將透露出更多的奧秘?！?/p>

英文來源：紐約每日新聞
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：yaning