本文摘要：A new guest arrived just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, but apparently didnt survive the festivities. 一个新的客人及时赶往感恩节晚餐，但似乎没有在节日活动中活下来。

A new guest arrived just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, but apparently didnt survive the festivities. 一个新的客人及时赶往感恩节晚餐，但似乎没有在节日活动中活下来。The visitor, a pristine comet called ISON that left its home at least a million years ago, made its closest approach to the sun Thursday afternoon. 这位参观者是一颗名为伊森(ISON)的完整彗星，自走进家门已最少有100万年，它于美东时间周四下午飞往近日点。But based on images arriving from various spacecraft, the consensus among scientists appeared to be that ISON, like the mythical Icarus, didnt survive its close encounter with the sun. 然而根据多个航天器传回的照片，科学家或许完全一致指出，伊森同神话人物伊卡洛斯(Icarus)一般，已在与太阳的近距离认识中“病死”。

The comets sweep near the sun was a moment that thousands of astronomers around the world had anxiously awaited, and before hopes dimmed about its survival, ISON was predicted to possibly loop around the star and emerge as a bright object visible to the naked eye in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere. 此前，全世界上千位天文学家翘首盼望着彗星落下太阳的那一刻，并且在其“获救”期望显得明朗前，科学家曾预测伊森或将环绕着太阳并在北半球海面散发出肉眼可见的暗淡光芒。However, scientists now suspect it fragmented into countless pieces-never to be seen again. 而现在科学家猜测它已碎裂成无数个碎片，很久无法看到。Before the close approach, observations showed that the comet had brightened and then lost brightness. So theres a lot of conjecture that it might be fading, said Padma Yanamandra-Fisher, a planetary scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., before the comet made its close pass with the sun. 科罗拉多州博尔德太空科学研究所(Space Science Institute)的行星科学家费希尔(Padma Yanamandra-Fisher)在彗星相似太阳之前说道，仔细观察表明，这颗彗星在附近太阳前一度变暗又丧失了亮度。

因而许多人猜测它也许正在消失。Since it was spotted more than a year ago, ISONs behavior has constantly surprised astronomers, and they had held out hope that the comet could still put on a pretty display. On Monday, for example, it looked like it wouldnt survive. Yet it was still there on Tuesday. 自一年多前被找到以来，伊森的运营状态就大大地令天文学家深感吃惊，而他们仍然希望这颗彗星仍能展现美丽的奇景。比如周一这颗彗星看上去或许将解体，然而周二它仍然不存在着。In addition to being a cosmic tease, ISON was one of the most tracked comets in history. 除了是个天体淘气鬼，伊森还沦为了有史以来追踪者最少的彗星之一。

Thousands of telescopes-amateur, professional and space-borne-were being trained on this relatively tiny clump of ancient rock and ice no more than three or four miles in diameter. 上千台业余、专业和太空望远镜都被射击这颗完整彗星。该彗星体型较小，由石块和冰构成，直径不多达五、六公里。The comet was discovered in September 2012 by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using data from the International Scientific Optical Network, whose initials provided the name. 2012年9月，俄罗斯天文学家涅夫斯基(Vitali Nevski)和诺维托诺克(Artyom Novichonok)利用国际科学光学观测网(International Scientific Optical Network, ISON)的数据找到了这颗彗星，并以观测网的英文简写命名了这颗彗星。

Nothing like ISON has been seen in living memory. It is a relatively rare sungrazer, a comet that flies especially close to our sun. 现世从未见过像伊森这样的彗星。它是一颗少见的食者日彗星，其飞行轨道与太阳极为切合。Unlike periodic comets that come and go like the famous Halleys, ISON is pristine and was making its first journey toward the sun. Its composition-mainly rock and ice-has barely changed since it formed some 4.5 billion years ago, making it one of the oldest objects in the solar system. 不同于像知名的哈雷彗星(Halley)这样的频密往来的周期彗星，伊森是一颗完整彗星，而这是它第一次飞向太阳，其构成（主要为岩石和冰）自约450万年前彗星构成以来完全没变化，这使得它沦为太阳系里最古老的天体之一。

That had scientists intrigued, because ISONs proximity to the sun, and the chance to study what it is made of, could provide valuable clues about origins of the solar system. 令其科学家感兴趣的原因不仅是伊森离太阳之近，还因其成份研究需要为太阳系起源获取有价值的线索。When a new comet flies close to the sun, the tremendous heat can help reveal rarer materials, such as metals, of which it is made. 当一颗新的彗星飞近太阳时，很大的热量不会将包含这颗彗星的珍贵材质曝露出来，例如金属。Its the first time in 200 years that weve seen a comet thats both a sungrazer and brand new, said Matthew Knight from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. 亚利桑那州洛厄尔天文台(Lowell Observatory)的奈特(Matthew Knight)说道，这是200年来我们所看见的第一颗崭新的食者日彗星。If ISON had survived, scientists predicted it would have been poised to put on a display in the first week of December, at least for Northern Hemisphere viewers. 如果伊森没解体，科学家预测它将不会在12月的第一周展现出光芒，最少北半球的人们将能看见它。

It would have a very long and bright tail as it comes up from the horizon shortly before sunrise, said Dr. Knight, before Thursdays fatal close encounter. 奈特在周四彗星“可怕”的近日之旅前说道，它将在相似日落时从地平线照亮，并拖着一条很长很暗淡的彗尾。If you go out 30 minutes before [sunrise], you should be able to see it with the naked eye. 他说道，如果你在（日落）30分钟前来到户外，你应当就能用肉眼看见它。But that was only if ISON had survived Thursdays flyby. 不过前提是伊森能在周四盘旋太阳时“存活”下来。

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