其他星球上的生命可能會像珊瑚一樣發(fā)光，以保護(hù)自己免受憤怒的太陽的傷害

其他星球上的生命可能會像珊瑚一樣發(fā)光，以保護(hù)自己免受憤怒的太陽的傷害

Every now and then, astronomers looking for alien life will spot a planet that checks a lot of boxes.

尋找外星生命的天文學(xué)家會不時地發(fā)現(xiàn)一顆行星，繼而會檢查很多因素。

Is it in the "Goldilocks zone" — in other words, does it orbit not too far and not too close from its host star? Check.

它是在“適居帶”嗎?換句話說，它的軌道離它的主星不遠(yuǎn)也不太近嗎?檢查。

Is there a possibility of water, in some form or other? Check.

有沒有可能以某種形式存在水?檢查。

Atmosphere? Check.

存在大氣層嗎?檢查。

Ahh, but that temperamental star it's orbiting is far too ornery. Exoplanets, as planets outside of our solar system are called, don't fare well in the face of blustery red suns. Harsh, ultraviolet flares obliterate anything that might aspire to live on them.

但是它所環(huán)繞的那顆喜怒無常的恒星太古怪了。太陽系外的行星被稱為系外行星，它們在猛烈的紅色太陽面前表現(xiàn)不佳。強(qiáng)烈的紫外線照明彈會消滅任何可能以它們?yōu)槭车纳铩?/p>

And so the search for potentially habitable worlds moves on to the next grain of sand in the star-studded beach we call the Milky Way.

因此，尋找潛在宜居星球的工作轉(zhuǎn)移到了星羅棋布的海灘上的下一粒沙子上，我們稱之為銀河系。

Life on other planets may have found a beautiful way to adapt to harmful solar flares. (Photo: Wendy Kenigsberg/Matt Fondeur/Cornell University)

But what if life on some of those planets evolved to withstand those UV blasts?

但是，如果這些行星上的生命進(jìn)化到能夠抵御紫外線的沖擊呢?

That's the question scientists at Cornell University pose in a study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

這是康奈爾大學(xué)的科學(xué)家在《皇家天文學(xué)會月刊》上發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)研究中提出的問題。

And they think they have an answer.

他們認(rèn)為自己找到了答案。

It's called biofluorescence, a defense mechanism we see triggered by the sun here on our own planet.

這就是所謂的生物熒光，一種我們在地球上看到的由太陽觸發(fā)的防御機(jī)制。

Consider for example, Proxima b. Discovered in 2016, and only 4.24 light-years from Earth, this Earth-like planet might host life — if not for that UV-spitting sun. But could life here shield itself, like coral, with biofluorescence?

以比鄰星b為例，它于2016年被發(fā)現(xiàn)，距離地球只有4.24光年，這顆類地行星上可能存在生命——如果沒有那顆噴射出紫外線的太陽的話。但是這里的生命能像珊瑚一樣用生物熒光來保護(hù)自己嗎?

One artist's depiction of the exoplanet known as Proxima b. (Photo: M. Kornmesser/ESO)

Think of it as a visual game of Marco Polo. A sun belts out a flare.

把它想象成馬可波羅的視覺游戲，太陽發(fā)出耀斑。

It strikes the planet and triggers a warm, soft glow from whoever may be living there.

它擊中了地球，并從任何可能生活在那里的人那里觸發(fā)了溫暖、柔和的光芒。

The biofluorescence would only flicker briefly, but it could be enough for Earthlings to spot. Especially when they're already peering at M-type stars. Also known as red dwarfs, those are the most common stars in our universe, and they happen to host a lot of planets in their Goldilocks zone.

這種生物熒光只會短暫閃爍，但足以讓地球上的人發(fā)現(xiàn)。尤其是當(dāng)他們已經(jīng)在觀測m型恒星的時候。也被稱為紅矮星，它們是我們宇宙中最常見的恒星，它們的適居帶恰好有很多行星。

Unfortunately, they also happen to occasionally spew annihilation in the form of solar flares. The study suggests those flares could act more like a paintbrush tagging hidden biospheres for astronomers.

不幸的是，它們偶爾也會以太陽耀斑的形式噴射湮滅。這項(xiàng)研究表明，對于天文學(xué)家來說，這些耀斑可能更像是一個標(biāo)記隱藏生物圈的畫筆。

"This is a completely novel way to search for life in the universe," O'Malley-James said. "Just imagine an alien world glowing softly in a powerful telescope."

“這是在宇宙中尋找生命的一種全新的方式，”O'Malley-James說。“想象一個外星世界在一個強(qiáng)大的望遠(yuǎn)鏡里發(fā)出柔和的光。”

Three times the size of Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to gaze deeper into space. (Photo: Northrop Grumman/NASA)

With the ability to pry deep into space — and special equipment for sniffing out planets with atmosphere — the James Webb Telescope could reveal a bold new universe.

憑借探測太空深處的能力——以及利用大氣探測行星的特殊設(shè)備——詹姆斯·韋伯望遠(yuǎn)鏡可以揭示一個大膽的新宇宙。

And, perhaps even, one that shimmers with life.

甚至可能是一個閃爍著生命光芒的人。