论文部分内容阅读
Background
According to the new rules for a planet adopted at an International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague, Pluto doesn’t make the grade for a planet: “a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit”.
背景回放
根据天文学家在捷克布拉格举行的国际天文学联合会大会采纳的行星新定义,冥王星不够格称行星｡最新的行星定义为“一个在围绕太阳的轨道上运行的天体;它有足够的质量使其自身的引力能克服刚性的张力而呈流体静力学的均衡(几乎为圆形的)形状并且已清除了其轨道周围的邻近天体”｡
Lu Xinning, mother of a four-year-old, feels awkward explaining to her son that he has to revise the knowledge he has just acquired about the solar system. The boy learned from his mother that our solar system had nine planets.
But this statement is now obsolete, as on Aug, 24 afternoon about 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations voted in Prague to deprive puny Pluto of its planetary status under a new universal definition of a planet.
Sixty-one Chinese astronomers took part in the vote sponsored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the official arbiter of heavenly objects. It is reported that they had different opinions about the new definition.
The issue has aroused interest and bewilderment in China, which has been carrying out astronomical research for more than two thousand years.
Some say the IAU’s resolution “reflects modern understanding of the solar system”, while others say they feel sorry about Pluto’s demotion. Teachers are anxious as textbooks have been printed and released to the remotest corner of the country for schoolchildren who are ready to start a new semester in a week. Yet the textbooks express the out-of-date position about the number of planets in the solar system.
Wang Sichao, a planet expert with the Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory based in Nanjing, said, “The demotion is a scientific result and it reflects the current understanding of humankind about the solar system.”
Zhao Zhiheng, a member of the Astronomy Association from Tianjin, suggested that primary-and middle-school teachers be trained in the revised knowledge, and that media carry more stories to let more people know about the revision as soon as possible.
China boasts the world’s earliest records of solar and lunar eclipses and the richest and most systematic documents concerning the observation of celestial phenomena.
China was also the first country to use equatorial coordination in astronomical observation and the first to record the Halley’s comet.
China maintained its astronomical traditions until the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) when astronomy began to fall into neglect. The discipline has regained its luster over the past few decades. Now China has begun to carry out its own deep space missions and is set to join a worldwide planetary probe.
Wang Sichao said IAU’s decision will positively influence the astronomical sector and the space industry in China. “We must first get a clear definition of planets and the solar system, then we can carry out planetary probe missions in a better way.”
刘心宁是一位四岁小男孩儿的母亲,最近她觉得很尴尬,因为她不得不向她的儿子更正有关太阳系的知识｡而这个男孩儿正是从自己的母亲那里得知太阳系有九大行星的｡
但是,现在这种说法过时了;8月24日(当地时间),来自75个国家的2500名天文学家在布拉格根据通用的行星新定义投票表决,剥夺了小小的冥王星的行星地位｡
61名中国的天文学家参加了此次由国际天文学联合会发起的投票表决,该组织被认为是对天体的官方仲裁机构｡据报道他们对这个新定义有异议｡
这一事件引起了中国社会的广泛关注与困惑;中国进行天文研究已两千多年｡
有人认为国际天文学联合会的决议“反映了当代对太阳星系的理解｡”有人则为冥王星的降级深表惋惜｡教师们也深表忧虑,新学期还有一个星期就要开学,教材已印制完毕并发放到我国最遥远的角落的学生手中,而对于太阳系中行星的数量仍采用已过时的见解｡
南京紫金山天文台的一位行星专家王思潮表示,“降级是科学发展的结果,它反映了人类目前对太阳系的认识｡”
天津市天文学会理事赵之珩建议,应该用修改后的知识对中小学教师进行培训,媒体也应加强报道,让更多的人尽快了解这一修改｡
中国一直以拥有世界上最早的日､月蚀记录和最丰富､最系统的天体现象观察文献为自豪｡
我国也是世界上第一个利用赤道座标进行天文观测的国家,也是率先证实哈雷慧星的国家｡
中国把天文研究的传统一直维持到了元代(1271-1368),到了元朝天文学才开始被冷落;在过去的数十年中重视天文研究这一传统才重放光彩｡如今,中国已开始执行其外太空探索使命并应邀参加全世界的行星探索活动｡
王思潮说,国际天文学联合会的决定必将对中国的天文机构及太空事业产生积极影响｡“我们首先必须清楚地掌握行星及太阳系的定义,我们才能更好地执行行星探索的任务｡”
According to the new rules for a planet adopted at an International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague, Pluto doesn’t make the grade for a planet: “a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit”.
背景回放
根据天文学家在捷克布拉格举行的国际天文学联合会大会采纳的行星新定义,冥王星不够格称行星｡最新的行星定义为“一个在围绕太阳的轨道上运行的天体;它有足够的质量使其自身的引力能克服刚性的张力而呈流体静力学的均衡(几乎为圆形的)形状并且已清除了其轨道周围的邻近天体”｡
Lu Xinning, mother of a four-year-old, feels awkward explaining to her son that he has to revise the knowledge he has just acquired about the solar system. The boy learned from his mother that our solar system had nine planets.
But this statement is now obsolete, as on Aug, 24 afternoon about 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations voted in Prague to deprive puny Pluto of its planetary status under a new universal definition of a planet.
Sixty-one Chinese astronomers took part in the vote sponsored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the official arbiter of heavenly objects. It is reported that they had different opinions about the new definition.
The issue has aroused interest and bewilderment in China, which has been carrying out astronomical research for more than two thousand years.
Some say the IAU’s resolution “reflects modern understanding of the solar system”, while others say they feel sorry about Pluto’s demotion. Teachers are anxious as textbooks have been printed and released to the remotest corner of the country for schoolchildren who are ready to start a new semester in a week. Yet the textbooks express the out-of-date position about the number of planets in the solar system.
Wang Sichao, a planet expert with the Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory based in Nanjing, said, “The demotion is a scientific result and it reflects the current understanding of humankind about the solar system.”
Zhao Zhiheng, a member of the Astronomy Association from Tianjin, suggested that primary-and middle-school teachers be trained in the revised knowledge, and that media carry more stories to let more people know about the revision as soon as possible.
China boasts the world’s earliest records of solar and lunar eclipses and the richest and most systematic documents concerning the observation of celestial phenomena.
China was also the first country to use equatorial coordination in astronomical observation and the first to record the Halley’s comet.
China maintained its astronomical traditions until the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) when astronomy began to fall into neglect. The discipline has regained its luster over the past few decades. Now China has begun to carry out its own deep space missions and is set to join a worldwide planetary probe.
Wang Sichao said IAU’s decision will positively influence the astronomical sector and the space industry in China. “We must first get a clear definition of planets and the solar system, then we can carry out planetary probe missions in a better way.”
刘心宁是一位四岁小男孩儿的母亲,最近她觉得很尴尬,因为她不得不向她的儿子更正有关太阳系的知识｡而这个男孩儿正是从自己的母亲那里得知太阳系有九大行星的｡
但是,现在这种说法过时了;8月24日(当地时间),来自75个国家的2500名天文学家在布拉格根据通用的行星新定义投票表决,剥夺了小小的冥王星的行星地位｡
61名中国的天文学家参加了此次由国际天文学联合会发起的投票表决,该组织被认为是对天体的官方仲裁机构｡据报道他们对这个新定义有异议｡
这一事件引起了中国社会的广泛关注与困惑;中国进行天文研究已两千多年｡
有人认为国际天文学联合会的决议“反映了当代对太阳星系的理解｡”有人则为冥王星的降级深表惋惜｡教师们也深表忧虑,新学期还有一个星期就要开学,教材已印制完毕并发放到我国最遥远的角落的学生手中,而对于太阳系中行星的数量仍采用已过时的见解｡
南京紫金山天文台的一位行星专家王思潮表示,“降级是科学发展的结果,它反映了人类目前对太阳系的认识｡”
天津市天文学会理事赵之珩建议,应该用修改后的知识对中小学教师进行培训,媒体也应加强报道,让更多的人尽快了解这一修改｡
中国一直以拥有世界上最早的日､月蚀记录和最丰富､最系统的天体现象观察文献为自豪｡
我国也是世界上第一个利用赤道座标进行天文观测的国家,也是率先证实哈雷慧星的国家｡
中国把天文研究的传统一直维持到了元代(1271-1368),到了元朝天文学才开始被冷落;在过去的数十年中重视天文研究这一传统才重放光彩｡如今,中国已开始执行其外太空探索使命并应邀参加全世界的行星探索活动｡
王思潮说,国际天文学联合会的决定必将对中国的天文机构及太空事业产生积极影响｡“我们首先必须清楚地掌握行星及太阳系的定义,我们才能更好地执行行星探索的任务｡”