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发表于 2011-12-21 19:23:25
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VOX POPULI: Our tiny blue third rock from the sun truly a miracle
In Japanese, winter stars are called "iteboshi" (literally frozen stars) and "araboshi" (wild stars). Biting seasonal winds pierce the air and rustle leafless trees. The Big Dipper stands out in the northern sky polished by cold, wintery blasts. In the south is the Winter Triangle, formed by three stars of the first magnitude--Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon. Next to it is Orion. The heavens are the home of well-known figures.
The other day, I read a story about an extrasolar planet called Kepler-22b, which was confirmed by NASA for the first time. I wonder where in the heavens it is. Its temperature is said to be within a range that allows water, a substance indispensable to life, to exist in liquid form.
Since the temperature of the planet is estimated to be around 22 degrees, it is most suitable for life. If it is too hot, water would evaporate and if it is too cold, it would freeze. The temperature range for liquid water is not very wide.
The planet is at a distance of 600 light years from Earth and its radius is 2.4 times that of our planet. I kind of envy it as we face a rapid increase in population and exhaustion of natural resources. Its 290-day orbit also makes me feel close to it. But we have yet to know if it is a planet of rocks and stones like Earth or is made up of gas like Jupiter.
In addition to NASA, I recently learned about the discovery by a team of researchers in France of a candidate for "a second Earth," where there may be life. This one is 20 light years away. Somewhere in the universe, there could be extraterrestrial life and civilization. The day may eventually come for humans to know they are not alone.
Earth, which floats in darkness, is covered by a veil called the atmosphere. It is a fragile blue plant filled with life."Winter stars/ God quietly uses an abacus" is a haiku by Kusatao Nakamura (1901-1983). Gazing at the night sky must also be an act to think about the miracle planet Earth.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 21 |
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