http://libertytimes.com/2007/new/sep/30/today-int9.htm
《中英對照讀新聞》First known planet to survive red-giant phase found╱第一顆渡過紅巨星期的行星被發現
◎胡立宗
Astronomers have discovered the first known planet to survive its "red-giant" phase, a period when an aging star expands and engulfs bodies orbiting it.
天文學家發現第一顆渡過紅巨星期的行星，所謂紅巨星期，是指老化中的恆星體積不斷擴大，並吞噬環繞它的天體。
The discovery of the gas-giant planet three times the size of Jupiter offers a look at the future of our own solar system and what will happen to the Earth when the sun grows old and collapses, the researchers said.
研究人員說，發現這顆是木星3倍大的巨型氣狀行星，讓人得以一窺太陽系的未來，以及太陽老化崩潰後地球所面臨的命運。
Scientists found the planet some 4,500 light-years from Earth. It once orbited its star at the same distance as the Earth is now from the sun -- about eight light-minutes -- but then drifted away, the researchers said in the journal Nature.
科學家發現這顆行星距離地球約4500光年。它過去曾以地球環繞太陽相同的距離－約8光分—環繞恆星，但後來漂離了，研究人員在「自然」雜誌上表示。
"At present, （the） discovery is the only planetary system known to have survived its red-giant phase," Jonathan Fortney, a NASA researcher, wrote in a commentary in Nature.
「這是到目前為止所發現的唯一一個已知從紅巨星期存活下來的行星系統，」美國太空總署研究員佛特尼在「自然」的評論中寫道。
Scientists have identified some 250 planets orbiting stars other than our sun. Most are detected by indirect measurements such as tiny variations in the wobble of a star.
除了太陽之外，科學家已經確認250個環繞其他恆星的行星。多數行星是透過間接方式發現，如恆星運動中出現的細微擾動。
新聞辭典
engulf：動詞，吞沒、席捲。The flood engulfed several villages.（洪水吞沒數個村落。）
offer a look at ...：片語，讓人一窺…（面貌、可能性）。This film offers a look at the inner side of the director.（這部片讓人有機會一窺導演的內心世界。）
variation：名詞，變化、變動、差別、差異。It's a variation of the original.（這是原來版本的衍生版。）
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