他看到二十八面直径为九米的抛物面天线在暮色中一字排开，像一排壮观的钢铁植物，2006年建成的两台高大的五十米口径射电望远镜天线矗立在这排九米天线的尽头，车驶近后，它们令汪淼不由想起了那张杨冬母女合影的背景。
He saw a line of twenty-eight parabolic antenna dishes, each with a diameter of nine meters, like a row of spectacular steel plants.
At the end were two tall radio telescopes with dishes fifty meters in diameter, built in 2006.
As he drove closer, Wang could not help but think of the background in the picture of Ye and her daughter.
但叶文洁的学生从事的项目与这些射电望远镜没有什么关系，沙瑞山博士的实验室主要接收三颗卫星的观测数据：1989年11月升空、即将淘汰的微波背景探测卫星COBE，2003年发射的威尔金森微波各向异性探测卫星WMAP和2009年欧洲航天局发射的普朗克高精度宇宙微波背景探测卫星Planek。
But the work of Sha Ruishan, Ye's student, had nothing to do with these radio telescopes.
Dr. Sha's lab was mainly responsible for receiving the data transmitted from three satellites: the Cosmic Background Explorer, COBE, launched in November of 1989 and about to be retired; the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, WMAP, launched in 2003; and Planck, the space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in 2009.
宇宙整体的微波背景辐射频谱非常精确地符合温度为2.726K的黑体辐射谱，具有高度各向同性，但在不同局部也存在大约百万分之五涨落的幅度。
Cosmic microwave background radiation very precisely matched the thermal black body spectrum at a temperature of 2.7255 K and was highly isotropic—meaning nearly uniform in every direction—with only tiny temperature fluctuations at the parts per million range.
沙瑞山的工作就是根据卫星观测数据，重新绘制一幅更精确的全宇宙微波辐射背景图。
Sha Ruishan's job was to create a more detailed map of the cosmic microwave background using observational data.
这个实验室不大，主机房中挤满了卫星数据接收设备，有三台终端分别显示来自三颗卫星的数据。
The lab wasn't very big.
Equipment for receiving satellite data was squeezed into the main computer room, and three terminals displayed the information sent by the three satellites.
沙瑞山见到汪淼，立刻表现出了那种长期在寂寞之地工作的人见到来客的热情，问他想了解哪方面的观测数据。
Sha was excited to see Wang.
Clearly bored with his long isolation and happy to have a visitor, he asked Wang what kind of data he wanted to see.
“我想观测宇宙背景辐射的整体波动。”
"I want to see the overall fluctuation in the cosmic microwave background."
“您能…… 说具体些吗？”
"Can you ... be more specific?"
“就是，宇宙3K微波背景辐射整体上的各向同性的波动，振幅在百分之一至百分之五之间。”
"What I mean is ...
I want to see the isotropic fluctuation in the overall cosmic microwave background, between one and five percent," he said, quoting from Shen's email.
沙瑞山笑笑，早在本世纪初，密云射电天文基地就对游客开放参观，为挣些外快，沙瑞山时常做些导游或讲座的事，这种笑容就是他回答游客（他已适应了他们那骇人的科盲）问题时常常露出的。
Sha grinned.
Starting at the turn of the century, the Miyun Radio Astronomy Observatory had opened itself to visitors.
In order to earn some extra income, Sha often played the role of tour guide or gave lectures.
This was the grin he reserved for tourists, as he had grown used to their astounding scientific illiteracy.
“汪先生，您…… 不是搞这个专业的吧？”
"Mr. Wang, I take it you're not a specialist in the field?"
“我搞纳米材料。”
"I work in nanotech."
“哦，那就对了。
"Ah, makes sense.
不过，对于宇宙3K背景辐射，您大概有个了解吧？”
But you must have some basic understanding of the cosmic microwave background?"
“知道的不多。
"I don't know much.
目前的宇宙起源理论认为，宇宙诞生于距今约一百四十亿年前的一次大爆炸。
I know that as the universe cooled after the big bang, the leftover 'embers' became the cosmic microwave background.
在诞生早期，宇宙温度极高，随后开始冷却，形成被称为微波背景辐射的‘余烬’。
I know that as the universe cooled after the big bang, the leftover 'embers' became the cosmic microwave background.
这种弥漫全宇宙的残留背景辐射，在厘米波段上是可以观测到的。
The radiation fills the entire universe and can be observed in the centimeter wavelength range.
好像是在一九六几年吧，两个美国人在调试一个高精度卫星接收天线时意外地发现了宇宙背景辐射……”
I think it was back in the sixties when two Americans accidentally discovered the radiation when they were testing a supersensitive satellite reception antenna—"
“足够了，”沙瑞山挥手打断了汪淼的话，“那你就应该知道，与我们观测的不同部分的微小不均匀不同，宇宙整体辐射背景波动是随着宇宙的膨胀，在宇宙时间尺度上缓慢变化的，以Planck卫星的精度，直到一百万年后都未必能测出这种变化，你却想在今天晚上发现它百分之五的波动？
"That's more than enough," Sha interrupted, waving his hands. "Then you must know that unlike the local variations we observe in different parts of the universe, the overall fluctuation in the cosmic microwave background is correlated with the expansion of the universe.
It's a very slow change measured at the scale of the age of the universe.
Even with the sensitivity of the Planck satellite, continuous observation for a million years might not detect any such shift.
But you want to see a five percent fluctuation tonight?
！
"That's more than enough," Sha interrupted, waving his hands. "Then you must know that unlike the local variations we observe in different parts of the universe, the overall fluctuation in the cosmic microwave background is correlated with the expansion of the universe.
It's a very slow change measured at the scale of the age of the universe.
Even with the sensitivity of the Planck satellite, continuous observation for a million years might not detect any such shift.
But you want to see a five percent fluctuation tonight?
知道这意味着什么吗？
Do you realize what that would mean?
这意味着整个宇宙像一个坏了的日光灯管那样闪烁！”
The universe would flicker like a fluorescent tube that's about to burn out!"
而且是为我闪烁，汪淼心里说。
And it will be flickering for me, Wang thought.