The sun is a tempestuous mistress - and her outbursts are becoming more and more violent as the weeks go on. 太陽是一個暴躁的主婦——幾周以來她的爆發變得越來越猛烈。 NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spotted the summer's first 'X' solar flare on Friday - a huge outburst from the sun right at the top of the scale. NASA的太陽動態觀測衛星周五觀測到夏季以來的第一場X級太陽耀斑——這次大規模的爆發正處于太陽的頂部。 This came on the back of 12 'M' flares in just six days, with a M6.1 flare knocking out radio signals across the planet on Thursday - hinting at the destruction the sun could reign on our technology if Earth takes a full blast across its blow. 這次耀斑爆發之前，僅六天里已經爆發了12次M級的太陽耀斑。并且周四，一個M6.1級耀斑使得無線電信號受到干擾。如果地球接收到一次全分量的太陽耀斑，那么將對我們的科技造成毀滅性的打擊。 The sunspot group behind the flares - named as AR1515 - stretches across 118,681 miles (191,000km) of the sun's surface. 此次耀斑后面的太陽黑子群被命名為AR1515——它在太陽表面綿延了118,681 英里 (191,000km)。 This makes it's width more than 15 Earths set end to end, said NASA solar astrophysicist C. Alex Young. 這使得該黑子群的寬度比15個地球首尾相接的距離還要大，NASA的天體物理學家亞歷克斯.楊如是說。 Scroll down for video 向下滾動視頻
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory saw an active region on the sun, labeled AR1515, sent out an M5.3 class solar flare that peaked on Independence Day July 4th, 2012 NASA的太陽動態觀測衛星觀測到太陽的一個活躍區域，并將它標識為AR1515，它在獨立日當天2012/7/4日拋出峰值達到M5.3級的太陽耀斑。
You can fit 15 Earths in there: The solar flare AR1515 in close-up 你可以將15個地球安放在那里：AR1515太陽耀斑特寫鏡頭 The biggest flares are known as 'X-class flares' based on a classification system that divides solar flares according to their strength. 最大級別的耀斑為X級耀斑，它基于這樣的一個分類系統，即根據太陽耀斑的強度來分類。 The smallest ones are A-class, which are similar to normal background levels, followed by B, C, M and X. 最小級別為A級，它與正常背景水平相似，之后為B、C、M、X級。 Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output, meaning an X is ten times an M and 100 times a C. 與描述地震的里氏震級類似，每一個字母代表能量爆發增至上一級的10倍。也就是說，X級耀斑的強度是M級的10倍，C級的100倍。 The sun is now heading into the peak of its 11-year solar flare cycle, with 2013 expected to the tumultuous year. 太陽正在步入11年太陽耀斑活動周期的峰值，而2013年是其最為活躍的年份。 With the increased spread in communications in the last 11 years, a sever solar storm could cause huge issues for the planet. 由于過去11年里通訊不斷的拓寬，一場猛烈的太陽風暴將對地球造成巨大破壞。
This image, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows the M5.3 class solar flare that peaked on July 4, 2012 這張圖片，由NASA的太陽動態觀測衛星捕捉，它顯示了M5.3級太陽風暴在2012/7/4達到峰值的場景
SUMI'ss instruments are designed to study magnetic fields of the sun's chromosphere -- a thin layer of solar atmosphere sandwiched between the visible surface, photosphere and its atmosphere, the corona SUMI望眼鏡被設計用來研究太陽色球層的磁場區域——色球層是太陽大氣層的一個薄層，它處于可見外層光球層和日冕之間。 Radio blackouts occur when the X-rays or extreme UV light from a flare disturb the layer of Earth's atmosphere known as the ionosphere, through which radio waves travel. 當太陽耀斑帶來的X射線或極端紫外線干擾地球的電離層時，會造成無線電中斷，因為無線電波在電離層中傳播。 The constant changes in the ionosphere change the paths of the radio waves as they move, thus degrading the information they carry. 電離層的不斷變化改變了在其內部傳播的無線電波的路徑，而無線電波承載的信息也減少了。 This affects both high and low frequency radio waves alike. 這種影響對于高低頻率無線電的影響是類似的。 The same region has also produced numerous coronal mass ejections or CMEs. They have been observed and modeled by NASA's Space Weather Center (SWC) and are thought to be moving relatively slowly, traveling between 300 and 600 miles per second. 發生太陽耀斑的區域也產生眾多的日冕物質拋射。根據NASA的空間氣象中心（SWC）的觀測和模擬，日冕物質拋射移動相對緩慢，大概300~600英里/秒。 Since the active region itself is so southerly in the sun, CMEs from this region are generally unlikely 因為該活躍區域位于太陽相對很南面的位置，該區域的日冕物質拋射不會 to impact Earth. 影響到地球。
The chromosphere is a narrow layer above the photosphere that raises in temperature with height. Normally, it can't be seen by the naked eye because the light from the photosphere of the Sun overpowers it. The coloring of the chromosphere (deep red) is caused by the immense hydrogen supply it contains 色球層是位于光球層外側的薄層，溫度隨著高度的增加而升高。通常，裸眼不能看見色球層，因為光球層的光線強度蓋過了它。色球層（深紅色區域）的顏色是因為它有大量的氫氣供應。 Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an M5.6-class solar flare erupting from the sun's surface starting on July 2, from a huge sunspot called AR1515 in the sun's southern hemisphere. NASA太陽動態觀測衛星7/2日觀測到太陽表面噴射出的M5.6級的太陽耀斑，它來自太陽南半球一個叫做AR1515的太陽黑子。 The blast of particles - a 'coronal mass ejection' - was not directed towards Earth, but the charged particles caused brief radio interference across Europe. 伴隨耀斑出現的日冕物質噴射雖然并不正對地球，但帶電粒子還是在短時間內對歐洲的無線電通訊造成影響。 From a different spot, but on that same day, the sun unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) that began at 4:36 AM on Tuesday. 周二，7/2日，凌晨4：36，太陽的另一個黑子開始釋放出日冕物質噴射。 Models from the NASA's Space Weather Center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md, described the CME at traveling at nearly 700 miles per second, but do not show it heading toward Earth. 根據位于馬里蘭州格林貝爾特（Greenbelt）的NASA戈達德太空飛行中心的模型，該日冕物質噴射以700英里/秒的速度運動，但是它沒有朝向地球運動。 Sunspots are darker than the surrounding area because they are slightly cooler, which makes them less luminous. 太陽黑子比起周圍區域顏色更深些，因為它們溫度稍低，這使得它們不那么光亮。 They are caused by the sun’s magnetic field becoming twisted – and it’s this twisting dynamic that can produce coronal mass ejections. 太陽黑子是由太陽磁場扭曲引起的，正式這種扭曲導致了日冕物質噴射。 These contain billions of tons of gases bursting with X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. 日冕物質噴射包含了數十億噸充滿大量X射線和紫外輻射的氣體。 They are mind-bogglingly hot – around 100,000,000C and the result of ionised solar particles becoming imprisoned by Earth’s magnetic field, exciting the gases in the atmosphere and emitting bursts of energy in the form of light. 這些氣體的溫度高達100,000,000攝氏度。如果電離的太陽粒子被地球磁場捕獲，將激發大氣中的氣體，而能量將以光的形式釋放出來。 However, these particles can also cause magnetic storms, which in extreme cases have been known to disrupt satellites and electricity grids. 然而，這些粒子同樣能引起磁風暴，磁風暴帶來的已知最極端的事件是破壞了衛星和電網。 In 1989, a CME was held responsible for leaving six million people in Quebec, Canada, without power. 在1989年，日冕物質拋射導致加拿大魁北克電力中斷，600萬人受到影響。 Solar activity runs in 11-year cycles, with the current one peaking in 2013, so more violent space weather is on the horizon. 太陽活動以11年為一個周期，將在2013年達到一個峰值，所以更劇烈的太空天氣即將來臨。 Dr Matthew Penn, of the National Solar Observatory in Arizona, said recently: 'Because the sun is becoming more active, it will have an impact on millions of people. Sunspots can cause the biggest and most damaging space storms that occur. 來自位于亞利桑那州國家太陽天文臺的 Matthew Penn博士近期說：“因為太陽變得更加活躍，它將對數千萬的人們帶來影響。太陽黑子能夠引起最大規模和最大破壞力的太陽風暴” 'During the next two years, we are expecting the number of sunspots visible on the sun to reach a maximum. We know that sunspots are the source of a lot of space weather and solar storms, so we expect a larger number of solar storms here at the Earth.’ “在接下來的兩年里，我們預計太陽表面可見的太陽黑子數量將達到最大值。我們知道太陽黑子是許多空間天氣和太陽風暴的來源，所以我們將在地球看到更大數量的太陽風暴。” |
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