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Hey, everybody!
嘿，大家好！
My friend Sam and I love learning about space.
我和我的朋友萨姆都喜欢学习太空知识。
That’s for sure.
当然。
I just love using my telescope to look at the stars.
我就是喜欢用望远镜看星星。
And it seems like you guys love learning about space too.
看起来你们也很喜欢学习太空知识。
In fact, you’ve sent us lots of questions about it.
事实上，你们已经给我们发来了很多关于太空知识的问题。
So Jessi asked me to help answer some of them today.
杰西今天请我帮忙回答其中的一些问题。
Are you ready to get started?
你准备好开始了吗？
Let’s do it!
那，我们开始吧!
Paxton, age 5, asks: How do scientists use math in astronomy?
5岁的帕克斯顿问道：科学家如何在天文学中使用数学？
I know that astronomers, the people who study stars and planets, use lots of math in their jobs.
我知道天文学家，是研究恒星和行星的人，他们在工作中使用了大量的数学知识。
Lots of other scientists do, too.
许多其他科学家也是这样。
Yep, math helps us do lots of kinds of science.
是的，数学可以帮助我们研究很多类型的科学。
So, learning math helps us get better at science.
学习数学可以帮助我们在科学上做得更好。
But what specific things do astronomers do, Sam?
但是天文学家是做什么具体工作的，山姆？
Well, sometimes, they need to know how far away things like stars and planets are in space.
嗯，有时候，他们需要知道像恒星和行星这样的东西在太空中有多远。
That’s a great example of something they use math for!
这是他们用数学来做事情的一个很好的例子！
You can use math to figure out just how far away a star is from Earth.
你可以用数学计算出一颗恒星离地球有多远。
Whoa, cool!
哇，酷！
Here, let me show you.
来，让我示范给你看。
You can do this at home, too!
你也可以在家里计算！
Hold a pencil out in front of you, with your arm stretched all the way out.
在面前举一支铅笔，手臂向外伸展。
Like this.
像这样。
Cover your left eye and look at the pencil.
遮住你的左眼，看着铅笔。
Now, uncover your left eye and cover your right instead, and look at the pencil again.
现在，睁开你的左眼，遮住你的右眼，然后再看一眼铅笔。
Go back and forth a few times… Here, you try, Sam.
来回来回几次…来，你来试试，山姆。
Ok.
好。
Do you see it?
你看到了吗？
Whoa! The pencil is jumping back and forth a bit!
哇哦！这只铅笔来回跳动了一下！
It’s not really jumping, but it looks like it.
这并不是真正的跳动，但看起来却像是跳动。
Now, I’ll put the pencil halfway closer to you and try it again.
现在，我把铅笔放到离你一半远的地方，然后再试一次。
Woah, the pencil jumps a lot more now.
哇，铅笔现在跳得更多了。
Yes, it jumps way more!
是的，铅笔跳得更多！
The reason the pencil looks like it jumps is because… well, you have two eyes.
铅笔看起来像是在跳是因为…嗯，你有两只眼睛。
Normally, they work together to make one picture for you to see.
通常情况下，眼睛会一起产生一张图片供观看。
But when you close one, you can see things from slightly different positions.
但当你闭上一只眼睛，你可以从略有不同的位置看到东西。
That’s neat, but the pencil isn’t a star!
这很巧妙，但铅笔不是星星！
Astronomers do something really similar to figure out how far away a star is.
天文学家做一些非常类似的事情来计算一颗恒星有多远。
The pencil appears to jump more when it’s closer to you, and less when it’s farther away.
铅笔离你越近，跳得越多，越远，跳得越少。
Well, stars can appear to jump too.
嗯，星星看起来也会跳。
Oh!Is that because… the Earth is moving around in space?
噢!是不是因为…地球在太空中运行？
Yes!Every year, the Earth makes a trip around the Sun.
是! 每年，地球都绕太阳运行一周。
That means, at different times in the year, we are in a different place in space.
这意味着，在一年中的不同时间，我们在太空中处于不同的位置。
Just like your eyes give you two different points of view, we can check stars at different times of year to see how much they jump.
就像你的眼睛会给你两个不同的视角一样，我们可以在一年中的不同时间观察星星，看看它们跳了多少次。
So a star that jumps a little is farther away, like when the pencil is farther away.
因此，一颗恒星跳得稍远，就像铅笔跳得更远一样。
And a star that jumps a lot is close.
一颗经常跳动的恒星离我们很近。
Exactly. And astronomers can do some math to figure out the exact distance!
没错。天文学家可以做一些数学运算来计算出确切的距离！
But that’s just one example of how astronomers do math.
但这只是天文学家如何计算的一个例子。
There are many, many ways.
有很多很多的方法。
That makes me want to get extra good at math, so I can get extra good at astronomy too.
这让我想要在数学上取得更好的成绩，这样我也可以在天文学上取得更好的成绩。
I can’t wait until you’re discovering new stars and planets!
我都等不及看你们发现新的恒星和行星了!
Or maybe you’ll solve even bigger mysteries.
或许你能解开更大的谜团。
Like this next question!
比如下一个问题!
