Wonders of the Night Sky
Aurora borealis
北极光
For thousands of years, people have loved looking at the night sky. For almost as long, scientists have been trying to explain what we see.
几千年来，人们都喜欢仰望夜空。几乎同样长的时间里，科学家们一直在试图解释我们所看到的一切。
Every few years, there is an amazing light show near the North Pole. This is the aurora borealis, or “the northern lights”. Bright green, yellow, red, and blue lights appear in the sky.
People used to believe that sunlight caused these lights. In fact, these lights appear because of magnetic attraction.
The sun gives off particles of electrical energy. They join other particles from the sun and become a solar wind. Solar winds reach the most magnetic part of the earth. They then mix together and glow brightly enough to be seen.
夜空奇观
每隔几年，北极附近就会出现一场令人惊叹的“灯光秀”，而那就是北极光。届时，天空中明亮的绿色、黄色、红色和蓝色等光线交相辉映，照亮整个夜空。
人们过去认为北极光是由阳光形成的。事实上，是磁吸力造就了北极光。
太阳释放出电能粒子，它们与太阳释放的其他粒子结合，形成太阳风。太阳风冲向地球磁场最强的地方，与地磁场产生交互作用，发出足以让人看见的亮光。
Comets彗星
A comet is another kind of light you might see. The word “comet” comes from a Greek word meaning “wearing long hair”. People used to think that comets looked like stars with hair. They feared them and thought they might bring war or sickness. Today, we know that they are a mixture of rock, dust, ice, and frozen gases.
彗星是你可能看到的另一种光。“彗星”一词源于希腊语，意思是“披着长发”。古人认为彗星就像长了头发的星星，他们害怕彗星，认为彗星会带来战争或疾病。如今，我们知道彗星是由岩石、尘埃、冰和冷冻气体构成的混合物。
Meteors流星
Meteors are not stars. They are pieces of rock that get into the earth’s atmosphere. Sometimes in space, the earth passes through an area with lots of pieces of rock. When this happens, you may see hundreds of “shooting stars” in the sky. This is called a meteor shower. The lights look as though they are moving very fast through the sky.
流星不是星星。它们是进入地球大气层的岩石碎片。地球在太空中运行时，有时会经过有大量岩石碎片的区域。当这种情况发生时，天空中会出现数以百计的“流星”。这就是所谓的流星雨。这些光看起来就好像在天空中快速地移动。
What do you see when you look up into the night sky? Whether you see the moon, a star, or a beautiful light show, it is sure to be fantastic.
当你仰望夜空时，你会看到什么？无论你看到的是月亮、星星，还是美丽的“灯光秀”，都一定是梦幻般的。
Word Bank
particle n. 微粒；粒子
energy n. 能源；能量
gas n. 气体
atmosphere n. （围绕地球的）大气，大气层