VOA慢速英语:Sky Watchers: Look Out for ‘Supermoon’(翻译)

It is coming very soon.You can hear about it in a song performed by American singer Victoria Vox.
它很快就来临了。你可以在美国歌手维多利亚·沃克斯的歌中听到。

“Oooo, I’m waiting on a supermoon to come into view, on the horizon…”
“哦，我在等待超级月亮进入视野，在那地平线。”

Sky watchers will have a special treat Monday night. That is when a supermoon appears in the night sky.
天空观察者周一晚上可以欣赏到一场特殊的盛宴。届时超级月亮将会出现在夜空中。

So what is a supermoon?
那么什么是超级月亮呢？

It is a full moon that appears bigger and brighter than normal.The American space agency, NASA, says the full moon on Monday will be the closest full moon of the year.In fact, the moon has not been this close to Earth since 1948.
超级月亮是指比平时更大更亮的满月。美国宇航局NASA表示，周一的满月将是这一年最接近地球的月亮。事实上，自1948年以来没有月亮离地球这么近过。

The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical – it does not move in an even circle.That means it sometimes moves closer to our planet.But other times it is farther away.
月亮绕地球运动的轨道是偏椭圆形的，并不是一个正圆的运动轨道。这就意味着，月亮有时会离地球更近一些。但其他时候会更远一些。

A supermoon is when the moon and Earth are closer than they usually are, if only by a small amount. But even that small distance can make the moon appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a normal full moon.
超级月亮出现时，地球和月亮的位置比平时更近，数值也不大。但即便是微小的距离差距，也会使月亮比平时看起来大14%，亮度提高30%。

Even if the skies are cloudy where you are on November 14th, the moon will still be very bright this weekend.The best time to see it is just before sunrise.
即便11月14日你所在区域天空多云，这个周末的月亮也会很明亮。最佳观赏时间是日出前。

“I’ve been telling people to go out at night on either Sunday or Monday night to see the supermoon,” said Noah Petro, who works for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.He said that the difference between Sunday night and Monday night will be very small, so either night will be good.
“我一直告诉人们晚上出去看超级月亮吧，周日或周一晚都可以看到，”诺亚·佩德罗说道，他是NASA月球侦察轨道飞行器任务的工作人员。他说，周日晚和周一晚观察到的月亮几乎一样，都是最佳观赏时间。

“Anytime after sunset should be fine” to see the moon, he said.“You don’t have to stay up all night to see it, unless you really want to!”
“日落后的任何时间都可以”看到超级月亮，他说。“你不需要通宵熬夜看月亮，除非你真的想！”

The name supermoon is fairly new.It was the idea of astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979.
超级月亮这个名字也并不古老。是占星家理查德·诺勒1979年提出的想法。

In the past, some people called a supermoon, a “mega beaver moon.”That name comes from a best-selling book, the Old Farmer’s Almanac.It said the name was first used before the creation of the United States.It said that “for both the colonists and the Algonquin tribes, this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs.”
过去一些人将超级月亮称为“大型海狸月亮”。这个名字取自一本畅销书《老农民历》。据说该名词初次使用时，美国都还未成立。据说“对于殖民者和阿尔冈琴部落，这时会设置捕捉海狸的陷阱，在沼泽冻住之前，以确保有足够的温暖过冬的海狸皮”。

This will be the second of three supermoons in recent months.If you miss this one, the next chance is on December 14.
最近这几个月会出现三次超级月亮，这是第二次。如果你错过了这次的月亮，12月14日你还有一次机会可以看到。

The bad news about next month’s supermoon is that its brightness will limit what we can see of another light show in the night sky -- the Geminid meteor shower.That is when as many as 100 or more shooting stars move fast across the night sky every hour.
下个月的超级月亮会带来一个坏消息，其亮度会影响我们看到夜空中的另一场光影秀——双子座流星雨。届时每小时会有100多颗飞逝而下的流星划过夜空。

The moon, however, will not be this close again until November 25, 2034.
不过下次月亮离地球这么近时，要等到2034年11月25日。

But for now you can enjoy more of Victoria Vox’s song, Supermoon.
但现在你可以欣赏维多利亚的歌曲《超级月亮》。

I’m Anne Ball.
Anne Ball为您报道。