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So now is a good time to be alive, I think.
我认为，现在是个适合生存的好阶段
We may only be an advanced breed of monkey
我们或许不过是这颗小小行星上
living on a small planet,
较为高等的猿类
but we are able to contemplate the universe as a whole
但能够对宇宙整体的思索
which makes us very special.
让我们变得与众不同
My goal has always been simple.
我的目标总是很简单
To work out how the universe works and how it exists at all.
探索宇宙如何运行，以及它究竟是如何产生的
Luckily there are clues everywhere
幸运的是，指向答案的线索众多
and the most important one is right above our heads.
其中最重要的一个线索就我们的头顶上方
Examine any patch of the night sky.
仔细观察每一片夜空
Even one as small as the head of a pin and this is what you will find.
即便是看似针尖大小，你也会有所收获
A tiny part of the vast web of galaxies.
这只是星系巨网中的一小部分
It's less than a millionth of what we can see of the cosmos from our little planet.
还不到能从地球上看到的宇宙的百万分之一
But even this tiny sample is enough to find a clue,
即便如此微小的样本也足以找出一条线索
the key to the past, the present, and perhaps the future too.
一个了解过去，现在，甚至是未来的关键
The clue is that seen from earth,
即从地球望向太空
all these distant galaxies are slightly red in color.
所有遥远的星系都微泛红光
They appear almost as if
它们的样子与我们透过玫瑰色镜片
we were looking through rose-tinted glasses.
看物体时非常相似
It's this very redness that reveals
就是这样的红色向我们揭示了
how the universe was born.
宇宙是如何诞生的
And to show you why,
为究其原理
I need a straight road and a noisy car.
我需要笔直的公路和噪音很大的汽车
Listen to the sound as it passes by.
请听汽车经过时的声音
As the car approaches, the pitch of its engine rises.
随着汽车的接近，引擎音调升高
As it goes away, the pitch of its engine falls.
随着汽车的离开，引擎音调则降低
This phenomenon is called a Doppler Shift.
这种现象叫做多普勒频移
And the exact same thing happens with light.
这也同样适用于光
If our eyes were most sensitive to color
如果肉眼对颜色非常敏感
we could see that the car
人们便可以看到
is actually very slightly blue as it approaches,
汽车接近时，实际呈微蓝色
and very slightly red as it goes away.
而离开时，则呈微红色
The same rules apply in space.
太空中的一切也同样遵循此规则
All distant galaxies are slightly red in color
所有遥远的星系，看上去都是红色的
So by the exact same piece of basic physics
根据这一基本物理规则
they must all be moving away too.
它们肯定也都在渐行渐远
In fact, the whole universe is expanding
事实上，整个宇宙都在膨胀
in all directions, getting bigger and bigger
向着四面八方，越来越大
like a balloon inflating.
就像一个充气气球
