When Neutron Stars Collide

Stellar smash-ups come in all flavors. When exotic neutron stars collide, as in this computer simulation, the cataclysm creates both a black hole and heavy elements, notably gold, as a consequence.
星球碰撞有各种形式。如这张电脑模拟图中显示，当外来中子星相撞，巨大的震动会产生黑洞和各种重元素，其中金元素的数量尤其巨大。

Collapsed stars, neutron stars weigh about 1.5 times as much as the sun. All that mass ends up tucked into a sphere just 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide.
坍缩形成的中子星的重量大约是太阳的1.5倍，而其所有物质都收缩挤压在仅仅12英里（20千米）范围内。

Super Solar Storm Strikes Solar System

Sometimes the sun isn't so friendly, as shown by this outburst (right) and its orbital track (left) in these NASA images. Earth dodged a potentially disastrous solar storm two years ago from this tremendous eruption, by only nine days.
正如NASA的这两张图所示，太阳有时也不是那么友好的，右边那张图是它爆发的样子，而左边那张图则显示了它的运行轨道。地球在两年前幸运地躲过了一次太阳风暴，如这次太阳风暴早发生九天，地球就有可能遭到一次灾难性的袭击。

Solar physicists estimate this 2012 storm's strength exceeded the most intense solar storm ever recorded, an 1859 event that burned telegraph wires with its intensity. They warn that such a blast, if it had hit, would have blown out transformers, power lines, and electronics worldwide.
根据太阳物理学家估算，2012年的这次太阳风暴的强度超越了1859年那次最猛烈的太阳风暴，1859年的那场太阳风暴甚至烧毁了电报线。他们警告道，如果真的被这次的太阳风暴击中，全球的变压器、输电线和电器都会坏掉。

Partial Eclipse Seen From Space

NASA's sun-watching Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view of the moon interposing itself between the sun and Earth earlier this year.
今年早些时候，NASA太阳动力学观测卫星捕捉到了这幅图像，月亮挡在了太阳和地球中间。

The partial eclipse lasted for 2.5 hours as seen from space, a record for the spacecraft, which watches the sun for signs of solar storms headed for Earth.
该卫星用于观察太阳风暴是否有靠近地球的趋势，根据其在太空中的观测，这次的日偏食持续了2.5个小时。

Sun Erupts Into Space

A massive eruption of charged solar material lifts off the sun's fiery surface in this NASA picture. Such "coronal mass ejections" trigger solar storms and northern lights when they are aimed at Earth.
NASA拍摄的这张照片中，太阳炽热的表层喷出大量带电粒子。当这种“日冕物质抛射”瞄准了地球时，会引发太阳风暴和北极光。

Corona Crowns Solar Sphere

The sun's corona, its superhot outer atmosphere, is revealed in this collage of images from the space agency.
这幅来自航天局的拼图中所示的是太阳的日冕层，日冕层是太阳大气的最外层，温度极高。

The sun's surface measures about 9,940 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius), which is plenty hot. But the corona, stoked by the sun's powerful magnetic field, is much hotter, its temperature measured in millions of degrees.
太阳表层温度可达9940华氏度（5500摄氏度），极热。但日冕层因受到太阳强烈的磁场影响，温度更高，可达到几百万度。

Solar Shotput Escapes

A strand of charged star stuff launches from the solar surface in this April picture from NASA. Such escapes from the sun appear to be common.
NASA今年四月拍摄的这张图中，太阳表面喷出了一束带电恒星物质，这种现象比较常见。

Out-of-This-World Fireworks Show

A trio of powerful solar flares escaped from the sun in June, seen in this triptych of pictures.
这三张照片显示了今年6月的太阳耀斑爆发。

Shown in ultraviolet light, the flares all belonged to the most powerful X-class of flares, capable of inducing radio blackouts if they hit Earth.[/en
]这些照片是超紫外线图像，太阳耀斑属于X级最强耀斑，如击中地球可致无线电中断。

Jets Blast From Giant Star

[en]A flame-like eruption flares away from an infant giant star, seen in this supercomputer simulation of stellar birth.

在这张超级电脑模拟的星体诞生图中，一颗初生的巨星爆发出了火焰般的耀斑。

Helix Haloes Dying Stars

Resembling an eye wide open, the Helix nebula shines brightly in this well-known image.
在这幅著名的照片中，螺旋星云看上去就像是一只张开的眼睛，在太空中发光。

Astronomers suspect the nebula is actually a pair of gaseous disks emitted from a pair of dying stars. Set at sharp angles, the disks combine to create the eyelid side of the nebula, as seen from Earth.
天文学家怀疑星云其实是死亡恒星留下的气盘。从地球观测，两个气盘呈现锐角，正好是星云的上下“眼睑”。