哈勃拍攝到銀河系中暗物質

These latest images from the Hubble Telescope are among the clearest evidence yet of the mysterious effect of 'dark matter' on the galaxy - showing distortions akin to seeing an image reflected in a curved mirror.
　　這些哈勃望遠鏡所拍攝到的清楚的關於神祕的銀河系中暗物質的照片，正如在鏡子中看到的扭曲的圖案一樣。

This image has yielded such impressive results because the galaxy being targeted is MACS 1206, a massive galaxy cluster with a gravitational pull so huge it acts like a giant cosmic 'lens', warping the fabric of space-time so that light from nearby stars is distorted.

這張圖片產生了令人印象深刻的結果，因爲自從銀河系被1206號衛星觀測，一個被巨大吸力吸引的星系團正如長鏡頭一樣，扭曲時空的結構形狀。這樣，從附近的恆星來的光線是扭曲的。

Hubble's Cluster Lensing and Supernova Survey- CLASH - is charting the distribution of dark matter in 25 clusters.

哈勃的集羣透鏡和超新星調查顯示將暗物質的分佈分成了25個部分。

The Hubble scientists are scanning cluster galaxies, the most massive objects in the universe held together by gravity, to see if light is distorted by the dark matter inside the clusters.

用哈勃望遠鏡的科學家正在調查研究擁有宇宙中由重力拉合在一起最密集的集羣星系，看看是否光線在暗物質中被扭曲了。

The astronomers say the distortions produced by MACS 1206 is evidence that the galaxies are largely 'made' of dark matter.

天文學家說由1206號衛星導致的光線扭曲是非常明顯的，而且銀河系大部分都是由暗物質構成的。

The distortions shown in the images would be far weaker if the only mass in MACS 1206 was the mass of the stars and planets we can see.

在圖中看到的扭曲實際更弱，除非1206號衛星上看到的大量的星星和行星是我們能看到的。

CLASH uses the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Camera 3, the CLASH survey to covers a broad wavelength range, from ultraviolet to near infrared.

另一組研究員用像是廣角相機類的先進的相機進行調查，其調查覆蓋的波長範圍廣泛,從紫外線到近紅外線。

Astronomers need the diverse colors to estimate the distances to lensed galaxies and study them in more detail.

天文學家需要不同的顏色來拍攝於星系的距離估計並研究他們的更多細節。

These maps are being used to test previous results that suggest that dark matter is more densely packed inside clusters than some models predict.

這些圖片將會用來測試是否如之前模型所預測的一樣，暗物質在某些星系集羣裏密度更大。

MACS 1206 lies 4.5 billion light-years from Earth.

1206號衛星距地球有45億光年遠。

The era when the first clusters formed is not precisely known, but is estimated to be at least 9 billion years ago and possibly as far back as 12 billion years ago.

第一個星系集羣形成的時代現在已經不能準確知道了，但是據估計至少是在9億年前形成的，或許更早一些，在120億年前就已經形成了。

If most of the clusters in the CLASH survey are found to have excessively high accumulations of dark matter in their central cores, then it may yield new clues to the early stages in the origin of the universe.

若是在調查研究中發現大部分的星座集羣在中心部分都是由大量的暗物質聚集而成的，那就很有可能在關於宇宙起源的這一問題上的到新的線索。