第2222a期:New satellite to monitor solar storms

The huge solar storm that hit Earth this month was described as the biggest in two decades. The Sun blasted intense radiation, billions of tonnes of matter and strong magnetic fields at our planet. 

本月袭击地球的大型太阳风暴堪称近二十年来最大的一次。太阳向地球发射出强烈的辐射，释放出数十亿吨的物质和强磁场。

The coloured lights in the sky were spectacular, but the effects could've been much worse. Such storms can interrupt radio communications and even damage power grids, which is why the UK has been pushing its partners in the European Space Agency to build a new satellite to give earlier warnings.

这让天空中的色彩看上去十分壮观，但后果可能比想象的更严重。这种规模的太阳风暴可能会中断无线电通信，甚至会破坏电网。这就是为什么英国一直在敦促其在欧洲航天局的合作伙伴建造一颗新卫星以发出早期预警。

This spacecraft called 'Vigil' has now been ordered from Airbus UK. It'll be sent millions of miles away so it can see the side of the Sun that's about to rotate into view of the Earth. This'll give forecasters a further three to four days' notice of trouble that could be coming our way.

这艘名为 “Vigil（警戒）” 的航天器现已由空中客车英国公司接单制造。它将被送往数百万英里之外，以便能够看到太阳即将旋转面对地球的那一面。这将使天文预报人员能提前三到四天预知可能要发生的麻烦。

词汇表

solar storm 太阳风暴
blasted （爆炸）发射出
radiation 辐射
matter 物质
magnetic fields 磁场
interrupt 中断、干扰
power grids 电网
spacecraft 航天器
rotate 旋转
forecasters 预报人员