Why this Observation is significant?

 

此次观测为何意义非凡？

 

1. For the first time, telescopes and gravitational wave observatories together witnessed the same astronomical event.

 

这是人类历史上第一次使用电磁波望远镜和引力波天文台同时观测到同一个天体物理事件。

 

2. This is the first time gravitational waves from the merger of binary neutron stars have been observed.

 

这是首次观测到双中子星合并产生出引力波。

 

3. This observation is the first to definitively identify binary neutron star collisions as a source of short gamma-ray bursts. Theorized for many years, this is the first direct link between those phenomena.

 

这次观测首次为中子星合并可产生伽马射线短暴给予了确凿证据。这一理论已有多年历史，而此次观测首次证实了这两种现象之间有直接联系。

 

4. This discovery is the first verification of a “kilonova” explosion, confirming binary neutron star collisions as one source for the universe’s heaviest elements, such as gold and uranium.

 

这次发现首次证实了“千新星”爆炸，确认了双中子星合并是宇宙中最重的元素的来源之一，比如金和铀。

 

5. This is the first binary neutron star pair confirmed outside of our own Milky Way galaxy, and this is the closest to Earth that astronomers have seen a gamma ray burst.

 

这是银河系外首次得以证实的一对中子星，也是天文学家观测到伽马射线暴距离地球最近的一次。

 

6. The gravitational wave signals from GW170817 have enabled scientists to measure the expansion rate of the universe in a completely new way.

 

来自此次GW170817观测的引力波使科学家可以用全新的方式测量宇宙的膨胀率。

 

7. The partnership between LIGO and Italy-based Virgo allowed telescopes to rapidly turn their attention towards the area of sky where the neutron stars collided.

 

激光干涉引力波天文台（LIGO）和意大利的处女座引力波探测器（Virgo）让无数望远镜迅速调转方向，对准这一片天空，观测两个中子星合并。

 

8. This event presents the strongest evidence to date for the detection of a gamma-ray burst off-axis, which means the cone emission from the explosion is not pointed directly at Earth.

 

此次观测为伽马射线暴轴偏移提供了有史以来最强有力的证据，也就是说伽马射线暴产生的锥状发射不是直接对准地球的。

 

9. The gravitational waves and light waves arrived within seconds of each other, suggesting they may travel at the same speed and confirming a prediction of Albert Einstein. The difference in detection time is likely a reflection of what happens during the explosion process.

 

引力波和光波到达地球的时间相差只有几秒钟，这意味着两者传播速度一样，证实了爱因斯坦的猜想。探测时间的差异很可能反映出合并过程中发生了什么。

 

10. Only gravitational wave observatories can directly detect unexploded binary neutron stars outside of our local galactic neighborhood, or directly observe the stars pre-collision, albeit only briefly before impact.

 

只有引力波天文台能够探测到银河系外未爆炸的双中子星，或者直接观测合并前的双中子星，不过只是在合并或爆炸前很短的时间内。