你看过流星雨吗？知道双子星流星雨是怎么回事吗？我们一起来看看下面的英语科普文章吧。

The Geminids will be the most spectacular meteor shower of the year due to a dark sky tonight.
双子座将成为今年最壮观的流星雨

The meteor shower will be visible from most of the world, but is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
流星雨可以从世界上大部分地区看到，但从北半球看是最好的。

Shooting stars will peak overnight between December 13 and 14, with about one meteor per minute between midnight and 4 a.m.
流星将在12月13日至14日之间的夜间达到峰值，在午夜到凌晨4点之间每分钟大约有一颗流星。

Don't forget to look up at the sky tonight.
别忘了今晚抬头看天空。

Every December, as our planet completes its annual journey around the sun, Earth passes through the tail of debris from a mysterious rocky object known as 3200 Phaethon.
每年12月，我们的地球每年都会绕着太阳运行，地球从一个被称为3200法厄度的神秘岩石中穿过碎片的尾部。

We don't know exactly what it is.
我们不知道它到底是什么。

"Phaethon's nature is debated," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a blog post. "It's either a near-Earth asteroid or an extinct comet, sometimes called a rock comet."
美国宇航局流星体环境办公室的 比尔·库克在一篇博客文章中表示：“法厄度的性质正在引起争议。“它可能是近地小行星，也可能是一颗已灭绝的彗星，有时也被称为彗星。”

But we do know that when the dust and rocky grit from Phaethon hit Earth's atmosphere, it creates a spectacular show: the Geminids meteor shower.
但是我们知道，当法厄度的尘埃和石块击中地球大气时，它会创造一个壮观的现象：双子座流星雨。

This year, the Geminids will be the best meteor shower of the year, according to Cooke, since August's Perseids were somewhat outshone by the moon. This year's crescent moon won't rise until the early morning, leaving a dark sky for most of the night.
根据库克的说法，今年的双子座将成为今年最好的流星雨，因为八月的仙女座在月球上有些遥远。今年的新月将不会升起，直到清晨，大半夜都留下黑暗的天空。

To best see the shooting stars, get away from bright lights as much as possible. The Geminids are visible from most of the world, though the view is better from the Northern Hemisphere. There'll be good meteor activity starting at about 7:30 p.m. on December 13 going until dawn on December 14, according to Cooke. Peak activity is expected from midnight to 4 a.m.
为了最好的看流星，尽可能远离明亮的灯光。双子座在世界大部分地区都是可见的，尽管北半球的观点更好。根据库克的说法，从十二月十三日晚上七点半左右，到十二月十四日黎明，将会有很好的流星活动。高峰活动预计从午夜到凌晨4点。

During those hours, there should be about one visible meteor per minute if conditions are good where you are. If you live somewhere dark, you might also spot a few meteors in the following nights.
在那段时间里，如果条件好的话，每分钟应该有一个可见的流星。如果你住在黑暗的地方，你也可能在接下来的几个晚上发现几颗流星。

"When you see a meteor, try to trace it backwards," Cooke said. "If you end up in the constellation Gemini there's a good chance you've seen a Geminid."
库克说：“当你看到一颗流星时，试着追溯它。如果你进入双子座的星座，你很有可能见过双子座。”

If you're in a place where a dark sky is hard to come by, you can check out NASA's livestream from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, starting at sunset.
如果你处在一个黑暗的天空难以抵达的地方，你可以从日落时分在阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔的马歇尔太空飞行中心查看美国航天局的直播。


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