◎管淑平

Hndreds of radio hams and amateur astronomers around the world spent the weekend bouncing radio conversations off the Moon to one another in commemoration of the Apollo 11 landings 40 years ago, organizers in Australia said on June 28.

全球數百名無線電火腿族和業餘天文學愛好者週末透過經月球傳送給另一人的無線電對話，紀念40年前「阿波羅11號」登陸，澳洲的主辦單位6月28日說。

Although they had some clear and extensive conversations, they had to be patient. It takes around 2.5 seconds for a radio signal to reach the Moon and bounce back to another part of the Earth, so it took around five seconds to get a reply.

雖然他們通訊清楚而且天南地北地聊，但是得有耐心。一道無線電訊號得花大約2.5秒傳到月球，然後再回傳到地球另一端，所以要收到回應大約要花5秒。

Initiated a few months ago by science buffs in Australia and the United States, ’Moonbounce’ was just winding up on June 28. Australian time after a 24-hour special event that organizers hope will become annual.

數月前由澳洲和美國的科學愛好者發起，「月球傳話」經過澳洲時間6月28日歷時24小時的特別活動後才結束，主辦單位希望日後能每年舉辦。

It was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landings on July 20, 1969. But as the Moon does not orbit directly around the Earth’s equator, this was the nearest weekend organizers could arrange for practical reasons.

這場活動原本要在1969年7月20日阿波羅11號登陸月球40週年時舉行，但是由於月球並非完全環繞地球赤道運行，這是主辦單位在現實因素下所選定月球最靠近地球的週末。

新聞辭典：

chit-chat：動詞，閒聊。We just had some chit-chat, nothing special.（我們只是隨便閒聊了一下，沒聊什麼特別的。）

buff：名詞，對某事很熱中的人。例句： He’s a sports buff who like to show off his knowledge about all kinds of game. （他是個運動迷，喜歡炫耀他對各種比賽的了解。）

wind up：動詞片語，使（某事）結束，使（某人）興奮、緊張、生氣。例句：Michael Jackson’s songs always wind me up.（麥可傑克森的歌總是讓我感到興奮。）

自由時報-980706

++++++++++++++++++++++++