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Even though we've spent decades exploring the solar system, we've really only done it in two dimensions, generally speaking.
虽然我们花费数年来研究太阳系，但总体上来说，也只从2个维度进行研究而已。
But that makes sense. Since the planets are all on the same plane, called the ecliptic, we haven't needed to go way above or below the solar system.
但这样做合情合理，因为所有行星都在同一个黄道上，所以不必从俯视或者仰视的角度来观测太阳系。
Everything we need to study is sitting nice and cozy in that plane. Well, almost everything.
我们只需要研究黄道面，就可以研究到几乎每个事物了。
From the ecliptic, it's almost impossible to study the area around the poles of the Sun, which, like the rest of our star, we're super interested in learning about.
但从黄道面上，几乎不可能研究到太阳两极附近的地区，这就跟我们恒星的其他部分一样，是我们极为感兴趣的部分。
That is where the Ulysses mission came in.
为了研究太阳的两极附近，就有了尤利西斯号的任务。
In 1990, NASA and the European Space Agency launched the first real orbiter to go out of the ecliptic, and it gathered tons of solar data for about eighteen years.
1990年，美国宇航局和欧洲太空总署将尤利西斯号发射升空，这是首次真正脱离黄道的人造卫星。18年来，尤利西斯号收集了大量有关太阳的数据。
It revolutionized our understanding of our star, but there's a reason we haven't sent another one yet.
尤利西斯号颠覆了我们对地球的看法，但我们之所以没有发射第二颗这样的卫星是有原因的。
Out-of-ecliptic missions… are kind of a pain.
在黄道面之外执行任务会有很大难度。
All the planets orbit in the same plane because they formed from the same big, spinning disk of stuff.
所有行星都在同一个黄道面运行，因为他们的组成物质都来自于同一个旋转的大型圆盘。
And getting out of that plane is really difficult.
想要从这个圆盘中脱离出来并非易事。
When you launch something from a moving body inside the ecliptic, like the Earth, your probe will automatically start traveling in a direction that keeps it inside that plane.
如果从黄道内部的某个移动的物体（比如地球）上发射探测器，那么探测器会自动在黄道面内飞行。
To get out, you have to cancel all that motion and move basically perpendicular to where you started.
要脱离黄道面，就要停止当前的运动，并沿着与出发点垂直的方向移动。
It's hard, and none of our rockets can pull it off right from launch.
这样做的难度很高，没有一个探测器可以从头来过。
But Ulysses made it happen, thanks to some cool engineering.
但尤利西斯号可以在一些很酷的工程技术下实现这一点。
Usually, when we launch something that's gotta go pretty far, pretty fast, we use a gravity assist.
通常情况下，要实现所发射物体以高速飞行很远的距离的话，就要用到引力助推。
Basically, you get close to a large body, like a planet, then use its gravity to slingshot yourself along a new path with a higher speed.
所谓引力助推就是：靠近一个体型庞大的物体，比如行星，然后借助该物体的引力来助推自己向新的方向以更高的速度飞行。
And that's true for out-of-ecliptic missions like Ulysses, too.
这对于像尤利西斯号这样在黄道面外飞行的物体来说也是如此。
You just have to get creative with it.
我们只是需要创新一下。
After leaving Earth, Ulysses went to Jupiter, which, as the most massive planet, can impart a huge amount of acceleration to anything that gets close enough.
离开地球后，尤利西斯号会去往木星。像木星这种质量庞大的行星，会对任何距离足够近的物体进行大幅度的加速。
It flew up over Jupiter's poles, then let the planet's gravity sweep it over and back under itself.
尤利西斯号会飞过木星的两极，
That got Ulysses going perpendicular to the ecliptic, and flying back toward the point where it started, essentially going backward!
这就使得尤利西斯号与黄道面实现垂直，从而可以飞回到起始点，实现了后退式飞行！
Then, it started its big loop around the Sun.
然后就可以绕着太阳飞大圈儿啦。
Getting Ulysses out of that plane allowed it to study the Sun from a different angle, including its magnetosphere, composition, and solar winds.
尤利西斯号脱离黄道面飞行，可以让其从不同的角度来研究太阳，包括太阳的磁气圈、组成、太阳风。
But that's not all the mission did.
但这并不是此次任务唯一可以实现的事情。
It also carried instruments to study dust in the solar system and ones to look beyond the Sun at cosmic rays that come from really energetic sources, like black holes.
尤利西斯号还携带了设备，可以研究太阳系里的灰尘，还可以观测太阳以外的宇宙射线，这些射线都是能量极高的物体发出的，比如黑洞。
And it was all totally worth it!
一箭多雕，太值了吧。
Over almost two decades, Ulysses made nearly three full passes over the Sun, and it taught us a lot.
过去近20年来，尤利西斯号曾实现近3次飞越太阳，让我们了解了很多信息。
Like, more than a thousand articles worth of stuff!
比如，通过这些信息撰写出来的1000多篇文章！
For one, Ulysses's unique perspective allowed us to make the first 3D survey of our star's magnetosphere and composition.
一方面，尤利西斯号独特的观测视角让我们可以进行首次三维调查，了解到这颗恒星的磁场和组成。
It also took the first direct measurements of interstellar dust and showed that tons of it is flooding into the solar system; up to thirty times more than we thought.
尤利西斯号首次直接测量了星际尘埃。其测量结果表明有无数星际尘埃涌入太阳系中，是我们想象的30多倍。
And because Ulysses was active for so long, it managed to gather data over about one and a half solar cycles, which meant it could even see how the Sun changed over time.
而由于尤利西斯号活跃了很长时间，所以它得以在近1.5个太阳周期的时间里不断收集数据，也就是说，尤利西斯号甚至看到了太阳随时间变化的情况。
Every six-ish years, the Sun is either super active, with lots of flares and sunspots, or pretty quiet.
在60年的时间里，太阳要么是超级活跃，出现很多耀斑和太阳黑子；要么十分安静。
And Ulysses showed that things like the solar wind, the flow of charged particles from the star, actually change depending on its activity level.
尤利西斯号告诉我们，诸如太阳风（恒星上散发出的带电粒子）等事物其实是会根据太阳活跃等级的变化而变化的。
It found that the solar winds are getting weaker in general, too!
尤利西斯号还发现，太阳风的强度会越来越弱！
We think that coincides with a natural reduction in the Sun's magnetic activity, but we don't know just how, or if and when that trend will stop.
我们认为，这种情况与太阳磁场活动自然衰减的情况相符合，但我们不知道它们是怎样吻合的，也不知道这个趋势何时会停止。
Either way, understanding these changes is super important to us on Earth, because the solar winds can damage electronics on the International Space Station and in satellites.
无论如何，理解这些变化过程对于我们的地球来说极为重要，因为太阳风可以破坏国际空间站和卫星上的电子情况。
Like, telecommunications satellites.
受到影响的卫星，比如通讯卫星。
Which we need to tweet! And, you know, call 911 sometimes.
这个就跟我们很相关了！毕竟，有时候总要用到911的嘛。
Because of Ulysses's discovery, we're better able to predict the behavior of the solar winds, so we're better able to protect astronauts in space and our precious, precious internet.
尤利西斯号的发现帮助我们更好地预测太阳风的行为，所以我们可以更好地保护宇航员和宝贵的网络体系。
And looking much farther from home, Ulysses was also a player in confirming the existence of magnetars.
在离地球更远些的地方，尤利西斯号还发挥了确认磁星是否存在的作用。
These are a type of neutron star with super strong magnetic fields, which emit big doses of gamma radiation... kinda whenever they feel like it.
磁星是中子星的一种，其磁场十分强大，可以释放出大量伽马射线，可以说是想放就放，毫无忌惮。
At least, based on what we know now.
至少根据我们目前的了解，磁星确实是这样的。
Along with a few other satellites, Ulysses snagged observations of only the fourth confirmed magnetar in 1998, one that was even brighter than the others.
尤利西斯和其他几个卫星一道，于1998年确认了第四颗磁星的存在，这颗磁星比其他磁星都要亮。
The magnetar hypothesis had just started to become accepted, so these measurements were really valuable to researchers.
对于磁星的假设刚刚开始为人所接受，所以这些测量数据对于研究人员来说十分有用。
And the list of Ulysses's discoveries goes on from there.
从那开始，尤利西斯号的发现就源源不断。
The mission ended in 2008, and there are now mountains of papers and books all using its data.
尤利西斯号任务于2008年结束，现在有许多论文和书籍都使用了它的数据。
So even though getting out of the ecliptic was tricky, it was definitely worth it.
所以，即便飞出黄道面很难，但也绝对值了。
So worth it that we're gonna launch another one!
就是因为很值，所以我们还要再发射一个尤利西斯这样的探测器。
Today, the ESA and NASA are working on another out-of-ecliptic mission called Solar Orbiter.
如今，欧洲太空总署和美国宇航局正在计划一个名为太阳轨道器的出黄道面任务。
It'll launch in 2020 and orbit at an inclination of 25 to 34°, which isn't as dramatic as Ulysses but will still give us more exciting, 3D data about the Sun!
该任务将于2020年实施，飞行的倾斜角度在25°-34°之间。虽然没有尤利西斯号那么刺激，但也足以给我们很多惊喜了，可以让我们获取很多有关太阳的三维数据哦！
For now, though, scientists are still pouring over that data from the first mission.
不过目前，科学家们只能充分利用尤利西斯号的数据来进行研究了。
So we'll have plenty to keep us busy until then.
所以在下一次任务开始之前，我们还有很多要忙的事情。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Space!
感谢收看本期的《太空科学秀》！
If you want to keep up with the latest space news, including future missions like Solar Orbiter, you can go to youtube.com/scishowspace and subscribe.
如果您想持续了解最新的太空新闻，比如太阳轨道器未来任务的话，可以订阅youtube.com/scishowspace and subscribe。
We release brand-new news episodes every Friday!
每周五，我们都会发布最新的新消息集锦哦！
